I have an old RX 20......commercial or residential?

Davey Cracker wrote:Joe, wow that's a lot of great info, thank You!!!!   

I buy my Clear Extruded Acrylic Tube from eplastics.com  
http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Extruded-Plexiglass-Acrylic-Tubing
Comes in 6' lengths at a reasonable price.

carpetdaddy wrote:

Fuzzsucker wrote:Are you using the original 5 jet head or the newer 3 jet with cone jets

I am using the five jet head but only use four of the jets, and switched from 8001 to 8015 v jets. I have tried the cone jets and did not like them at all. The glides/skids and the jet configuration are the two main modifications that I have made. As far as repairs go:

(keep in mind I have a lot of these machines and we use them on just about every job. If you use the RX 20 on a daily basis you know how expensive they are to maintain... I try to save money anywhere I can without hindering performance.  

1. When the $100 hydramaster solution valve goes bad, I replace them with a $2.00 ball valve. Bend the tip of the ball valve lever up and you can open and close the valve with your thumb without taking your hand off the handle. Works great, lasts longer, and you can control flow better if you need too.

2. When the motors go bad instead of ordering the stock hydramaster motor at $400, I replace them with MTR-P50-1AB18 from Automation Direct (automationdirect.com) that cost $100 and have free shipping. The specs are the same - this motor is just a little bit louder and has a longer shaft. The shaft and key cut down pretty easy with a reciprocating saw.

3. I have changed the gear box oil from oil to packing it with bearing grease (they may come like that now - not sure). Now there is no worry of oil migrating in to the motor and dripping out if the machine is laid down.

4. When the star arms break or crack I bring the pieces to my welder and he charges me $10 per arm. This beats the heck out of paying $45 for a replacement arm or $165 for a new star.

5. When the hubs break from the center of the wheels, I replace the wheel with the same size  lawnmower wheel from Lowes or HD at $9 instead of paying $30 for an RX wheel. The lawnmower wheels are not non-marking, but it has not been an issue in the past several years.

6. I quadruple the life of the vacuum nozzle/weldment. They are going for about $75 each now (Joe B. just totally hooked me up with 15 new ones for about $35 each - thanks Joe). After several months they start to wear at the top where they rub against the star. I cut 1" x 1.5" strips of plastic from an empty gallon jug. Fold it over the top of nozzle so that it is between the star and the nozzle on both sides of the screw hole. Drill through the screw hole (thru the plastic) and reinsert the screw. When the screw hole starts to wear and thin really bad, fill the hole with JB Weld or some other metal filler. Let them sit for a week then re-drill the hole to the original size.

7. Double the life of the brass plungers. The brass plungers wear down to far to keep the handle locked in place. Remove the plungers from the linkage, using the drill press drill the same size hole at the opposite end of the plunger as close to the end as possible. Saves about $16 a pair...

8. Keep a 99 cent single pole light switch on your van. If the RX switch goes bad in the middle of a job take the back cover off the machine, remove the RX switch, and replace it with the light switch. A little more difficult to use, but it will keep you working until a new switch arrives. I have one backup machine where I cut a switch hole in the face of RX and mounted the light switch. Easy to use when you get use to it.

9. Instead of purchasing the 2" clear vac hose $32 per section pre-cut. I buy it on-line at $5/ft for a 25 foot length which makes 9 pieces (that's almost 60% savings). http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM7882988202P?ci_src=184425893&ci_sku=SPM7882988202&sid=IDx20130125xMPTLSx025

10. The hoses on the stars start to where thru on the wire reinforcements. Take some Liquid Electrical Tape from Lowes or HD and brush it on the cracked areas. A thick layer followed by several thin layers works well. This will continuously extend the life of these hoses and safe you lot of money over time. Also securing these hoses to the spray nozzle with a tie strap keeps them in place better and helps excessive wear on either end of the hoses.

Also if you ever have a star arm break in the middle of a job and don't have a back-up star on the van, take the vac hose off that is connected to vac nozzle/weldment that was attached to the arm that broke. Ball up a small piece of cotton towel and insert it in the open end of the hub where you took the hose off (so you don't lose suction). Finish the job/day balance on the four good heads. There is no loss of performance just a little harder to balance - but beats losing the work.

Hope this helps.