This was the out come.
I am pleased to report the Advertising Standards Authority have now formally ruled on the video Ashbys Cleaning Equipment made about our Airflex Turbo machine. For the full ASA report please see the ASA website:
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2013/4/Ashbys-Cleaning-Equipment/SHP_ADJ_214784.aspx Or search for compaint ref: A12-214784
Obviously we are very pleased with the ASA's decision. However, although the ASA found in our favour, I was disappointed they omitted some important points from their report - so I'd like to make these points now for anyone who's taken an interest in this:
1. We collected the Airflex machine Ashbys used in their video and found that a large chunk of gasket was missing from one of the vacuum motors - here is a photo we sent to the ASA:
http://www.cleansmartsupplies.co.uk/photo1.JPG - showing the gasket with the motor removed.
Obviously this machine would have been leaking a lot of vacuum! The ASA would not include this in their report though because Ashbys said the damage to the gasket could have occurred after they made their video. We pointed out that the low waterlift reading on Ashby's video showed that the Airflex machine was leaking air when they made their video, and that after replacing the gasket the waterlift reading went up to the correct reading, but the ASA would still not include this in the report. Ashbys even admitted they had 'trimmed' a gasket 'protruding into the vacuum area'...'to ensure that it did not block the inlet of the vacuum motor' (see ASA report).
2. Lamb Ametek (the manufacturers of the vacuum motors used in the Airflex Turbo), confirmed in writing that the readings we took on our video were inline with what they would expect for the vacuum motor system in the Airflex Turbo machine.
3. We offered to send the Airflex machine for independent testing to corroborate our figures, but the ASA declined this offer on the basis that they had already "adequately covered the concerns raised by you in the report and we are not going to delay the investigation further pending any additional information you may provide which will not add anything material to our assessment".
4. Ashbys said they tested the vacuum on the Airflex, which proved it was working properly: However, to check if vacuum is correct you have to 1. Measure the vacuum and 2. Check the vacuum reading against the manufacturer's stated vacuum figure. Ashbys did not even ask us what the correct vacuum strength figure should be for the Airflex machine - so how can they say the checked the vacuum was working properly? If Ashbys had contacted us we could have told them straight away there was a problem with the Airflex and then worked with Ashbys to locate the problem and fix it, which is really what should have happened here.
5. The flowmeter Ashbys used in their video is an Omega FL-550. The instructions for this flowmeter are here:
http://www.omega.com/Manuals/manualpdf/M2473.pdf If you look on the right side of page 3 you can see that this Flowmeter only gives a meaningful reading at 90psi. If the pressure is not 90psi a correction factor must be applied to the reading from the table on the right hand side of page 3. As you can see, this makes a huge difference to the reading - it can reduce the initial reading taken from the flowmeter by around 50%!
Also, there are no correction factors for readings taken under vacuum conditions, so there is no way of taking a meaningful airflow reading from these machines using this flowmeter.
The Omega flowmeter could only be used to give comparible readings between the two machines if the waterlift figure on both machines was identical (and if both machines were working properly!). In other words, the high waterlift reading of the Enforcer is also causing the (incorrect) high airflow reading on the Omega flowmeter.
Ashbys may have bought this flowmeter in good faith, but they have known for many months now that it gives a totally false reading on their machine. I wonder how many Enforcer users were pursuaded to buy an Enforcer machine on the back of Ashby's video. Ashbys removed from YouTube another video they made using the same flowmeter, but they have left the Airflex video on YouTube all this time knowing that the airflow reading on their machine was completely false.
Now that the ASA have concluded their investigation and Ashbys have removed their video, we intend to remove our video from YouTube and hopefully we can put this behind us and look forward to a good summer now the sun has finally decided to come out!
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who've supported us throughout this, in particular those who commented or 'liked' our YouTube video or who supported us on any of the forums - thank you very much!