[Steve Chapman]

Does anyone find the life of their vac motors getting shorter and shorter, another one of mine has gone today and it's been in use for about six months
I was hoping to get a little bit longer out of it!  I use an extracta excell and it is in use all day five days a week, so am i expecting too much or is this just normal wear for a machine thats used a great deal.

I mostly leave it in the truck or outside and run 100 ft of hose so perhaps this wears the motors a bit quicker?
It just seems rather expensive at £200 a throw (from extracta) maybe more
regards steve

[Phil Marlor]

I used to get fed up replacing Extracta Vacs, they used to just get past the 12 month warranty then bang.

I use an Electric TM now built by Dave Ingram and its cost me about £0.78 to run in 4 years.

Wouldn't 6 months be still under warranty?

Rgds
Phil

[Steve Chapman]

Phil,
You probably know it's hard to get these places to back up their warranty and always assume it's a user error or fault and not been used correctly, it makes my blood boil sometimes
what's the make of you electric truck mount sounds interesting, i'm just exploring the options of another machine, are they really that good???
steve

[Spot On cleaning]

The problem with vac motors can be the bearings. When the bearings start to wear out, the comutator (the bit that spins round) has more free movement, allowing it to run out of line putting a strain on the motor and causing irreguar brush wear, or at worst to hit the armature which will knacker it completely.


In theory, if you look after the bearings, keep moisture / water away from the motor, the only other thing to do would be to change the brushes. If you look at the area where the brushes make contact, you will notice that around the shaft there are grooves, and these get choked up with carbon from the brushes, which will eventually stop the motor workig, but not in the short term.

When i worked in the cable industry, if one of the extruder motors failed, it would be stripped off the machine by the fitters and sent away overnight to be rebuilt and have new copper windings, at a cost of a £1000 or more.

If you are ever stuck, i think i can get you their number : :

Dave

[Steve Chapman]

I think i'll leave it for now
ta anyway
steve

[Everbrite]

It the luck if the draw one can last for about year and a half and another can lasr six months.

[Phil Marlor]

Steve,

As you know Brian & John (Extracta) are really nice blokes, as long as you havn't been puting loads of water through the vacs they might offer to repair the one thats gone.

With regards to my machine, its just a standard Electric machine with a 60 gal water tank 40 gal waste tank, 200 psi.  I think Dave's built about 5 now. It just goes on forever, bit like Dave himself really!

I am considering moving up to a fuel driven machine soon, but then I have been saying that for 3 years now.

Rgds
Phil

[carpetclean]

you shpuld speak to vernon purcel about vac motors and brushes as there can sometimes be problems with  this alone he will explain

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys,

I had seven vac motors in two and a half years with my Excel.

I bought from Ashcroft Agencies because they were cheaper.

My accountant commented on how high my repair/replacement bill was

Cheers

Doug

[HolmansUKLTD]

my Lamb amtech lasted 2years each both went at the same time thats roughly the max for everyday use, to maintain them allways dri vac first try not to let them get filled with foam or water and dont suck out your solution tank in cold months, vac fans hate steam, use a male or female connector with some solution hose to empty your tank into a bucket then wash your tools down :

NIck

[Steve Chapman]

Phil,
does the electric truckmount use similar vac motors or are they more reliable?
Just hate having to change the things esp when they only last six months
and dave who? can he build me one, what sort of price are they going for?
regards
steve

[Phil Marlor]

Steve, I  wouldn't have a clue, never had the lid off.

Seriously though you need to post this on Cleantalk, Dave goes on there more, he could answer your questions, I can just about change a Light Bulb.

I did ask him to build me a new one a while ago and his answer began with 'F' and ended in 'F'

John Flynn had a Dave Ingram machine for sale couple of months ago but he has now sold it, better than mine.

Rgds
Phil

[Ian Gourlay]

I am told the Bane Motors are very Big.

But do as Phil  Suggests

[Steve Chapman]

Thanks all,
i think i'm probably stretching the ability of my porty a bit, i use it 5 days a week and cover somewhere in the region of 20-25 jobs a week(some whole houses as we do a lot of agency work) and i think i could do with something a bit more powerful, but am reluctant to get rid of my treasured hilux surf, (see pictur) i know there be no room for full truckmount, but maybe smaller electric one???
The prowler looks good but am really undecided
regards
steve

[Phil Marlor]

Why are you using a portable?
You should be using a TM if you are doing 25 jobs a week.

Rgds
Phil

[Steve Chapman]

i actually do a lot of high security buildings and have not found a way around this as none of the doors can be open and on some not even allowed the vehicle
Also parking is real problem and the wardens are merciless
regards
steve

[Mike Roper]

Whenone of my vac motors  went on my Prochem machine I replaced both motors with Woodbridges Hitrack ones. I was I must admit reluctant but thought I would give them a go. At £44 each + vat its half the price of Lamb motors from Woodbridge. That was in May last year & there still going strong, so for me were a good choice. My machine does alot of work !
Mike

[Steve Chapman]

Mike,
are they the same spec as the lambtech motors, as the extracta ones are bigger than the standard size, 7.2 " across i think?
steve

[Mike Roper]

Steve,
The motors in the Prochem are the 5. somethings , but are 3 stage . I would give Woodbridge a ring & discuss it with them as Im not the authority on vac motors.I know in the past some havnt been overly impressed with motors that wernt Lamb but I take as I find and Hitrack ones have been good for me.,
Mike

[Steve Chapman]

Cheers mike,
have just ordered a lambtek vac motor from woodbridge to the tune od £200,  wish i'd thought to ask them about alternatives :
steve