Thanks Guys! Its good to hear from all of you.
Somebody tell Jimmy "the rebel" Ladwig NOT to use a 300 RPM buffer to clean carpet with. You will eventually hit a snag and put a permanent abrasion in the customer's carpet. Or maybe it won't happen to you, but it is a real possibility. I stopped using that machine (OP cleans better).
As for Mark's Mix, that was a l-o-n-g time ago (
even before Pig Farmer had his sex-change operation!) I was just having fun (at my own risk) mixing some CleanCraft detergents together to see how well they would work as an OP cleaner. Mixing chems together was an idea I got from the late Ellard Gann (God rest his soul). He told me that he OP cleaned with Ramsey's "Ballistic" pre-spray mixed with
ChemSpec's "Roto-brite". His before and after pics were very impressive. Allot of what we talked about was "conceptual" and in hind-sight, I should have kept it private and not mentioned this on the various forums. My mistake.
Ever since I sold Lonnie McDonald my VLM Central E-zine (6 or 7 years ago?), I decided to just focus primarily on HWE as my main system for cleaning carpets and upholstery. For a couple of years, I had a nice new GMC van and 24 HP Truckmount that I grew to really dislike. I have nothing against Truckmounts, there are some really awesome units out there. My TM had "issues", though. Now, I have a Chevy Astro van and use what I call a "hybrid" electric system. The system requires 2 separate outlets (no heater) or 3 separate outlets (with heater).
I purchased a 55 gallon poly barrel on ebay and mounted that in the Astro van (this is my main solution tank). Then I mounted a 150 PSI Flowjet pump on top of the tank. I can run 100' to 150' of solution line from the van if need be. I've also been using an old Mytee in-line heater, but plan on mounting a Little Giant propane heater in the van by Summer 2010.
For a vacuum source, I've been using an old Mytee portable that I upgraded to (2) 3-stage Lamb vac motors. Each motor is connected to its own air inlet inside the waste tank so the water recovery is really good at 75' through a 1.5" vac hose. I always leave the Mytee outside by the front door and can usually reach all carpeted areas in most homes. Hose management is kind of a bitch so I'm looking to buy a Hide-A-Hose soon. I know some guys don't care for them but I've used them before and they seem to work well for me.
I'm also thinking about building my own auto-pump-out system so I don't have to stop and dump waste water every 10 gallons. I believe using an APO would cut an hour or so off my labor (per job - maybe more?).
For cleaning agents: I use Bi-O-Kleen's "Fiber Glow" as a pre-spray and rinse with just hot water. This works great for all carpet and most upholstery (especially micro-fiber sofas, etc.) For the Chinese restaurants, I might add a little FG to my solution tank as well. I'd like to sample all the new encap pre-sprays I've been hearing about to see how they compare to FG cleaning-wise and health-wise. Maybe I'll switch to using one of them.
Ever since my two kids have gotten older I have been focused on Family stuff so I have drifted away from posting on the Boards like I used to. I'll try to post more often. It funny, I no longer have these huge aspirations of building a multi-truck empire!

I can see myself doing this for another decade or so. The money's decent and I like being my own boss. The time to save/invest for retirement is NOW (and yesterday!). I'm going to stick with this type of HWE system because it does a great job, has a low operating cost, and requires little (if any) real maintenance.
Sorry for running on at the mouth - its been a while.
Mark