Cleanworks
Moderator
Mel was awesome. My main unit was melified and my portable was Mel inspired. I think we all miss Mel. Is that 25 hp unit for sale?
amtexequipment.com
- Thread starter Cleanworks
- Start date
Cleanworks
Moderator
Only thing missing was a beer, a smoke and a wrench. I really miss Mel. I don't know how many times he dropped what he was doing to help me out. Do you ever hear from Vicky?
Cleanworks
Moderator
Or a welding torch. No, I haven't heard from Vicky since
Kellie Hiler
Member
Ive never heard anything good about these TMs on other boards by guys who owned them.
At best they are better than starting with a porty to get your business up and running and saving money to get a good TM.
At best they are better than starting with a porty to get your business up and running and saving money to get a good TM.
I personally like Ben himself. He is a very hard working person. I have even worked with him in the past.
I think Ben is trying very hard, and I know for a fact NO ONE likes to let customers down, or to have a product fail. I think Ben is listening, or trying to fit the budget of carpet cleaners by making a more affordable machines, we hear so much on the forums that things cost TOO much, and all the BIG TM makers are taking us to the cleaners with there overpriced TM's.
The problem with trying to fit that budget is buying or building things with products that start to fail when regular metal is exposed to water, and rust starts to attack it with no mercy at all.
My Prochem is showing signs of that, I know that most lines on my PC are ss covered teflon hoses, or ss tubing that just don't rust and they have held up very well.
I have seen first hand some of the things that are now haunting Ben, and I do feel for him. I hope that he can fix the issues that have come up, and if he does he will have some awesome units, I know his HXers are pretty sick, and he does get some very good temps out of them.
He is in the process of fixing my buddies TM and I hoping that is comes back solid for both Ben and my buddy.
I think Ben is trying very hard, and I know for a fact NO ONE likes to let customers down, or to have a product fail. I think Ben is listening, or trying to fit the budget of carpet cleaners by making a more affordable machines, we hear so much on the forums that things cost TOO much, and all the BIG TM makers are taking us to the cleaners with there overpriced TM's.
The problem with trying to fit that budget is buying or building things with products that start to fail when regular metal is exposed to water, and rust starts to attack it with no mercy at all.
My Prochem is showing signs of that, I know that most lines on my PC are ss covered teflon hoses, or ss tubing that just don't rust and they have held up very well.
I have seen first hand some of the things that are now haunting Ben, and I do feel for him. I hope that he can fix the issues that have come up, and if he does he will have some awesome units, I know his HXers are pretty sick, and he does get some very good temps out of them.
He is in the process of fixing my buddies TM and I hoping that is comes back solid for both Ben and my buddy.
i bought one used w/ 320 hours on it. guy selling was full disclosure, he pulled it bc the exhaust components were thin walled cast iron plumbing pipe that couldn't handle the heat and vibration. Sent it back to TX (from VA) and they repaired the exhaust.
I planned on converting to propane, so i would dump the HX and just get a LG.
As i started to pull it apart, i found mainly 3 problems:
1) all of the high pressure lines were hydraulic lines meant for hydraulic pumps and fluid like you would see on a bobcat, small farm tractor, etc. they were rusting like mad (w 320 hours) and filling the lines with rust. In addition, there were an awful lot of home plumbing type supplies in the system that, while they worked, as i understand it, just weren't up to the task. I ve spoken with many other owners and found that these parts failed regularly.
2) the entire exhaust system was not up to the heat and vibration and was completely shot. even though it was repaired, as i removed the HX, pipes were literally splitting in half
3) the blower exhaust was a joke. couple turbo mufflers on a 47 blower. Just not proper engineering IMO.
there were a few other minor complaints, but for the most part, just complaints.
I still have the machine and will eventually finish my retrofit. I have replaced all of the presure lines. I need to get a proper blower silencer, and figure out how to get a custom exhaust made for the kohler 27 hp engine.
Keep in mind, my vintage (i think 2012? ) was a year that was known for some of these problems. As i understand it, many of these complaints have been enginerred out. I would want to verify that.
I ended up buying a sapphire 370. IMO for 20% - 25% more, you can have a machine that is backed by a major manufacturer.
Good luck.
OP - this is the guy you want to talk to about them ^^^^
Cleanworks
Moderator
I hope Ben gets it together, I think his machines have awesome potential if he can get the bugs worked out. Sometimes, it's not always about price. There are some people who like to shop at the Home Depot and others who like the small town hardware store. It's just a personal preference. Although, I have never met Ben in person, I have watched a lot of his videos and he comes across as a square shooter. All of us who are in business here today, we started with no or a little knowledge and now we are highly skilled professionals who take pride in our quality of work. I wish Ben the best and look forward to his next ideas.
Desk Jockey
Member
I don't know if any of this is true but even if only some of it is, I wouldn't be praising the guy.
No matter how good his intentions, the product is not what those poor souls paid hard earned money for. If it's not tough enough being a bottom feeder, you have someone albeit "good intentions " not delivering on the goods you worked so hard to pay for.
Build and learn???
No matter how good his intentions, the product is not what those poor souls paid hard earned money for. If it's not tough enough being a bottom feeder, you have someone albeit "good intentions " not delivering on the goods you worked so hard to pay for.
Build and learn???
I was thinking the exact same thing that you just said. He's not the humble good ol boy that few perceive. Having a phone conversation with this guy is and was a joke. "You have a problem with that baby????" "It's your fault" "you need to fine tune it more" " you used the wrong kind of oil in your water pump" blablabla. It's a one sided conversation with this guy. Those quotes were everything he told me, insulting my common sense.I don't know if any of this is true but even if only some of it is, I wouldn't be praising the guy.
No matter how good his intentions, the product is not what those poor souls paid hard earned money for. If it's not tough enough being a bottom feeder, you have someone albeit "good intentions " not delivering on the goods you worked so hard to pay for.
Build and learn???
Fact is, he used cheap parts and guaranteed the same reliability as a prochem or butler. I see him as a good salesmen, nothing more with the way he screwed me back in 2013
Desk Jockey
Member
Man that's awful. It looks nice.
Kellie Hiler
Member
Ha! I saw that.....he is parting it out because no one wants to buy it whole.
Wow! I hope his business has survived that loss.
He just is getting a diff machine. Got 1500 hours i think did better than some
Desk Jockey
Member
1500? 
yeah. a lot of guys gave up right around the 300 hr mark1500?
Goomer
Member
They WERE all the rage over there.
Honeymoon period is long over.
Touchy subject now.
Personally, I think Ben has too many irons in the fire and needs to narrow his selection down and, and focus on getting a few core units right, instead of his current, quite extensive Roy G. Biv line of units.
All that paint on so many individual parts can't be cheap, but seems to me he may be compensating additional paint costs with cheaper secondary components top keep his prices lower.
He appears to have a has a nice enough operation to where he should have at least one or two flagship, rock-solid units..............of course, in the color of your choice.
Mikey P
Administrator
Exactly
Captain America
Member
I saw a video on his portable truckmount with a flood pumper ...
Might fit a nich for high rises or flooding..
Might fit a nich for high rises or flooding..
I gave up at the 600hr mark while Ben was holding my water pump hostage, lol.
I have to admit the one he built a few years ago that was basically two 45 class truck mounts stacked on top of each other intrigued me, like a true dual wand unit where you could run one or both as needed. But when you look below the surface its still the same junk
