[Mike55]

Righto, this post is mainly for those that either use or have used a gutter vacuum and ladders for gutter clearing work.

I am seriously thinking of investing in a gutter vac, more from a h+s point of view rather than a time saving piece.

I have done a bit of research from looking through previous posts and have gained some info.  I appreciate that this kit is probably suitable for the majority of work but, not unlike WFP, will not be suitable for all jobs.  Hence ladders will still be needed.

Most of my work is resi gutter clears (done from ladders) but I do have a commercial job of around 200m of guttering where I'm sure a vac would be more practical.  I also have commercial windows where I could offer this service if I had a vac (prob too high for ladders).

So, for those with practical knowledge:

- is it truly worth purchasing a vac?
- what are the practical drawbacks of using a vac (eg do they constantly clog up on the job, end up unsuitable for many jobs etc)
- can they really cope with blocked downpipes, s-bends and broken tiles that have fallen in the gutter or is this a ladder job?
- can anyone recommend a vac and genie setup suitable for 1 man on resi and commercial work? (I have been on www.guttercleaningsystems.co.uk and the Clarke 30 kit looks good value for the price) - anyone used this kit?  Would this be suitable for houses and commercial.
- is there much maintenance required with the vac, poles, genie etc?

Any help and advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mike

[mike roberts]

another point just noticed.....the end fittings from the website you have shown require the swage ends of each tube to be at the top ... this can cause problems esp when wet vacuuming as debris gets stuck between joints making it hard to dismantle poles... you need to have swage end at the bottom closest to vac...
that guy is aware of problem they are looking to start swageing ends next yr..
hope this makes sense best mike

[Mike55]

Mike, thanks for taking the time to reply, appreciate it.

[Smudger]

Good advice mr roberts.

We have an Omnivac and we have not needed to use ladders for gutter in over 2 years.

we have now refined the way in which we work with the vac and now set aside a complete day and go out 2 man
- this makes life much easier and very, very quick.

sometimes the nozzel gets blocked - but only when lifting out a 'turf' broken tiles and bricks in the gutter are no problem - below is a pic of what i pulled out of a '4th' storey downpipe at the weekend - this is not the biggest we have pulled out ( that was 2ft long ) but shows how good a suck it's got at that height






if its occasion work and purely domestic, i'd go the DIY route as all the parts are about at 1/2 the cost of buying a 'system'  but if you want lots of gutter clearing then i'd go for a pukka heavy duty set-up .

our vac has also been used for other cleaning work and paid for itself many times over

Darran

[mike roberts]

thks 'smudger'...

Have you got actual spec for their vac looked on site sometime ago ...our old numatic was more powerfull ie airflow / suction. Cant see any details now on their site apart from motors. Do they supply an option with a submersible pump??
thks mike

[Scrimmer73]

I wish to invest in a Gutter Vac , i was told yesterday , that the motors pack up , as you either use the system as either wet or dry ,,,  which seems nonsense ,,   
 
 What wattage is required ,, is 3000 W standard ,, and would this be adequate for a 3 strory job ? 

[Smudger]

We've had the Omni vac for 2 years and never needed any new motors
but like anything with moving/wearing parts you wont ever need to replace them...


Mike - cant remember but i'll try to find the specs

Darran

[paul saunders]

How the hell did that Doctor Pepper can get in the gutter ...... And was it still full

[g newton]

Where can you buy dr pepper at that price

[Smudger]

Gt yarmouth mate

but Coke in that area is cheaper 

Darran