[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Hi all

I got a new SP55 3-Stage Vac Motor fitted in to my Excel by Extracta. The total cost including VAT and labour came to £276.

It is the replacement for an original vac motor that was in the machine when bought new almost 5 years ago so I suppose it has done well to last this long.

Is this a reasonable price to pay? Or is there anywhere local in the north east that would have fitted one cheaper?

TIA

John.

[COLIN BRIGHT]

sounds reasonable to me

[Bill Robinson]

wow ive got a extracter excell i hope  mine doesnt go
bill

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

They all go eventually lol

[Joe H]

Hi John

What was the breakdown of the invoice - parts / labour,

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Hi Joe

SP55-VAC 3 Stage Motor = £218.67 (inc VAT)

Labour = £58.02 (inc VAT)

Cheers

John

[Joe H]

John
Replaced a 3 stage Ametek vac motor in my Scorpion Jan08 at £141 inc VAT if thats any help as a comparision.

[clinton]

 Joe Think thats what is charged for one three stage fitted in alltecs..

Might have gone up this year,

John why dont you phone a local c cleaning supplier and ask?

[PaulKing]

got to ask but restormate cheaper by far, why extracta?

[Darren O]

To replace and fit new 5.7"3 stage vac motor for powermax £194.72inc vat thats what i paid about 2 weeks ago.

[Andrew Briscoe]

I am no diy expert, but have managed to change all vacs myself in past.
from alltech, cfr etc
usually take base of. couple of bolts. couple of j/clips on hose, take of wiring and
swap on to vac and re tighten everything.
Every 3 months i used to swap brushes on vac, lasted ages.
Why pay £58 for 30 mins work.
Obviously if your unsure, get help.
regards
Andrew

[Jim_77]

You should be able to pick up a quality vac motor like a Lamb or Ametek at 100-120 quid and like Andrew says it ain't rocket science to fit!  Get the machine open and get your tool kit out!

The worst thing that can happen is that you'll break it

[markpowell]

I agree with Jim and Andy, buy the motor and its a piece of cake to fit yourself.
Try www.olympiccleaning.com for the motor, give Graham a ring normally nexy day delivery.
mark

[Andrew Briscoe]

Looking after your vacs is important, run them for a couple of mins with machine empty and lid open,
chech bushes regularly, and keep lid off or open when in vehicle.

I have an old saying    Look after your vacs.......

Andrew

[Mike Roper]

Got to agree with Paul on this one. Also agree that its not rocket science to
change motors yourself.
Its strange but I've always found that your original vacs last a good number of years but once you change them the next ones dont last as long.
Is it like once you clean a carpet it gets dirty faster-only joking!!
Mike

[Ian Gourlay]

Your local electrical repair man can usually do job, mine charges me £25 to fit including a pat test.

I usually by from Woodbridge.

Have also done it myself.

Somtimes you need extras like gaskets .

Next time I fit I will replace hoses that link motors etc.

Think youn have done well to get five years so if you get five years this time you have done well.

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

I've always used a mechanic probably because I'm lazy rather than because i haven't got the aptitude to do the work myself.

Having said that two thoughts occur. One he will often spot other issues when changing a motor which need addressing before they become a problem and can deal with them.

Secondly, we as carpet cleaners set ourselves up as experts in carpet cleaning with the ability to deal quickly and efficiently with issues that frighten the life out of the carpet's owners. Our mantra would always be to a carpet owner to get an expert in rather than try and do the cleaning themselves. Why then should we try and tackle the maintenance/repairs to our machines when there are mechanics who are far better qualified to undertake the work quickly and correctly?

Obviously you need to know a competent mechanic and also trust them but I find it is easier and less stressful to pay somebody to service/repair my machines than muck about wasting my own time trying to do it myself. If I can get back to cleaning more quickly as a result I can generate the cash to pay the mechanic's bill doing something I enjoy.

BTW My mechanic will visit me at home after hours to do my repairs so that I have little or no down time during the working day.

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Thanks for your comments guys. The good thing about Extracta is they pretty much fix while you wait so thats very handy

It does look like its been an expensive repair then judging by how much vac motors are and I could have done it myself. I think next time ill nip it around to John Kellys at Restormate and get him to show me the ins and outs. Might also be worth buying a spare and putting it to one side.

John

[jeff1966]

Extracta use 7.2 inch 3 stage lamb vac motors ,the majority of other machines use 5.7 inch 3 stage and have less water lift.My motor blew last week I got a replacement from Woodbridge part no MT 302 they sell these for £20 cheaper than Extracta,you have to tell them to put a 10 mm flange on them though.
                                  regards Jeff

[Jim_77]

Ahhh.. that makes sense, we're talking about a different motor :