1st Portable Extractor - Buying Decisions

duckcountry why don't you go find something to do ,instead of putting ur noise in peoples discussions .either help with a Real comment or keep quite

the only thing i didnt like is that i have to spend more to buy wand and extra stuff while m5 or ltd 5 come with hoses and the wand

You could get it right from Ted if you lived in Canada. Otherwise the Cross-American Jag 6.6 wont trip breakers like the M5. Jag is quieter, lighter, some say more powerful, Has APO and AF.  Seriously if i ever sold my TM the Jag would be in my

westcovina wrote: I use both Truck mount and portable. When I use the porty I really miss the high heat that the TM puts out. I would get a porty first and a TM later when you can afford it. That way you will really appreciate the TM. http://www.carpet-cleaning-west-covina.com/

Also, if you start with a portable, there are some jobs that are either a big pain in the butt (requiring 200 - 300' of hose) or just impossible (as some high rises, won't allow the doors to be propped open or hoses to hang from the balconies) that a portable works nicely on, also the portable, once/when/if, you get a truck mount makes a nice back up for the truckmount or even occasionally allow you to be a two truck/van business.

And even before upgrading to a truck mount, consider upgrading to a better portable, with fuel cost soaring higher and higher, being about to work out of a smaller van, getting better mileage as well as not burning fuel to power the machine, will add up to a large savings.... (although, sometimes a trade off for additional time spent on each location, not allowing quite as many jobs to be done in the same time, but if your just getting started, I wouldn't expect you to be TOO busy to start off.   It takes a while to build up a clientell list, and even decide which end of the business best suits, both your needs and experience level.

I think it was stated earlier on, don't under price yourself, as it's easier to give a discount/occasional sale price ofd a decent normal price, than to raise your price even a little, once your customer already have used you services, unlike gas stations that can raise theirs every other day, since nearly every other one is charging nearly the same price...   the same can't be said for carpet cleaning businesses, with prices ranging from $8 room to $40 - $50 a room, some pricing by the room, some by the square foot, some pricing by how much time they expect to be there and any other form of billing...  

for the most part, the size of the machine really doesn't matter, in that almost everyone, unless a machine has a pump out system, is still going to be emptied either into a 5 - 7 gallon bucket and/or commode or sewage drain.
   The reason for the difference in the size of fresh water and waste tank, is the difference between what you apply, what's recovered and what moisture is discharged through the vacuum blower (although a little foam from a customer or previous cleaner, can make short work of a large waste tank, filling it along with the vacuum hoses with suds)
   I've used both Truck mounted (both slide ins and direct drive units) portables and bonnet machines....  they all have their place, and choice of machines is also dependent of the type and size of jobs you expect to be doing.  Restaurants and large commercial jobs are doable with a portable, but time consuming, a helper makes a big difference, being able to pull the hoses, fill and empty the machine and basically just keeping the wand moving, the less time the wand is sitting idle, the longer the job will take.
   An auto fill and pump system is the ideal combination for a portable, making it nearly as productive as truck mount.  I'm actually working on custom building one to suit my needs, incorporating what I've seen and used, to make a small machines with the power of a larger machine, trading the size of the fresh water tank (if I decide to have one, thinking about using a mix/recirculation tank, similar to one on many truck mounts, with the option of running directly from water source or buckets of water if need be) and using 2 separately switched 3 stage vac motors, smaller jobs and lengths of hoses, one blower will do fine, unless faster drying time is wanted, or when using longer lengths of hose (100' - 200'), then the second blower can be used.
  A pump out system with a discharge hose, going to drain or out into the landscaping will save a lot of time emptying the machine, although small jobs, requiring less than one or two stops to empty, are not an issue, while the machine is emptying, I often grab another bucket of water, move the hoses and furniture (if there is any) out of the way, then turn the machine back on.  
   I plan on having roughly a 10 gallon waste tank (which will have enough space, that foam shouldn't be an issue very often) and the solution tank, should be around 5 gallons, if that.    emptying and refilling by itself, of requiring an occassional refill when water hook up is not available..... (it doesn't happen often, but it does happen)   water heater would be a nice option, but between 200+ psi pump (although 100-150 would work too) and one of the 3 stage blowers on a single cord, and the pump out and second 3 stage blower on another..... a heater would make hook ups a little more difficult

I have an older "Bison" Cheyenne, now sold by ProChem, that works ok, but doing commercial jobs (apartments) I sometimes run into smaller jobs - spot cleaning, small extraction jobs, efficiency apartments that i would sometimes prefer having a smaller more compact machine for, and for the most part, any smaller machine has less pressure to match the smaller size.   so building my own.

I picked up an older (70s or 80s) Truck Force mostly for ideas although it does work for the most part.   one blower (out of three 2 stage blowers) stopped working on it, but was still about the same as the Cheyenne with the single 3 stage blower.  But the Truck Force does have a pump out system (although the float is set too high, and it doesn't pump out until just before the machines float blocks the vacuum tube, allowing a little foam to blow through the blowers, probably "why" the first blower went bad in the first place) in addition to the pump out, it has an auto fill option, which seems to keep the fresh water tank at 1 to 2 gallons, kicking on and off as needed using only a float system, much like the water tank on a commode, no electronic crap.

I realize that money is tight at Christmas. So, why not buy a used RX-20 - $2,495.00 or used Rotovac 360 - $1,850.00 but no ribbon.

If so, 2011 will be like cleaning in heaven. Now there's a Boxing Day Special for you.
 

Why not buy the truckmount and the 360i? Now you have Utopia and will blow the competition out of the water.

P.S.
But remember that the above system will allow you to become overconfident. Some of the wealthiest carpet cleaners talk the talk without walking the walk. Some get by with personality and whatever they clean with, leaning heavy on the show-business side.

What the truckmount does is faster, better, removes maximum soil and will produce more work and profit for you over the long-term. Along with allowing you to sleep well at night knowing that you have provided the most thorough job possible.

Remember, this is coming from a truckmount salesman but also a guy who was for many years deep in the trenches with both portables and truckmounts. If I was to ever go back into the carpet cleaning business I would never think of doing it without a truckmount and a RX20 or 360i.

Merry Christmas!

Hope Santa brings you an RX-20 or a Rotovac 360i so you can effortlessly clean in the future with sheer confidence.