dirt dragon

[White Collar]

They recently did a demonstration here. They said you can also get into encapsulated carpet cleaning with it. Has anyone did a commercial job with it? That would be great if you could do both!

What is the best way to get started into the encap game?

 

[Jimmy L]

A simple buffer using tuway bonnets and a sprayer.

Research doing the BONNET and SHAMPOO methods.


Powerflite makes a machine like the dirt dragon too.

Maybe cheaper.

16 inch auto scrubber $1299


oops just looked at the dragons price......$2600

The powerflite looks better on price already

 

[davegillfishing]

thats list for the dragon..most people see it for 2100$ call jondon and buy it from them along with the juice..

i just ordered mine from them..it will be here in a week

 

[Jimmy L]

$2100.....$1300

Which is the better deal?

MmMmMmmm!

 

[davegillfishing]

What is the better machine? I know with the dd you can get under cabinets and such.

Like comparing a top notch .50 a sqft cleaner that gos the extra mile to mr .25 sqft wet and jet

It's worth it if you are getting the extra value with the extra money

 

[Mikey P]

It looks like the powerflite unit does not have a 360 squeegee, just front and back

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Is dirt dragon a hardwood cleaning machine?

Can we get a video?

I am interested in getting one.

 

[tim]

I just did my first job with a dirt dragon. Customers maid put a pledge for wood floor product on them. They were smeared and blotchy. I was amazed at how well they cleaned up. A couple more jobs like that and I have my money back!!!

 

[davegillfishing]

tim..tell us a bit about the job..you started with ift then followed up with the squeaky..and finish or just cleaned?

what did you charge? did you have to go over it a few times or did it clean up pretty easy?

thanks

 

[tim]

Dave, I got the call to clean off a pledge product. I didnt know how well it would work but I told them I would clean and see what happens. I used the IFT first. Easiest machine I have ever run! When I emptied the water it was filthy! Then I put in the squeaky product and when I finished the water again was very dirty! The floor looked so nice and shiny with no evidence of the blotchy finish that was there before. I did not apply the finish as Jon Don had to special order it for me and it had not arrived yet but the customer was thrilled without the finish. I was really pleased. I charged 80 cents a foot. I am telling people $1.25 a foot with the finish. The cleaner is really inexpensive but I did use a gallon of each cleaner to do 400 sq ft. I may have gone overboard cleaning but I was trying to get a feel for how to do it and how well it would clean. I will sell this service with confidence.

 

[greentech]

I am not trying to be a nay sayer, but isn't this really just a fancy mop?

I am glad that you are getting the same rate for tile and grout cleaning with a lot less work. But are people willing to pay for this? Does it really clean that well?

Is there a market for this for laminate flooring, or is it just hardwood?

I watched the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teaMs5KiluM

 

[Mikey P]

Do mops have cylindrical brushes, a Vac and squeegee system that leaves the floor almost bone dry AND NOT USE RECYCLED WATER?

 

[greentech]

Do mops have cylindrical brushes, a Vac and squeegee system that leaves the floor almost bone dry AND NOT USE RECYCLED WATER?

No, and I understood that before I asked.

I guess my real question was, is there a market for this and would a customer understand that and be willing to pay .50 cents a foot?

That's why I prefaced the way I did.

Thanks

 

[Mikey P]

that remains to be seen. the older and more hoighty toighty your client base is, the better the chance of finding folks wiling to pay .50 to "mop" their wood floors.

 

[sweendogg]

Considering that way to many customers try to damp mop their hardwood floors and when that fail start throwing murphys oil soap amonst other products at a floor and you'll soon realize there are some pretty filthy hardwood floors out there. If things get really bad they can ruin finishes meaning the neat to have it refinished.. Usually in our area atleast that starts around 3-5 dollars and up.. now whats cheaper... .80 or 3 to 5 dollars? Now get that same customer to regularly maintain it and drop your price for cleaner floors and bamn.

 

[tracywalker]

How well does the DD work on grouted floors? I have a hotel I maintain with large lobby tiles and very thin and shallow grout lines. The grout is just deep enough to catch the filthy mop water they spread around. Pain to turbo every time.

 

[Giorgio]

Judging from the spec sheets the Powr-flite out performs the DD in every category.

And, it's half the price.

The DD's vacuum is so weak it probably needs four squeegees to do what the Powr-flite's does with two.

My Powr-flite will smoke your DD any day of the week.. gauranteed.... lol

 

[Mikey P]

lug your POS powerflute to MF and we'll see.

 

[Giorgio]

I don't think they'll let me check-in an autoscrubber at the airport. But the spec sheets speak for themselfs. I hope DD offers a 30 day money back gaurantee like Powr-flite does.

My apologies if I came across the wrong way. I'm in an ornery mood tonight. :|

still pissed that I haven't struck it rich in the cc'ing biz yet.

I'm sure the Dirt Dragon is a fine piece of equipment... For a girl!

 

[KevinL]

I thought Power flite made junk.

 

[Giorgio]

I'm rather fond of their 17" 175 rpm 1.5hp Classic Floor Machine. At 500 bucks its the best floor machine on the planet.

And their CAS16 spanks the Dirt Dragon at half the price.

Their customer support and warranty is top notch.

This year marks their 45th anniversary.

 

[davegillfishing]

its 400.00 cheaper..not 1/2 the price..

and you still dint answer how you are doing under the cabnets? by hand?

in labor alone i will make my 400.00 back on 3 jobs..

for such a superior design and machine why miss the boat on a simple design

flaw?

 

[Giorgio]

I did a quick google and took a screenshot of the 1st pages that came up and it appears the Powr-flite is half price of the Dirt Dragon.

Also, i don't understand why you think the DD can get under cabnets better then the CAS16. The CAS16 is an entire inch shorter then the DD.

1. the powerflite has a much larger more powerful vacuum
2. it has a wider cleaning path
3. it's lighter weight
4. it's rated at 12,000 s/f an hour vs. the DD which is only rated at 10,000.
5. PF has a 4 gallon solution tank vs. the dd 3 gallon
6. PF has a 35 psi on-demand pump vs. the DD's POS gravity feed system.

the list goes on and on!

basically, the powr-flite CAS16 will do everything the DD can do and more! It's better, faster and half the price. Also, the CAS16 is a true multi-surface tool (wood, tile and grout, concrete, etc). The dd is not.

Here are the links to the spec sheets. Read them for yourself and you decide:

http://www.powr-flite.com/text/pdfs/SPEC SHEETS/Automatic Scrubbers/CAS16-spec.pdf

http://www.basiccoatings.com/Brochures_EN/E1000_B102/Dirt Dragon Brochure.pdf

.
powr-flite is half the price.

 

[davegillfishing]

looks like the same machine to me except one is general purpose and one is designed for wood floors..

squeegee placement and suck is important.. kind of like i dont want my carpet cleaner to me a master

mechanic and a electrician i want him to be a carpet cleaner..i will call a mechanic if i need one..

i dont need a machine that does things that i have better tools to do..i want a machine that specializes in

what i need and want it to specialize in..

gravity feed works great for me..one less thing to break and how much pressure do you need for wood floors?

it has worked great on my cimex machine for many years..no problem..do when your pump breaks how much money

will it cost to fix and how long will you be down? hope it doesnt break in the middle of a job!!

i am not trying to be a dick..i just look at the entire picture..i dont need pressure to drop some juice on a wood floor..so

i dont care about the pump..next..

 

[janitrex]

Powr Flite's equipment is absolute junk. I have owned several of their machines and would never buy another. There is a reason their equipment is priced so cheap. Remember you get what you pay for.

 

[Mikey P]

George


have you used either tool?

 

[Giorgio]

Yeah,

I have the Powr-Flite CAS16 pictured above.

If Ronnie makes it to M8F next month its cool w/ me if he loads it in the passenger seat of his Vette for a road trip to Sacramento.

It sounds like a showdown at the O.K. Corral to me.

Powr-Flite CAS16 vs. Basic Coatings Dirt Draggon.

My money is on the CAS16 being a crowd pleaser.

But, waddever...

 

[Mikey P]

and here I assumed you were talking out of your ass.


so how dry does it leave the wood floor?

 

[Giorgio]

Dry enough to place a tissue on the floor afterwards without it getting wet.

I used it on hardwood last year followed up with a couple coats of UltraChem Labs Platinum finish.

The clients called me a few weeks later to tell me how great their floors looked.

Not positive I'd recommend that finish on every single wood floor but it was perfect for that old beat to hell floor.

Have you used Basic Coatings finish yet? How do you like it?

Ps. Sorry Dave, I don't mean to be a prick... My Ceasar complex gets the better of me sometimes. My bad ;-(

 

[davegillfishing]

havent used it yet..i just got the dd yesterday..i have heard the basic coatings is awesome..we will see