I've been thinking about designing a wand again...

[Duane Oxley]

I say, "again", because I helped design one back in 1983 or so. It's now known as the "Lowboy", sold by PMF.

I learned a lot during that project.... a lot about airflow principles. (That's why I've always been such a stickler for airflow efficiency on the systems I've built.)

There was one big problem with that wand... it skips a lot. By the time we got it back, I was ready to leave the company I was with at the time and never made further changes.

But now, I'm looking at it again. Knowing what I knew then, and adding what I know now, I can design a helluva wand. So, I'm leaning in that direction again...

... and looking at the "old" Stanley Steemer wand (thanks, Scott...) as the basis for it...

 

[Greenie]

dunno what Scott is talkin' about...but I wouldn't using the Steemer for a model of anything!

 

[hogjowl]

Is that Odin on Greenie's computer?

Or is alcohol involved?

 

[Duane Oxley]

No, the Stanley wand as the basis would be the 2" shaft, pressure washer gun and modular parts.

Redesigning the head... that's where the changes come in.

The thing is, that a 12" slot, 1/4" wide results in 3 sq. inches of area. A 14" slot, 1/4" wide, has 3.5". I did the calculations on 1.5" and 1.75" tubes, and they have less than 3". The tube needs to have more, or equal cross sectional area, for the idea that I have.

I will do this. It will take some time, but I'll get it done...

 

[Kevin B]

Make it so its glide friendly, or easier to fit with a glide. Maybe have a Stainless shoe/glide that fits on the bottom with just a slot and a teflon glide can be made to fit it also.

 

[B&BGaryC]

If yous gonna dizyne a wAnD, yous gonna yuse 2.5 eench pype! Kapeesh?

You would have to come up with a different design for the pressure valve because it would probably cause some tendon problems for most, trying to wrap their hand around the 2.5 inch wand and hit the trigger....

 

[Greenie]

Rest assured a 2.5" design will eventually be out, there is always the "next best" crowd to please.
Trigger on top comes to mind.

 

[truckmount girl]

Duane, your formula is correct for the wand off the carpet, but the wand is used on the carpet, so that skews your figures considerably and allows you to have a much larger slot area adequately fed with a 2" tube.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Duane Oxley]

Yep. I thought of that, when I was considering the effect your glide(s) will have on the airflow... 8)

 

[Loren Egland]

Make sure the sides slant enough to easily get under cabinets, similar to a steam way wand. A little thing and I wouldn't think it would adversely affect air flow.

 

[The Magician]

Duane don't get too many projects going. Finish the TM phrase.

 

[Guest]

Wand Design

Duane, what was you involvement with the wand design with PMF

 

[Duane Oxley]

When John was there, (I can't remember John's last name, but he looked like Rodney Dangerfield...), he and I spoke pretty often. He was the one I spoke with when placing orders when I was at the company I started out with.

So, we were talking one day, and I told him that there were some things I didn't like about their wand design. And he asked what I meant. I told him, and he suggested that I send in a drawing and they would make it for us.

Jim Giles' (who owned the company) step father was a retired draftsman. So he and I got together and drew it up. We sent it in to John, and the "Low Boy" was created. It did have a flaw, though, in that the neck was too long and it skipped a lot on commercial carpets and plush carpets.

I always wanted to go back and re-design that wand, but I got too busy at the time, going on the road, demoing truck mounts and teaching dye seminars. I left the company about a year and a half after it was sold, and was too distracted at the time to give it more thought, in terms of putting something on paper.

 

[Guest]

Wand Design

Do you have any idea how many wands and hand tools PMF produce annually.

 

[Duane Oxley]

No. It's not something I've ever given thought to.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

When the 2.5" tubed wand is designed I would suggest a change in strategy.

While watching Modern Marvels about extreme vacuum applications I saw a "wand" for vacuuming gravel from a roof project. It had a 3" vacuum hose that connected to the wand about 6" off the bottom. Worked great, would have been impossible to handle such a heavy medium otherwise.

If you have a good imagination you can take it from there....

Thanks,
Lee

 

[Duane Oxley]

I get what you're saying, Lee, but having a hose connect close to the floor would become a leverage disadvantage against the grip, since you'd in effect, be moving the hose around from a distance, attached to the end of the "lever", which is the wand.

I think that the Stanley Steemer wand is a good approach to a similar concept, while keeping the leverage thing under control...

Just my 2 cents...

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Just find the "tipping point", which I'd surmise to be about 36" from the floor...

 

[Duane Oxley]

Sounds more and more like a SS wand...

 

[steve g]

pressure washer gun triggers for wands suck, once someone makes a more durable valve as what comes on prochem wands then I might listen. the only thing someone could do to make a better wand is take a Ti wand and design it from the ground up to work with a glide, then you will have your "perfect" wand

 

[Duane Oxley]

"the only thing someone could do to make a better wand is..."

The "only" thing...?

I'm not so sure about that...

 

[Guest]

Wand Design

Duane do you have a picture of the Stanley Steamer wand

 

[Duane Oxley]

Yes. I'll have to load it later though. Tonight.

 

[Guest]

Wand Design

Thanks I would love to see it.
I see that you have a patent pending on your heat exchanger, how complicated and how costly is it to get a patent on an invention. I have 3 products that I would like to get a design patent on before I start marketing them . Can you market a product safely with a patent only pending, without someone copying it.

 

[Greenie]

people will copy regardless, countries like China don't even recognize your intellectual property rights, and in the end...your patent is only worth the money you have to defend it, most inventors get a patent so they have something to sell to a larger company that can market and defend it.

Personally, I'm not all that impressed with the SS wand, but it has it's audience.

 

[Guest]

Wand Design

Yes I agree with that. But since most carpet cleaning products are manufactured in the USA anyone buy a copied product can be sued, for your losses.

 

[Greenie]

Re: Wand Design

most carpet cleaning products are manufactured in the USA

Granted, looking from the English viewpoint of what is imported to the UK, that statement may appear true especially when you look at TruckMounts, but when you look at accessories there are a lot of non-US made items, and not that I'm pointing fingers but not even Prochem or HydraMaster are American owned companies anymore.

 

[Guest]

Wand Design

You might find if you dig deep they are manufactured in ASIA not China by American citizens

 

[Rex Tyus]

I thought China was in ASIA? Silly me.

 

[Guest]

Wand Design

I was trying to make a distinction between China and somewhere else in Asia, without actually saying where . I was also referring to the wand manufacturing side of the carpet cleaning business.