Could this make a come back as a Must Have and Do tool?

[Mikey P]

How many of you dinosaurs used one regularly?

and why did you stop?

 

[hogjowl]

Yes
All they have to do is give you one

 

[Mikey P]

I'll stick with my Oreck.

 

[Papa John]

Would that be the same or better than the brush pro CRB?

 

[Mikey P]

Its only one brush roll.

To be honest I've never used one but when I've looked at them it seemed like they were vacuum leaks or gaps all over the place so I don't think it really replaces a true upright vacuum cleaner I think it just fluffs up the pile and digs a certain measure a dingleberries out but without the second roll counter rotating I can only speculate that it's far less effective at what the modern CRB does


I'm sure Stockwell or Pemberton knows

 

[Cleanworks]

I have 2. A certified and a Chemspec. I still use them occasionally when doing vlm. Yes, the vacuum may leak but that 1/2 hp motor powering the brush roll really digs the crap out. I remember doing a job years ago on a building where they had used a Host process for a couple of years. The Host powder was still visible in the carpet. I started pile lifting before we were going to use HWE and the manager came by. She looked at the carpet I had just vacuumed and said, "The other guys never got it this clean". Could have just pile lifted the building and walked away an she would have been happy. If the Host guys had used a pile lifter in as their final process, they would probably be still cleaning that building.

 

[hogjowl]

I’m sure Mike remembers when they were all the rage in the late 80’s. Later, as the Gary Bergs and the General Tsao’s died and bankrupted out, their real performance became better known.

Glad I never bought one.

 

[KevinD]

Last I used one was back in the 80's when Pizza Hut had red shags in their restaurants.

 

[Cleanworks]

It's kind of like a RX 20. It works well but heavy and awkward.

 

[Zion Carpet Cleaning]

I bought a used Certified dirt cheap at a thrift store awhile ago. I was VLM only at the time and planned on using it for my pre vac to get more dry soil out. It was a vacuuming beast but after dragging it in and out of my van and up and down stairs on a few jobs it ended up sitting on the van so I sold it. Like Ron said it's not very practical.

 

[The Great Oz]

They're pile lifters. We frequently use them in the rug shop, and infrequently use them on-location for that purpose. Too heavy to be a substitute vacuum cleaner, but would do a better job than most vacuums.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Used HILD pile lifters for several decades. It was a vital part of the process my father followed. So as the company grew all trucks had one. When we were big in carpet cleaning in the 80's we had 8 trucks on the road with them.

Why did we quit using them. They were not very effective at vacuuming. Yes they lifted pile but didn't do a great job of vacuuming. Each truck also carried a tank vacuum for edging the room and vacuuming steps.

Weight was a constant fight for the crews to pull them off the trucks too.

Better vacuums with increased filtration were the nail on the coffin for them. They were partical redistribution machines, spreading contaminants throughout the room.

 

[Kenny Hayes]

There you have it I can’t imagine trying to get
that piece of crap out of the truck with everything you carry that you #might need

 

[Cleanworks]

Used HILD pile lifters for several decades. It was a vital part of the process my father followed. So as the company grew all trucks had one. When we were big in carpet cleaning in the 80's we had 8 trucks on the road with them.

Why did we quit using them. They were not very effective at vacuuming. Yes they lifted pile but didn't do a great job of vacuuming. Each truck also carried a tank vacuum for edging the room and vacuuming steps.

Weight was a constant fight for the crews to pull them off the trucks too.

Better vacuums with increased filtration were the nail on the coffin for them. They were partical redistribution machines, spreading contaminants throughout the room.

They do have better bags now that will fit inside the cloth bag of the certified style. I have a hard body chemspec that I would like to adapt a hepa filter for. No matter what, they were never the greatest vacuum. Their main job is combing and lifting the pile. One of the best tools to use on matted and cornrowed nylon or poly. Like Bryan, mine rarely make it out of the shop. Great on certain rugs.

 

[hogjowl]

I see corn rowing all the time now because CRB prescrub is the latest rage

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Why did we quit using them. They were not very effective at vacuuming. Yes they lifted pile but didn't do a great job of vacuuming. Each truck also carried a tank vacuum for edging the room and vacuuming steps.

Exactly.

The way they were meant to be used was to pile lift, and THEN there was to be a follow up vacuuming. The motor and bag (as well as a tray underneath) were there to prevent the machine from throwing particles everywhere. Back in the 60's and 70's it was an ideal part of shampoo cleaning. My father's cleaners would shampoo a carpet, then go back a few days later to remove the foil tabs and wood blocks and then run the pile lifter and vacuum cleaner to remove the "soil retardant shampoo and the soil that it suspended"

(Sound familiar?)

My first memory of the pile lifter was listening to my father tell my mother he was going to be buying one.

I was so overjoyed....... I thought it was something for lifting dog crap out of the yard....a job that was mine at the time.

 

[hogjowl]

Our parents would have been reported to DHR if they were parents today

 

[Rick J]

I have 2. A certified and a Chemspec. I still use them occasionally when doing vlm. Yes, the vacuum may leak but that 1/2 hp motor powering the brush roll really digs the crap out. I remember doing a job years ago on a building where they had used a Host process for a couple of years. The Host powder was still visible in the carpet. I started pile lifting before we were going to use HWE and the manager came by. She looked at the carpet I had just vacuumed and said, "The other guys never got it this clean". Could have just pile lifted the building and walked away an she would have been happy. If the Host guys had used a pile lifter in as their final process, they would probably be still cleaning that building.

I have a hard body Chemspec as well. Never thought it was all that good at actually picking up what it dug out.
BUT !!!!!!! it does have a little UV light in it that, what soil it picks, up passes by.

Can I advertize disinfection Covid vacuuming????
Yep, I will anitize the soil I take with me!!! LOL!

 

[Fat Mike]

It's kind of like a RX 20. It works well but heavy and awkward.

That sums up my existence

 

[Dolly Llama]

They were not very effective at vacuuming.

that's what I found too .
Used a borrowed Chemspec on a job once and owned a Certified (much better machine)

anyway, it would dig pile, but leave bits of lint and needed and regular upright vac to finish

Hooking to TM vac improved it a bit.
we used it mostly for cat/dog dander allergy folks and hooked to TM to exhaust outside

..L.T.A.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

that's what I found too .
Used a borrowed Chemspec on a job once and owned a Certified (much better machine)

anyway, it would dig pile, but leave bits of lint and needed and regular upright vac to finish

Hooking to TM vac improved it a bit.
we used it mostly for cat/dog dander allergy folks and hooked to TM to exhaust outside

..L.T.A.

I'd forgotten that TM attachment kit.

We did that once we had truck mounts.

Then the problem was the lazy ****** that wouldn't take it out of the truck.

 

[Desk Jockey]

It was a heavy beast. It took two guys to take it up stairs.
Back in the day before TM's, you'd haul a heavy SS portable (coffee pot), the HILD pile lifter, a PULLMAN HOLT tank vacuum, a HILD scrubber, an edge and wand. Spotting tray, shampoo bucket & brush, rake, bag of wooden blocks & foil tabs. Dump and fill buckets for the porty and a mat for the machine.

I'm tired just thinking about it.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

It was a heavy beast. It took two guys to take it up stairs.
Back in the day before TM's, you'd haul a heavy SS portable (coffee pot), the HILD pile lifter, a PULLMAN HOLT tank vacuum, a HILD scrubber, an edge and wand. Spotting tray, shampoo bucket & brush, rake, bag of wooden blocks & foil tabs. Dump and fill buckets for the porty and a mat for the machine.

I'm tired just thinking about it.

Those were the days when middle aged carpet cleaners kept young men doing the field work and worked on their businesses and not in them.

Like professional athletes, you were "old" at 40 when it came to working with that type of equipment. I remember some of the guys who worked for our company being impressed when they complained about the weight of a stainless steel portable, and my 40ish father picked it up and put it in the truck himself.

That quieted the "sissies" down a bit (not the word my father used....his term was a feline equivalent that rhymed with "sissies".)

Truck mounts, and then glides, has men in their 80's still cleaning carpet now.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I remember cleaning with our first TM. Had it shipped from Steam Services out of Fresno, Steam Genie II, she ran on propane.

Felt like were were stealing. Production went way up and you no longer had to haul in a heavy drag tool for the portable.

 

[hogjowl]

It was a heavy beast. It took two guys to take it up stairs.
Back in the day before TM's, you'd haul a heavy SS portable (coffee pot), the HILD pile lifter, a PULLMAN HOLT tank vacuum, a HILD scrubber, an edge and wand. Spotting tray, shampoo bucket & brush, rake, bag of wooden blocks & foil tabs. Dump and fill buckets for the porty and a mat for the machine.

I'm tired just thinking about it.

Must’ve been a beast of a donkey!

 

[Desk Jockey]

Must’ve been a beast of a donkey!

I was/still "think" I am.

Although probably not as strong as I believe I am, I'm probably twice as stubborn as I used to be.

 

[Dolly Llama]

It was a heavy beast. It took two guys to take it up stairs.

two men for a pile brush?
what's that, all of 40 pounds ?

..L.T.A.

 

[FB19087]

Things are heavier in Kansas


but it is closer to 70

 

[hogjowl]

He’s lying
I’ve never seen anything requiring more than one Mexican to lift it

 

[Desk Jockey]

two men for a pile brush?
what's that, all of 40 pounds ?

..L.T.A.

I could carry it but it was awkward with the handle, even in an upright position. It had a huge handle upfront and the other guy grabbed the control handles. It looked better and safer than horsing it.