Lol at the McFly comment John
I know you sell them bud. I was answering the question that Roro asked back on the other page about why the
Sapphire units have been so accepted down here, and just explaining some of the other points to Joe. Sorry for the confusion. And yeah, the
570 is VERY sweet. One of the major airlines here in Australia (which have a few other major brands) have had their engineers look over the machines and are in the process of purchasing the 570’s for their own fleet.
Joe Bristor said:
Jim, It wasn't out of context. New is new is new. Everything was new at one time. It's OK. It's just important to keep it in mind, especially something as complicated as a new truckmount design.
Hi Joe, the reason I said out of context is because the main components on the
Sapphire TM’s are not new. Reputable brand motors, water pumps and vacuum blowers. I agree, the brand name is new, but the internals on the machine (apart from the thermal well) is not. And although some truckmounts are complicated, the Sapphires are not. But I do understand where you coming from. Quite a few cleaners have had the same concerns, until they had a thorough look over the machine themselves, it resolved most of their concerns with being new - because you can see by the build quality and performance, that there is a some serious thought put into them.
Joe Bristor said:
Your 30 units is just now reaching the size of a statistically valid "sample". No doubt the experience behind it will help alot but new is new is still new.
The benefit of the internet is that everything is quite transparent. I talk with cleaners and distributors from all over the world. I was just over in the States a month ago and got to talk with a variety of distributors that supply a number of different machines, including
Sapphire, so when I am saying we are happy with their performance, I am talking about a great deal more machines that what I personally have sold – and that makes is more than just a ‘valid sample’. But I definitely agree with you, that the experienced team behind the scenes at
Sapphire has helped a lot. Years ago, when machines came out, there was ALWAYS inherit design issues, and we always stayed away from the first units. The team that
Sapphire has assembled have designed and built so many truckmounts over the last 30+ years, they know what is reliable and what isn’t. They have the benefit of more experienced staff than most other manufacturers, from the design team, through to the guys on the factory floor.
Joe Bristor said:
Why not compare to units with multi-year track records, units that can be serviced by the user? Ones that can get to 240F in 20-30sec and 500psi at the end of 150ft. that's plenty good for a carpet cleaner, plenty good for me. Your 1500psi is what's out of context. I'll take a simple unit, one I can work on without needing you.
I completely agree Joe. Simpler the better. Over here, very few TM’s actually go back to the dealer, because of the sheer distance between the suppliers and the clients because we are so spread out. Most cleaners here in Australia service their own truckmounts. The reason that we have moved quite a few
Sapphire units is because of their ease of servicing and simplicity of the electrical wiring diagram compared to other brand and none brand name machines. So, most of our clients don’t have to bring their machines back to me. If you have had a good look over a
Sapphire, you would have noticed how easy they are to service as well.
And why is 1500 psi out of context?? Most of our clients have diversified past just carpet cleaning and into tile and grout cleaning and others into concrete clean and capture and are needing machines that do more than just 500 psi these days. Heck, that is why we also sell quite a few 3000 psi truckmounts as well. Most manufacturers are making more than just ‘carpet cleaning’ truckmounts nowadays. Although it might not interest you personally Joe, higher pressure in machines these days is IN context for quite a few cleaners within the cleaning industry.
Joe Bristor said:
If there were a need for new sure, but6 just give you a new brand to jump ship to? Give me a break.
Give you a break?? lol. :roll: We have an issue in our marketplace where most of the truckmounts are too large for our vans over here and when too large a machine is installed into a smaller vehicle it causes all sorts of problems. Just because other brands have been around for many years, if they still overheat and shred belts because of the heat build up in our vans, what good is that? Just because they have been around for many years means nothing if they are still causing headaches. I would buy a machine that has been designed by experienced guys that have addressed the issues that most other brands still struggle with over here – and while I know you wouldn’t buy one from a ‘new’ brand (and I am not trying to sell you either), but many people are interested in a solution, and
Sapphire have provided it.
) here in Australia where their belts are shredding at anywhere from 200-400 hours, which is quite premature. On the Sapphire machines, Mike Roden and his team have identified this and have designed a way to keep cooler air continually blowing over the belts as they are working, which will therefore greatly extend belt life.
