[mick hay]

Im going to invest in a gutter vac. Some questions to those who have them.

Does a 1400w do the job, or should i go bigger (will be for domestic only)

Do you use a genny or custies electric?

On an average 3 bed semi, 3 lengths of gutters, no bushes growing out of them, how long inc set up and down? Also what prices are you getting for them?

Anyone tried canvassing or leafleting for gutter cleans, or do you just service your window customers?

All info greatly recieved 

[Smudger]

i don't think a 1400 is good enough for seriously overgrown gutters but you pays your money and takes your
choice.

we always use a genny and our min charge/call out is £55 for non window clean customers
from set-up to packing on the house described would be around 25 mins

gutter vac is on current flyer for window cleaning and brings in a good number of custy's - we also have a 'small ad' in the local free paper running every week

Darran

[p1w1]

for me personally and my own experiences
1400w is fine for domestic work as this is what i use
i use a genny as i can then clean when customer not in and don't have to organise the job around them also with the vac only being 1400w the genny i use is easy manageable by myself lifting in and out of the van.
For a house you describe i would say it roughly takes about an hour maybe slightly less (i dont rush) as for price i would say about £50-60 for that size house, i do have a £45 min charge.
ive never done door to door leaflets for just guttering, for my window customers its on my windows cleaned tickets so they see i do the service from that.
In winter if its raining or i have free time, i go door knocking with my camera system offering gutter inspections for £10 and if they have any work done i take the survey fee off the price for the gutter clean (this can work very well)
No matter what size gutter vac you use they are not a magic wand and there will always be the odd job where ladders will still be needed for say a badly blocked downpipe etc but i would say 85% of the gutter cleaning i do is all done with the vac only.

[Dani J]

Im going to invest in a gutter vac. Some questions to those who have them.

Does a 1400w do the job, or should i go bigger (will be for domestic only)

Do you use a genny or custies electric?

On an average 3 bed semi, 3 lengths of gutters, no bushes growing out of them, how long inc set up and down? Also what prices are you getting for them?

Anyone tried canvassing or leafleting for gutter cleans, or do you just service your window customers?

All info greatly recieved 

This is where you can get all the help and advice for gutter cleaning system.

http://www.guttercleaningsystems.co.uk

[ben M]

Im going to invest in a gutter vac. Some questions to those who have them.

Does a 1400w do the job, or should i go bigger (will be for domestic only)

Do you use a genny or custies electric?

On an average 3 bed semi, 3 lengths of gutters, no bushes growing out of them, how long inc set up and down? Also what prices are you getting for them?

Anyone tried canvassing or leafleting for gutter cleans, or do you just service your window customers?

All info greatly recieved  

This is where you can get all the help and advice for gutter cleaning system.

http://www.guttercleaningsystems.co.uk

i have one from this company, not enough power and poles too heavy!

[wpclean]

We used the 1500w clark machine for a couple of jobs, and it did well.       The advantage of using a lower wattage machine is you can make do with a smaller generator ( we used a 2.8 kva honda ),
If you are going for the bigger machine ie 3kw or over you are going to need a genny that weighs over 85 kg !

Regarding the poles ...... if you can afford it you should go for the carbon fibre, as they are a lot lighter.

[mick hay]

I'm wondering, if I was to door knock say a couple of hours a night, I think on average could pick a 2 cleans a night.

What do you think?

[mark blundell]

Personally I don't think a 1400w is enough power when i started I had a 2400w thought it was great at the time but when I upgraded to a 3000w I really noticed the difference mainly in the amount of time saved.

I always use my generator

Time really can vary depending on access & amount of muck in gutter but if its a clear run all round then about 25-30 mins

I pick up work through my flyers.

canvassing may work better with an inspection camera and offer a free gutter inspection. iv'e not tried it as I cant stand canvassing.

Regards Mark

[wpclean]

Personally I don't think a 1400w is enough power when i started I had a 2400w thought it was great at the time but when I upgraded to a 3000w I really noticed the difference mainly in the amount of time saved.

I always use my generator

Time really can vary depending on access & amount of muck in gutter but if its a clear run all round then about 25-30 mins

I pick up work through my flyers.

canvassing may work better with an inspection camera and offer a free gutter inspection. iv'e not tried it as I cant stand canvassing.

Regards Mark

Which generator do you use, and do you leave it in the van ?

[mark blundell]

Personally I don't think a 1400w is enough power when i started I had a 2400w thought it was great at the time but when I upgraded to a 3000w I really noticed the difference mainly in the amount of time saved.

I always use my generator

Time really can vary depending on access & amount of muck in gutter but if its a clear run all round then about 25-30 mins

I pick up work through my flyers.

canvassing may work better with an inspection camera and offer a free gutter inspection. iv'e not tried it as I cant stand canvassing.

Regards Mark

Which generator do you use, and do you leave it in the van ?

I have a 5 kva honda generator to be honest it really wants to be a 6kva for the 3000w vac as the vac runs slightly better from the mains.

and yes I have it mounted in the van and carry 2 45 meter extension leads. very very rarely use both leads the 1 is usually enough.   

[mick hay]

Do you ever use customers electric mark?

Those gennys cost a fortune!

[wpclean]

If I was getting commercial work probably get bigger machine and genny, but I think for residential work the smaller 1500 machine is better suited ( especially with the size and weight , as you can keep it in the van along with the wfp gear).

[mark blundell]

Do you ever use customers electric mark?

Those gennys cost a fortune!

very rarely if they offer and have easy access power point outside or in garage then i do but 99% of the time i use the genny.

[AuRavelling79]

for me personally and my own experiences
1400w is fine for domestic work as this is what i use
i use a genny as i can then clean when customer not in and don't have to organise the job around them also with the vac only being 1400w the genny i use is easy manageable by myself lifting in and out of the van.
For a house you describe i would say it roughly takes about an hour maybe slightly less (i dont rush) as for price i would say about £50-60 for that size house, i do have a £45 min charge.
ive never done door to door leaflets for just guttering, for my window customers its on my windows cleaned tickets so they see i do the service from that.
In winter if its raining or i have free time, i go door knocking with my camera system offering gutter inspections for £10 and if they have any work done i take the survey fee off the price for the gutter clean (this can work very well)
No matter what size gutter vac you use they are not a magic wand and there will always be the odd job where ladders will still be needed for say a badly blocked downpipe etc but i would say 85% of the gutter cleaning i do is all done with the vac only.

Good and accurate post IMO - I have the clarke one and as an entry level it is fine. Plus a genny I got from lidls which is 2400watts - works fine.

But it's just an add-on - if it was my main work I'd go beefier vac and genny with carbon poles.

[mark m]

Just recieved my poles   this week looking forward to using them next week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofoHVFfgVKs

[Smudger]

Just recieved my poles   this week looking forward to using them next week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofoHVFfgVKs

be interesting to know how much 'flex' you get with that silicone bend as sometime you need to 'dig out' weeds which is quite easy with a solid 135 deg bend and i would get some thumb screws fitted to the clamps so you dont need a spanner

Darran

[mark m]

Thanks for the advice i like the idea of the thumb screws , it is hard rubbber so hopefully works ok 

[mark blundell]

Just recieved my poles   this week looking forward to using them next week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofoHVFfgVKs

be interesting to know how much 'flex' you get with that silicone bend as sometime you need to 'dig out' weeds which is quite easy with a solid 135 deg bend and i would get some thumb screws fitted to the clamps so you dont need a spanner

Darran

Hi Darran there is a little bit of flex in the silicone bend which I find useful. when using them on a straight run there is no flex at all, but when you get into the corners you can get it to flex slightly which helps get a better angle. also downpipes with a bit of pressure and manoeuvring you have the movement to get the nozzle into the downpipe.
as for the clamps I have been looking into hand grips its just finding one big enough to get the pressure to tighten properly.

that's why we recommend using the nut spinner. I don't find it slows me down at all I can set up and pack away a complete 20ft set in under 3 minutes.

Regards Mark

[mark blundell]

Just recieved my poles   this week looking forward to using them next week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofoHVFfgVKs

Great video Mark.

I look forward to seeing the video of you using them.

regards Mark

[mark m]

not the best video as it is not easy to  record a guttering video  as it is high to see much and i work on my own , this video i popped round  a mates who took a video of me out of his window.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qOny8z6J8w