Sapphire 570ss 1 week review

[davegillfishing]

Ok so we got off to a rough start lol

The machine shut down at the 1.3 hr mark..I was not a happy camper as we are super slammed right now..really backed up even with 3 trucks running

The guys at crown cleaning and sapphire were awesome and very eager and concerned about getting me back up ASAP!!

I called Jim Martin (guy is truly a class act!!). He gave his opinion and ideas and we chased them down as well..

Tought we had it fixed thinking it was a air bubble in the radiator and the machine was getting hot

Nope..ugh!!

It would run 2-3 hrs then shut down but would start right back up to run 2-3 mins and shut back down..

It ended up being the waste tank shut off float..the extra waste tank we installed was not plumbed the best way and it was creating lift in the tank bringing the water up to flip the float switch..we tested the theory by running it till the unit shut off then dumped and fired back up to run balls out again..

So a few parts and hoses to do a little routing of hoses to connect the waste tanks and we will be good to go..

No how the machine runs..

WOW this thing is pretty sweet..gets crazy crazy hot and has massive vac..runs super smooth and well beyond my expectations..very very happy

I run it on med heart and get 240-260 deg..I'm scared to run it on high lol

 

[Mikey P]

those float valves are problematic in general.


water gets in the body and shorts things out, plastic is brittle..

I doubt these were made for this shake rattle and roll application.

 

[Jimmy L]

Mine went out in my cleanco and I just rewired and bypassed it.

 

[GCCLee]

Crank that thing up and see what it does.

Aint got 3 speeds for looks dude : )

 

[davegillfishing]

Lol

She runs at over. 280 when wide open. Crazy as heck

 

[davegillfishing]

 

[Bill Bruders]

those float valves are problematic in general.


water gets in the body and shorts things out, plastic is brittle..

I doubt these were made for this shake rattle and roll application.

Mike
These are actually pretty darn reliable and well suited for the application when properly placed in a waste tank. Our warranty rate is less than .7% and improving actually. Unfortunately problems that manufacturers have with these switches that then impacts the cleaner are generally the result of simply not dotting the i's and crossing the t's as they say. Reliable product engineering is the result of knowing that the devil is always in the details. Proper placement within the waste tank is critical and the easiest place to place the switch isn't necessarily the right place.

 

[GCCLee]

Lol

She runs at over. 280 when wide open. Crazy as heck

Heck yea! woo hoo dude that is knarly : )

 

[Jim Martin]

Mike
These are actually pretty darn reliable and well suited for the application when properly placed in a waste tank. Our warranty rate is less than .7% and improving actually. Unfortunately problems that manufacturers have with these switches that then impacts the cleaner are generally the result of simply not dotting the i's and crossing the t's as they say. Reliable product engineering is the result of knowing that the devil is always in the details. Proper placement within the waste tank is critical and the easiest place to place the switch isn't necessarily the right place.

I agree...Harwil makes some of the best float switches out there......the hardest thing about them is sometimes getting them screwed in with out breaking the float off.....

 

[Jim Martin]

Yep.....you can lay that needle over if your not careful.....and she will hold it to....this machine has and does everything you need it to and then some....

glad you got it figured out...I know you will be as happy with yours as I am with mine....

 

[Art Kelley]

...I know you will be as happy with yours as I am with mine....

Question for you Jim, and also for Dave Gill: If, as Larry Cobb has suggested, we will no longer have available the simple elegance of direct drive carpet cleaning machines in the newly redesigned vans, and we will all be reduced to driving around with lawn mower motors in our vans operating our machines, how bad is it? I've never had to use a slide-in, and this Sapphire 570 would be one of the few I would consider. Do you have to change belts every few months instead of the every six or seven years on a DD? Is it stinking hot. Is it really smelly? How does the lawn mower motor do sitting in a hot van all day? You can't close the doors in cold or in bad areas? I may have to buy one one day if the bleak dark future Larry suggests comes to pass.

 

[Desk Jockey]

The only trouble we ever had was someone bumping and breaking it or a hose hitting it and breaking it. Putting a cover over it protects it from happening and allows us to squeeze the reel closer to the unit to save space.

 

[Jim Martin]

Question for you Jim, and also for Dave Gill: If, as Larry Cobb has suggested, we will no longer have available the simple elegance of direct drive carpet cleaning machines in the newly redesigned vans, and we will all be reduced to driving around with lawn mower motors in our vans operating our machines, how bad is it? I've never had to use a slide-in, and this Sapphire 570 would be one of the few I would consider. Do you have to change belts every few months instead of the every six or seven years on a DD? Is it stinking hot. Is it really smelly? How does the lawn mower motor do sitting in a hot van all day? You can't close the doors in cold or in bad areas? I may have to buy one one day if the bleak dark future Larry suggests comes to pass.

the 570 has a Kubota liquid cooled engine....been running it since August of last year...
belts and everything are fine...

same on the thermal wave..been running that machine for 2.5 years and have only changed the belts once....
pretty much the same schedule that my old CDS unit was on.....
but I stay ahead of possible problems and change them before they get bad....not when........

as far as heat in the van....the Thermal wave needed a bigger fan to help it cool down...
the 570 has no problems dealing with our desert heat or any heat generated inside the van....

I have no smell in either truck...but I rotary clean..so I am always pulling the APO hose on just about every job..everything gets filtered really good and I dump both tanks empty every evening..smell has never been a problem....but I did not have smell when I ran my CDS either...

the Thermal wave needs air flow to operate the way it should and where it sits I can not bring the large door down to help protect it...but cold air and rain is not going to hurt it anyway....

the 570..I can bring the doors in but I would not close them all the way...it still will need some circulation...but cold air and a bit of rain does not hurt it either...I just throw a tarp over the doors and make a cover for it....


Both these machines are a bit more advanced then your typical " lawn mower engine "....

I like my thermal wave...but the 570..out does it by far...once I sell the cab over with the thermal wave in it...I will get another 570 set up.......

 

[davegillfishing]

hey art..yea i have never seen a lawn mower engine like this kubota lol

i would have been happy if my butler got NEAR as hot and stayed at the temp at any pressure (1500psi)

vac is the same or better on the sapphire also..

no heat build up at all in the van..a exhaust fan above the unit sucks it out..exhaust from engine is out side of the van so no issues there

the things i look forward too with this slide in..

much less maint on van..less frequent oil changes, less radiator wear, water pumpwear
if the van gets hit i can have this unit in another vehicle in less than a hr..running!!
when the van wears out i can just buy a new one and switch the equipment over

belts? i had the do the drive belts on my butler every 5-6 months and expect less on this unit

shutting the doors and locking up wont happen with this unit but thats fine because we dont work in areas that require locking up
while we work..

the rain will be interesting but im not a fan of working in the rain so im fine with that and we dont get tons of rain in fla

make no mistake though..this isn't any lawnmower engine iv ever seen lol

 

[Becker]

Lol. Yeah. Most large TMs hardly have mower engines.

 

[ruff]

Art, I have the Cds and the Prochem Apex (Kubota Diesel).
I like the Cds and will buy a Pro-1200 because I need to work out of a locked van in the city and also I carry rugs with me.

The diesel Apex does not smell at all in the van (Neither cabin nor back.) I did add an exhaust that goes under the van, so it exhausts out. The heat is great, suction too and the diesel Kubota will outlast the van. However, since I work in the city, carrying everything that I do + rugs + the challenge of parking- therefore a PTO is the way to go for me.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Update?

 

[Jerry]

My SS454 will run super hot like that as well. I have 2100 hrs on it, no major breakdowns. I changed the belts twice, not because I needed to, just thought it was time to do so. With the Briggs 35 hp air cooled, my only complaint is that its LOUD! Very happy with the unit, though...

 

[davegillfishing]

Just did oil change 400 hrs now..this thing is simply awesome..we are super happy and will be adding another by end of summer

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Thanks Dave that's what I was hoping to hear.