a couple of Butler guys stopped by and said

[kmdineen]

I spoke to my Butler sales representative a few weeks ago. I wanted his opinion as to how the age, hours and miles on my 04 Butler would effect the resale price.
Tim and Matt from Butler were dropping off a new 08 not far from me in Connecticut and offered to stop by, look at my van and I could check out the new 08. I am very happy with Butler and would only sell mine to buy another.
Some points of interest:
Cost of standard equipment, 04 - $16,900 vs 08- $21,900
Preferred packages 1,2,3 and the extra heat cost the same but the 47 blower and electric reel went up $100 each.
The 04 had the adjustable pods for regulating the speeds of the Butler, the 08 uses a computer to regulate the speed of the system so it won't bog down under a heavy load.
Butler spins the 47 blower at 2600 rpm's, I think that is regular speed not Mach II.
Running the Butler at Mach II all the time WILL NOT wear out the system faster or harm the system in any way. Butler does not think it is NECESSARY to run at Mach II all the time.
Extended warranty packages, except for the power train warranty, are not available from GMC on vans with the Butler system.
Only 26% of Butler owners fill out the maintenance record to get the full 5 year warranty.
Butler did develop a heavy duty warranty clutch system and the R&D department is always experimenting with different blowers but they only offer the 45 and 47 blowers now.

 

[Kevin. McCreary]

gotta love that HUGE live hose reel!! Like 125 ft

 

[kmdineen]

"gotta love that HUGE live hose reel!! Like 125 ft"
I wish, I only get 75' of 2 1/2" vacuum hose on my reel but I don't run live. However the pto set up in my extended van gives me plenty of room for extra hose.
The Butlers are very friendly to cold weather though. Easy to winterize and I have never had a problem with freeze ups between jobs. Maybe you should look at the Butlers when you sell your BIG truck.

 

[Kevin. McCreary]

That's why I got rid of my Butlers. They are a toy compared to a Vortex or even a good slide in. I guess you don't need much power to pick up what you don't put down with your "PATENTED FOAM NOZZLES". After about 60,00 miles and 3500 hours you might as well drive it straight to the junkyard, if your engine has any compression left. Make sure you don't leave a gallon of watered down DURASHIELD in the truck it might pollute the junkyard with Chicago water. Why would you pay royalty's and buy watered down chems for a name like Duraclean when you can be a hack for free!

 

[kmdineen]

I guess you don't like Butlers or Duraclean. Both have been around a long time.
Butlers do have excellent resale value especially if you maintain them properly. How are you making out with selling your truck? Is another price reduction on the horizon?

 

[FB7777]

Kevin, I agree with you about the re-sale of the Butlers... when I was ready to purchase a new one 2 years ago, I sold my 4 year old unit in 3 weeks on Butlers website!

I have my eyes on a new Butler next year when I'm ready to sell my 2000 Butler System, I bet it will sell on their site fast. Some guys try to sell their TMs for WAY more than they are actually worth in the used market.


I did a side by side with my 2.5 hose and Greenhorn wand on my 47 blower Butler against a stock 2007 Vortex at JonDon and couldn't tell the difference in vacuum.


Kevin, on you swapmeat ad it says you are 'downsizing' for a van that will fit in your garage.

What unit are you looking at? Unless you are dual wanding all the time, a pimped out unit with 2.5 hoses, 2 inch wand and 47 blower is all you're gonna need to maximize your vacuum... the hoses and wands can only flow so much air.

 

[Kevin. McCreary]

I think I would look at a white magic pro 1200 first if I really went the route of a direct drive or a cleanco. With most direct drives though you are limited in space heat and vacuum. Not to say a slide-ins don't take up more space. I think the Butler is very reliable and looks nice to. I also think its over priced for what you get, but yes they are easy to re sell. I know the blueline thermal wave has way more power and you can get one in an extended van for the same price as a butler with most of the same options. Then you don't have to run an engine that wasn't designed to be stationary while you are cleaning. However you can really take advantage of the GMPP you will need it. The first butler I ever had in 1984 the machine with options 1,2+3 with a roots 45 blower cost 12,900. I don't think I would want to pay more than about 15,00 for a new one today.

 

[FB7777]

I have been price shopping the Butler, Hydra CDS and WM and haven't found that much of a price difference

CDS vs Butler to me is no comparison price-wise because you gain Stainless tanks and re-sale value with Butler... but with HydraMaster, you get way more storage space.

WM and Butler are a wash IMO they are both laid out the same, but you can save some $$$ with WM and go through a local distributor, so I can definitely see your thinking there.

I'm not all that concerned with the longterm wear and tear of the vans, I don't hold on to them too long. My 2000 van has been such a reliable money-maker that I have held onto it.

For the van that I run personally, I don't like it to be any older than 4 years old, the last thing I want is my van 'drooling' in the driveway :shock:

 

[Joe Couch]

We own a Butler, 2 Hydramaster 4.8 CDS units, and a Blueline Champ. We have owned a Prochem Legend, Bruin, and Namco. The Butler by far is the most reliable and user friendly machine we have owned and the resale value is one of the best in the industry.

There will always be bigger and better machines out there but for the money, performance, and reliability you can not go wrong with a Butler. The only thing I don't like about it is the lack of space on the vac hose reel. I give it 2 thumbs up!

 

[Ken Snow]

Kevin, we have had well over 100 butlers over the years and our first one's were in 1984 when we switched from Steam Genies. If you are making your judgments of them based on 1984 that is like comparing Pong with PS2 (maybe not that extreme).

Our 25-27 current Butlers generate and maintain high heat, have great vacuum, run and run and run with minimal maintenance to system and vans, and when we sell them after 5-6 years with 95-100k miles and 3500-4000 hrs they will sell for more than 50% of original purchase price. This is after generating between 1.3-1.5 million in revenue each.

Ken

 

[Kevin. McCreary]

Any machine should pay for it self 15 to 20 times. I'm always looking for the magic bullet. I guess there is no such thing. I guess the biggest thing as I'm continuing to grow is finding something and sticking with it.

 

[Ken Snow]

If 15-20 times is good then butler is great at 50-65 times.

Ken