GeneMiller
Member
The Good
The machine has lots of suction and can easily keep up with two zippers running. It also has an endless supply of heat. Because of the unique design of the thermal well it preheats the water with radiant heat from the exhaust. It has been flawless in starting and runs very smooth and quiet. It’s only 3 decibels quieter than my previous machine but its deeper and sounds much quieter. Closing the garage door drops the sound even more, which wasn’t true on my previous machine.
It burns less fuel than my briggs and propane burner setup but gives better heat and vacuum. Because of the way they set up the airflow the machine stays cool even in the tropical environment of south Florida. You can place your hand just above the thermal well and feel nice cool air from the radiator fan. Definitely not true with my past two machines which were basically giant heat sinks.
The bad.
Because it heats water so quickly and efficiently the bypass is almost always open. I bypass the water back to my 200 gal tank but its designed to go to the waste tank. You can expect to fill your waste tank about every 3 rooms. You definitely will need a pump out if you go that route. I heard they solved that problem but have yet to see it offered.
I also have a problem with the belt slipping on the pump. I have not been able to source the reason nor has my supplier. The pulley appears to be aligned perfectly and has 0 wobble . The belt is way to tight, much tighter than the Tremco 870 , which doesn’t slip, even when pushed to the max. I replaced the belt and cleaned all of the pulleys to no avail. I did recently notice a small leak near the pump. It is possible that it’s somehow getting to the belt causing the problem. I don’t see any evidence of it but I’ll replace the cracked fitting and we will see. I think it should have a simple automotive belt tensioner. Typically this style of belt does.
There was no oil drain, but i solved that problem for $35. It should of come that way.
My other issue, which bothers me the most, is the rust starting on the front. At 3 months I noticed some yellow discoloration which I wiped off. At 6 months I saw it again and put on my glasses. It’s rust. I know it’s not a problem unique to mine because I saw it on the Tremco unit, which is newer. Down the road I’ll have to pull the front and sand blast it and redo it.
My final thoughts.
I would still buy this unit again. It’s well built and should last a long time. I’ve never run a Ford industrial motor so time will tell. I’m only running synthetic oil and I use motorcrafts filters. I still change it every 200 but could probably stretch the synthetic to 1000hrs.
The machine has lots of suction and can easily keep up with two zippers running. It also has an endless supply of heat. Because of the unique design of the thermal well it preheats the water with radiant heat from the exhaust. It has been flawless in starting and runs very smooth and quiet. It’s only 3 decibels quieter than my previous machine but its deeper and sounds much quieter. Closing the garage door drops the sound even more, which wasn’t true on my previous machine.
It burns less fuel than my briggs and propane burner setup but gives better heat and vacuum. Because of the way they set up the airflow the machine stays cool even in the tropical environment of south Florida. You can place your hand just above the thermal well and feel nice cool air from the radiator fan. Definitely not true with my past two machines which were basically giant heat sinks.
The bad.
Because it heats water so quickly and efficiently the bypass is almost always open. I bypass the water back to my 200 gal tank but its designed to go to the waste tank. You can expect to fill your waste tank about every 3 rooms. You definitely will need a pump out if you go that route. I heard they solved that problem but have yet to see it offered.
I also have a problem with the belt slipping on the pump. I have not been able to source the reason nor has my supplier. The pulley appears to be aligned perfectly and has 0 wobble . The belt is way to tight, much tighter than the Tremco 870 , which doesn’t slip, even when pushed to the max. I replaced the belt and cleaned all of the pulleys to no avail. I did recently notice a small leak near the pump. It is possible that it’s somehow getting to the belt causing the problem. I don’t see any evidence of it but I’ll replace the cracked fitting and we will see. I think it should have a simple automotive belt tensioner. Typically this style of belt does.
There was no oil drain, but i solved that problem for $35. It should of come that way.
My other issue, which bothers me the most, is the rust starting on the front. At 3 months I noticed some yellow discoloration which I wiped off. At 6 months I saw it again and put on my glasses. It’s rust. I know it’s not a problem unique to mine because I saw it on the Tremco unit, which is newer. Down the road I’ll have to pull the front and sand blast it and redo it.
My final thoughts.
I would still buy this unit again. It’s well built and should last a long time. I’ve never run a Ford industrial motor so time will tell. I’m only running synthetic oil and I use motorcrafts filters. I still change it every 200 but could probably stretch the synthetic to 1000hrs.
my belt only slips when I push it above 1000
