[ryan1]

HI guys

I'm looking for a new machine as the old 1 has seen better days, Not sure which 1 to go for as there are a few out any help would be great it has to be light as we do a lot of flats which are on 5 th floors etc 

Thanks

[Joe H]

How many flights of stairs is that? is it 4?

I did a flat a few weeks ago and that was 3 flights.
After pulling the machine up I then had to go back for hoses, then buckets, tools, fluids.
Certainly I had a workout that day!  Going down is not that much easier.

Which machine do I have? the one that is frowned upon if you mention it on here  :
One of the 3 vac machines but the one on the lighter side.

Clue - it has a sting in its tail 

[daysdeepclean]

That's the three vac Alltech out of the question then What make and model was your last machine?

Joe, is your machine a "Wasp"

[Simon@arenaclean]

Bumble Bee

[from edge2edge]

Try the sabrina maxi from craftex good little machine(light as f) which you can get a powerbrush for as well as a heater.Will do flats no problem as long as you agitate properly.Regards Alan(swindon)    oh yes great for upholstery when used with a crf handtool

[Darren O]

When iam doing top floor flats i always use my Powermax its ligfht and easy to bump up and down stairs check Ebay theres a few on there at the moment.

[richy27]

To be honest if you doin a lot of flats then long hose runs are not necessary so you can avoid the heavy weight big boys toys with more suck than a vietnamese prostitute.  a smaller machine still with twin vac would be fine i suspect cleansmart have there new entry level airflex machine on offer plus has big stair wheels plus then if you do want a bit more grunt in the future you can upgrade the machine you have bought. worth a look.

But how long is a piece of string so many to choose from.

regards

richard

[daysdeepclean]

But how long is a piece of string

regards

richard

Measure from the end of the string to the middle, then times it by 2!

[richy27]

But how long is a piece of string

regards

richard

Measure from the end of the string to the middle, then times it by 2!

been trying to work that out for ages cheers col

[clinton]

Joe

Give us a clue

[ryan1]

Use to have a prochem god knows how old it is but its been a good machine over the years just getting too much lifting that up and down every day so need some thing light?

[Ken Wainwright]

Ryan

You haven't mentioed what spec machine you're looking for or what your budget is.

If you are looking for a high end porty, then it's down to the likes of the Alltec X3, Ninja, Scorpion and the Cleansmart types of triple vac machines.  The weight and spec issues of these have been well debated here.

If however, you're not looking at this end of the market, a compact machine I really like is the Alltec Aqua 40. A good solid all round twin vac machine with in tank heater that punches a little above it's weight. And it's very compact too.  Not sure about current pump options.  Some will say that the tanks are too small at 4 buckets a fill, but in reality, that's no problem. If a given job requires, say, 9 buckets of water, instead of filling a machine twice, you may fill it 3 times, and when you do, it should be during your pre-sprays dwell time so no time lost.  I'm not sure about the weight of this machine, but it should be easier to handle than some physically larger models.

The Prochem range is attractive too, but I'm not familiar with their weight and bulk. Certainly amongst the best built on the market.

Safe and happy cleaning
The Ken

[Joe H]

Dont some of the Craftex range split in two for ease of handling.  The principle sounds good - no experiance of them.

[Dave Preece]

new cfr eco is pretty easy to man handle so is the sensai and the Prochem Galaxy, both of which are pretty cheap,reliable and light..only got 1oo/120 psi pumps tho-Get the supplier to demo the machine first, its the least they can do

[JS2]

Joe

How heavy is that 'stinging' machine, and is a heater option available too ?

Regards

Pete (JS2)

[kerrpmiddleton]

we work mainly in edinburgh all 3-5 story some realy old very step stair wells ,when we know its  flats we alway use our auqa 40 from altec great machine twin vac with heater , a must have ,you knoew the one ,where do i get the hot water from love (even though you told them be for hand to have plenty hot water , ready for us coming ), oh do you need hot water , wee tip if no hot water use the electrice shower , screw the head of ,then fill up, that way water is slightly warm , then with heater, hot water in no time, while your hoovering , and prespraying .  :

[Joe H]

Pete (JS2)

Weight approx 87lbs   http://www.worldofclean.co.uk/index.php?productID=449
and where it says the machine can be lifted into your van one handed - I didnt believe that so I was sent a video of how it was done, tried it myself and did it - not something I would do regularly though!

No onboard heater but a inline heater available which I use and it produces good heat with the benefit it can be placed anywhere in the solution line. So say you are using 50' and 25' use the 25' at the wand end and then fit in the heater, then 50' to the machine - Enables the hot water to be closer to the wand.

[Gary Webber]

Hi Ryan,

In light of your work (across communals) you have to work out a spec for a machine that suits your needs.

You will need a machine that is reasonably light (in case you do have to take the machine up)
Can manouvre up stairs/corners easily
Can cope with sufficeint hose lengths attached
Pump capacity can cope with height/gravity
Heater attached, or working off 1 or 2 sockets will not blow any communal power supply (usually a lack of sockets in communals!)
Decent water capacity

Regards

Gary