Portable questions for the newbies
Printed From: Carpet Cleaning Forum
Category: Carpet Cleaners Discussion
Forum Name: Portable Carpet Steam Cleaning Machines
Forum Description: Discuss anything relating to portable carpet cleaning machines
URL: https://www.kleenkuip.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4166
Printed Date: 29/April/2024 at 7:04am
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Topic: Portable questions for the newbies
Posted By: safety1910
Subject: Portable questions for the newbies
Date Posted: 04/September/2007 at 12:47pm
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Hello All, I am specifically interested in speaking with the newbies who have just gotten into the business and bought a portable. What is your experience so far? Also, what has it been like pulling a porty into a customer's house? What are their reactions? How do you fill it up, empty it, etc? How about heat? Getting good heat with your porty?
Thanks, Dan ------------- Dan |
Replies:
Posted By: Ed Valentine
Date Posted: 04/September/2007 at 12:51pm
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Although I love this subject, I am not allowed to comment and mention any truthful experiences.
Just can't do it. The very best; Ed Valentine cross-american corp. |
Posted By: Jeff Van Buren
Date Posted: 04/September/2007 at 7:16pm
| Portys are tricky moving up and down stairs room to room, however go to crossamerican.com great units long hose runs, many people leave right in the van, good product great suport, and I'll bet you won't read one bad thing about them from anyone that owns one.Enough said! I'm impressed with mine after owning 3 different manufactures units in the past. Your welocme Ed! |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 04/September/2007 at 7:26pm
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Obviously, I'd recommend the same thing as Jeff, above. Not only for the reasons mentioned, but also because of the damage the machine can do to floors and furnature. Just try rolling a machine over a small object or a cord on a wood floor and tell me what happens. ALso, your customer doesn't want you in the house all day, going into rooms you don't belong in to get water. I just cleaned the carpet in my own home yesteday with an old Castex. I brought it inside, and what a big pain it was!! I ended up going back to get the boosters and leaving it outside. Also, I'd forgotten how much harder it is to do residential carpet than most commercial carpet. It's a workout, and I intend to remain spoiled.
(Btw, I don't own one of Ed's machines, so I have nothing to gain by recommending them. I've studied them, and I think they're fantastic.) ------------- Ken Harris Nov 08: "This will cause oil to rise to near $100 by the end of November. It stays up there to about the end of February. Better save this so you know who told it to you first." |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 05/September/2007 at 12:44am
| One more thing. You asked about heat. There are all sorts of electric and propane contraptions that take care of that. It's not a problem at all. There are also devices that will empty an fill the machine for you, and tanks to hold the water. |
Posted By: Ream57
Date Posted: 05/September/2007 at 10:45pm
I've had my porty for about 4 months and mine doesn't even have a heater, I have been getting great results... when i fill it up i use hot water and it seems to stay hot for 30 mins or longer, by that time I'm reloading water anyway so it doesn't matter, but I also use a rotovac wand, so I give credit to that too, aswell as my chemicals, I use a good prespray too... I think different things work for different people, I would like to upgrade to a truckmount in the future, but for now I'm fine, no complaints from my customers at all, and my customers are usually wowed by the size of my porty, they think its this big machine that only professionals use, which is for the most part true... plus having the rotovac wand never hurts when it comes to 1st impressions with my customers, thats usually the first thing I bring through the door that way they can see from the beginning that this ain't no regular hoopty doopty cleaning.....I mean business.  ------------- I got money in the bank, but E on the tank. |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 05/September/2007 at 11:47pm
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Ream57, Yeah, the agitation of the Rotovac and good chemicals would compensate for a lot of things. Btw, how many vacuums does your porty have? |
Posted By: Ream57
Date Posted: 07/September/2007 at 8:36pm
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My porty has 2 vacuums ------------- I got money in the bank, but E on the tank. |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 07/September/2007 at 9:21pm
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Just 2 What the hell good is that when others are running 12 vacs?? ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 07/September/2007 at 9:25pm
| Why stop at 12? |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 07/September/2007 at 9:29pm
Thanks, I was curious how well a Rotovac works with a porty. You obviously like it. |
Ream57 wrote:Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 07/September/2007 at 11:27pm
| Hay Reamer.. What brand porty do you have? |
Posted By: Ream57
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 12:13am
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I have a Mytee 1000, the only problem I have is that is leaves the carpet wet too long ------------- I got money in the bank, but E on the tank. |
Posted By: cmaster
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 12:41am
Use a Greenglide and do more dry passes  ------------- 
The STD Meter |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 5:50am
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You can upgrade those vac motors pretty easily, too. Two good 3-stage motors will increase your waterlift by about 25%, and your cfm by about 4%. If you add a third motor or a booster (in parallel), you'll have a cfm increase of 50%.
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Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 7:47am
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Put smaller jets on yur wand?? ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: stevnlevine
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 12:19pm
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I bought a MYTEE in late June. It has dual 2 stage vacs, 200PSI w/Heat. The promised CFM, is 200. So far I have had few problems using it.
Yes it is a PIA "schlepping" all the stuff into people's homes. But I find I can get in ,and out in under 2 hours on average. My biggest problem has been blowing breakers when I attempt using both heaters in older homes.
Also I have been worried a few times about using customer's foul smelling well water, in my machine.So far no one has had a problem with me using their tub or outdoor spigots to draw water.
After my first week and 10 jobs. I started to understand the mantra "BUY A TRUCKMOUNT"! But I got into business for a fraction of what a TM will eventually cost me.
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Posted By: Ed Valentine
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 2:12pm
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A small "Generic" clarification:
1. ALL TM's are GREAT = a generic statement. 2. ALL Portables are the same = a generic statement It is interesting how we sometimes speak in --generalities--- trying to be: specific. Hummm. Name held by request. |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 7:53pm
There are advantages and disadvantages to every system. The expense of maintaining a porty is pennies compared to a TM.
Given that you're using a Rotovac, which leaves more water, I'd consider a booster if I were you.
------------- Ken Harris Nov 08: "This will cause oil to rise to near $100 by the end of November. It stays up there to about the end of February. Better save this so you know who told it to you first." |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 11/September/2007 at 12:41pm
Steven.. I started long ago with 2-2 stage and 100psi and used it for 10 yrs...No heat..  Went through 4 portables..!! Your time will come..
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Posted By: Ream57
Date Posted: 12/September/2007 at 3:28pm
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What is a booster and where do I get it? Is it expensive?? ------------- I got money in the bank, but E on the tank. |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 12/September/2007 at 7:01pm
| You can rig your own if you buy a vacuum and hook it up to your machine internally or through the lid. Of course there's the option of buying one that is made by a professional, and it will also be useful for other things. See link http://cross-american.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=10&osCsid=d8381e59fea6fe4db2f86fe62bdf4192 - http://cross-american.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=10&osCsid=d8381e59fea6fe4db2f86fe62bdf4192 |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 12/September/2007 at 8:02pm
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I believe this is Teds rig your own...>>
http://imageshack.us">
 http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=519&i=boosterbox05jn4.jpg">  |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 13/September/2007 at 12:16am
| Sweet! |
Posted By: checkmate
Date Posted: 13/September/2007 at 8:26am
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Portable machines are not ideal for doing residential carpet cleaning. I have two carpet ninjas and they work great for commercial cleaning. I do not advertise to residential consumers. But, every so often a commercial customer will ask that I come out to there house and clean there carpet. I have done this many times and never had a problem, but they know right up front that I will be bringing my portable.
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Posted By: Ed Valentine
Date Posted: 13/September/2007 at 8:58am
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Checkmate;
"Portable machines are not ideal for doing residential carpet cleaning. I have two carpet ninjas" _______________________________________________________ A very interesting comment I must say. I can see that you "asummingly" put ALL PORTABLES into one category of a squirt & suck generic machine........right????? I think I have l-o-n-g proven your theory/comment wrong in some interesting with very l-o-n-g success. Sorry. Ed Valentine cross-american corp. |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 13/September/2007 at 9:54am
Checkmate.. You haven't got enough "In the field" experience.! Ed sure nailed it right.. I did well with 4 different portables for many years.. With nice results..
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Posted By: Jeff Van Buren
Date Posted: 13/September/2007 at 11:05am
| I have one of Ed's cross american machines after having 3 different ones and find its in a class by itself. No having to lug upstairs,room to room. Will allow long hose runs, plenty of CFM and adjustable PSI to 500. I added a glide to my wand and have excellent dry times and great cleaning power 60% of my business is residential |
Posted By: checkmate
Date Posted: 13/September/2007 at 11:13am
| I know all about the sucess that you have had using portables in the residential sector John. All I am saying is that if I was in the residential carpet cleaning business, I would want a truckmount machine. Like I said before, I have done lots of houses, even know I dont advertise to do so. I personaly dont like bringing my machine up and down stairs or looking for plugs and carring buckets of water across the house and dumping it in there tolit or bushes. Not only that if I had five houses to do in a day I would not want to be loading and unloading a machine in and out of my van. Then there is the physiological factor, you and I both know that a portable machine will do just as good as a job as a truckmount, but if carpet cleaning company "a" is advertising that they use the big fancy butler system and carpet cleaning company "b" is advertising that they are using the deluxe Ninja 500 with heat. We both know who will get the job first. |
Posted By: Ed Valentine
Date Posted: 13/September/2007 at 11:53am
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Checkmate;
Although I know what you are trying to say, I disagree with the generic way you have stated it. You don't know about "Other" options that Jeff had tried to convey. Anyways, the very, very best to you; Ed Valentine |
Posted By: toolman
Date Posted: 14/September/2007 at 4:18pm
Well I have been running my business for about 6 months now with a portable, and I have to say it is a little bit of a pain at first moving in and out of customers homes but it get easier every time. I have cleaned lots of carpets since I started and I have not had one complaint yet. I always focus on taking my time to assure the carpet dries fast. I have even had some customers tell me that I have done a better job then the last guy who had a truck mount. I am not saying that a portable does a better job because I have never had the chance to try one, but I really believe that if you rush your job then the results will show. |
Posted By: Michael
Date Posted: 19/September/2007 at 10:10pm
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I've been working with a Ninja paired with an RX-20 for the last couple of years. For the convenience and power, I'd rather have a truckmount. Easier to set up and it takes less time to do a good job. I haven't been able to justify the cost of a tm yet, though. Every now and then, someone will ask about tm's, etc. I shift the focus to the RX-20 and the post-bonnet. The van looks good, we look good, the equipment looks good, the carpet looks good. If they have a bad impression seeing the porty, the other stuff redeems us. The heat's really good. It seems better now than it was in the first few months. Don't know why. Maybe it needed to be broken in? I get water from a utility sink, kitchen sink, tub, or hose. I use a clean jug and transfer it to the machine. I prefer to start with hot water so the heater doesn't take as long to do its thing. |
Posted By: Robert_EcoDry
Date Posted: 19/September/2007 at 11:33pm
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As Michael said, it's all about making a good impression. Show the customer you're a professional and you know what you're doing, and no one will say "boo" to you. As for customers who specifically ask; that's a tricky bit of salesmanship: Customers equate TM with "power" and you need to sell them on 1. "My system is very effective and efficient." 2. "We are thorough and professional." 3. "We guarantee the quality of our work." If a customer on the phone asks if I have a truckmount, I emphasize those three points, and also tell them about our use of an RX-20, and how we're not relying on mere pressure and suction to effectively clean the carpet- we're THOROUGH, as the RX-20 allows us to be. Remember you're also selling YOURSELF, not just a process. Oh, we've had three people smirk and comment on the "Ninja" sticker on the side of our portable. I swear I'm going to take that thing off... ------------- www.Eco-Dry.net "Safe for your family, pets and the environment." info@eco-dry.net |
Posted By: In19944
Date Posted: 11/October/2007 at 2:25pm
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I own a cc business and was thinking of buying a generator for my porty so I could have both options of taking the porty inside or keeping it out in the trailer and using more hose. That way the customer doesn't even have a chance to see if it's a porty or tm and I could also do my own 3 story apt. contracts w/out dragging the porty up 3 flights. Is it even possible to use a generator on a heated porty??????(it's a u.s. products HP 300)Thanks |
Posted By: Jeff Van Buren
Date Posted: 11/October/2007 at 2:40pm
| Depends if your PSi and CFM will make the distance strong enough I had a King Cobra 1200 and it would only run 25' my recoil can run 100+ foot so yes many recoil owners leave in van and have generators |
Posted By: FriendlyHammer
Date Posted: 12/October/2007 at 1:06am
You're going to need vacuum boosters with that machine. You'll also have to test the longer solution hose to see if you like the output of the wand jets. |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 13/October/2007 at 12:05am
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Any portable running 100' I would add a booster.. You are losing so much when you run these long hoses on portables without booster.. I've been there done that on every carpet install variety..
They are not made for long runs.. Not enough lift..
You sure wont get 1hr dry times.. unless you add air movers.. post pad..
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