Sandia Sniper

Hey everyone, I'm new here, but have been lurking around here and read just about all the posts in the Portables section over the last two weeks  I haven't found the answer I was looking for, but was hoping I could get it from someone here.

I'm new to carpet cleaning and am looking to get started with a portable unit. I've gone to my local distributor to look/try various models and read up on them here/online. Originally I wanted to get a Ninja 500PSI with heat, but the salesman at my local distributor tried to talk me out of it. He claims I only need around 200PSI for carpet cleaning. He says unless I'm cleaning tile, there is no need for high PSI, and if I were cleaning tile I'd want something with 1000PSI +. Apparently anything over 350PSI will saturated the carpet enough that a portables vacuum won't suck all the water back up making it longer for the carpet to dry. Perhaps high pressure with a truck mount is okay because the vacuums are stronger, but that is just my best guess.

One thing I didn't like about the Ninja is that the buttons were on the bottom side, prone to getting shut off when the unit moved. Didn't like that so I started looking for something with recessed buttons. After looking around at various models I was worried about the amps associated with running two cords for the heater so I was watching the amp draw. Most homes around my area are newer and have 20 amp circuits.

I came across the Sandia Sniper extractors and was wondering what anyone has to say about them. Whether they are good or bad, I want to hear what you have to say. I know the vacs run in series and not parallel, and I know that's not the best thing, but is there anything else I should be worried about? I read a post on here about the float dying after about 6 months and water getting under the vacs. I don't know if that was just a fluke unit or if that's the norm.

I was lucky to get a barely used Rotovac (used once, guy died and his sons was selling his stuff off for cheap) and I plan to use it for restorative cleaning only in residential homes. With 6 jets I can imagine it uses a ton of water and thus the heat is useless? Am I right or wrong? Either way I still want heat because if I clean commercial locations or glue down carpet I'll have to use a regular wand to get the stains out.

Sorry for the long post, but I just want to make sure the Sandia Sniper is decent before I buy it and find out it isn't good.

Kleenrite makes a good 2 cord heater. If you stick to lower pressures, the heat will be great. Mine works really well at about 350. So well in fact, I just bought another one.

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I really appreciate it. So do you really think I should consider another extractor over the Sandia? I just don't want to get something that is going to cause problems down the road, I don't mind spending more on the extractor if it will last and save me down time.

Also will a dual two stage vac be less prone to tripping breakers over a dual 3 stage vac? Looks to me like the dual 3 stage would get more water out (more waterlift) but looks like it would also be more prone to tripping breakers.

Thanks again for everyone's help. I just wanted to let everyone know that I decided to not order the Sandia and went with a Mytee instead. I ordered it earlier this week and it should be here Tuesday. The vacs on the Mytee are parallel and do not run in a series so that's good.



Edited by luvsnow - 11/October/2008 at 10:21am

I found the rotovac uses so much water that the inline heater never gets a chance to do any good.  Standard wands on the other hand, inline heaters do seem to make a difference.

My own experience tells me to start with the hottest water possible and doing the same with the prespray.  With a rotovac and a porty I would recommend an auto-fill for sure with an auto-dump.  Of course if you love carrying buckets, forget the auto-anything.

My two cents.

I picked up my Mytee today and am excited to give it a try tomorrow. I read the instructions and I have to do pretty much what I figured I had to do, all the way down to priming the pump.

Only thing I'm disappointed in is the fact that it does not have a pressure gauge like I thought it did. I guess I will just have to play around with the regulator to see how far I have to turn it to lower the pressure significantly.

I do have two questions that I'm hoping someone could answer for me:

As I said before, I did purchase a used Rotovac Powerwand. I plan to use this the most, unless the carpet is commercial glue down etc. The Mytee did come with a 12" wand but it has a brush attatched to the front of it. I've never seen a wand like this before and I doubt it is to scrub or agitate the carpet becuase you have to angle the wand up really high to get it to touch the carpet, yet the vac head from the wand will still touch the floor if you elevate the wand. Anyone know what this brush is for? It even has a black cord going to it from the handle, but it is in no way connected to the solution hose.

I want to get glides for the 12" wand but don't know what brand it is (came with the mytee). Can I just use any 12" glides  on the wand or must I find ones made specifically for the wand? I'd like to get a glide for the 10" stair wand as well.

I know with air compressors the quick connects are only good with ones from the same company. Is this true with carpet cleaning ones or are they universal? I want to know before I buy some.

Thanks again for everyone's help. I really am learning a lot from this forum!