If $ are limited, smaller TM or used TM

[Lonewolf68]

If you're on a tighter budget but want to upgrade from a porty to a TM what would you get a smaller and lesser priced new one or would you get a used one? How many hours is too much for a TM? Slide in or other?
Thanks for any info, advice or humorous sarcasm.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Guest]

Used.

You can find reams of them used with less than 1500 hrs.
Less than 1000 hrs.
Less than 500 hrs.
Less than 200 hrs.

I wouldn't go over 1500 personally.

 

[Jayson]

Nothing wrong with a reconditioned TM to start off with or go with a smaller builder like an EZ, Cobb, Duane Oxley, and Johns @ hot heat exchange.
Lots of options to fit your budget. Don't get sucked into BUY BIG...PAY BIG on your first TM. You can save $5,000-$10,000 and get the same performance with less bells and whistles to go wrong.
Then when your ready go to a NICE PTO unit of your choice.

EDIT: 1,500 is the max I would go used it's all original. Still plenty of life at the point on the machine. My first Steamway mastermatic lasted well over 5,000hrs with little issues ( except with the heat...lol )

 

[Guest]

Well what about one of MY brand new Steam Genie PTO's..i only got two left....hurry an' avoid the last minute rush....

 

[Jim Nazarian]

Depends on the type of work you will be doing, if most of your work requires long hose runs & open areas then I would get a used machine with a big blower, if you are dong furnished residential then I would sleep better with a new machine & add a kunkle valve along with loosing a 1 1/2 whip hose & use Greenies wand.

Whats your budget?
Can you work on the machine, do you have a good mechanic close by?
Commercial work?
Tile & grout cleaning?

 

[alazo1]

I'd probably get a new smaller one like an 18hp 33 or 36 blower with propane heat (nice and simple). I'd want a high pressure LG to do tile. Maybe talk to Greenie to see which ones will take better to performance upgrades that you can do in time.

Albert

 

[Jim Nazarian]

El Diablo?

http://www.masterblend.net/info/diablo.cfm

 

[Guest]

New & Complete CCS Op Package for $3300.00?


http://store.ccsop.com/catalog/prod...d=126&osCsid=0de58ee3441878f35a2583bbb8d886da

 

[Art Kelley]

This is a question all owner-operators and managers of large operations ponder. Every truck mount is a constant monthly cost, if brand new you pay $600-1200 for a truck and machine and used you can buy someone's carpet cleaning setup for as low as a few thousand bucks and start paying for the inevitable repairs which can possibly run $10000 in a year (from my own personal experience). I still don't know the correct answer for the lowest cost/best value, but very possibly you would do well to buy a 4 year old Chevy Express with less than 35k miles and a brand new slide in or install a PTO from Bob Vwater with his Steam Genie, a machine I have found to be very reliable.

 

[Guest]

Steam Genie are da bomb......$5000.00 DOWN....no payments a month!

 

[Farenheit251]

Realize that very few people are selling a used truckmount that is trouble free. I Love it when guys tell you how wonderful the machine is but they've yanked it out of the truck and replaced w/ new. Guess they just had too much extra money. As a newbie you won't know what to look for and will probably get taken on a used machine.

 

[Larry Cobb]

Steve;

We have customers who have gone both ways.

The question is......

can you handle changing out a pressure pump on your own.

If the answer is yes, then a good used TM will usually be OK. (~$6K)

I would say a reasonable new TM is going to be $10K.

Some TM manufacturers will also have demo units with a hundred hours or so at a substantial discount (10-15%).

Talk to several vendors and pick the best offer.

Larry Cobb

 

[hogjowl]

Here is my opinion. Keep in mind that I have nothing to try to sell you. Don't know you, so I have no reason to try to fool you.

The vast majority of cleaners are, in my opinion, mainly residential and light commercial with hose runs under 150 feet. Very seldom do they need anything more than a 36 blower. There are plenty of good, simple, propane burning TM's made today that are fairly inexpensive with a 36 blower. ( That's as low as I would go. No 33 blowers for me.)

Almost every CC I have ever met is an absolute pig when it comes to taking care of their equipment. I would NEVER purchase anything used, unless I knew the cleaner personally and knew how he kept his equipment maintained. Always buy new.

In my area, I can get a really good 18 hp, 36 blower, propane unit .. new .. for around $9500. And, I am sure where you live there is somebody close that will do the same for you. Never buy long distance if you can help it. Try to get it from a fairly local supplier that you can remain loyal to, buy your chemicals from, so he will offer you good service.

PS And don't let this place, and the people posting here, talk you into buying a bunch of extra stuff that you don't need. Speaking from experience here ...

 

[Loren Egland]

Go for the most impressive looking with the most cleaning performance (heat with flow, vac, tools, etc.) in a used machine. That way you will not be second best and your pocket book will become much heavier.

Loren

 

[Matt King]

You can get a nice used Steam Genie Sizzler for 2-3K. Those Sizzler-36 units are very simple and reliable. The 45 series does well too. IF I were buying used I would look for something like that given it has a stainless waste tank, a good Onan engine and a simple LP heater. You'd also do well with many of the new 'entry level' units as stated above. It just depends on your needs and what you want to spend... Never get in over your head...

 

[Jayson]

Whats your honest budget?
What type of work are you shooting for? resi, floods, commercial?

Tell us that and I'm sure we can help you narrow down a good machine for you.

 

[Lonewolf68]

budget amount

I am looking at a range from 5K to 8K for my budget. I am looking at doing light commercial and residential. Since I am new in the biz I am unsure of doing flood work etc... Thanks for the info everyone has given.

Steve

 

[Rex Tyus]

New & Complete CCS Op Package for $3300.00?

He said "upgrade" :shock:

 

[Jayson]

Check into the PTO steam genie. For $5,000 plus install it should be right up your alley. I've read many good things about them. Keep in mind you probally need hoses, reels, floor and stair tools and an upholstery tools.
If you sourced it out right you could come in at the high end of your budget and have one sweet set up you could be proud of.
Stay away from used prochems....there's a reason so many of them are on Ebay.
I'm sure you will get flooded with Emails any second anyways with a ton of offers from some of the smaller builders. call them back and talk. You may be suprised how far they can stretch you're dollar.
At a min....get a machine with a #4 series blower. A 33 will be way to small and will limit the work you can take or make your work harder to acheive nice dry times. A 36 will do better but for the price diff a 45 or 47 will lay the smack down and be plenty for single wanding.

 

[Tony Dees]

My first unit was a used Ford E150, I installed helper springs so it didn't squat so low. The truck had 81,000 miles and I installed a NEW Baby Prochem Blazer Plus, this is the smallest Prochem makes but you can still out clean most of them out there. I spent $9000 on the truck and about $10,500 on the lease for the machine. The truck I paid cash, the lease on the machine was $289 for a 5 year.

If I had it to do again, with this small of a waste tank, 60 gals, I would opt for the external APO(automatic pump out). No matter what they say, I COULD clean Tile with this unit.

If you can't afford $500 for a monthly payment, find a new job.

Tony Dees

 

[captaincarpet]

IMHO... if you buy any #3 blower you will want to upgrade before your first year is up ( dry times are an issue unless you live in a very dry climate). If you buy a unit with a #4 blower you are set for the first 3-5 years at least and have good dry times.

Customers ask 2 questions...

#1. How Much ?

#2. How long until its dry ?

Price is negotiable, dry times are not.

 

[Duane Oxley]

How about one in very good condition with less than 500 hours on it for $4,500?

It's a Hammer. One of the last I built before the V2 systems in 2001. The guy who bought it had one too many trucks, due to a tech that quit. He started selling his trucks about a year later. If you're looking for a van, it's in a 2000 GMC 3500, with 45,000 miles on it. Very good condition. $12,000 for the package, or $,500 for the system.

21 Vanguard
#36 Roots Blower
Cat 290 w/ Clutch
220,000 BTU L.P. Boiler that can handle 10,000 PSI and delivers 240 degrees ATW @ 600 PSI, through a #6 jet or equivalent.
70 gal. recovery tank
200 ft. Hoses
3 Hose Reels
1 Double Bend Stainless Steel Wand

 

[Guest]

Buy a well maintained quality reliable truckmount. Those cheap ones are cheap for a reason.

Dave

 

[Jayson]

Buy a well maintained quality reliable truckmount. Those cheap ones are cheap for a reason.

Dave

Please give examples of quality units. Remember this guy is stepping up from a porty and seems to know little about truck mounts. PRICE is not always the judge of a quality machine. Prochem and Hydramaster slide ins are way overpriced and carry heavy repair bills with proprietary parts that will make you head spin when you see the invoice. They don't clean any better then an old Cobb, Oxley or even a EZ for that matter. Keep all the bells and whistles off the machine and put the money back into your pocket.

P.S Stay away from the Namco units. cheap price and design.

 

[Guest]

When I stepped up from a portable, I purchased a Prochem performer 405 from Magic Wand and I didn't have any problems with it. It was a real good machine.

I think whatever unit he decides to purchase, he should talk to many people that own one to see what they say their experience was.

Dave

 

[Steve in Omaha]

Steven,

Do own and use a vacuum cleaner?

If I were just starting out, need more performance out of my equipment to obstinately create more income...Would have to take a good hard look at a Steaming-demon (Sp).

Strive to keep your cost of business as low as possible in these critical beginning years of operation.

Best!

 

[Farenheit251]

I don't agree w/ keeping your operating costs as low as possible. Your biggest expense is when you are sitting home waiting for the phone to ring. In college economics they called it opportunity cost. What could you have made. You are the biggest asset in your business. Don't waste your capabilities w/ cheap undependable equipment. Spend enough to give yourself a fighting chance and then succeed or fail based on your own drive and ability.$6-8,000 sounds like a well thought out amount to me.

 

[Jay D]

I got something to sell(locally), but the unit duane is talking about sounds like a excellent value. I have a 33 blower unit pushed at 3500rpms, a 36 blower pushed at 3600 rpms and a 47 blower pushed at 3550 rpms. You can tell the difference in vac on each BUT even the 33 spinning at that rpm level will give you enough vacuum to clean well at 100 to 150 ft from the van(which is 99% of all residential). Spend your money on a used clean, nicely painted van with nice lettering and buy a good used unit or lease a new one. Your van is what the customers perception of your biz. Just get something reliable in a truckmount for your biz. A 36 blower at high rpms will clean just fine, You don't need a vortex to start out. I started with an electric t.m. for 4,000 and got a 3 year old van for 9500. I still have the van but am on the 3rd t.m., The van still runs good and looks good & is NOt a rust bucket, new plywood floors and gluedown carpet every 3-4 years and keeping it tidy keeps it nice. A BIG vortex would be nice but I don't want the payment and It does'nt Fit right now. Don't jump at the first unit, take your time. One more thing, propane or heat exchange are both reliable. Do not buy kerosene burner for your first system, they can be problematic to learn on especially if you are not mechanically inclined.( I had one, sorry loren)

Best of luck in your search,

Mister Sir

8) 8)

 

[Jayson]

The steaming demon would do nothing to help out your productivity rate over your portable. A lateral step if you may. Get a TM and never look back. Also a good 175 with pads for dual processing and those commercial jobs.

 

[Jay D]

AMEN, Jayson.