[D.Salkeld_Ltd]

Hi All,

There are always posts about this pole and that pole

Now, since starting I have always used:

"Cleantech" Unger style pole (18')
Unger 30' Telepole
a "Cleantech" Unger style pole (cut down to about 14')
And a "Tesco Melody" Brush water fed for down stairs

Now I'm OK with them,but...........

The Tele Pole is a beast
and I find the screw cones a bit time consuming on all the poles.

I havn't gone out and bought a "proper" water fed pole because I don't see the point in spendig £100's when I'm doing the job OK with what I have.

However..............................

If I could find...............

A light telescopic pole to reach up to 35'.
With sections no more than 5'
Tube on the outside.
Modular, so as to remove sections and use shorter and just have the one pole for all heights instead of 3
Able to use my "Tesco Melody" brushes.

Anybody recomend one

Thankyou

David

[Luke Johnson]

the superlites

[NWH]

Hi Dave i was going to try 1 of those melody brushes out over the weekend and was wondering what they were like,why don`t you buy 3 poles for your work say a 8ft-24ft carbon-34ft carbon.If you brought a carbon 34ft facelift you could buy a fiberglass base section and use it at 24ft and keep the other 2 sections for as and when you need them,quiet expensive but 2 poles in one really.That melody it dose`nt push flat on the window does it.

[Alex Gardiner]

Hi Dave

Any pole can have hose outside.  It's simply a matter of not putting the hose down through the hole at the top of the pole.  Currently on the market, I would say there are only three poles that fulfill your criteria:

1. Power Pole from Omnipole
2. Ionics CF Ergolite2
3. Facelift CF

Of these three, only the Facelift is really light enough (but it is not as stiff as the Ionics).  These poles all allow you to remove sections when not needed but only the Ionics and Facelift have really user friendly clamps.  The Facelift pole that would suit your size requirements would be the 34 ft Carbon Fibre. This has an actual length of 31' 8" (exactly the same as the Ionics 35 ft).  It is made up of 6 6ft long sections which easily slide off of each other.  To give you an idea of the lengths that the various sections can reach - with two sections on it has an extended length of 11'2" and weighs 604 gm, with three sections on it has a length of 16' 3" and has a weight of 987 gm, with four sections on it has a length of 21' 3" and a weight of 1.411 kg, with five sections on it reaches 26' 6" and weighs 1.883 kg.  With all 6 sections fitted it reaches 31' 8" and weighs 2.55 kg.

If you are running your hose outside of the pole then you will be able to remove sections in seconds.  You may want to get extra end caps to protect the sections whilst in use.  Current retail price of the pole only is £684 + VAT + Delivery (Cleantech and Facelift's price).

[D.Salkeld_Ltd]

Alex,

Thanks for the info   Something to think on.  Only 2 problems:

1.  Too long sections - I often use my cut down pole (aprox 4.5' sections) closed to do DS

2.  The price is well out of my budget for the moment (just spent £1500 on a new trailer) However iff its the right pole for me then it would be a good investment.

IFF I was to invest in a Facelift 34, how long should it last me with proper maintenance?  15yrs till I retire?

David

[Alex Gardiner]

You may need to retire early!  If you are using any pole as your main pole, it will dramatically reduce it's life expectancy. However, the Facelift is well built and should last at least 2 years, if not longer.  Even then, as long as you have looked after the pole, a clamp change may suffice.

We do have a new telescopic pole at the prototype stage (currently being used as my main pole for the last four weeks). This also has the ability to remove sections and has the great benefit of being in 5 ft sections.  We hope to bring this to the market within the next 3 months (hopefully!) at a price that is more affordable (it is also stiffer and lighter than the Facelift).

[Clive McDonald]

Why are pole innovations so infrequent?

The main suppliers and manu's have been fobing us off with the same old rubbish for years, and it's not as if we won't buy a product if it's any good. Some one told me that one of the poles you mentioned(not yours) the R&D was £100,000.

They are not going to be too happy with you pottering about in your shed with a few old bike parts if you really have come up with a world beater.

[Jeff Brimble]

I think that Alex (along with others) may well have come up with a world beater, why knock him for trying. I have a few ideas myself  as you probably have but I aint about to put my house on the line when I can earn a very good living from just cleaning the glass.
Be innovative, get out of the rut and try it or try a diy bike.

[D.Salkeld_Ltd]

Alex,

I have a "Cleantech" 18' I have had for 5 years (only 18mnths WFP).  OK it's a bit like Triggers brush Replaced cones and clamps but the actual ali poles are the original and one of those is only about £40 inc VAT and del.  So £700 every 2 -3 yrs is crazy to me

However IFF it were quicker and easier to use(therefore I could earn more), with good maintenance lasted 5 - 6 yrs AND was the only pole I needed (replaced all 3 I have).  Then I might be interested.

David

[Jeff Brimble]

Dave dont need to tell you,
But telescopic modular without any clamps is the way to go. Its the fastest.

[Davew]

Jeff have you found a replacement for the Reload yet? I keep looking but haven't seen anything to compare for the price they were.

[macmac]

Alex,

I have a "Cleantech" 18' I have had for 5 years (only 18mnths WFP).  OK it's a bit like Triggers brush Replaced cones and clamps but the actual ali poles are the original and one of those is only about £40 inc VAT and del.  So £700 every 2 -3 yrs is crazy to me

However IFF it were quicker and easier to use(therefore I could earn more), with good maintenance lasted 5 - 6 yrs AND was the only pole I needed (replaced all 3 I have).  Then I might be interested.

David

Dave
Of course its going to be quicker & easier, I dont get your way of thinking at all. The one & only piece of kit that will actually guarantee the biggest improvement to your working life, make it easier, quicker & do a far better job & you begrudge paying a few hundred quid yet you've just spent 1500 on a trailer. Priorities
I bought a 44ft carbon facelift 9 months ago (i use it at 24ft 99% for tops & bottoms), it cost me 900 quid & its still like new. this pole made such a massive impact on my working life that i can honestly say that if needed i'd buy one every year.
Think of two farmers each ploughing 400 acres of land, the first one (me) has the latest tractor, the second one (you) has one horse. That's the difference.

tony

[Jeff Brimble]

Davew my suggestion for a relacement to the reload is...
Leeda Triumphant 2XL Power Carp 10 metre £39.99 but Alan from hamilton and Alex both have Telescopic poles on the way.

[*foxman]

OK it's a bit like Triggers brush Replaced cones and clamps but the actual ali poles are the original and one of those is only about £40 inc VAT and del.  So £700 every 2 -3 yrs is crazy to me

Dave, that is kind of a small minded way to think...

If a £700 pole lasts you over 2 years then its cost a little over £5 a week!! which means it would probably of paid for itself by the first job at 8.30 on a Monday morning!

Window cleaners are realising that poles a disposable item much like squeegee rubber. You buy an extender pole which may last 6 - 8 months with day in day out use then throw it away. It's cost around £2.50 a week!!  A good window cleaner can earn couple of hundred pound a day with the right work.

[qwert]

[I bought a 44ft carbon facelift 9 months ago (i use it at 24ft 99% for tops & bottoms), tony

Does that have the hose outside and is'nt it a bit too large for bottomes even when broken down to smallest length??

[Alex Gardiner]

Hi Rain Water,

Whilst I do a fair bit of pottering about in my shed!! I assure you that our two new pole ranges have not been developed by pottering about in one! We have one of Europe's leading Composite Manufacturers working with us to come up with these poles. We have so far committed over £50,000 to just one of the poles alone so not quite the £100,000 touch yet.

D Salkeld,

On the subject of the benefits of investing in a decent, but expensive pole, like say a Facelift or Ionics. I have to agree with many of the other comments below. I have often wanted to write a post on this subject, as 'ease of use' is severely under-rated. There is a constant balancing act between 'ease-of-use' and 'longevity' which should win? In an ideal work environment you could easily have both, perhaps a titanium pole that had zero flex, ultra low weight and lasted for 20 years, but in reality you cannot completely have both.

The pole/equipment that has the best longevity usually has less user-friendly features such as increased weight, flex and generally can be a bit fiddly to use. Will this make that much difference? Yes. Say you bought a composite pole that only last 12 months as your main pole. This pole has good weight and stiffness, it also has very user friendly clamps. Using this pole could easily shave 20 minutes off of your days work (some poles will shave a lot more off). This would mean that you could effectively fit in a £5 house after your standard work each day, if you worked a 4 day week this would equate to £20 extra achievable in the week at 48 weeks to the working year you would have the opportunity to earn an extra £960 from your user-friendly pole. This would more than make-up for any increased pole costs.

[matt]

Im with David on this subject

ive just replaced my unger 3 X 2 M with a Cleantech 3 X 2 M ali pole, because the unger wore away on the insides and snapped, im sure a few will remmber the post

now the "unger / cleantech ali pole works well, its not that heavy and last for ages


you read on here people paying 300 quid for a pole and its worn out inside 12 months

though saying that, im going to use 1 of the light fishing poles soon, ive had my week off on holidays and now its time to think about the sack truck and new pole

[Clive McDonald]

You were right about the Unger pole Matt. I had one that I didn't use because it was too heavy, but I didn't realise the bottom two sections came off. Now it's my favourite, for £100 it does 4 storey, and taken apart first floor.

Because my facelift didn't come I had to have a fibreglass 24' for £150 but this is like a scaffold pole.

To do our job well you need the right eqiupment and in my opinion the do it yourself route is stupid unless you are absolutely skint. The make do and mend is always handy as a back up but I shall be getting one of these tele composites as soon as he has them.

You might be more skillfull than me Matt, Dave might be stronger, but if I've got the correct equipment
I can more than make up for any short comings I might  have. I want an easy life not a hard one, along with georgel ease of use of the pole we use has to be a basic.

We all have our opinions but some of the above posts I thought explained things pretty well.

[macmac]

[I bought a 44ft carbon facelift 9 months ago (i use it at 24ft 99% for tops & bottoms), tony

Does that have the hose outside and is'nt it a bit too large for bottomes even when broken down to smallest length??

Hose inside, don't be fooled by new 4/5ft section pole sales patter, a 24ft carbon facelift with angle adaptor & swivel joint will easily do 99% of bottom windows, i know, i do it every day. if it didn't, or it didn't do it well, then i'd tell you.

tony

[Alex Gardiner]

Hi macmac,

I would agree with you that for every day use 'hose inside' is easier.  But as to working on downstairs with a 6ft section pole then I completely disagree. For the first 2 years of WFP'ing I worked with a 6ft sectioned pole for downstairs and it is completely do'able, but then I started building myself 5 ft sectioned poles (cutting down Universal poles) and the difference is amazing and that is a fact!

It speeds you up and make life on your arms so much easier. To anyone who has not tried using a shorter sectioned pole for their work you do not know what you are missing. I'm sure that if you do a lot of domestic work then using a 5ft sectioned pole will knock at least 15mins a day off of your work time as compared to using a 6ft sectioned pole. If you do not believe it then try it.