Air ducts?

[Russ T.]

Does anybody do it? Has anyone used the RotoBrush system? I found a pretty complete system for sale for $2500. Is that a good deal?
I've never done ducts. How much training does a guy need for this? What do you charge? Just looking for some thoughts. Thanks!


The Clean Machine

 

[Russ T.]

Everything I see when I search seems like people say it's junk. Maybe I have my answer? Just looking for something to do next Winter to keep busy...


The Clean Machine

 

[Clean Response]

Rotobrush is a hack of a duct cleaning system I think. Why do you think the guy is selling it he could not make money with it. I see them for sale all the time on craigslist. You could do just as good of a job shoving your vac hose down the vents.

 

[rhino1]

Lots of problems witha roto brush. One thing, some ducts are too small to fit the head into, so you cant clean those at all. IF you use them to clean flex duct, the spinning brush can grab and rip the ducts, or the weight of the hose and cable pull the duct off the boot, so you spend half your time fixing ducts you broke. Cleaning ducts requires THOUSANDS of cfms and alot of service pressure with your vacuum source, and an RB has neither. Using one of those is kinda like encapping a vomit and urine filled carpet. Yeah, you can do it, and you can make the homeowner feel you did a good job, but you really didn't.

 

[RugWorx]

We used to clean ducts and it is a good ad on service. We started with the Rotobrush and quickly found out that is was not going to work that well for us. The problem like stated above is that the hose can be too big and not flexible enough to clean most residential supply lines. In my opinion the way to properly clean ducts is with a negative air system. We went to this system and it made a world of difference and we never looked back.

 

[GCCLee]

If your gonna do it, do it right!


Have thought about it before, especially for the ones with really bad filter lines. Most that complain I bet are willing to jump right in and have it done.


Not sure I would wanna do a whole lot of it, then again, never done it before.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Yes Chris and Joe are right, its not the best system for complete cleaning. "Source Removal" is what NADCA recommends and the RV is not the strongest at that.

Most legitimate collector (vac) hoses are going to be in the 8-12 inch size not 1.5 or 2-inch. Chris mention you also need much more CFM to maintain negative pressure on the system and to provide enough air flow to pickup the dirt and debris you suspend with you high pressure air line.

While we still do air duct cleaning throughout the winter the majority come when the weather is warmer. You need to shut down the system when cleaning. For us that means 4-5 hours, it can get cold in the home and so most wait until warmer weather. However we are out doing them today and it's 4-degrees right now.

 

[Spurlington]

www.air-care.com has pretty good stuff .. back when I did it, I had a 30 gallon 12.5 hp 175psi compressor mounted in my extended van .. www.heatsealequipment.com has a van mountable 30 gallon compressor that puts out 240psi which takes 3 min to fill .. anything less takes longer to clean .. a tow behind would speed things up but kinds hard to maneuver (for some) especially in snow

Ida love to have had a machine for supply and one for return going at the same time .. makes for one trip in each room rather than revisiting with the compressor lines ..

It can actually be fun if you can see while you're cleaning .. blast the crap off the floor and watch it suck down the tunnel .. I worked with several flashlights and mirrors .. prop them inside and go to town

I loved the one story unfinished basements .. those I just taped up the vents, went down to the basement, drilled the holes in the boots and blast away

 

[Buck1955]

I had to buy a rotojunk for one job, but it was a big one. Retirement home where I couldn't have hoses in hallways. Got through it, but I knew I could have done better with my truckmount duct machine.

I would use it in homes if I had a helper. I would clean the returns with the truck, while the helper used the rotojunk in the supply runs. Then I would attach the truck to the supply trunk line and clean it. Worked out well.

You shouldn't just rely on that machine. Plus the company lied to me and did not do what they said they would when I had a cable break.

I found an Atalntic Engineering truckmount for $25K which was 60K new. The reason I got out of it was when I started there were 4 companies in the yellow pages and I was one so I got alot of calls and was used by several HVAC and fire restoration companies and prices were great minimum $350 up to $1000 per system. Now it's like carpet cleaning, there's an ad every week for a bait and switch $59.00 whole house. Also got sick of filthy crawls, attics, and nasty fire jobs.

 

[Spurlington]

Hey Russ .. add the service and hire a sub you can ride around with and split the profit .. (only if youre looking to fill your time in the slow months) .. it is a dirty job ..

 

[Hoody]

Russ - If you want to talk duct cleaning during our next conference call, I'll be happy to discuss all the good, bad, and ugly of it.

The rotobrush system is a sham, but I use to sell vent cover / vent entry cleaning as an additional service. Put a nylon on your inline filter and have it, rig up brush attachment, or use your vacuum and brush attachment. Grab some glass cleaner and wood polish for the vent covers. Oh... if they're a smoker grab some purple power to get the sticky residue off the vent covers. Not a huge money maker but some older retired clientele liked it, and so did many high end clients because they don't want to stick their hands down there. It helps a bit with the dust. Sorta like charging 10-15 bucks a room to wipe the baseboards while you have the furniture out. I charged 4-8 bucks per vent, depending if the vent covers were metal or wood, or if they were covered in smoke/nicotine residue.

The money can add up quick and before you know it you can have a few extra hundred at the end of the week to take the family to a nice dinner and movie. Works better if you have someone working with you.

Wear rubber gloves.