[Shaun_Ashmore]

I'm pondering about making a 2nd cc porti as a back up, I've been spoilt with my Boxxer but I would like to cover myself with a back up machine.

I was thinking of a CFR machine with a vac booster and a little giant style heater like Mick Halliday's.

Why.... because the cfr recycles its own water therefore no need for tanks, vac booster so I can run 100 foot + of hoses and retain good vacuum and the little giant heater to make endless cups of tea, I mean to get hot water for cleaning.

Now this is obviously too simple can anyone see any problems with this?

Cfr machines are made to operate from 1 vac motor would the additional booster up set this, would I be better having 1 extra vac in the booster as I believe some boosters have 2, if I have 1 I could run only 1 extension cord to the machine set up, what about the heat would that be too hot for the tanks and would it upset the filters?

Hope you can answer that voice inside my head, it also says don't forget Mrs. Xmas present but this is far more important.

Shaun

[Dynafoam]

Shaun,

The first thing that comes to mind with the proposed set-up is the the heater will be taking in re-circulated water. Despite the ingenious filtration system, the water will contain some dissolved solids, some of which would become deposited on the heat exchanger core, leading to accelerated 'scaling'.

Whilst this can be countered by regular de-scaling, my feeling is that you may be better served by either using the CFR as is was intended (without heater) or adopting a more conventional set-up.

OTOH, I could be wrong.

[gwrightson]

Shaun . Why on earth would you want to run 100ft of hose fromk a cfr machine
?   if its your back up !!!
surly use it as it was intended as a porable , or do you wish to run it straight from your van?
and in a few odd occasions , use cant use your boxer , hey presto you have the answer.
dont tell me , there is no situations
thanks mike for that job yesterday , now then there isnt many jobs mike cant do  but it was very tight parking so a porty was ideal
geoff

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Geoff I would use it like a TM/ bane.

You have a CFR do you think it would benefit from extra vacuum to dry the carpets faster?

Shaun

[gwrightson]

Shaun
if you have the correct cfr tools ,the drying times are greatly reduced ,
have a word with steve carpenter he will give you all the info required,
i have used mikes cfr upholstery tool with my cfr and found it to be
a great tool , no need for the extra vacuum.
  geoff
ps  driers still going strong as you spotted so well

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Even before Mike went supersonic with his petrol injection you won't have mached his drying with his electric Bane and burner, would you?

Shaun

[Ed Valentine]

Shaun;

Answer to your question:

Adding a Booster will most definitely help.



Good Fortune to all;
Ed Valentine
cross-american corp.

[Ken Wainwright]

Shaun

My understanding of the CFR machines is that the 400psi is OK upto 70ft and the 1000 psi upto 110ft. They have the same vac motors as standard so the limiting factor on hose length, certainly when running 400psi, is the pump and not the vacuum. Of course, if you were running conventional tools (why?) the 400psi would probably be more than powerful enough. On the larger machines, I would presume that 110ft is the limit due to vacuum performance and that the pump would easily run longer lengths. All this suggests that if you want longer hose runs with a vac booster using CFR tooling, then go for a 1000psi model.

Of course, I may be talking a load of old twaddle

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[SMP]

I presume that Steve Carpenter will chip in at some point - but here's my tuppence.

I am told that there is CFR machine somewhere with a heater fitted as standard?

I have noted with my CFR machine (Altra 400) that the sides do bow in a bit when the water is still hot and the vac is on with the wand stuck to the carpet.  How "bad" would this get with a vac booster?

I run my CFR with 50 feet pipes as standard ( I pinch then off the T/M to save having to load even more clober in the van) - it works fine.

I started up with a TM then eventually bought a secondhand CFR as a back up best thing I ever did.  I take my hat off to those who operate a conventional portable - I really would fancy it.

Cheers
Steve

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Do CFR make a dual vacuum model?

Shaun

[Ken Wainwright]

Shaun

A little bird told me that there's one on the drawing board as we speak. Whether it will be ready to show at the NEC in March I don't know.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[Steve Carpenter]

Shaun,

CFR manufacture a self contained 23” cleaning path soil extractor with 2 vacuums. It is called the ‘Paramount’, which has a 151-litre solution/recovery tank. With its recycling system it offers a working capacity of 1057 litres, and productivity rates of 7500 square feet per hour. A smaller version called the ‘Paramount 20’ is available with a working capacity of 662 litres. This is a single vac machine with either a fixed head or wand option and is also available with 400 psi or 1000 psi pump options.

The CFR Pro 400 Workstation can operate comfortably with 77ft of vac hose and the Altra model with its larger tank can run up to 100ft. I regularly use my Altra Pro 1000 (1000 psi) with longer hose runs of up to 133ft in both commercial and domestic environments. I haven’t noticed much of a drop in performance, as drying times have still been very favourable.

In answer to your question regarding using propane powered heaters with CFR. This would invalidate the 5-year tank warranty and almost certainly damage the tank. CFR do however supply a machine with an internal 2400-watt heat exchanger, and as long as CFR products are used, scale and furring is not an issue.

I asked Ed Valentine the same question in April regarding extending hose operating capacity and he said his booster would work with the CFR. I also know of a carpet cleaner in Australia that uses CFR wands with an own build truckmount in conjunction with propane heat and claims drying times of 15 minutes!!!

A new high spec machine is on the drawing board, which will, we are told eventually replace the Altra series, but a prototype is yet to be built. It will have to go through thorough trials in America before production commences and a suitable version is offered to the European market.

Regards

Steve