Better tools make me happy
- Thread starter Bryce C
- Start date
Kenny Hayes
Member
Boy, it don’t take much to make you happy 
How long do you think the length of your average hose run will be?
Picture your van parked outside and imagine the perfect job you'd like to have every day for both residential and commercial. You will imagine 2 different setups. How long is the hoses on those 2 setups?
Dolly Llama
Number 5
dayum....an' I thought Woody was a bean pole...
Im'a buy you lunch next Saturday
You need a sandwich...
Love
Uncle Lar
..L.T.A.
Bryce C
Member
Haha love it. I could use a sandwich and great company, I'm in!View attachment 127587
dayum....an' I thought Woody was a bean pole...
Im'a buy you lunch next Saturday
You need a sandwich...
Love
Uncle Lar
..L.T.A.
Ya know I'm like those fancy sports cars. Aerodynamic, I cut through the wind with almost no resistance
Bryce C
Member
On all the jobs we've come across except 2 commercial jobs I think 200ft would do it. For the rare exceptions (as long as I'm aware of them ahead of time) I imagine we'll do alright with our portable and possibly a vlm machine pulling the trailer we currently use.
Cost upfront, cost of operation, ease of service, and such makes me think a modest tm might be the ticket for us.
If there's ever weird streetside parking only and a 2 story house or whatever... can a 370 handle 250 ft with a single wand? Would it be atleast as powerful as my portable currently is at a 250 ft length?
Last edited:
Kenny Hayes
Member
Absolutely!
I’m not happy with the performance at 250ft
Dolly Llama
Number 5
I donno about anywhere else...but in most of the res world 200 ft is a rare occasion
never ran a 370 and don't know what blower/RPM/HG it runs at
I've never ran anything less than a 45 blower/3100rpm/14HG
from that parameter, I can tell you, You'll absolutely notice a difference compared to 150ft.
...enough that you'd want to roll in a porty instead?
..L.T.A.
Dolly Llama
Number 5
Here's some other things, Bryce..obviously you know to start at farthest point from TM
even if you start out with needing 250ft, don't be stoopit or lazy and think you need to use that the whole job.
Cut off 50ft lengths as you work out
also, something else that should be common sense* , don't pile up hoses in a jumbled pile mess at end of long hall or outside door.
Not only does all those jumbled mess of tight turns affect recovery/airflow, it also makes it more of a PITA when rolling up hoses
*not be a complete dik, but it's been my observation that common sense ain't so common
and 87.399% of people need to be spoon fed on how to pour water from a boot
..L.T.A.
Kenny Hayes
Member
With his PEX he shouldn’t need more than a 370 no matter where he is. Add vlm and bam!
Mikey P
Administrator
I agreee
Sierra Clean Care
Member
Big money comes from big jobs, big jobs need alot of hose, alot of hose can only be used properly from a bigger TM…
Go at least a 570…
You won’t regret it.
The guys that tell you all you need is a gas powered porty (370), only do smaller jobs.
There are 2 guys local to me that bought 370’s, and BOTH GUYS REGRETTED IT!!!
They both had older PTO’s, were used to having at least a 45 blower.
I heard a story from my TM mechanic, one of the guys was giving up a few jobs he had done for years, cause the 370 couldn’t cut the mustard…
Let’s put it this way, don’t buy a 4 cylinder Mustang or Camaro, cause you’re going to be disappointed…
Go at least a 570…
You won’t regret it.
The guys that tell you all you need is a gas powered porty (370), only do smaller jobs.
There are 2 guys local to me that bought 370’s, and BOTH GUYS REGRETTED IT!!!
They both had older PTO’s, were used to having at least a 45 blower.
I heard a story from my TM mechanic, one of the guys was giving up a few jobs he had done for years, cause the 370 couldn’t cut the mustard…
Let’s put it this way, don’t buy a 4 cylinder Mustang or Camaro, cause you’re going to be disappointed…
Luky
Member
Better equipment and tools make you more efficient. There is a distinction between want and need. As we evolve as professionals, we strive for perfection, and we hope that sophisticated equipment will help us to achieve just that. I'm sure you'll cherish the time working with portable, you're constantly learning about time management and other aspects of the business, which you'll find helpful when you move on to TM operation. Even if you get an TM, keep your faithful portable close by, because you may need it at times.
The big deterrent for me would be taking the loan to finance 60-100 K TM. I had a bunch of portables, two ETM's and two TM's , none of them were financed. If I need to replace my current setup right now ( god forbid) I would be able to get the new within a week without feeling financial strain. What I'm trying to comunicate is that fiscal responsibility along the short and long term business plans is the most important factor for business in any industry.
Sierra Clean Care
Member
I did 3 jobs today, all in a higher end neighborhood.
2 jobs I ran 175’, and the third was 225’.
Now I run a supercharged mid level TM (47 blower, Cat 5CP pump).
By supercharged I mean I run the TM 600 RPM’s above recommended. (2850 recommends, I run @ 3450).
I also have a custom , stainless steel waste tank lid W/ 2.5” ports.
My first 50’ is 2.5, then I reduce to 2” for the remaining….
Everyone told me that running it like this would cook my blower, WELL….. that was 8 years, and 6200 hrs ago.
I do NOT regret running the system I have, and can EFFECTIVELY clean up to 450’….
2 jobs I ran 175’, and the third was 225’.
Now I run a supercharged mid level TM (47 blower, Cat 5CP pump).
By supercharged I mean I run the TM 600 RPM’s above recommended. (2850 recommends, I run @ 3450).
I also have a custom , stainless steel waste tank lid W/ 2.5” ports.
My first 50’ is 2.5, then I reduce to 2” for the remaining….
Everyone told me that running it like this would cook my blower, WELL….. that was 8 years, and 6200 hrs ago.
I do NOT regret running the system I have, and can EFFECTIVELY clean up to 450’….
Kenny Hayes
Member
And it still won’t get across my schools.
Bryce C
Member
Great tips that all makes sense. Really appreciate it Larry!
Thankfully I've got several months to learn more about my market and what I like doing before getting a TM. I'll definitely consider the step up before purchasing anything if it seems like I'll use it. It would be really nice to have the power to effectively go further when I need to. If my work flow looks like it does now when I have a TM I imagine I'd be using a 570 well under its capacity for most of its life. Do larger TMs do ok in the long term being run like that?
Bryce C
Member
To start this seems like a simple and effective idea. Use VLM most of the times when I would otherwise do better with a bigger TM. I'll always have a portable on seemingly rare occasions when I'd have to go far and do HWE, and soon with a 175. Seems like I'd hardly ever have to turn business away. Gets me in easier and keeps my expenses lower too which is no small thing starting out.
Sierra Clean Care
Member
What is unique about my situation, we own and operate 2 separate businesses, in separate cities.
I’d have to go through a few average weeks, total it up, and convert from metric to imperial… not a big deal, just need to some digging into it…
And no, the fuel consumption difference is relatively small.
It’s passing up on jobs that you couldn’t do because of limited equipment.
We do HWE, and low moisture cleaning.
They both have their pros and cons.
I’m not trying to discourage or sway you one way or another.
I’m not telling to go to something lile
A Vortex or Aerotech, or even the 870 for that matter…
The 570 gives you more room to grow your business from an ability standpoint.
The 370 is a great TM, it’s just a small TM…
Bryce C
Member
Seems like the few times we'd be stuck streetside a ways from the home they're always smaller homes with shared parking. On bigger homes they usually have their own driveway. Makes sense 200ft will always do it in res.
Really great advice Luky. I am learning so much rocking our portable every day. And it makes good sense that it will prepare me well for operating a tm down the road. Fiscal responsibility, I'm trying to do better with this than all that I've done previously. Its a long and tough road to get where I want to be, there are no shortcuts. Funny how much this cleaning business is changing me for the better. Each day I'm redeeming floors and furniture, and all the while being redeemed myself along the way.
Bryce C
Member
In other walks of life I learned that it's often best to buy your second machine the first time. Seems to be quite true here. I want to get it right and I'm not very ideological about it all. Just takes time and patience to see things more clearly. I like your style and your advice rings true. Everyone's advice here has in some way. Different desires, different outfits, different people, different markets, etc.. I'm amazed at what I've learned in the past 3.5 months doing this. Surely another 6 months or so will give me better vision.
Don't worry about tracking the gas consumption I was just curious if the difference was massive, sounds like it isn't.
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