Well...! I guess that's the last word on the subject...
At any rate, one of the things about "reliability" is using components that are reliable to make it so. And unlike other pump- out pumps, the one we use (and have been for several years now... since 2003, if memory serves...) is virtually bullet- proof, in that it has a cast- iron impeller that makes it seriously as close to being indestructible as you could reasonably hope for. And beyond that, it can run dry all day long with no problems.
In all the time we've made systems with them, there have been 3 (Duane Smith (flange broke), Richard Robinson (bearing went bad), Chuck in Florida (flange broke) outright breakdowns that I know of (And I know of all of them.), in addition to guys messing their own pump up about 3 more times... maybe 4. And in every case, we either had a replacement in their hands or installed on their system, or the pump was simply cleaned out and re-installed, as appropriate (and as proximity allowed), within 24 hours,
tops. (It takes 5 minutes to open and inspect them now... 15 to replace one entirely.)
The idea that on some jobs, you may not be able to pump out, I can understand. It is what it is. But being able to pump 100 feet away from the truck or more... does minimize the possibility of such a thing actually happening... unless you live in some parts of Califoreigna where they over- react to environmental concerns.
Each to his or her own. They fill a niche. And that niche isn't just small vans. I've had two different owners of our "no tank", continuous pump- out systems do colleges during Summer break with them, who bragged to me that they parked the truck and cleaned for 12 or more hours straight through, for a week to ten days, only stopping for gasoline or some other necessity, like food or sleep.
Such a thing can't be done with even a large PTO system.
Still, they're not for everybody.
But if I was cleaning carpet again, I'd prefer one for myself.
