[Carpet Dawg]

Hey guys.

I'm pretty new here.

I fancy purchasing the new Airflex Pro from cleansmart. I was thinking of the 200 psi one with inline heater!

has anyone had a shot at one? or own one? they seem very easy to maintain (which is very important to me) and to carry about upstairs etc etc

I currently own a steampro powerplus and the reliability of it sucks big ones! in fact i recommend anyone to never think of buying one!

thanks in advance
tony

[Simon Gerrard]

Why does a Steampro powerplus suck, big ones on reliability?
. It's a dual vac machine and should be adequate.

[John Milnes]

Hi Tony,

I don't have a review but I'm thinking of going to Cleansmart next week to look at this machine if I can get a day off. I will certainly test it out.

Although I have the 600 psi in mind, the 200 psi version is not a bad choice as I have the same pump in a Ninga and it is quite sufficient. Btw this pump actually runs at 250 psi.

What looks good about this machine is the serviceability and the Pumptec pump head is much cheaper to buy from them, (£50) cheaper than other suppliers in the UK and it can be changed in 7 mins apparently. They also don't use the Fasco pump motors as these are no match for piston pumps as the bearings are not up to the job.

It does look like a machine that has been well thought out....more than basic with good design.
It could well do with an immersion heater but obviously won't take the amps although an add on inline heater is available.

John

[Simon Gerrard]

What I don't understand is why people even contemplate a 600psi machine with a twin vac three stage machine which is wholly incapable of recovering that amount of water. Truck Mounts don't even run at that pressure and most would agree that 600psi is too much for carpet cleaning?

Simon

[Carpet Dawg]

yeah thats what i was thinking Simon. thats why i thought a lower psi machine would be adequate. But apparantly the water lift is better on these higher psi machines. well better than the steampro anyways.
To anwser your first question, i think i was meaning the pump more so than anything else. i.e. the surflow pump = rubbish.

hi John. sounds good John. if you do get round to testing it out you should get back to us with a review! i agree that a built in heater would be good. but i suppose it would add to the weight eh.

cheers
tony

[Simon Gerrard]

It seems to me that some of you are looking for performance from portable machine that they simply cannot deliver. To suggest that a twin vac Steampro plus is inferior to another machine of the same spec confirms that?
If you want more performance, get a Truck Mount and not only will you get a lot more performance,  you will also get a lot more productivity and earn a lot more money.

Simon

Simon

[Carpet Dawg]

come on Simon mate, lets not get in to a truckmount vs portable convo

Please beleive me when i say that you'd make no money in my town if you where a truckmount only firm! not only are 60% of my jobs tenements and they are BIG flats! and not to mention the very strick parking restictions etc etc more times than not i'm not able to park near the custys house for that long.

i'm just lookin for a 200psi machine which is obviously a good bit more powerful than a 120 psi one. I find this more than adequate to clean a carpet. a powerful pre-spray, scrub and hot water extrac with a proty and i've never had a complaint in 8 years well ok once, but that was cos i missed a spot under a funny L shaped, corner sofa  lol

thanks
tony

[AJB]

I regularly clean carpets at 500 Psi +, my Powr-flite will actually hit 700 Psi, but this can cause problems with the
perfect heat system leaking, it's not designed for over 500 Psi.
Although my machine cannot compete with a truckmount for CFMs . It will beat most truckmounts on water lift.
This means even at 500 Psi i don't bother with drying strokes, i don't need them!
I'm not trying to say my machine is better than a truckmount. But don't think truckmounts are that superior to porties, they have several advantages, speed of setup being the obvious, not having to refill another, but the actual speed of cleaning will not be that much different. Porties have come a long way in recent years.

[Carpet Dawg]

exactly! thank you ATB.

why use a sledge hammer when a claw hammer will do the job thats what i say!

[Simon@arenaclean]

Ring cleansmart and ask for a number of someone who owns one? I did, guy was really helpful and honest. Told me it was a great machine, well designed and he was very pleased. He also owned a scorpion and in his opinion he did not regret buying the Airflex as his main machine. BTW my enquiry was about the Airflex Turbo tripple vac.

[Simon Gerrard]

AJB,
I'm not trying to say my machine is better than a truckmount. But don't think truckmounts are that superior to porties, they have several advantages, speed of setup being the obvious, not having to refill another, but the actual speed of cleaning will not be that much different. Porties have come a long way in recent years.

There's no doubt that you can do a good, even great job with a porty but to say that the speed of cleaning is not that much different is way off the mark. A Truck Mount has masses more power and heat than a porty and with 100 gallon recovery tanks and even APO units, they can clean vast areas of carpet without stopping. They also allow you to do bigger jobs more quickly. But it is the sheer through-put of jobs that makes the business case for TM's over portable units.
To say portables have come a long way in recent years is also inaccurate. The problem with portables is that they are restricted by the amount of horespower they can generate from a 13 amp plug, even multiple plugs and still come up short against the raw grunt of a TM. They do look better though.

Simon

[Neil Pratt]

Hi Tony,

I have the Airflex Turbo with the triple vac and 600 psi pump, (have you bought yours yet Simon!) and I have to say that I'm very pleased with it. It's well thought out, simple to use, access to all the workings is quick and easy, and the silencer really does work! Performance and results have been excellent so far, (only had it 3 weeks) and I can't fault it.
Usually I would not take a chance on such a new to the market product, but imho this has been well designed and developed from scratch, rather than putting something together using existing mouldings and seeing what can be crammed in, like the dreadfull Rhino I once owned.
I also feel that Matt is a good guy to deal with, and aftersales service and back up is important when cosidering any major purchase. He gave me a lot of time a couple of years back when I was looking for a machine, with no hard sell or pressure to buy, and continued to be very supportive despite me buying elsewhere on that occasion.
I would add that I have no affiliation with Cleansmart, they are only one of many companys I deal with, I just speak as I find, and I have found the Airflex to be, so far, a really good buy.

[Simon@arenaclean]

Hi Neil, and welcome to the forum

Calling Matt on Monday, thanks again for your time!

Simon

[Mike_Roper]

I would never suggest a portable could match a truckmount on performance ,however I would like to differ from Simons comment on one twin vac ie steampro been as good as any other . I have had the steampro and chey  enne in the past then the 450psi twin vac speedster. The latter was in a different league to the other two.
Point is within the paramitors and restrictions of a portable there are more powerful/better set up units that perform better.
Mike

[JS2]

High PSI needs to be considered in terms of the actual solution delivery rate as well.  If all jets were the same size and in the same quantity then delivery would be proportional to PSI e.g. 500 PSI would deliver 5 times as much solution in one minute as 100 PSI (ignoring all other physical effects such as viscosity and hose length etc).  Check the markings on the jets, these reflect the solution delivery rate.

Pete (JS2)

[Shaun_Ashmore]

The numbers game is a complicated one which knowone can agree on but for AJB to say that his porti and clean as fast as a TM is a nonesense, after owning various portis and TM's and also some odd ball machines brought from the states (one called a zinger) which was based on high flow and high pressure and looked like a big oil drum being pushed around I still don't believe that a porti can clean the same as a TM in the same amount of time as for the set up it's a horses for courses, if I pull up outside some homes I can get from the side of my van in seconds with 2 pipes and the turn of a key I'm off with no filling or electrics to contend with but the reverse is that going up shallow pathways can add time.

Shaun

[AJB]

My comments did not include setup time, that was why i said that was an advantage.
My meaning was physically cleaning. Sure you'd start cleaning before me, and you'd continue whilst i had to refill.
But i'm sure that whilst actually wanding you wouldn't be any quicker. Of course overall you will out perform a
porty.

As to petes comment, at 500 Psi any jet is flowing 5 times the amount it would at 100 Psi, the difference is
velocity. The markings on the jet refer to fan width, and the size of the hole, ie 95 03= 95 degree fan .03 mm.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

A debate based on personal cleaning means that there are no real world answers but I did notice that you wrote that a TM will clean better than a porti which I disagree on as I believe that a porti owner will get the same quality of clean but at a slower rate but to do like for like you would need the same cleaning technician cleaning with 2 different sysytems as technique can be personal.

Shaun