Rotovac cfx ranger and 360i (the ultimate Portable discussion)

[Sky]

I purchased the delux package from rotovac and have recently started using it. I am new to carpet cleaning and am absolutely flustered by the set-up and breakdown time. Some people say it only takes them about twenty minutes to set up their porty where as it took me about 40min to set up the cfx to the faucet run hose to the toilet and begin auto pump out.

Is this set up time normal when first starting or is this simply normal for the rotovac portable package? I do not have the money for a TM so no need to suggest it. Also there are 6 wires needed, where as other portables only have about two to four wires. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Mikey P]

@Willy P
@Goomer
@GeeeAus
Help a porty brother out please

 

[Goomer]

Is this set up time normal when first starting or is this simply normal for the rotovac portable package?

Both

A 40 minute clusterfook sounds about right for a new guy who purchased that specific equipment.

Not at all your fault, just not a beginner-friendly package as RotoCrack makes it out to be.

There are many easier options, and this forum will help you get it right, but you should first focus on how you can dump that equipment so you have the funds to buy the right stuff.

Can you exchange it?

 

[Desk Jockey]

Hate to be a porty pooper but that...is the deal-do.

Setup, tear down are a beech! Popping breakers a fact of life. Contrary to what anyone says a porty can't clean as good as a TM.

Its a myth continued through time by porty owners. No TM owner will ever tell you a porty can do what his TM can do.

Ok, so now what can you do. With the powerhead you can accomplish some decent results. Buy good chems, let them dwell, agitate them with the power head trigger off, then rinse trigger on and make dry passes until the tube clears.

6 is an almost impossible amount of cords to manage. The home or apartment is going to look like black spaghetti. I'm not sure what all 6 power, but if you can cut a few out the process would be much smoother.

Six cords? Oooh my!

The more you clean the faster you will get at setup and tear down. Relax, you'll knock time off as you get comfortable with the system.

Good luck!

 

[Goomer]

Stay out of this Chalupa.

No point in encouraging him to try to make the best of such a complicated setup as a beginner.

It will only lead him to frustration.

I'm a big fan of starting with basic portable equipment and a wand, and learning the fundamentals first.

Sure it can be done, but why should he torture himself.

Better to take a step back and re-boot the right way.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Frank....shadddupa your mouff!

The dude bought and used it already. Its his.

SIX cords.

 

[Cleanworks]

Takes me 40 minutes to clean a 1 bedroom suite with a portable. Filling/empty with a bucket. 2 cords for the machine, one for the heater. Crb adds 15 minutes. Autofill/dump can be complicated sometimes.

 

[Desk Jockey]

In the front to back out? 40 minutes?

Fookin porty hacks!

Seriously I think it would take us longer with a tm and we carry our own water. Sumptin ain't rite!

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Invest in good extension cords.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Dryer and stove 220 splitter too!

 

[Sky]

To be exact its three cords, pump out hose and vacuum hose. So six items to keep track of while cleaning.

Yes I can exchange as I am still under the thirty day trial period. Should I just try to get use to system or start fresh? I feel no matter how experienced I get that set up/breakdown time will not be easily demenished.

 

[Desk Jockey]

What type of work do you see yourself doing? That setup would work well if you're near a janitors closet.

It a home you would lose the auto feed and auto dump but then you back to the bucket brigade.

Ron? Frank? Willy? Nate?

 

[Cleanworks]

To be exact its three cords, pump out hose and vacuum hose. So six items to keep track of while cleaning.

Yes I can exchange as I am still under the thirty day trial period. Should I just try to get use to system or start fresh? I feel no matter how experienced I get that set up/breakdown time will not be easily demenished.

Are you doing houses, apts, or commercial?

 

[Shorty]

Sky, with practice, you'll get much quicker.

6 Leads??

The CFX has 2, one of which plugs into one of 2 leads on the Ranger.
The other goes to power.
The Ranger should then have one going to power.

This makes 2 leads going to the power supply.

You then also have one lead going from the 360i to power.

I do not have the Ranger, but I had the earlier model which is similar but with a lower pressure pump.
It only had the one lead.

I use only faucet pressure, so I have no reason to lug the Ranger around, just my CFX15 & 360i.

I have no problems setting up or breaking down regards time.

This combo give me pretty good results.

I'm not complaining, as it's a very versatile tool for everything I need, although it won't suit many.

 

[Sky]

Shorty, how long does it take you to set up? How many jobs can you do in a day with just using CFX15? Say 3bed and living room?

 

[Sky]

In doing everything from housed to commercial and apartment buildings.

 

[Sky]

*I'm

 

[GeeeAus]

Systemise, systemise, systemise...

Never walk in or out of the property without something you need next up in you hands.

When you arrive and you are going inside to the walk through, you're packing heat...

Put all your water in / out hoses and cords in separate bags. Bags that fit them just right. Walk passed the bathroom? Drop the dump hose in it's tasteful little baggie. Have two separate bags of extension cords, it pays. Go to one end of the property. drop one cord bag. Walk to the other end drop the other bag.

Get the RE and have the head clean and ready to go on the unit before you get there. Have a full and hot HF before you arrive or pre dose your pump up or what have you with powder and fill and dissolve at the job. But have it ready to go. Don't do stuff on the job, be ready.

Do the system backward to pack up. You don't go outside empty handed. Pack each hose and cord in the pack and take it away.

Spray something that smells wonderful at the front entrance so its fresh for arriving home and arriving guests. When you leave pass over three cards and ask nicely for a review.

Win

 

[Cleanworks]

Do you have the ranger with its own pump or do you have to hook up to a faucet every Time?

 

[Willy P]

First off, ignore Chavez- he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground on this subject. I'd lose that package, get a crb and a 500 psi dual 3 stage parallel machine. You won't always need the crb. but it really helps with rat nasty carpets and can be used on tile and grout as well. I did a 1 bedroom apartment today, rolled up at 7, rolled out at 7:50. You need a few little helpers like a filler hose and good organization working for you. I'll post a little more in depth tomorrow, but I got a really early start in the morning.

 

[SamIam]

Dry stroke too

 

[Sky]

I have the ranger but I try to avoid it by hooking up to faucet. Ranger is very big and cumbersome.

 

[Sky]

Thanks Willie

 

[Sky]

If I can be successful with cfx and ranger ill keep it. It just doesn't seem to be the case. Don't see how I can do 3 jobs a day with that set up.

 

[Cleanworks]

I have the ranger but I try to avoid it by hooking up to faucet. Ranger is very big and cumbersome.

Good that you have it. You will run into situations where there is no faucet to hook up to. The rotovac is a powerful tool, especially with the 360i. Get the brush head if you don't already have it. It may be cumbersome but you will become proficient in time. The only issue I have heard with it is if you have a foam problem, it will shoot out the vacuum exhaust. Be careful that you don't use too much detergent. Sometimes less is more.

 

[Shorty]

Sky, the majority of my work is Commercial with a Cimex.

This was a feral house where several cc'ers; told the agent to replace as it would never respond.

Usually, I price myself out of this marketplace.

Most of my day work in residential is upholstery or leather now, so I can't honestly comment on "3 houses per day time" as it's been sometime since I serviced that market.

Back then, I was using a small truck-mount as my favourite option.

IF I was, I would be using a different extraction machine, & most probably, (as others have said), with a CRB, but unsure as to what, because I'm not really interested anymore in that marketplace.


This house was 4 bedrooms + lounge/dining & took less than 3 hours from arrival to go for AU$730.00

Most residential carpets I would use my Sprayborg, but this needed to be agitated & rotary extracted.


Not much help I'm afraid.

 

[Nate The Great]

What type of work do you see yourself doing? That setup would work well if you're near a janitors closet.

It a home you would lose the auto feed and auto dump but then you back to the bucket brigade.

Ron? Frank? Willy? Nate?

Why you dragging me into this porty talk... You damn well know it takes me forever to do jobs with my porty or TM... I'm just a slow cleaner...

You'll get faster with time... Connecting to the faucet is probably the hardest part of the whole ordeal... I try to just fill my porty with hot water to start, then run it through my 2 electric heaters... Or just take my #2LGHeater and minus the popping of the circuits...

Don't plug into to same room or wall for that matter.. I rarely pop a circuit, but ask where the circuit panel is before starting the job (it'll save you a good 20minutes looking for it).. figure out which cord has the pump on it and never plug that one into the GFIC plug..

Everything else is redundant with what these old geezers say... Figure out what type of work you want to go after and get busy... Or return the equipment and find a job you won't suck at...

 

[GeeeAus]

You'll be right if you give yourself time to learn how it all flows. It's not a five minute thing. I am in no way being disrespectful. When you DIY time doesn't matter. But when you sell; while you mustn't ever rush it, you need to move as quick as your tools permit you to. Whatever investment you make, learn it backward, upside down, sideways and inside out. Because it's your business now. You need to command that thing like a BOSS.

A traditional tank porty would be a terrific compliment to your auto setup. Open more doors to more jobs, particularly small one and two roomers and upholstery bookings make more sense this way in general too.

Short hoses are your very best friend. Either go all out with boosters and leave the porty outside like a TM, or have it right on top of your arse like a ******* vacuum cleaner from the Deathstar. Today I did a job with my Nautilus, no vacuum booster and a 5m or 16.4ft of vacuum and solution hose. I filled with customer hot water and used my electric heat. Filled two additional buckets of hot water after the Nautilus was brimming full and I had my pre-spray down. Connect up the RV and go. Carpet was almost dry by the time I packed up and the cab arrived to take me home.

Another way to look at it is by using only what's needed to get what's needed you save time and money. Like @Nate The Great , I'm just a low cleaner. I don't see well, the equipment is almost as big as me. I weigh 72Kg / 158lb the Nautilus weighs 62Kg / 136lb. But in three hours I cleaned a 4 x upholstered microsuede lounge suite with chase that was filthy and a small living room expanse of while wool carpet that as filthy.

4 x $50 Upholstery $200
1 x Carpeted Area Hot Rotary Extraction $80
$280

280 - 7% = $260.40

$260.40 / 3 = 86.80 Per Hour

Not bad for a porty in a home with a job thats neither big nor small and you can still make good coin.

So get after your friends and family and use your tools as much as you can until you can set it up by feel, it just flows and feels quite natural. That's how you're going to make money.

 

[GeeeAus]

Why you dragging me into this porty talk... You damn well know it takes me forever to do jobs with my porty or TM... I'm just a slow cleaner...

You'll get faster with time... Connecting to the faucet is probably the hardest part of the whole ordeal... I try to just fill my porty with hot water to start, then run it through my 2 electric heaters... Or just take my #2LGHeater and minus the popping of the circuits...

Don't plug into to same room or wall for that matter.. I rarely pop a circuit, but ask where the circuit panel is before starting the job (it'll save you a good 20minutes looking for it).. figure out which cord has the pump on it and never plug that one into the GFIC plug..

Everything else is redundant with what these old geezers say... Figure out what type of work you want to go after and get busy... Or return the equipment and find a job you won't suck at...

You still have the hottest arse @Nate The Great . My gosh......

 

[GeeeAus]

What about the Rotovac Steam Shark? It's the TM you can have when you can't have a TM. It's maybe a good option in the longer term?