[Carpet Dawg]

Hey guys.

New machine, bought at the end of October and done only 158 hours on it. And one of its Amtech Lamb vacs has gone! right annoyed. Tried to call the supplier but obviously not working on saturdays...

Can anyone tell me why this would happen? very well looked after machine, brought in every night, vacs run for around 3 - 5 minutes at the end of each job, never sucked in water or foam and i use de-foamer a few times too when i see a build up of it. So is there anything else that can knackard these vacs?

Also, one vac motor started producing a horrible burning smell before giving up its life. Do you recon i should get both replaced?? i dont want to change one, to just then needing to change the other one in a few weeks time

p.s. i'm not silly or a newbie. Been in the buiness for 10+ years and never had a problem with the vac motors before. They usualy last me around 1.5 - 2 years with heavy use! Just want as much advice as possible.

many thanks
tony

[Tony Gill Carpet Smart]

Tony what machine is it m8

Cheers Tony

[Carpet Dawg]

Hey Tony

its a AirFlex Pro mate. Has been the best machine i have had till today lol

thanks
tony

[Carpet Dawg]

it is Clinton mate.

Just want to make doubley sure that i have not caused it in anyway. Would like to know the potential causes.
Is it possible for waste water to leak in to the vac/eletrics below? maybe the sealant is not 100% fool proof? i had a good look and seems dry and no water has gotten through (that i can see anyways)

apart from that i cant think of anything else 

[Tony Gill Carpet Smart]

Is it these machines that have a pull out exhaust If so has it been kinked causing the vacs to overheat.
Apart from that i think you have thought of most thing.
Not a lot of hours for two to be giving trouble .

Cheers Tony
ps Hi Clinton ok m8

[Carpet Dawg]

Just the one vac has died Tony. The other seems fine (well it sounds fine, i dont have a PAT tesing machine or owt)

Oh good thinking, i did look at the exhaust and that seemed brand new, Apart from black dust all over everything!

tony

[Andrew Briscoe]

Black dust, i would say the brushes have worn, and been rubbing against the aperture.

Andrew

[Carpet Dawg]

Andrew, so would it be the case of changing the brushes? is this easy to do? never done a brush change before lol

Also, is 158 hours of use not little for that type of wear?

cheers

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Also, is 158 hours of use not little for that type of wear?

I would say so Tony. I've had my Ninja for 2 years now, running on the same vacs and pump.


Steve

[Andrew Briscoe]

That would depend on any damage to the aperture (bit that spins and brushes rest against)
could of been poor brushes, or damp/water/fluff geting thru.

Changed many brushes, quite easy really, just depends on access etc.
Dont know the inside of an airflex so cant comment, i would contact supplier of machine, mind a lot use excuse that you have allowed damp/water thru, which can be hard to disprove.

Always keep lid open when not in use, to allow dry air thru, run vacs for a few minutes after use, keep waste tank empty, try not to move it with water in tank and check regularly that it dosnt get too full.
If waste holds 10 gallon, always put 8 in freshwater.
hope this helps.

Andrew

[Andrew Briscoe]

God i miss my bike 

Andrew

[Carpet Dawg]

thanks for all the replys guys. i will double check the vacs again tomorrow to see what condtion the brushes are in.

Andrew, thanks for the tips!

cheers
tony

[Andrew Briscoe]

I thought it was the armature that the brushes are in contact with

Probaly right Colin, remember i am Cumbrian, and you should know how we talk around here.

Just coz you have moved to the civilised world now 

Andrew

[Simon@arenaclean]

thanks for all the replys guys. i will double check the vacs again tomorrow to see what condtion the brushes are in.

Andrew, thanks for the tips!

cheers
tony

Flip open the case and check for dried puddles in the bottom of machine, also look up the vac stack that goes into waste tank. It will be evident if water has been pulled through by streaking. Check the large rubber seals on the top of the vacs for water marks etc. Matt is very helpful so give him a call Monday. Also as it's so easy to open up I would check inside once a week, just to give it a quick clean and check through.

[Ken Wainwright]

With anything ever built in the history of the world, problems have occured. Sometimes mechanical, sometimes electrical, sometimes through accident, sometimes through what can only be described as bad luck.

158 hours is a very short life for either carbon brushes or a quality vac motor such as Lamb/Amteck. If there is no contributory factor for the failure eg water leak or accident, then my suspicion is that you fall into the category of bad luck.

Matt has built up an excellent reputation for service, product and support. Call him on Monday. I wouldn't even bother stripping the machine to check the brushes or find a fault. You may even cause more damage or invalidate the warranty.

Safe and happy cleaning
The Ken

[Ian Gourlay]

In my opinion if its under guarantee you are entitled to new motors

They should make machines bullet proof so we do not have to worry about form or water getting on the motors

When I read the blurb it said it had be designed by some tip top designer, that would be my first critera.

But I doubt if there is any machine out there that neets it.

[Nigel_W]

Sound advice from Ken as always

If you do anything more you  are being unfair to the supplier. If no user error is apparent I am sure that Matt will remove the vac motor, replace it and take it up with the manufacturer of the Vac at no cost to you. If you fiddle around with it you are liable to end up in a squabble over whether it is covered under warranty.

Nigel
www.designcare.co.uk

[Carpet Dawg]

thanks for the advice guys! much appreciated

thanks
tony

[tony harrison]

Hi Tony,

Not aquainted with your machine but you may have a slight drip/leak from your water pump which is getting into the vac motor. It could also be caused by condensate, i.e taking the machine from cold to hot areas and water forming on the machine internals especially with the weather we have had latley.

After saying that I would tend to agree with Ken ( its just bad look ) as the hours a quite low for a new machine.

Regards Tony

[dave123]

Hi Tony
          I had the same problem with my vac on my ninja and it was a case of fluff getting into them causing the brushes to burn out (hence the burning smell ). I would get them both looked at ,because the following week the other vac went as well . Have you been dry vacuming with them ?