[Tom White]

I'm looking for a lightweight 18 foot pole for Wor Lass; it'll be her first pole and being new to WFP she'll be pretty cack handed - so would like something fairly robust too.

I'm looking at the CL-X (Gardiner Poles); it is only 100g heavier than the SL-X, so I'll probably get her an 18 foot CL-X (I think they're out of stock till April, which is fine).

But are there any other choices I could consider?  Obviously price is a factor, as well as robustness.

Thanks.

[C.C.S.]

harris ,B&Q

[Tom White]

harris ,B&Q

I use one; though I'm getting a lighter pole; but she finds it too whippy and heavy.  Though at £15 it is a great pole, but Wor Lass weighs about 8 stone and lacks the strength to use it all day (she cleans our own windows with it, but she probably couldn't cope with constant use).

[mci services]

tosh I have been reading your other post on the van set up and now this one,

I have a question, are you planning sending her to say one end of a street while you go to the other and working your way back to the van doing it all wfp?

The reason I ask is I had a lad work for me and in the compact type round that would be the ideal scenario but if your work is spread I found it easier just to give him the back pack on a trolley and he did the rear of property's while I did the fronts with the van mount. You have a 400l tank and some barrels so that cuts the cost down a fair bit on setting up.

hope you see where I am coming from here

[Tom White]

Hi Stu,

I had a chat with RZ today about this.  Most of our work is compact, where I could pull up and we could work from the same van on separate properties.  Or on larger work I could start at the awkward parts (say the rear) and she can have the easy access.

Or, on other places it could well be a case of she does the easy stuff, working from a van, and I use the backpack for the awkward bits.

I guess we're going to have to relearn our work and we'll have a period of a few weeks where we'll 'test and adjust' (there's a good ol' military phrase).

Wor Lass doesn't work full time anyway, 3 or 4 days per week from 9pm till about 3pm; so anything that's not suitable for both of us, I tend to do by myself anyway.

I don't mind buying extra kit, such as hosereels, pumps and stuff; 'cos it's good to have spare, so worst case scenario is that she works from the van and I use the backpack; then I'd be cool with that too.

[mci services]

Hi Tosh if budget isn't a problem then that all makes sense, I have no idea on poles though but I will contribute on the other post if I can, but most seems to have been answered anyway.

and yes test and adjust is the way to go in this game I think I am always changing things

[Jeff Brimble]

Tosh   The 21ft clampless Ninja is one of the worlds fastest and lightest poles, I suggest your mrs.  could handle the 17fter- just remove the base section.Its also been tested to be non conducting to 1,000v
Here is a short drop test video, so its also strong enough to bang around   and ideal for staff use.(click on pic)

Thers also a couple of vids here, scroll down.  
http://robinson-solutions.blogspot.com/2010/08/q-with-electric-window-cleaner-jeff.html

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

I got my mrs the slx as although it's only 100grms lighter it is a lot more rigid.  She's off sick at the moment so I'm using it most of the time now. It's brilliant and I even feel the difference when changing between the slx25 and 18. Why use a heavier pole if you don't need to is my moto.

Simon.

[bad trippy]

Toshy, I bought my Mrs the 18ft slx from Gardiners, mate its a dream pole, so light but yet robust.
I would strongly advise paying out just a lil more for the slx mate.
If she wants a play with My Mrs pole (exuse the pun) then just pop in next time your over the bridge mate

[Spruce]

Hi Tosh

I'm in the same boat as you are with my Mrs who works with me for a few hours on a Thursday.

My Mrs hasn't the strength to control my CLX at first floor windows so we have a way of working that she does the ground floor windows with a converted fishing pole and a Gardiners Superlite double trim mono brush and I do tops. As the fishing pole has the thread adaptor from a Bentley broom glued into section 6 (counted from the base section) of the Thompson Zenoflex (section is only a foot long at a guess) she uses that with the 5th section and occassionally the 4th section to reach as she finds it light and rigid.

When she cooperates this works quite well. I pull the first hose out to the back of the house and start cleaning the tops and side tops if applicable. By that time she has got the second reel to the front windows. She may do the front door first and then uncouples her pole and heads round the back. By that time I should have finished the top windows, uncoupled my pole so she can use it to do the bottoms round the back and side. I then couple my pole into the 'front' hose left by her and do the tops in the front. Once I have finished the top fronts she has finished with my hose and couple back into the front hose to do the remaining bottom front windows.

By this time I have moved the back hose round the back of the next house and start with the same procedure. As she generally has a little more to do down stairs than I have upstairs, especially if she has to clean a conservatory, I will go back and do the downstairs as well while she catches up. She also drys the doors down and wipes the cills while I reel in the hoses and write out the tickets. This works on most houses we do.

While we don't do twice the number of houses an hour it's definitely quicker than when I work on my own.

The other issue is that I get tired quicker as I use the time when doing the down stairs windows to take a bit of a breather, which I can't do when she's doing them.

If your Mrs wants to do tops as well, then get her to use the Zenoflex pole conversion - as you know from your own experience, its light and very rigid.

Spruce

[simon w]

Tosh   The 21ft clampless Ninja is one of the worlds fastest and lightest poles, I suggest your mrs.  could handle the 17fter- just remove the base section.Its also been tested to be non conducting to 1,000v
Here is a short drop test video, so its also strong enough to bang around   and ideal for staff use.(click on pic)

Thers also a couple of vids here, scroll down.  
http://robinson-solutions.blogspot.com/2010/08/q-with-electric-window-cleaner-jeff.html

Jeff.

I dont think the second 17ft pole you droped was fair as most of it landed on the grass, if your not too busy I think you should re test this one. 

[Tom White]

People who drop poles are numpties.  It's years since I've had a pole drop or blow from somewhere.

You shouldn't just leave them extended, at an acute angle, unattended.  Close them, or drop the angle to a safe degree.

Jeff, I'm in the process of fixing a fence, but I'll send you an e-mail later this evening.

Thanks.

Tosh

[Jeff Brimble]

No  its not for fixing fences  :  try bamboo    

Its lighter than the Zensorflex but telescopic.

Simon well spotted, its the 3rd vid will download (pbucket takes ages to upload vids)an earlier one, actual total of 12 drops, thought one of them would break but didnt  .

[outdoor restore]

My daughter works with me 2/3 days a week.  She uses an 18' clx and loves it (closed length is brilliant as she's only shortish).
We usually work that she does fronts from the van mount and I do rears (this is usually where the more difficult windows over cons etc) either from the van mount or WCW backpack (depending on access).  If there are any high/difficult windows on front and no cons on back we swop over or I do the tricky ones before going round the back, the side is done by whoever gets there first. We use a bilge pump to refill the backpack so no lifting of heavy barrels.

Neil

[AuRavelling79]

Now the price of the slx has dropped in the wake of the new extreme I would get her an slx18 (like I've got).

[Ads]

Hi,  take a look at the new Elite range of poles from The Water Fed Pole Company. Great Prices and well designed clamps.

www.thewaterfedpolecompany.co.uk

[Smudger]

Jeff beat me to it - i like the look of his Ninja wfp - even more now i know there is a 25ft version.!

Jeff could you email some details please !

Darran

[Jeff Brimble]

jeff.brimble@onetel.com 

[Tom White]

jeff.brimble@onetel.com 

Cheers, Jeff.

I was offline yesterday evening; my broadband played up after a power cut (Wor Lass kept on plugging in a faulty iron).

E-mail sent.

[Spruce]

Hi Jeff
The 25' pole you dropped in the video seemed quite whippy at full stretch when you were showing us that it wasn't broken. Being made of glass fibre would surely make it more whippy with a bush on the end fully extended wouldn't it?
Spruce