RX 20 vs rotovac 360I

[Steamin McFadden]

I ONLY have 3 questions for those who have experience with both machines,

if you had a real dirty carpet , (say 4 room and hall, empty) and it took you 3 hours to clean with a rotovac,

1) how long would that same carpet have taken if you used a RX 20 instead?
2) would the results have been the same or better?
3) would the dry time be better or worse?


Thank you!.

 

[John Olson]

I ONLY have 3 questions for those who have experience with both machines,

if you had a real dirty carpet , (say 4 room and hall, empty) and it took you 3 hours to clean with a rotovac,

1) how long would that same carpet have taken if you used a RX 20 instead? Same
2) would the results have been the same or better? Same
3) would the dry time be better or worse? Worse


Thank you!.

see above

 

[Steamin McFadden]

I did , and noticed a fly on my celling, thanks for the heads up, got it squashed.

 

[juniorc82]

I owned both. Kind of wonder why a 4 room empty would be given 3hours of time on the schedule but hey different strokes I guess. I have to say the only advantage I can recall to a 360i over my rx is that its a lot lighter and I was more likely to grab it and drag it upstairs if need be where as the rx 20 requires a full blown commitment to bust it out because its so heavy. But this is also a good thing because I have no doubt the rx will last ten years where as the 360i was beat to hell after 9 months . the rx 20 has a stronger motor which plows through the carpet harder than the little puny 360 motor and cleans faster. I clearly remember the 360 taking longer than the rx . plus you can use the rx on commercial more than you can the 360. I would never buy a 360 again. If I had to buy a rotary in that price point I would roll the dice on the hoss

 

[Jay_wat]

I have never used the 360,, but have used a rx for many years,, and as stated,, it is a beast,, but gets the job done and can last,, now I'm using a hoss,, and not looking back,, hoss is much easier to lug around,, and does a great job of cleaning on both resi and comm work, no issues with dry times.

 

[Art Kelley]

I can't say this is a fair comparison because I only have experience with the old style slow RX-20 which I used fore a year and put away into my cellar 20 years ago, but the RX never replaced the cleaning ability ((and speed) of my 175 wand combo and I so wanted it to. The 360i however, not only cleans better than the wand/175 combo, it's a pleasure to use. The 360i definitely blows the old style RX-20 out of the water in cleaning ability and since it's half the weight of that old boat anchor it' gets used every day. For those who say the motor won't last like the RX, mine is over two years old and used every day, the motor runs cool, I use it also with a bonnet head and pad or bonnet for super convenient scrubbing or encapping. Of course the RX will outlast it; it sits in my cellar and will work after I die and my wife disposes of it.

 

[Jim Martin]

I ONLY have 3 questions for those who have experience with both machines,

if you had a real dirty carpet , (say 4 room and hall, empty) and it took you 3 hours to clean with a rotovac,

1) how long would that same carpet have taken if you used a RX 20 instead?
2) would the results have been the same or better?
3) would the dry time be better or worse?


Thank you!.

You should of be able to do it in half the time with a RX........

But here is something to think about....your chemicals are going to play a major roll in the cleaning as well as the rotary of choice........
If the carpet is really dirty as you are saying in your question...then you are going to need a chemical that can cut threw it so your rotary can do its job and flush it all out....that also contributes to the time you spend cleaning.......wrong chemicals...your working harder and both you and your rotary are taking to long.....

the results are going to come from how well your chemicals are acting and how well you know how to run the rotary....and pending on how the rotaries are set up and what type of machine you are cleaning with is going to more predict your dry times...........

with all that being said..IMO....

the Hoss 700 is top of the list...wider head...covers more area...and has the best flushing design of any rotary out there....hold the heat at the head where it needs to be...it can get up close and personal to things and not worry about flinging water everywhere........edges very well..........

the RX is a beast....but the jets are elevated and you lose some of your heat...you can not get as close to things as you can with the Hoss and the 360i....

the 360i with the smaller head is much slower.....does not cover as much area as others do.......not the best rotary on thicker type carpets.........it is a killer on a loop Berber....and really it is the only carpet I even take mine out of the truck for.....Mine is making a grinding type noise....last time I used it I worked it pretty hard....but I am not sure if it is because of how hard I worked it or because it sits and I don't really use it often enough to keep it in check...???..it works...it just does not sound healthy.......

 

[Steamin McFadden]

Well I guess what I'm after here is how much faster is the RX (in general) vs the 360, Your saying twice as fast Jim?

Thanks you came the closest to answering my 3 questions.



To the guy above who say s "why 3 hours?" I just pulled that number out of my hat, what I'm after here is comparison between the two, so if you said , if the rotovac took me 3 hours, then the RX would have taken about 2.5 , then I can learn something, and decide weather it's worth the investment, Jim says half the time, if that's true, I will sell my rotovac today and buy an RX tomorrow, now how about dry times between the two??

 

[Jim Martin]

Well I guess what I'm after here is how much faster is the RX (in general) vs the 360, Your saying twice as fast Jim?

Thanks you came the closest to answering my 3 questions.



To the guy above who say s "why 3 hours?" I just pulled that number out of my hat, what I'm after here is comparison between the two, so if you said , if the rotovac took me 3 hours, then the RX would have taken about 2.5 , then I can learn something, and decide weather it's worth the investment, Jim says half the time, if that's true, I will sell my rotovac today and buy an RX tomorrow, now how about dry times between the two??

i am a avid rotary cleaner....it comes off the truck every job....I can do your scenario in and hour and a half...easy....

dry times is not an easy question to answer....I can tell you what I can get...and i am sure others can tell you what they get...but there are so many variables it does not mean that's what you are going to see.....

 

[Steamin McFadden]

Thanks Jim, but I think you misunderstand me. Don't care how long it would take anyone to do the scenario, I worded the question wrong.

but if you could do it in an hour and a half with an RX 20 , how long would that same job have taken you with a rotovac 360, that way I can gauge the production difference.

Same with dry times, if the job took 4 hours to dry with the rotovac, how long would that same job have taken with rx 20? Just in general, don't need exact numbers. Your best guess is good enough for me,

Thanks for taking the time to help me/

 

[Jim Martin]

Thanks Jim, but I think you misunderstand me. Don't care how long it would take anyone to do the scenario, I worded the question wrong.

but if you could do it in an hour and a half with an RX 20 , how long would that same job have taken you with a rotovac 360, that way I can gauge the production difference.

Same with dry times, if the job took 4 hours to dry with the rotovac, how long would that same job have taken with rx 20? Just in general, don't need exact numbers. Your best guess is good enough for me,

Thanks for taking the time to help me/

More then likely it would of taken me an half hour longer.....you move slower...

and maybe a hour or so extra dry time.......5 vac slots on one...3 on the other...one glided and one not.....

But once again I can only judge this off of my equipment and set up....

 

[Steamin McFadden]

Thanks Jim, that gives me a good idea on the difference on the two machines, that's exactly what I was after.

BTW, How do you know I move slower??? I'm a former High school athlete, and I mover perty dang fast.

 

[Jim Martin]

Thanks Jim, that gives me a good idea on the difference on the two machines, that's exactly what I was after.

BTW, How do you know I move slower??? I'm a former High school athlete, and I mover perty dang fast.

It does not matter who you are....all rotaries are different....

and you have to run each one according to there capabilities....and the 360i is the slowest..........RX is going to come in second..and the Hoss is the fastest.......

 

[Art Kelley]

It does not matter who you are....all rotaries are different....

and you have to run each one according to there capabilities....and the 360i is the slowest..........RX is going to come in second..and the Hoss is the fastest.......

Oh for God's sake.

 

[Jim Martin]

Oh for God's sake.

are you going to tell me that you can run your 360i as fast as a Hoss.......

 

[Zee]

are you going to tell me that you can run your 360i as fast as a Hoss.......

I think Art referred to you not getting McFadden's joke...

 

[ruff]

Steamin McFaster needs to be a lot Mc. Clearer when he jokes.

Those McDamn Scots.

See what I mean? -

 

[Art Kelley]

Jim constantly trashes the 360i. Maybe he got a bad one, I don't know. I use mine every day on all types of carpets and love it. It's fast and very aggressive. Cleans like nothing I have ever seen. When I tested Eric's Hoss last year against my 360i it was a poor performer. Eric agreed the Hoss was worse, heavier, not as effective at cleaning, just a dog. He was going to sell the Hoss and buy a 360i. McFadden can take my word for it or Jims word. Only one of us is right.

 

[ruff]

Or if Mac is smart, he'll try both and see which one works better for himself.
As these decisions are always a personal preferences. Though, Jim does seem to like everything SS.

 

[Steamin McFadden]

Listen here Ofer, I'm not a Scotsman ,

I'm an Irishman ,

The Difference?????

A Scott will talk smack to you for an hour if you insult him, Then will hug you and buy you a beer,

An Irishman will street fight you and your whole family if you insult him, then hug you and buy you a beer.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-LyFMCIpok

 

[ruff]

Lesson Taken.
Tell you what, next time you're in San Francisco I'll buy you a beer without talking smack or a fight.

 

[Steamin McFadden]

Would be glad to have a beer with you, same go's for you if your ever in Eastern WA , I'll buy

 

[ruff]

It's a deal, though lucky you, I'm a cheap drunk. A few pints and it's lights out for me.

Talk about Irish: We have quite a few of them here in San Francisco (Sunset district). To make it a short story, I started with one happy Irish client, she told all her friends, I got about 15 other new clients from that one happy one. They were also all Irish.
All straight forward, no nonsense, the best.

 

[Jim Martin]

Or if Mac is smart, he'll try both and see which one works better for himself.
As these decisions are always a personal preferences. Though, Jim does seem to like everything SS.

Jim really likes Sapphire......

 

[Steamin McFadden]

Jim constantly trashes the 360i. Maybe he got a bad one, I don't know. I use mine every day on all types of carpets and love it. It's fast and very aggressive. Cleans like nothing I have ever seen. When I tested Eric's Hoss last year against my 360i it was a poor performer. Eric agreed the Hoss was worse, heavier, not as effective at cleaning, just a dog. He was going to sell the Hoss and buy a 360i. McFadden can take my word for it or Jims word. Only one of us is right.

I have a 360I Art so I know how they work, I like it very much, cleans great, and makes work much easier, TWO things I don't like about it... 1) it's very slow compared to the wand, 2) it adds about 2 hours to the dry time. So I'm thinking if another brand rotary could solve those 2 things I don't like about it, then I would be in hog heaven.

DO you have the 4 head version? I have the 3 head.

 

[ruff]

Isn't it directly related to how many dry passes you make and how slow they are?

Be interesting to know if one actually can pick more moisture, everything else being the same.

 

[Vivers]

Pretty simple. RX 20 on commercial and Rotovac all day long on residential IMO

 

[Art Kelley]

Pretty simple. RX 20 on commercial and Rotovac all day long on residential IMO

The RX-20 set up with GreenGlides is supposedly the ultimate commercial cleaning rotary. This comes from Alex on *** who loves his T-Rex like Jim loves his Hoss and I love my 360i. I may order some to put on my old style RX-20 just for that purpose.

 

[Art Kelley]

I have a 360I Art so I know how they work, I like it very much, cleans great, and makes work much easier, TWO things I don't like about it... 1) it's very slow compared to the wand, 2) it adds about 2 hours to the dry time. So I'm thinking if another brand rotary could solve those 2 things I don't like about it, then I would be in hog heaven.

DO you have the 4 head version? I have the 3 head.

I haven't upgraded to the 4 head version, Andy, though I may do so, still the 3 head. I did put on larger flood jets, RotoVac sells two sizes of jets, and you know the mantra: More Flow! As for speed, if a room is lightly soiled, and you want to push it, nothing is faster than a wand. I can do a vacant room in less than one minute if I move like a monkey on cocaine, but the 360i on high speed will move as fast as you can swing it. I like the dry times with the 360 also, especially if I bother to go back over with dry passes. Where it shines, of course is a heavily spotted and/or traffic laned room, but you do have to go slow. But you'd also have to go slow with the wand and probably not achieve the same results as with a rotary.

 

[Steamin McFadden]

SO you like the dry times your 360 gives you? Maybe something wrong with mine, my dry times suck with it, I always have to bring in fans.