Rebuilding my Vortex's

[ronbeatty]

In July 2007 I ordered my first Vortex from my local distributor. I had it built with a layout that would be efficient for our business. I ordered the second truck in December 2007.The first 18 months were relatively problem free except for the gasket falling off the waste tank lid. In December of 2008 I had a blower start to knock and leak oil.

I contacted an authorized Tuthill dealer who was able to repair the blower and get the truck back in use. In February 2008 I had a second blower failure; it was on the newer unit. We tried to figure out what was causing the failure of the blowers. The drive pulleys were out of alignment and the blower was set on an angle. The angled installation was unusual and not to factory installation specification. I ordered and paid for new cradles from Blueline and installed them to try to correct the blower failure problem.

I ran the trucks for eighteen and twenty months, respectively, and the blowers both started leaking oil out of the shaft seals again.

I sent the first blower out to have it rebuilt which cost me $1100.00; when it came back, I reinstalled it and started using the unit again. The blower in the second unit started to lose oil,

so I decided to send it to a different vendor for inspection. The finding from the second vendor is as follows: “The fabricated feet bent out causing the blower to be in a bind. The bearing and bearing bores are fretted from the stress. This put the seals on the drive end in a bind causing the internal seal on the drive rotor to start leaking”. After I received the evaluation, I noticed a whine on the recently rebuild blower so I removed the back bolt on the manufacturers fabricated leg to relieve any pressure on the blower casing. The noise stopped.

I am now in the process of repairing the trucks to correct these major design flaws. The heat from the blower exhaust caused the legs to warp.

The reason for this post is to help others repair issues that have taken me 3 1/2 years and a lot of downtime and lost income to resolve. Bill Bruders stated on this board that Sapphire Scientific would continue to support the units they built. That has not been the case. I emailed him on 10/6/10 to voice my concerns of using this blower on a new unit they are developing. My concerns were ignored. I have emailed their engineering dept on 10/13/10 and 10/25/10 with no response. I ordered a tensioner pulley on 11/14/10, was told it would be shipped 11/15/10, did not receive it until 11/23/10 and they still had the nerve to charge me overnight fees.
I have only been able to survive these issues by help from suppliers that did not receive any income from these purchases, but were willing to help me get them resolved. Carefully consider who you purchase equipment from, and their commitment to your success

 

[Mikey P]

Vortex is once again owned by Shawn York(at least that's what I read in the court transcripts that Shawn showed me)



I guess York should have let them keep the company cause you be fooked now



as we all are. :shock:



Thanks Shawn!

 

[ronbeatty]

Mike, These changes have nothing to do with Shawn, these design changes were made by two of Sapphires Scientific's current management team, Tom Fielding and Mark Loften.

 

[The Magician]

You should have caught that mistake when you first purchased the Vortex. Very obvious. Did you notice the very low rating Sapphire had on the polls??

 

[Mikey P]

I understand that Ron, but what can SS do now that Shawn owns Vortex again?

Legally that cant touch your stuff anymore..


Didn't you tell me once that SS gave you 6 grand worth of Dri Eaz stuff to help with your loss on those machines?


btw, Mark and Thom are NOT in any form of management @ SS.

 

[ronbeatty]

Mike the equipment that was given in response to the first set of issues is sitting in my building and as you have noticed is for sale. You can't eat equipment. And you know as well as I do that Tom and Mark own part of Sapphire. Watch who you cuddle up to, they might bite.

 

[Mikey P]

damn and Bill is a half decent spooner too.


thanks for the advice though Ron

 

[Dave Rampage]

Maybe AT can help you. I haven't had any problems with mine yet and it's an 05.

 

[ronbeatty]

Dave, One of the companies that has been a big help is Aerotech. Vlad has answered a lot of questions. My mistake was not buying the bigger style truck it was who I bought it from. I read an article in the paper today, Ford Motor Company recalled the aerostar van and gave there customers a 2010 SUV to drive till they got the parts made to repair them. Wouldn't that be a novel idea for customer support. My next new vehicle will be a Ford.

 

[Dave Rampage]

Good luck to you Ron.

Dave

 

[Mikey P]

Ron

I'm not poking fun or taking sides on your situation..
Just merely sulking in the reality that you and I both share.


or beloved Vortexes are now officially extinct.



get out your ronco pocket tig welder..



I told Shawn over and over to not **** with SS and their would be a job there for him. Undoubtedly they would still be offering parts and services for us and we'd move onto new designs someday


now we got yet another past manufacturer who never wants to hear the V word again.


It would be my strong suggestion that you not wear out your welcome with any company in this every shrinking industry.

 

[bob vawter]

if you girls wern't so afraid of breaking a nail....
you'd be fixing them yorsefs......

lefty-loosee!

 

[sam gm]

Thankyou ron for your post. What was the reason for mounting the blower at an agle in the first place?. So was the blower a defect from the beginning.
I have an 8,000 Q And been happy with it so far. Im keeping a close eye on everything , especially the blower. Kevin at saffire is great, I use to talk to tom F. at first when I was negotiating but found Kevin to be more helpfull, Since he was part of the build for the 8000 Q. Ive alwys wandered though why they didnt go with a new style blower after all those changes or mabey theres just nothing else out there.
good luck with your units.
Thanks again for your post.

Sam

 

[ronbeatty]

Sam, On the 7000 HAT and the 8000Q the blower has a heat exchanger. On the 8000Q it is under the cover. You need to clean that exchanger every 6 months. Blueline never told me that cleaning that exchanger was needed. I would imagine the first failure of the blowers was caused by the oil from the blower getting pushed onto the coils in that exchanger.

 

[ronbeatty]

Bob, You mean like this!!!!!!!

More pictures to follow next week.

 

[bob vawter]

ya ..that's what i'm talking about!
i'm thinkin' that changin' belts ar a real B&*%$!!!!

 

[dealtimeman]

I understand that Ron, but what can SS do now that Shawn owns Vortex again?

Legally that cant touch your stuff anymore..


Didn't you tell me once that SS gave you 6 grand worth of Dri Eaz stuff to help with your loss on those machines?


btw, Mark and Thom are NOT in any form of management @ SS.

:shock: 6000 of $200,000.00 plus dollars man it seems like that would make it all better!

I would be pissed and do something about it. Remember Ron you bought those from sapphire/ blueline not from Shawn. I think it is court time, and time to lawyer up again.

 

[ronbeatty]

Michael, Getting them running the way they should have from day one is my first concern. Then helping anyone else in the same position. Then we will see where it goes from there. It would be ideal if Sapphire would stand up and take full responsibility for the equipment that was built, by the company that they now own.

 

[Eric Scofield]

I can't get enough of this Vortex drama. So im starting a new board VORTEX DRAMA.COM, comingsoon

 

[Mike Draper]

My buddy who owns an AT called me the other day. He said he needed a tune up on his AT. Told me that AT is swamped building new AT's and repairing V's. AT told him they have 11 trucks to get done before the end of the year, after that they could do a tune up on his truck.

 

[Mikey P]

My buddy who owns an AT called me the other day. He said he needed a tune up on his AT. Told me that AT is swamped building new AT's and repairing V's. AT told him they have 11 trucks to get done before the end of the year, after that they could do a tune up on his truck.

yeah.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

AT's backed up with an order for pinball machines...

 

[Vincent Feehan]

I almost bought a V in 07. Thank heaven I stuck with my Prochem 650 and Vortex box on a chevy WT chasis...

Merry X-Mas guys,

Vince

 

[Mikey P]

No kidding Vince


merry holidays to you too!

 

[ronbeatty]

Ron

I'm not poking fun or taking sides on your situation..
Just merely sulking in the reality that you and I both share.


or beloved Vortexes are now officially extinct.



get out your ronco pocket tig welder..



I told Shawn over and over to not ACE with SS and their would be a job there for him. Undoubtedly they would still be offering parts and services for us and we'd move onto new designs someday


now we got yet another past manufacturer who never wants to hear the V word again.


It would be my strong suggestion that you not wear out your welcome with any company in this every shrinking industry.

Mike, To reply to your last statement, I could care less if I "wear out my welcome" with a company, the fact is I paid Blueline Mfg./ Sapphire Scientific BIG money for a piece of equipment that should have ran well for 8 to 10 years. I will buy equipment from a company that is willing to satisfy my requirements, if they won't, I will find one that will.

 

[Mikey P]

That company just may get bought up by SS is all I'm saying..

 

[ronbeatty]

Then after all I have learned, I will build my own. I couldn't do any worse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mikey P]

I think you of all people SHOULD build their own.

 

[ronbeatty]

Thank you, I will take that as a compliment, I think :?: :roll: !gotcha!

 

[sam gm]

Ron, are you cleaning the fins or inside the coils or both.