[waynebarry]

Hi I am ready to upgrade my porty but before I call the manufactors for a demo I am trying to get my list of four down to two!
If you have one of the following portys or have used one of them can you give me your feed back on the machine, positive or necitive.

Thanks

Texatherm EMV201
Alltec Advance 600/1200
Prochem Steempro Plus
Airflex Turbo

[Colin Day]

Alltec Triple Vac 600 psi.... Quite simply, brilliant!

[waynebarry]

thanks colin, hopefully after a couple of days you guys can help narrow it down as Im getting proper advice and not just sales patter from a salesman!!

[Colin Day]

I could never knock any of the other machines because I've never used any of them. My last machines were Exels so I only really have opinions of those.

The reason I went for the Alltec was purely down to someone saying they had used one for 8 years and it never broke down.... If they were telling the truth, I'll be a happy man

Also, Clinton Neylon talked me into it!!! Good man!

[Joe H]

You left 2 great machines off your list and as I have both I can speak freely of them

Prowler

Scorpion

[richie]

Wayne,
i havn't used any of the porties that you have mentioned but have used a Scorpion.  Good machine but it does have its faults as do most machines. There are a few on here that have used the Scorpion & Airflex Turbo and they say that the Airflex Turbo is a better machine.  I saw one at the coventry show and thought that it looked a good machine and buil quality looked impressive.

Richie.

[adimarsh]

Alltec triple vac 1200psi. Very versitile machine but use with 2 inch hose for better air flow.

[waynebarry]

Hi Joe is that the prowler from America?
If so do you keep it in the van or outside or inside of house as it seems quite noisy from the videos I have seen?

[Colin Day]

Hi Joe is that the prowler from America?
If so do you keep it in the van or outside or inside of house as it seems quite noisy from the videos I have seen?

You'd need to be built like Clinton to get a prowler on and off the van   I'm having one next upgrade

[Joe H]

Wayne
The Prowler does have wheels but you need a ramp to get it into and out of a van so its not so portable as we know portables are. It stays in the van but can clean carpets 300' away - assuming you have 300'feet of hose (which I dont), most houses can be done on 50-70 ft, but 150' should 99% of domestic and a lot of commercial.
Noise - its a petrol engine, so its noisy, but I have had no complaints at all about noise.
You shouldnt be taking a portable into a house anyway (indoor air pollution), so whether you are talking about a electric portable or a Prowler petrol engine - both generate noise.
The Scorpion and the other machines you mention have 3 vacs and so will make noise - just that the Prowler is a more expensive noise  , but a longer term investment.

[clinton]

Colin Its all the weetabix

Wayne

So much choice now and will come down to what machine yo want.Maybe its an idea to ask some local cleaners to you if you cold se there machine in action and that might help you make your decision

[Neil Pratt]

Hi Wayne,

I switched from a Scorpion to the Airflex Turbo last August and have been really pleased.
Great performance, really easy access to all the workings, well thought out design, a brake on the front castors that actually works as the castors are a decent size, nice and quiet with the silencer on.
Feel free to give me a call if you want to ask anything 07813692061.
Neil

[waynebarry]

Thanks for your feed back Joe, Clinton & Neil
Joe- What sort of money are we talking about for a Prowler as I have only stumbled across them the last couple of days?
Also in your opinion is it the closest machine I would get to a Truckmount?

Clinton - Do you think local guys would mined me looking at there machines as im in direct competition with them?

Neil - I agree the design on the Airflex Turbo looks well thought out & ill take you up on your offer and ring you in the next few days.

Keep your reveiws coming

[clinton]

Wayne am sure someone maybe not too local may well be willing to help..

There again myself and roger peach(dr carpet)help each other out and go for a drink and a cury and we live 3 mins away from each other.

Before i upgraded and also changed my van i went to meet a few guys from the forum who lived about 40 mins away..

Dave power showed my the prowler in action and also joe hatton had his truck mount and also a scorpion so i had a great demo from them both,also was good to chat and swap ideas on cleaning stuff

[Joe H]

Wayne
The Prowler currently is £6500+vat but you get 100' of 2" suction, 100' of solution hose and also 50' of 2" disharge, a wand and a large clean water tank.
It is compact so will fit in say a Citroen Dispatch type van tho mine is in a Cit relay cause of other stuff I may have to carry.
It is a truck mount really on wheels.
Up to 2000psi, lots of heat and massive suction.
If you upgrading and serious about the business its the one to go for IMO
(although the Phoenix is worthy consideration too at that level, but costs more)

[pro-fresh]

Wayne,

I imagine all those left on your short list will do the job. I have been using a Ninja for the last 4 years and it has been good, but, when it breaks down its a 4 1/2 hour journey to Dartford from Manchester, its a really depressing drive when you have to cancel the days work and the next days if they cant fix it by 4.30pm. So then its  a stay in a hotel and then a lovely drive back in a constant traffic jam.
This happened to me twice in one week once and my windscreen sprayers stopped working as  I set off just to add to the fun experience.
So my advice would be to buy a machine with  local engineers. Or buy two machines.

Kevin.

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Kevin

You need to get in touch with Carl at VacPat. he's in Chinley just down the A6 through Stockport andd Disley.

he's been coming to me to service my ninja for the last 3 years or so.

His number 07775 881279. Since I've recommended him he's picked up quite a few Ninja's to service around the North West.

Roger

[Terry_Burrows]

I can recomend power flite pfx 1085  very good water pick up is the best I hae used had ninjas Rhino machine is superb!

[clinton]

Kevin

Roger is spot on there with karl,would not go down to ashbys mate and with karl you will get great service and better value for money!!

[pro-fresh]

Cheers Roger and Clinton.

 I shall give Carl a call next time I need a service. I have been put off before in the past by so called engineers not having a clue what they are doing. Somebody gave me the name of a company in Droylsden who were carpet cleaning engineers, it was a big company with a few vans and a big premises. I took my Ninja there because a vac motor had burnt out, they replaced but the new one kept cutting out when it got warm, so they replaced it again and it hapened again. At one point there was four of them staring at it, including the boss. In the end I rang Ashbys and they asked me if the cooling fan was working, it turned out it wasnt so i ordered a new fan and a new motor from Ashbys and had them fitted by the Droysden engineers, only to find that the new fan didnt work!
 Anyway I got a new fan the next day and that worked but it cost me a fortune in lost work parts and labour. I should of noticed the fan wasnt working but you would think four engineers could figure it out.

Well ive got that off my chest, its been bugging me for ages.

Does Carl have spare parts like pumps and motors in stock? because I would still have to wait for delivery next day if he doesnt. So ifor example if the pump goes in the morning at least if you drive to ashbys you can get it fixed on the same day.

Thanks Kevin