[SPE]

.......................of leaking microbore fittings, useless pole clamps that need adjusting 10 times a day and brushes so lite but not man enough to scrub off the mere splatter of bird poo.
Is it just me ? all this equipment costs us enough yet I still seem to be forever tinkering with things, fixing connections , replacing parts etc.
If my round consisted of run of the mill 3 bed semi's I reckon I'd get shot of all this hassle and buy myself a decent ladder and be done ! 

[Ian101]

I went WFP last November and for a few months was playing with stuff, adjusting the other etc etc and all been ok for ages for now ... however one of my pole levers did get killed today but that was my fault entirely

[taylored]

harris pole and standard sl. works for me on run of the mill stuff.

[Mrs A]

.......................of leaking microbore fittings, useless pole clamps that need adjusting 10 times a day and brushes so lite but not man enough to scrub off the mere splatter of bird poo.
Is it just me ? all this equipment costs us enough yet I still seem to be forever tinkering with things, fixing connections , replacing parts etc.
If my round consisted of run of the mill 3 bed semi's I reckon I'd get shot of all this hassle and buy myself a decent ladder and be done ! 

Hi Simon

   If the clamps continually need adjusting then something isn't right.  It sounds like you may need replacement barrel nuts.  If you send Alex an email at alex@agardiner.co.uk he can sort this out for you.  (Hope you don't mind me putting in my 2p - I'm at my Dad's so I'm having a nosey on the forums!)

[Dave Willis]

I put a drop of loctite on all mine in the end. Double clipped my microbore and pole hose and things have been better.
Extreme brushes are a little flimsy but I love mine now (hated it in the beginning). It's not just you, kit costs a fortune - we all go through it 
Wait 'till your clamps fall off - that makes me roll around the floor crying with laughter. (not really) 

[Pope vader]

.......................of leaking microbore fittings, useless pole clamps that need adjusting 10 times a day and brushes so lite but not man enough to scrub off the mere splatter of bird poo.
Is it just me ? all this equipment costs us enough yet I still seem to be forever tinkering with things, fixing connections , replacing parts etc.
If my round consisted of run of the mill 3 bed semi's I reckon I'd get shot of all this hassle and buy myself a decent ladder and be done ! 

i know what u mean, stuff like this can make a ok day crap,  i just want a system that i can set up and leave and just fill with water

[richard jagger]

Much of the equipment we buy is still been field tested by us. WE pay for the pleasure.

[AuRavelling79]

I haven't had a frustrating day for a while.

You know the sort of thing:

Get well organised on a Thursday; everything lined up for an early commercial to start the day; gonna finish at 5pm and take the Friday off for a long weekend - going for the better side of £300, but!

Your hose springs a leak or a connector keeps popping off so you spend 20 minutes fixing it. Get stuck in and then your pump switch gives in and you spend 20 minutes replacing it.

About 10 o'clock the neck of your brush fractures and you put another one on:- then the hose connector starts leaking badly and your battery dies and you forgot the spare. Then a pole clamp snaps! Aaaaargh!

Knackered! £65 to finish the day but it's 5 o'clock and you lose enthusiasm and mess up your schedule or go out for a couple of hours in the morning when you should be having a lie in!

[SPE]

.......................of leaking microbore fittings, useless pole clamps that need adjusting 10 times a day and brushes so lite but not man enough to scrub off the mere splatter of bird poo.
Is it just me ? all this equipment costs us enough yet I still seem to be forever tinkering with things, fixing connections , replacing parts etc.
If my round consisted of run of the mill 3 bed semi's I reckon I'd get shot of all this hassle and buy myself a decent ladder and be done ! 

i know what u mean, stuff like this can make a ok day crap,  i just want a system that i can set up and leave and just fill with water

thankyou, this is exactly my point
wfp gear aint cheap ( well maybe compared to other trades tools but we are just cleaning windows)
these connectors are not cheap either for what they are, why cant we have something that stays leak free for more than  2 weeks ? I've bought them from several suppliers and they all leak in no time.
And brushes, today I cleaned a ground floor window that had bird poo, the amount of scrubbing it needed was ridiculous, it was easier in the end to use a damp microfibre towel (pound shop ) on it and then give it a quick rinse, this does not fill me with confidence on 3rd storey windows that look clean when wet but still have residue of poo on them when dry. I'm not trying to start an argument  but I have tried many of the top rated brushes (recommended on here ) advertised as having great scrubbing ability, well in my world they dont. It cant be just me surely ?
I'm not new at this, 8 years wfp, I'm just sick of spending out money to do what is a pretty simple job, knowing that in a couple of months I'll be binning stuff and buying more.
I dont need the cheapest, or the lightest or latest cad designed carbon fiber whatever, just stuff that works and gets the job done. It does'nt seem to me that this is being adressed any more in the products on sale. And yes it has made an ok day crap   ok rant over   Simon

[SPE]

Much of the equipment we buy is still been field tested by us. WE pay for the pleasure.

TRUE

[Pope vader]

i have lost count the no of days i have wanted to smash my pole up and go buy an other

[SPE]

.......................of leaking microbore fittings, useless pole clamps that need adjusting 10 times a day and brushes so lite but not man enough to scrub off the mere splatter of bird poo.
Is it just me ? all this equipment costs us enough yet I still seem to be forever tinkering with things, fixing connections , replacing parts etc.
If my round consisted of run of the mill 3 bed semi's I reckon I'd get shot of all this hassle and buy myself a decent ladder and be done ! 

Hi Simon

   If the clamps continually need adjusting then something isn't right.  It sounds like you may need replacement barrel nuts.  If you send Alex an email at alex@agardiner.co.uk he can sort this out for you.  (Hope you don't mind me putting in my 2p - I'm at my Dad's so I'm having a nosey on the forums!)

thankyou Mrs A ,you've concluded that the pole in question be a gardiners one (correct)
and I have replaced all the barrel nuts with spares I had within the last month.
Please dont take this the wrong way its more of a constructive criticism but I have an xtel hybrid pole twice as old (3 years) used just as much without any clamp issues (glue coming unstuck or clamp adjustment kept to a minimum). Lite as it maybe the constant daily adjustment and failing of the clamps at crucial moments at height is more of an issue to me than the weight saving.
I post this here so it maybe seen as in put, as mentioned  by wizkid in a way we are ongoing field testers.  Simon

[Mrs A]

.......................of leaking microbore fittings, useless pole clamps that need adjusting 10 times a day and brushes so lite but not man enough to scrub off the mere splatter of bird poo.
Is it just me ? all this equipment costs us enough yet I still seem to be forever tinkering with things, fixing connections , replacing parts etc.
If my round consisted of run of the mill 3 bed semi's I reckon I'd get shot of all this hassle and buy myself a decent ladder and be done !  

Hi Simon

   If the clamps continually need adjusting then something isn't right.  It sounds like you may need replacement barrel nuts.  If you send Alex an email at alex@agardiner.co.uk he can sort this out for you.  (Hope you don't mind me putting in my 2p - I'm at my Dad's so I'm having a nosey on the forums!)

thankyou Mrs A ,you've concluded that the pole in question be a gardiners one (correct)
and I have replaced all the barrel nuts with spares I had within the last month.
Please dont take this the wrong way its more of a constructive criticism but I have an xtel hybrid pole twice as old (3 years) used just as much without any clamp issues (glue coming unstuck or clamp adjustment kept to a minimum). Lite as it maybe the constant daily adjustment and failing of the clamps at crucial moments at height is more of an issue to me than the weight saving.
I post this here so it maybe seen as in put, as mentioned  by wizkid in a way we are ongoing field testers.   Simon

  Not taken the wrong way at all - just trying to help get it sorted.  It would drive Alex crazy if he had to adjust the clamps on his poles constantly!  Something isn't right so you've nothing to lose dropping him an email.

[birdymiller]

The trad life is soooo much less hastle! Glad im out of the wfp life

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

Hi SPE

I would agree with Mrs A, I've had 4 slx's over the years and never had adjustment problems with clamps. Most weeks I won't even need to adjust the clamps. Have you got them set correct, barely tight enough to pinch the pole so that it won't slip. Whenever I have had problems like the product coming out from the factory faulty Alex has rectified the problem very fast. You could do little better than contacting Alex.

Simon.

[Tom White]

thankyou, this is exactly my point
wfp gear aint cheap ( well maybe compared to other trades tools but we are just cleaning windows)
these connectors are not cheap either for what they are, why cant we have something that stays leak free for more than  2 weeks ? I've bought them from several suppliers and they all leak in no time.
And brushes, today I cleaned a ground floor window that had bird poo, the amount of scrubbing it needed was ridiculous, it was easier in the end to use a damp microfibre towel (pound shop ) on it and then give it a quick rinse, this does not fill me with confidence on 3rd storey windows that look clean when wet but still have residue of poo on them when dry. I'm not trying to start an argument  but I have tried many of the top rated brushes (recommended on here ) advertised as having great scrubbing ability, well in my world they dont. It cant be just me surely ?
I'm not new at this, 8 years wfp, I'm just sick of spending out money to do what is a pretty simple job, knowing that in a couple of months I'll be binning stuff and buying more.
I dont need the cheapest, or the lightest or latest cad designed carbon fiber whatever, just stuff that works and gets the job done. It does'nt seem to me that this is being adressed any more in the products on sale. And yes it has made an ok day crap   ok rant over   Simon

I know what you mean, mate.  A few months ago I bought a load of gear, all brand new top spec stuff, and once I got it all sorted, everything worked great for a few weeks, then little problems started happening...

I guess, given that we work our equipment hard, there's no magic wand type equipment out there.

[Steven Shoreditch]

You try telling Paul Daniels that.

[Alex Gardiner]

.......................of leaking microbore fittings, useless pole clamps that need adjusting 10 times a day and brushes so lite but not man enough to scrub off the mere splatter of bird poo.
Is it just me ? all this equipment costs us enough yet I still seem to be forever tinkering with things, fixing connections , replacing parts etc.
If my round consisted of run of the mill 3 bed semi's I reckon I'd get shot of all this hassle and buy myself a decent ladder and be done ! 

Drop me an email on alex@agardiner.co.uk as most things can usually be sorted. A systematic approach to each issue will hopefully banish all of these problems for you.

Unfortunately due to the increased complexity of set-up compared to ladders and squeegee there will be times when it seems as if everything needs attention. Sometimes I have felt like this, everything packs up at once or gives issues. Of course there are other weeks where everything goes smoothly and then I look at the work done, all without leaving the ground, and I am very thankful for the change to poles 

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I don't suffer any leaks, connectors blowing off etc.

I use 100m of 8mm hose & varistream. EVERY single connector in my system (twin DI 400ltr) is a hoselock type fitting. I also have 90 degree elbows within the van system- the hoses are just pushed on to the barbed ends & secured only by a plastic tie-wrap!! My barbed reducer on the end of my minibore is also only held on by tie-wrap! No leaks, no air intake! I also use a hoselock reel, lasted me over 6 years without a single issue- I've just replaced it with the same as it "looked" old!

It's VERY easy to make a system leak & hassle free but people will just not listen!! Just mention hoselock & watch the response! However, there's more to it than just the connectors.

[ClearVue Solutions]

.......................of leaking microbore fittings, useless pole clamps that need adjusting 10 times a day and brushes so lite but not man enough to scrub off the mere splatter of bird poo.
Is it just me ? all this equipment costs us enough yet I still seem to be forever tinkering with things, fixing connections , replacing parts etc.
If my round consisted of run of the mill 3 bed semi's I reckon I'd get shot of all this hassle and buy myself a decent ladder and be done ! 

i know what u mean, stuff like this can make a ok day crap,  i just want a system that i can set up and leave and just fill with water

Im working on this very concept........I'll keep you guys posted on my findings!!!