Rotovac cfx ranger and 360i (the ultimate Portable discussion)

Cleanworks

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The beauty of the Rotovac system is it's portability. It's a lot easier to go up and down stairs if you don't have an elevator available. The alternative is to get a high performance portable but these usually weigh a ton and you will struggle getting it up the stairs. In residential settings, you can probably keep the power unit in the kitchen and just add extra vac hose as you need it.
 

Sky

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I'm thinking about a EDIC 500psi with heater. Seems like it would be much easier to set up and start cleaning right away.
 

Sky

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It seems like everyone has a system they prefer when it comes to these portables. While I dont want to give up on it, I surely dont want to be stuck with machinery that will slow me down. Perhaps ill rent another unit and see how it works. In order to make money I need to move quickly and I don't see myself doing more than two jobs a day with current rotovac/ranger set up.
 

Cleanworks

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I use both portable and truck mounts. I don' t need to go up stairs with my portable( I use the TM for those jobs). If I had to use only one machine, I would want a portable with 500 psi at 1.5 GPM, dual 3 stage vacs and autofill/dump. Machine would have to be plumbed for 2 inch vac hose so I dont have to haul it up stairs in customer home. Machine has to be designed so that one man can move it up stairs. I use 2 cords to power the machine and 1 more for the heater. Not a problem in suites. There are jobs that are just not suitable for a portable, just as there jobs not suitable for a truck mount. I would not use a portable for houses and it's impossible to use a TM for highrises
 

Sky

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At the moment I do not have the funds for a TM so I must either stick with what I have Cfx auto pump out/ranger 1200psi or switch to another extractor like the EDIC which seems to be a lot faster to set up.
 

Sky

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Cleanworks, would you use the cfx auto fill/dump as your weapon of choice for a portibale? Would you feel confident in your ability to set up and get in and out quickly for a portible?
 

Goomer

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Yes I can exchange as I am still under the thirty day trial period.

Consider it a blessing your still within the trial period.
You need to start fresh now that you have some guidance.

Should I just try to get use to system or start fresh? I feel no matter how experienced I get that set up/breakdown time will not be easily demenished.

There is more to it than just shortening the set-up and break-down time, which I am sure you will eventually do, but it is more about the fundamentals.

Everyone who started out cleaning with a porty and a wand knows damn well they are better cleaners because of it.

A RE has no place in a newbies hands.

The first step is to become proficient with a wand, not a RE, and learn to utilize the cleaning pie.

Another important fundamental to learn when starting out is to be able to gauge how much water you are putting down and how much you are recovering, and it's something that you won't get with an auto-fill-dump-only machine if you lack experience, nonetheless when paired with a RE that the operator has no idea of how it's use can, and should be tuned to the main unit and the conditions.

It's asking for trouble for many reasons.
 
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Cleanworks

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Cleanworks, would you use the cfx auto fill/dump as your weapon of choice for a portibale? Would you feel confident in your ability to set up and get in and out quickly for a portible?
Only on large jobs would it be faster than filling a portable with a bucket. I have used autofill/dump in the past and have only had it be productive on jobs over 1000 sqft. I am lucky enough to have designed my own portable (24 gallons) that really increases my productivity on large jobs. I often fill with a hose with a tap connector. It does not go up or down stairs easily but can run 150 ft of 2 inch of vac hose. The downfall of the high performance portables is that they are not always very portable. Smaller machines lack power. The Rotovac cfx is a lot more portable and if I am not mistaken, you should be able to run 75 to 100 feet of vac hose, making it easy to set up in a central location and running enough hose to get the job done. Often in newer buildings or retroffited suites, there is no faucet to hook up to which is why you need the Ranger. Ideally, you would need 2 machines. The Cfx for houses using the autofill/dump and a high performance portable for doing suites. Set up shouldn't take so long. Doing a house, I would bring the hydro-force and wand to the door as I meet the customer. Do your walk through and let the customer know where you are going to set up the equipment and how you plan to clean the carpet. I would set up the equipment in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, which ever is more convenient. Hook up your water supply and pump out, your 2 power cords and run your pressure/vac hoses from your wand/360 from the farthest place in the home back to your equipment. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. Prespray the first few areas and start cleaning. Work your way back to your machine. Goomer makes some good points about using a wand and not knowing how much water you are removing when using a pump out. When you use a bucket, you know how many buckets you put in and how many you drained out. Gives you a good idea of your performance. Not all carpets extract the same but if you are putting 2 buckets in and only getting 1 bucket out, you need to change how you extracting, more dry strokes etc. I would hesitate to say exchange the cfx for a high performance portable mainly because you will probably struggle with stairs. You may not need to go up stairs in a house, but many have stairs just to get into the home. Small apt buildings may not have an elevator.
 

GeeeAus

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Consider it a blessing your still within the trial period.
You need to start fresh now that you have some guidance.



There is more to it than just shortening the set-up and break-down time, which I am sure you will eventually do, but it is more about the fundamentals.

Everyone who started out cleaning with a porty and a wand knows damn well they are better cleaners because of it.

A RE has no place in a newbies hands.

The first step is to become proficient with a wand, not a RE, and learn to utilize the cleaning pie.

Another important fundamental to learn when starting out is to be able to gauge how much water you are putting down and how much you are recovering, and it's something that you won't get with an auto-fill-dump-only machine if you lack experience, nonetheless when paired with a RE that the operator has no idea of how it's use can, and should be tuned to the main unit and the conditions.

It's asking for trouble for many reasons.
I agree with your sentiments but not the outcome.

I have used a Rotovac 360i on every carpet for 2 years and would in view of that experience never waste my time with separate agitation and a wand unless the carpet is very, very clean.

I can't replicate with a wand what I get with a rotary extractor.

I think giving up an RE for a disc machine / 175 is silly. The Rotovac can BE a disc machine. It weighs less to cart around for a newbie. And disc machines can't rinse carpets at all and RJE's do it better than any other device save for a claw.

They marry together improving cleaning performance, recovering soil, water and contaminants and chemicals and reducing operator effort and as a result injury.

Why make shit hard for newbies? That's not a good thing.

My advice Keep 360i you will NEVER use water more efficiently on your porty. Once you get onto a tank you want good productivity for water use. You will use more water with a wand on a porty to do less work for you than if you gave that same water to the Rotovac. FACT...

You can use a pissy 2 jet for a clean carpet and do all the hard yards up front, or you can vacuum, spot, spray, Rotovac.

When you are new you're trying to build a name, a reputation. Rotovacs serve to make your job - untouchable - by anybody else if used right. You can leave it clean and it's so good even a TM guy can come after you and get it - no better. That's GOOD for building a good name.

Keep the broadband modem (Rotovac) ditch the dialup (wand).
 
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GeeeAus

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How do you know that?
Because

1. I can't make a wand I can push back and forward over the carpet 15 - 20 times per minute, minute over minute job after job that weights down on the vacuum shoes with 12Kg of mass.

2. I can't make a wand that transfers it's spray to the carpet at literally point blank range ensuring heat transfer to the carpet itself.

3. I cannot make a wand that lets me stay in one place over a spot and continuously wand it over and over very strenuously doing nothing that does not in so doing over wet the carpet.

I cannot make a wand spin a bonnet either.
 

Goomer

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Because

1. I can't make a wand I can push back and forward over the carpet 15 - 20 times per minute, minute over minute job after job that weights down on the vacuum shoes with 12Kg of mass.

2. I can't make a wand that transfers it's spray to the carpet at literally point blank range ensuring heat transfer to the carpet itself.

3. I cannot make a wand that lets me stay in one place over a spot and continuously wand it over and over very strenuously doing nothing that does not in so doing over wet the carpet.

I cannot make a wand spin a bonnet either.

You also know this because you have used a wand enough to be proficient with it and know what it can and cannot do, and have the data to compare it to a RE.

You learned your fundamentals and became aware pushing your wand and Bissell.

This guy, no offense, hasn't gotten past his cord issues.

You can't start out by jumping right over the fundamentals.

No valid reason he should.
 
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Oreck OP says otherwise Frankie... Nah nah, I hear where your coming from, but quite frankly I'd rather learn on a RE and not a wand... Call me lazy, Ain't nobody got time for that...
 
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Goomer

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Oreck OP says otherwise Frankie... Nah nah, I hear where your coming from, but quite frankly I'd rather learn on a RE and not a wand... Call me lazy, Ain't nobody got time for that...

But you wouldn't learn what is most important.

I love my Oreck..........:biggrin:
 

GeeeAus

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You also know this because you have used a wand enough to be proficient with it and know what it can and cannot do, and have the data to compare it to a RE.

You learned your fundamentals and became aware pushing your wand and Bissell.

This guy, no offense, hasn't gotten past his cord issues.

You can't start out by jumping right over the fundamentals.

No valid reason he should.
Not really. i used a wand for 2 weeks until i got my 360i. I nearly went home and got the Bissell. That has a brush roll inside the spray housing. The Big Green with the brush roll tore out traffic lanes better than my brand new porty with dual jet AW29 wand that cost me thousands. I felt sick when I got to wanding my first job with the new machine and the traffic lane just stays there. It doesn't move. So I realise I am going to have to use my really suds persistent spotter to get it out but rinsing it is going to take forever. I nearly went home for the Bissell.

Finished up.. got straight onto somebody who was selling one and bought it. Needed a bit of work so I scrubbed and wanded for two weeks.

First job with the Rotovac and it was absolutely - obvious - to me ALL carpets should be cleaned this way.. So thats what I sell. Just... recently I have started using Bonzer as well. But on something remotely shitty on a porty I still pull out the 360i. Just kills it.

Lets Help @Sky Save themselves some trouble here. Lets do the power steering instead. It's 2017.
 
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GeeeAus

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Ride the Carpet Harley.:headbang:

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Sky

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I love the rotovac and don't want to rid myself of it. I understand Goomers point of view very well.
 

GeeeAus

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Always Plug In BEHIND you and work backward. Learn to walk like a crab. Side to side to side step back. side to side to side step back.
 
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