I havent seen much written about the Kong Cobra 500 from U.S products.  I have used the machine for about a year now and figured I 'll give a little feedback if anybody interested.

I paid 3400 USD for the machine. It features 1-3 stage VAC 140" lift and 500 PSI @ 0.8 GAL/min. It has instant heat rated at 212F at wand tip. It also features a cleverly designet 25ft buildt in hose reel. 

BEST THINGS ABOUT IT:

1)Portable in the best sense, everything you need can be securely loaded on the machine inkl. hose/wand/rake/sprays, Hydroforce evolution prespayer etc. You only walk once.

2) Indicator light for seperat circuits - rarely blow any.

3) 15 GAL solution, 13recovery useally makes only one fill/dump nessecary.

3) Respectable vacumm pressure - what it got doesn't loose much through it's 25ft hose.

4) Instant heater.

5) 500 psi is more than sufficient. I usually runs it @3-400 to compensate for reduced waterflow.

NOT SO GREAT

1) Somewhat bulky for narrow hallways / tight turns - forget stairs !

2) Heater does not deliver 212 @ wand tip, and it quickly runs out of "steam" if you work to fast.  Best way to get around it is to fill tank with hot tap water - then it holds 160-175F pretty good throughout.

WHAT MAKES THIS MACHINE ROCK:

I use mine with a Green Glide attached, this in combination with hot tapwater yields amazing drytimes and cleaning results. Bottom line is that if youre looking for a very efficient system for little money then check out the Cobra.  Best regards Tom 

1-3stage man you better run 25' all the time to get the best recovery....Bulky... good psi pump but they forgot about the cfm's/lift....and the price is too high....That internal heater might not last 10months....

I had a us products cobra a long time ago...never again...p.o.s.'s......internal heater went out in 10months..under warranty and they sent another but no warranty...2 months later that went out...

sold it back to the dealer i got it from for about 1/2 what i paid...

John L - You are absolutely right about the older U.S products quality. I used to have the Ultimate II - worst peace of junk !!. This made me very reluctant to buy any other product, if it were'nt for our ServiceMaster engineer who spends all his time testing equipt. He said it was the best portable he had ever testet and that the build quality was to notch.

regarding CFM - Id love to get the number, I only have the 140" waterlift. I know that the 1-3 stage they use is bigger than most 1-3, and uses a soft start not to blow breakers. Once you run it with a glide the dry times are truly amazing. About 1 hour  - but thats in the desert part of Arizona.