[geefree]

Well,
My First day out  with my Diy Pole kindly put together by Tosh's instructions and help on this forum.

Well, my day started wet, and it felt different not to just whip my pole from the holder inside the van,

but here goes... whipped it together in the first customers garden,

first thing i noticed was how light it was.. i could walk with it  horizontally , holding in with finger and thumb if i had to.

started to clean upstairs windows... had to learn, how to not use any strength, as it was so light... done the upstairs in a flash...

I then whipped the top section off, which is connected to the brush... and cleaned downstairs with the smallest pole i have ever used...for downstairs ..brilliant !

I felt like i was working at 100 miles per hour, yet using very little effort..

so with that done, i started to pop each section inside each other to place back inside the van....

Then i thought ..Sod that!... and put them all in the van...together.... leaving the top section with the brush and hose attached.... to be put in last... so it did not tangle up...But i have a hook in the van .. and coiled the clear pole hose around this.

next job, detached bungalow.. awkward high wall round the back... so remembering what Tosh had said....

i took off the brush in a second and cleaned the window with just the brush....

a part of a house i had dreaded... had become easy!

I love the lightness of the pole... i have a few adjustments to make before i am completely satisfied.

1/  the bottom section kept popping out , as i had put the tape too high up.. which is designed to stop the pieces jamming together... i over did it.. was too loose.

2/ i have to get used to the hose being on the outside.... but i had used 40 ft of the stuff to try it out...(used from an old pole).. so it was in the way a little... and the on/off tap was miles from me sometimes.

3/ i will have to get used to putting the pole sections inside each other after each job... as it was.... i had to count the parts in the van , to make sure i had picked them all up

My firts impression of the pole is:
Its very light to use... lighter than any other pole

i was working much quicker once i got into it..and i really enjoyed it...

a little bit awkward to put together  as opposed to whipping my other poles out and connecting up, and away...

but for £40 a great every day pole which i will use again tomorrow and until i get use to it...

incidently... i dropped one section , and i thought,, by the sound of it.. that it had cracked.

it hadnt.. but it may.

but if it lasts me six month i will be very happy.

All in all... i enjoyed it.. my arms dont feel like they have been out to work today...
i have not once grimaced or strained trying to push a heavier pole into an awkward spot... because it was so light... no was effort needed.

There will be teething problems which i have listed...

but thats all they are.

would be interesting to know who else uses these poles, and their comments.

Roll on tomorrow. 

[geefree]

 :

[Paul Coleman]

Showoff !! 

[NWH]

With an SL2 you will get all of the above advantages but with a much stronger product.

[dmlservices]

has anybody tried 4mm id algarde hose with their modulars, much lighter than normal pole hose, with the advatage that you can fold hose over to stop / start flow .

used this on my first pole( 30 ft unger tele pole ) and it worked very well,

just a thought 


daz

[geefree]

maybe ,,, but £40  

[groundhog]

Sounds good I may give it a go myself, how high can this pole reach? 

[geefree]

max raech , for me with this pole is around 25ft i would say... uncluding body and arms.

[matt]

but if it lasts me six month i will be very happy.



would be interesting to know who else uses these poles, and their comments.

i said i would be happy with 3 months use, its now over 1 year old and still going strong

its the only pole i use now, after a few days of getting used to modular its a great pole and for 40 quid , what more can you ask

[matthewstanley]

I wouldn't use anything else for day-to-day residential work - been using mine for a year now and it's brilliant 

[Tosh]

Gazza,

I'm pleased you like it - whew - but you were tough work! 

I love it; it's one of those rare occasions where you buy cheap and your end product far far exceeds your level of expectation.

In fact it's so easy to use, don't you feel like you're 'cheating'?  Window cleaning really shouldn't be so comfortable!

I also find I'm working quicker; definately - using less water; maybe - but it's a hell-'uv-a-lot easier.

Have a good day!

[Chris Galloway]

and the on/off tap was miles from me sometimes.

Trick i found was to bend over the waterfed hose to stop the flow. it doesn;t affect the hose and is great for a quick stop of water flow if you dont use a trigger.

[Tosh]

With an SL2 you will get all of the above advantages but with a much stronger product.

NWH,

I agree, but you get it at a much higher price too; what Jeff B and Matt have made (and I copied) was a cheap lightweight pole that you can bang-about on your routine everyday domestic work.  And if it gets stamped on or crushed, you're not going to be forking out £50/£60 a time for a replacement section if it's beyoned repair; and there's no fannying about; it literally takes fifteen minutes to do.

With regards to cheap lightweight modular poles, a poster called Wayne T put up a top post on another forum; I hope he doesn't mind me using part of it; but I think this explains it better than I could.

Post By Wayne Thomas from another forum (I've edited out bits that were to do with the Bentley Brush, but this guy obviously knows his stuff if you read his posts):

Thankfully Alex persued the SL range and came up with the SL-2. It's the ideal lightweight pole for working at height combining strength and rigidity whilst keeping the weight to a minimum.

I agree with Jeff & Tosh about using lightweight modular cheap poles for some residential work as opposed to telescopics. For the last 2 weeks I've been using an Emporium cheap modular, SL-2 and an Xtel hybrid pole.

Using the cheap modular pole for low work gets you thinking and planning ahead as you're window cleaning whereas with telescopics you just switch off.

The speed and ease of jobs improve vastly. It feels surreal for the first 10 mins converting from a telescopic pole to a modular and it feels like you're cheating yourself workwise because it's so easy and so little strain on the body.

Do I need to explain further?  Save your SL2 for your high work; even the manufacturers say they don't recommend it for every-day residential use (though they do qualify this by saying that some of their sub-contractors and customers swear by it).

I don't want this post to be a manufacturer versus DIY post; that wouldn't be helpfull to anyone.

I just want to show that there's a top budget pole you can easily make that's lightweight and good quality.

[matt]

the thing is tosh

some people will never try it, as it doesnt cost loads of money, its not even
possible it can work and work well

[HIGH LEVEL WINDOW CLEANERS (scrimmy)]

there will always be room for both in my opinion.....the big guys spend thousands buying and maintaining their gear and that has certain tax advantages etc so the suppliers need not worry for now, and the newbies and those on a budget get the benefit of people like tosh and jeff's experience when it comes to getting started as cheaply as possible......when peter announced his new clampless pole i was among the first to try it and source the base materials such as skyblues telescopic flagpole and i adapted it for diy use.....and it is now all the rage up here in scotland and is rated among the best domestic poles you can get....and considering you can make one up for around 25 quid its hard to beat......but as i say, the suppliers neednt worry there is always going to be the big purchaser that wants to buy the most expensive to offset his tax bill .

[gsw]

how about a picture of the pole with a couple of sections and brush setup gazza?

greg

[Wayne Thomas]

Three main advantges with a cheap emporium pole or some other DIY poles.
* it's cheap
* it's less fragile on ends than a SL-2 and it will withstand more knocks from accidentally hitting the ground and being thrown around in general.
* it comes in three foot sections which makes it ideal for working on low domestic work within confined spaces.


In time there may be a viable, commercial, market for cheap, throw away modular poles. Perhaps at a later date, Gardiner pole systems may develop a shorter version of their brilliant SL-2 pole in shorter lengths (ideally 3-4ft sections) up to 22ft but strengthen the pole using a cheap carbon glass composite to keep price to a minimum whilst maximising strength. The pole wouldn't need to be as rigid, just stronger to withstand more abuse from heavy handed window cleaners.

[Trotsky]

how about a picture of the pole with a couple of sections and brush setup gazza?

greg

Yes I am intrigued any chance of a utube vid?

[Wayne Thomas]

Just a tip, emporium pole has 6 x 3ft sections. If I need to use it higher the No.3 section of SL-2 fits nicely on the end of it to extend it further for the odd frustrating higher window or two.

[s.hughes]

Has any1 got a link to where I can see this pole?