Anyone have a Cobb's TM?

[Larry Cobb]

Greenie;

With John's custom mix tank, the HX water bypassed to the mix tank would be hotter and therefore the pump would start at a higher temp.

That would cause loss of pressure or damage quicker than our TM system, when not spraying for a long period of time.

The bypass was requested & installed by Samson. It the only one we have used in the last year.

Larry Cobb

 

[Greenie]

Larry, I installed his 9.5 gal tank on our old ugly slide in, it was sweet.

You could leave the unit running for 20 mins. without damaging the pump.
As a last hope fail safe there is a cat 165º thermal releif valve on the mix tank, but I couldn't get it near that hot from a stone cold start running for 20 mins. in my driveway, and i was trying to get to to overheat.

It appears to me the secret is in the constant movement, every ounce of 200º water that leaves the HX gets replaced with an ounce of cold water, this constant cycle and the fact the SS mix tank cools some through radiation seems to really work well.

I know when I was really thinking it through at 2am like I do many a night, I thought, if I had a heat issue with it transferring too much heat, I would just run the HX bypass line that feeds the mixtank through a small radiator placed behind the 25hp engine so it caught some of the air, as it trickled down it would cool quite a bit, and probably never overheat period.

Then I thought, to hell with the oversized mixtank, just use a 3-4 gal tank and the radiator, it would be sweet. The one thing the larger tanks do is add some serious volume to the system, that changes how the system HOLDS heat significantly, gotta have a few gallons of hot water ready to go at all times.

 

[KBRENNY]

Back to the original topic: If you gave me a blank check and said i could go get any truck mount in the industry I would still go with the Cobb unit, larger than mine but still would go Cobb. I have been cleaning carpet since 1997 and started with a company that used Cobb units. I bought my current Cobb TM used from a retiring carpet cleaner, It has almost 3000 hours on it now and is one of the first units they made with a 20 hp honda (pretty old). I am still running the original blower, engine, and solution pump; none has been rebuilt, only regular service. The only problem I have ever had to repair: heat killing the ignition coils (IMO honda's design flaw) and I found a great fix for that problem (pics available). Cobb has an extremely effective yet simple design. IMO the reason you don't hear about these units very often is because they typically do not have problems. When was the last time you heard someone talking about how great something was as compared to how bad it was? The average consumer is 10 times more likely to tell others about a bad experience as compared to a positive one. These units don't have all the little switches and fittings that seem to go wrong with the big name TM's and most of the parts could be bought at hardware or automotive shops if you were to need parts in an emergency (evening or weekend). Customer service (not limited to TM) is excellent. Have used Prochem and Hydramaster units that were extremely more expensive but in my opinion did not perform any better than the Cobb. Also, I have heard from a few guys that the new heat exchanger is awesome. :idea: I do agree that a hand adjustable pressure regulator (possibly on the control panel) would be a nice improvement. Another improvement I would consider would be a valve to dump the fresh water tank.

 

[Guest]

Larry is such a liar about the POS Cobb unit that I bought!

I knew if I came here I'd find him lying about it.

He says that I used an encap product that built up in my blower...LIE! I was using HIS DC encap PER THE INSTRUCTIONS ON HIS LABEL!...and my blower first failed at the 2 hour mark, and we put 1 hour on it at his shop during install...so does he really expect us to believe that in 1 hour on my first job, that there was so much encap buildup that it was able to stop a blower that was spinning at 3000 rpm's ??? TOTAL BS!

In less than 68 hours, I had 8 break downs, this is when the first blower was replaced...and those breakdowns were LONG after I quit using his encap product...it was from excess heat from a bad design. The blower is choked down from 3" inlet & exhausts to 2"...you can see the inlet pvc pipe melted so bad that it no longer was round, it was a triangle.

And as far as "me not talking to him"...that's another lie...I've got a couple dozen emails of my complaints, along with at least that many phone calls. The only reason, Larry even gave me the 85% of my money back was because of the negative publicity he was getting on ICS...because I asked him several times to buy it back, and he always said NO!

I've got all this documented with pics and emails and time-lines, because I was in the process of suing him when he finally offered to buy it back...anyone that believes his crap is a fool.

I could care less about Larry or his machine and I would never buy from him again, and I have no current beef with him especially since I'm rid of his crap machine and now have a unit that runs great ...but to come here and see him lying is not gonna cut it...


Here are just a few of the pics from his crap machine.

Bottom line is, all I did was pay cash for a machine that never worked from day 1...and it took 4 months, 13 breakdowns, negative publicity on ICS and a threatened lawsuit before I finally got 85% of my money back...but according to Larry, it's all my fault...lol, yeah, right. His machines are cheap for a reason.

I won't be back to reply again...but I was emailed about this thread and wanted to make sure that both sides would become part of the archives. Hopefully this post will remain, even though I see in Larry's profile that he is a "Mikey board supporting member"...pretty funny.

Peace out...

 

[KBRENNY]

I feel bad for your troubles and I am sure with anything mechanical there can be an occasional "lemon". I do not dispute anything on the previous post and believe every word of it. In my experience I have worked for 3 companies and am now an O/O, I have around 3000 hours on my machine now and have never had any major problems that I can attribute to the Cobb TM or it's design. My machine runs for 3 1/2 minimum continuously because of the size of the jobs I have and it has never had any major problems. Again I am not disputing the above post but just sharing my experience on the subject. I have had more problems from the Prochem and Hydramaster units I have run than Cobb TM. Mostly the safety switches malfunctioning and some fittings breaking.

 

[Greenie]

I'm sure Larry will be along soon, so I was wondering if he uses this plastic plumbing in all of his machines?

Kevin, what type of plumbing does your 'old' unit have?

Why no "regular" regulator at the front of the machine?

If the blower is belt driven, what is the engine to blower ratio?

 

[KBRENNY]

I bought my machine used and the previous owner changed the plumbing to metal, 2 1/2" out from the blower 10" and then it steps down to 2" for the remaining 10" to the tank. The pulleys seem to be the same size although I haven't measured them, so I would assume 1:1 drive. If you are talking about the solution pressure regulator I would like to see one on the control panel that is adjustable by hand. got the scars to prove why. If mine ever goes out it will be replaced that way.

 

[Guest]

Here were my issues with the DC310 I had.

1. It couldn't hold the temperature to clean tile and grout. Within a minute or 2 the temp. was down about 130 or so.
2. In order to change water pressure I had to climb in van over top of TM and use 2 wrenches to tighten or loosen. Finally after months of this my dad installed a regular black pressure regulator (or whatever its called) and that problem was solved.
3. If I set the wand down for more than about 3 or 4 minutes at full throttle the machine would overheat. I'd have to wait about 20 minutes and dump water out manually for it to run again. This was the worst issue, because I had tons of down time.
4. And as someone else said, the grey hose was horrible. Way too stiff.
5. Chemical was horrible to try to prime and never did work right.
Positives were it was easy to work on.

I'm all for using diverters or other "bells and whistles" if it helps keep the machine running. Simple is good, but as Greenie was basically saying, it has to be effieient. Time is money baby!

We sold ours with about 300 hours on it. Never had any mechanical problems. For me the whole simple is better idea just didn't work.

 

[Mikey P]

Yoo hoo!!!!



Hey Larry!!!!!

 

[Guest]

I wasn't meaning to slam Larry or his machine. For me it just wasn't the right fit. I'm no mechanic. I want a machine that fires right up, runs all day, stays hot and is easy to switch between tools.

I don't really care how easy it is to service, I pay someone to do it. So for me it just wasn't right. For the next guy its probably a dream machine. Again, no real mechanical problems for me except it not staying hot enough and then overheating when not being used.

 

[Larry Cobb]

ken;

Why don't you go back to ChemDry?

You would really fit in with the "sue everyone mentality"
and get that corporate legal job you really deserve !!

Your ranting & lawsuit threats on ICS had nothing to do with our buying back the TM.

You also neglected to mention that you refused to take the TM to a Sutorbilt authorized repair center for their "third party" opinion on the blower overheating issue.

ken also insisted on running the blower above the maximum vacuum limit set by the manufacturer. The blower shown above was replaced without charge to ken

Although you steadfastly refuse to believe it, there are plenty of flexible coating materials that can stop a #4 blower while it is running.

A few of our customers have done it while stripping wax with their TM and the fluorochemical you were extracting is a lot more temperature resistant than any wax.

Larry Cobb

 

[Larry Cobb]

Curt;

I do regret the problems you had with your older machine.

A couple of the issues you had, were due to our original parts being taken off of your machine and then replaced with other nonstandard parts before you bought it.

The four year old HX was not designed for the increased flow of Tile cleaning.

I will say that you got top resale for it here in Texas @ $500 off our new price.

Thanks also for your chemical business.

Larry Cobb
Mikey Board Supporting Member

 

[Mikey P]

Larry



Why no standard pressure regulator?


Cant quite figure that out...

 

[Guest]

I understand completely Larry. I wasn't trying to pile on or speak negatively. That's why I said, nothing mechanical, just not for me!

Thanks too for being honest!

And yes, I'm the re-sale master!

 

[Larry Cobb]

Mikey;

We consider the Paraplate Regulator as the best in the industry.

For tile & grout we use a high pressure & a low pressure regulator with a ball valve to switch between.
Stainless out of the pump.

Larry Cobb

 

[Larry Cobb]

Greenie;

Several top quality TM's use thermoplastic in the vac intake system.

Here's a Vortex picture courtesy of Wizard that shows the plumbing quite clearly:

There is no high heat in that grey plastic plumbing.

Larry Cobb

 

[Duane Oxley]

PVC pipe / tube / fittings, are considered suitable for "low temperature" range applications. In plumbing, it's recommended for cold water installation only.

CPVC, carbon fiber, nylon, etc., are considered suitable for higher temperatures than basic PVC.

PVC is white in color. The others are generally black or gray, although I have seen nylon fittings that were a neutral (not "white") color...

.

 

[Larry Cobb]

All of the thermoplastics and thermosets are available in a variety of colors.

Some of them have temperature ratings of 400° or more. They are replacing metals with less corrosion on several automotive engines.

Larry Cobb

 

[bradjoiner]

i have a dc310 that i believe is great in concept and with a few minor changes has turned out to be a great machine
1. larry only equiped it with 2 belts and no belt tensioner this caused slippage if belts were slightly worn larry guide me through realigning the motor to re tension but i opted to go to a three belt system which completely eliminated this problem (i understand most never have this problem)
2. replace .02 jets with .03 jets no overheating problem i may have to dump water for a minute or two right before the stairs but this is not a problem since i am already at the truck adjusting pressure
3. i did choose to go with a different regulator but understand i do have to replace more often (parraplate is the best but is a pain)

i really like the larger mix tank idea
i will be building my own truckmount designed around the accelerated truckmount concept next but if i was not a mechanical person i would definatly buy the dc310 again

i will say that i have never had a full day of downtime because of unschedualed repair and service is no worse than any one else i have delbt with (ez truckmount, butler, local shops) although it isnt much better. if you have no mechanical knowledge and not much common scence i would recomend a butler as it is easy to opperate but slow for cleaning if you are slightly handy then a dc310 is a great unit

 

[Lee Stockwell]

What's a "Pencil" truckmount?

 

[Gary Taylor]

What's a "delbt"?

 

[bradjoiner]

sorry i dont know how pencil got in there i was talking to my daughter while i was typing and must have put in the wrong thing i meant ez truck mount and i typed dealt wrong anyway my whole point is that dynachems are ok machines if you are sick of a bunch of bells and whistles getting in the way of cleaning carpet. also anyone that thinks any machine is perfect ought to just look at the automotive industry

 

[floorguy]

sorry i dont know how pencil got in there i was talking to my daughter while i was typing and must have put in the wrong thing i meant Pencil truck mount and i typed dealt wrong anyway my whole point is that dynachems are ok machines if you are sick of a bunch of bells and whistles getting in the way of cleaning carpet. also anyone that thinks any machine is perfect ought to just look at the automotive industry

still???

 

[KBRENNY]

Maybee it's like that movie Super Troopers when they try and see how many times they can say "meow" while they have a motorist stopped.

Excpet he is using "pencil truck mount"

 

[Jack Zipper Zerkie]

I have a 2045 unit simple and easy.This unit is 2yrs old and NO PROBLEMS. Iv,e owned 2other units white magic pro 1700 and a hydramaster 470D. I had major problems with both units. I have no employees and have always had the units serviced at my local interlink dealer, great service, but hey couldn,t keep them running. I feel that Larrys simple set up is the secret, both other units had way to manny things to fail like a chemical pump and selonoids for water by pass. This unit has a small single line from the blower to the chemical tank, never fails. I always thought bigger was better but not now, I,m doing the same jobs over and over and now I don,t even think about problems just carpet cleanning.Thank you Mikey,s board for the honest info from the members. I had read about Larrys TM in the cleanfax mag. but Mikey,s board was the real reason for the purchase. jz

 

[bradjoiner]

E Z truckmount