Orbot Help Needed

I went to the basement to pull out my relic of an Orbot after it sat all winter. I figured I would use the tile brush on this cement cleaning in the morning. Well, some gremlin has been busy this winter, because the on/off switch is gone! Mine is old enough to still use the button switches instead of toggles with one side being the on / off and the other side was for the sprayer option. I never purchased the sprayer, so only one button did anything. I think the left one (when operating the machine) is the on/off, but I can't even remember now at this late hour.

Over the last year, those button switches would pop out of the frame requiring a simple push back in, but now one is completely missing and I can't find it anywhere. I thought about moving the other switch over, but I don't know which connection went with each blade plus the switch that I do have has some type of sealant across the connections that might be a little difficult to clean off.

Anybody still have the red button switches that can get me some information? The part appears to be obsolete and now they use toggle switches, but that would require a cap that fits it as well and I don't see a part number for that. Right now I am going to use the CRB with tile brushes if needed instead, but I will likely be throwing things around in my basement when I get back.....how the hell does the switch pop off, unplug itself, and disappear on a piece of equipment that is just sitting in storage??

I don't know how big your town is, but mine has a electrical place. If you have a picture and know what you "kinda" need, they usually can help you.
A two position switch sounds about like what you need. I assume you just have two wires going to the switch, right?

Rob is the plastic that holds the button gone as well? If not get another at the hardware store that will fit the hole. If its bigger just cut the plastic. Or maybe you can add a rocker switch in place of button?

I added a an on/off switch for the sprayer using the access plastic to the wiring on the side of the handle maybe you can put your on/off switch there.

Yes, the whole cover is gone as well. Remind me, is the on/off switch on the left and sprayer power on the right? I seem to remember the button lighting up.....you can tell is has been awhile since I used that tool.

Speaking of that cement cleaning job.....what a weird experience.

First, this was the maiden voyage for my box truck with a working heater.  It started out badly as I couldn't get the pilot to light.  I was getting very frustrated and then after about 10 minutes of messing with it, I turned the dial to "on" and the flame come on.  I guess the pilot was lit and I just couldn't see it.

Then there was the job itself.  The cement was 3 years old but unsealed, so the chemical would dry as fast as I could spray it.  Sometimes, it would be dry by the time I hooked up the spinner.  I was throwing buckets on it constantly.

Without the Orbot, I used the CRB with tile brushes to get some kind of agitation, but there isn't a lot of weight to those things.  Still, it helped pick at the open pores.

The results were not looking good.  The building is surrounded by asphalt and they even stored some asphalt equipment in this room so there were some blobs of it scattered around the room.  I dumped more chemical and raised the heat.

The added heat and psi killed my spinner tool.  Well, not the tool, but trigger valve, so I had to go with my PMF Hard Surface Wand.  I don't think the spinner would have made much difference anyway and the wand at least had scrubbers and a squeegee attached to it.

I gave it everything short of an acid cleaning before throwing in the towel.  I was using a high ph cleaner with TSP and it really didn't impress.  The floor was bleached out a little and the stains were faded, but still present.  I was not happy and told the office staff that I would not charge anything as a result.

The staff went and asked the owner to have a look....he was thrilled.   He told me that he wanted to apply a roll-on sealer and needed it cleaned which he had already attempted with a bucket and mop before concluding that it would never be very clean even after a 100 buckets.

I still thought it looked like crap, but he cut me the check and then scheduled me back after Memorial Day to clean the rest of the offices in the building so that he could re-seal them as well.  It measured out to be 1,800 sqft.

I better have that Orbot fixed up before then.  I still get surprised by this industry, I know that I am very picky about my work, but expectations are always at all ends of the spectrum.  One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Lucked out, that he was pleased.

Expectations between the customer and cleaner are often different, but rarely does it work in the cleaner's favor. It still bugs me though and I find myself trying to decide what I could have done differently short of oxalic acid. They did have really nice cedar-lined walls, so that would have been trouble for an acid wash, but it might be the only way to get it done.

milspec6 wrote:Yes, the whole cover is gone as well.  Remind me, is the on/off switch on the left and sprayer power on the right?  I seem to remember the button lighting up.....you can tell is has been awhile since I used that tool.

Pretty sure the on off switch is on the left side Rob

Thanks Mo for the confirmation. I replaced the switch today, but still have to make a new cap for it. I have a few ideas, but it will have to wait until next week to be prettied up. At least it works now if needed.

Thought I would give a thumbs up to the makers of the Hos Orbot. Although that switch part is no longer available, they did locate the original part number and directed me to some websites where I might be able to locate a replacement.

Not bad service considering how old this machine is....I think I bought it about 10 years ago.

Yeah once you get through directly to techs at bring the service is awesome... the distributors not so much

Unfortunately, I found that out as well Mo. Surprisingly, I found the same thing with Sapphire Scientific as well.

I remember buying my Hoss and asking about what kind of oil does it use since the manual never states it. I went through 3 distributors who couldn't be bothered to find me the answer.