Well I bit the bullet and ordered a Zipper Wand

I just looked and they are in OKC too. oh well. they struggle in the first aid supply here.

@AC, how big of a Li ion battery pak do you think it would take?
And running time of the battery?
Saw a YouTube vid of a guy in Portland that did an electric car using batteries. He would go down to the drag racing track and smoke the muscle cars. "White zombie" was the name of the car. Who names there car?
I asked him if it about feasibility of running a TM in the same way. Replace the kohlor motor and running off the batteries. With enough time and money he could make it work. And make it cost effective.

yes you could pretty easily get 25-30Hp out of batteries but they would be a bit expensive for the upfront cost.

for the rotaries it wouldnt take much to have plenty of power and run all day long.

Could you Mont this on the rotovac. It says up to 20 hours running 12v
5-in-1 Portable Power Pack with Jump Start at harbor freight.
I'd post the link but it won't let me yet

Matt; My carpet cleaner wrote: Who names there car?

Almost all race cars are named, wither is written on the car or not, they usually are.......just like all boats are named.

I named my car and work van....it isn't a very nice name, R-rated actually.

It's never "a very nice name" when it's a Ford either...

I call my POS Ford all kinds of names.

Ive had better luck with Fords.

Giving a name to things is common....I named my son!

So what names have you guys given your work van.?

"Giddyup"

Matt; My carpet cleaner wrote:So what names have you guys given your work van.?

My brother in law named one of my Ford extended length van "Bbking" which means Big butt king

Matt; My carpet cleaner wrote:So what names have you guys given your work van.?

Hard not to go with the obvious when you own a Ford, so "POS" is it's name.

I prefer the "FWPOS"

(I'm sure you know the words)

Is this an anti Ford forum?
Over the years ive had 4 dodge vans, 9 fords, 6 chevy......The best van I had was an older dodge that wouldnt quit! but Fords seem to be the least expensive to maintain and I dont recall breakdowns.....Chevy was a big problem and the performance was just weak....I got a chevy this time because thats what the cleanco wanted to go in (most common) its performance lacks and only had 26K when I got it....just has no balls. I hate the doors and one day im going to do something about that. Everything in it feels cheap and plastic and rattles around like an old truck. I know it will give me the mileage....I just want some quality mileage

I don't hate the Fords.....I hate all the brand of vans.

I ended up with GMC/Chevy for the same reason as you Devon, that was all that could be ordered from Butler in '99. I've driven the Fords and they were more reliable, but rode rougher.

The lack of power is also why I am still dragging around this '99 with the final era of the 5.7L motor. It isn't going to win any races, but I feel like the have more power than the crap being used in the GM vans today. Seriously, who decided that the 4.8L would be popular in a work van?

Even this box truck fully loaded could beat a modern loaded van in a pink slip race.

That would be funny...two carpet wagons on an episode of pinks! The TM's have to be in the van AND operational! lol cleaning solutions optional.

I quickly forget about the van when I fire up the Cleanco though.....I was all about a more trouble free machine after all the years of the slid-ins....looking back, if I was younger and going to get real serious with growth I would have both...with the PTO I realize its a road trip if I need something serious done.....possibly....doubting my patience these days.

Love the simplicity of pto style systems, but I hate worrying about what happens when the van breaks down and leaves you stranded. At least if the slider dies, you can still drive home.

Still, I will probably get a newer butler or Cleanco one of these days.

If my van dies I will be close enough to home to have a wrecker get me! I wont venture off to far.

I almost got the Butler.....I was really impressed with the level of service I was hearing about Cleanco. I think Butler probably has the same level....Cleanco was johnny on the spot when I called and took plenty of time with me.

I think some of the bad luck and situations that happened when the Zipper loaner went around, I can touch on.

For the Zipper to work best, it should be jetted and properly sized for the Truckmount being used.  Blower size, heat produced by your TM and what it can sustain, number of little things can have an effect on how successful of cleaning experience you will have. Also since using the Zipper just starting last Sept 2014, I have discovered a lot about it too. I also know that some were having chattering issues and that can happen on certain cheaper carpets....but, in the past year, I asked Erik Hiltz about making a Hybrid glide for the front when the slot glide is too aggressive on this problem carpets and we have had great success with that.

Also, it does not agitate, so some areas you will need to consider agitation.

I carry many tools on my vans including Zipper wands, pimped out Prochem Titanium wands with 12 flow, CRB machines, Rotovac 360 XL's (parked my RX 20's) and with my Rotovac's, I can put a drive block on them and use a red pad as well.....lot's of tools and lots of options.

My Truckmounts are Butler High Heat units with 47 Tut hill blowers. My brother also has an 02 Butler with same blower by no high heat.

We use the larger 15 inch Zippers with 12 flow...there is a smaller unit with 5 jets too...and you can choose a jetting flow rate on each unit.  If you are using a 45 blower or smaller, you would not have very good luck with the larger Zipper or the flow rate I run.  

My point I want to try to make, is the Zipper is a great tool.... BUT, just like any tool will have a bit of a learning curve on it's SET UP.  

As far as ease of use, it can be amazing (if set up properly) and that is one of the reasons I have done videos trying to help and explain how to use the unit.

It is a monster on knocking out large square footage jobs, and the dry times, there is nothing even close.

I have done comparisons using a Rotary, a wand, or a Zipper and sometimes, one will still out perform the other in certain situations.

I believe, you need to first have a good Truckmount and a great cleaning wand, and definitely some form of agitation. Consider from there if the Rotary would fit your business model best next or if a Zipper could...

I started with wands and Rotaries, and then ended up with my cliental improving, not needing a rotary as much....

I would say right now, we use the Zipper 80% of the time, Rotary maybe more after that, and the wands now occasionally.  Still the moment I need that Rotary or wand....I want them, need them and really enjoy having such a good tool.

Don't know if this helps with answering a few questions, and I am sorry that some people had some not as good experiences maybe trying the Zipper.  I really encourage others to give me a call with questions, but also, if anyone ever wants to come visit and clean with us, we really enjoy having you along....I even buy dinner

Please consider checking out my YouTube channel that might help...or again, just contact me.  

I really want to help others have good cleaning experiences, and of course success with their business as well.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi9UefjEixJPGgxWPTnEUhg


Thanks everyone!

Mark Saiger
Saiger's Steam Clean, LLC
Grand Rapids, MN
www.saigers.com
"Bring on the Blue!"

Nice job Mark...good info. now im going to watch that vid!

Mark....you have tons of footage on youtube! pretty cool stuff.

There are a lot of guys that love their Zipper.

How do you like it so far Tom and more importantly how does you wife like?

Ok its been a while, busy with life and everything, but I bought 1 as well back in June...here are a few thoughts...

Cleaning back and forth.....it DOES do this...does it do it better one way vs another?? yup....on the forward walk, it cleans better, due to the jets IMPACTING the carpet harder, as they spray forward...little longer for the vac slot to get there, but better cleaning...on the back stroke its like using a wand because you are dragging it back, just like a wand, with the spray facing forward (wand) and the vac slot is right there (wand)

I have found in most cases, a 2nd dry pass really is needed to put that final oomph on the cleaning...unless you were using an AT or 59 blower

Uneven ground.....yes its a huge PITA...fortantly i havent hit a bunch of these, but when you do, you have to move it around to get all the water up which slows you down...

Operator fatigue.........My worker finds this makes him and his back and shoulder less tired, thus making him able to clean a little longer (I bought it for a 25k place 2 days 8 hrs, plus cleaning 2 large bathrooms each day)

Time.....for the most part I am finding a time savings of 25-40%... there are a few, no matter how many things I try, it just takes X amount of time..wand, RX, Zipper generally i am not as wiped out using the zipper though...

Chatter...just like wanding you have to find the pattern that doesnt chatter, we all have it happen.....havent thrown the hybrid glid on yet...still use the slot and holed (love the slot for Chinese places and their rice)


Just like Mark said, and i have said as well.....its a tool, it has pros and cons, its not a 1 tool fit all thing....But i havent pulled my rx off the truck since i bought this.....

oh and personally i hate it on res....

Awesome review Floorguy. I'm all for saving time and saving your body from wearing out.

I have a felling Tom's wife is going to love the Zipper.

Do you have the ergonomic handle?