Mikey P
Administrator
What unit?
What vehicle?
How many miles and hours?
And monumental failures...
What vehicle?
How many miles and hours?
And monumental failures...
tell me about you oldest cleaning rig..
- Thread starter Mikey P
- Start date
bob vawter
Grassy Knoller
my oldest rig was the Big Red....by Gene Bates ...
i worked it day and night for TWENTY years .......thousands of hours...4 cyl Perkins diesel...no down time ....ever!
i worked it day and night for TWENTY years .......thousands of hours...4 cyl Perkins diesel...no down time ....ever!
Jim Pemberton
MB Exclusive.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
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- Name
- Jim Pemberton
1976 Prochem 400.
The exhaust went right through the roof of a Dodge van of the same year. It was fuel fired, took up half the truck (and those extended body Dodges of that time were LONG), and unlike Bawb's Big Red, had plenty of downtime. But it put an end to our Bates 1511 portable (so heavy it was a portable in the same sense of the word that a refigerator on wheels is "portable") and most of our use of Chemstractors (except for high rise work).
I don't remember the hours, I was 16 and doing in plant cleaning at the time. It was sold to one of our supply business customers a few years later and was still working in the mid eighties to the best of my memory.
The exhaust went right through the roof of a Dodge van of the same year. It was fuel fired, took up half the truck (and those extended body Dodges of that time were LONG), and unlike Bawb's Big Red, had plenty of downtime. But it put an end to our Bates 1511 portable (so heavy it was a portable in the same sense of the word that a refigerator on wheels is "portable") and most of our use of Chemstractors (except for high rise work).
I don't remember the hours, I was 16 and doing in plant cleaning at the time. It was sold to one of our supply business customers a few years later and was still working in the mid eighties to the best of my memory.
bob vawter
Grassy Knoller
Uhh Chris...i hate to burst yor bubble....
but that unit was a brand a brand new about '89 or
'90.......then again in 2011! ......AND
you gots A/C!
you gots the best machine of ANYONE on this board...yepper
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Desk Jockey
Member
1978 Hydro Genie II (2) Blowers
1978 Dodge extended van
Not sure hours or miles but ran the unit until the submount tank rusted out and we had to take her apart
Rear mount...won't do that again, weighted too much, ripped tires turning.
1978 Dodge extended van
Not sure hours or miles but ran the unit until the submount tank rusted out and we had to take her apart
Rear mount...won't do that again, weighted too much, ripped tires turning.
billyeadon
Supportive Member
1976 Bane Clene System 5 before they added the heating system. Cleaning with cold water at 120 psi is very exciting. The only good part was a 76 3/4ton Chevy only costs 5800 new.
Desk Jockey
Member
I saw Bill Bane twice once here in Topeka and once in Columbia Mo., each time I walked away impressed with cold water, low pressure carpet cleaning. I was ready to sell off our equipment and buy Bane's. Then I walked out side and let my head clear and realized how crazy that thought was.
Bill is an excellent salesman!
Bill is an excellent salesman!
billyeadon
Supportive Member
Yes that is an understatement. Even Nick P calls him the preacher. Good chemistry went a long way. I did about 80 -100 of those mini clinics around the country with the chemist Don Terry. A lot of fun but a lot of skepticism. Today it has cemented my belief that we rely too much on our choice of equipment and not enough on basic biz skills.
Desk Jockey
Member
We did use their chemical for a while too.
The powder smelled really clean and did a good job of cleaning too. I think he had his son with him on the last visit.
I remember him showing us how chewed up the wand head was and they saying the worse it was the better it performed. Then he did a demo where they used the vac hose sealed to the floor and a ball or marble.
The powder smelled really clean and did a good job of cleaning too. I think he had his son with him on the last visit.
I remember him showing us how chewed up the wand head was and they saying the worse it was the better it performed. Then he did a demo where they used the vac hose sealed to the floor and a ball or marble.
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Joe Appleby
Supportive Member
Electric Castex 1700 with an Onan generator for power. A propane Paloma heater was mounted on a hand truck that hung on the back door of a '68 Ford Econoline. The juice was Formula 77.
Desk Jockey
Member
Joe, we demo'd that setup from our local Castex dealer back then. 
SamIam
Member
2010 chevy van with 2002 405 9800 hours doesn't get much work but sucks and heats as well as the one with 3000k hours
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
juniorc82
Supportive Member
Im still a newbie as I only been in biz 7 years. But I have an 05 e250 with 150k miles and a early 2000's white magic rebel (the small 15 horse 33 blower)with about 2k hours. Replaced the pump at 1650 hours due to a bone headed mistake on my part. Due to a mutual drain resivoir thqat the engine oil , blower oil , and pump oil run through, The ball valve to the pump oil opened which I assume was from vibration and drained the pump oil during a routine engine oil change. Later that noght the pump went out at the olive garden. other than that no major problems but just problematic enough to make me take some of my funds that I saved up and buy another truckmount just to have a back up or as a second wand on large commercial
Ron Werner
Member
had that Big Red for 12yrs, from 96 to 08, put 8200hrs on her and she'll still run another 8200, she had 4500 on it when I bought it.
biggest challenge was when the orig blower went, gears totally stripped, replaced a Suterbuilt 4M with a Roots 59. Learned a lot about airflow off that rig and how to fix things.
Had to replace the pump head seals too, they were only good for 180F but I was running 200F, replaced the seals once a year.
Did a lot of mods to that old unit.
biggest challenge was when the orig blower went, gears totally stripped, replaced a Suterbuilt 4M with a Roots 59. Learned a lot about airflow off that rig and how to fix things.
Had to replace the pump head seals too, they were only good for 180F but I was running 200F, replaced the seals once a year.
Did a lot of mods to that old unit.
