[Alex Gardiner]

Hi Alex, I didn't contact you about it.
To be honest I have a few of them and I couldn't rightly remember if the one that broke was over a year old (as the oldest one is/was) or if it were one of the newer ones.
So I gave it the benefit of the doubt, because if it was more than a year old I think it has probably given me fair use anyway.
Although I would say that to me there does seem to be a little more flex in them when cleaning conservatory roof panels than the older style plastic necks.

Shame you didn't know how old it was - we could have replaced under warranty.

We did have some about 1 year ago that had a few more than usual breaks - if they were going to break they usually did within the first 2 months of use - of course these were replaced for clients. Batches since have had very few incidents.

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I'm still on the same resi-neck swivel since the day they came out, it gets used every day for every job too!! I got 2 at the time & never had to use the second one yet.

Must be 2 years I would think now?

[DG Cleaning]

Apparently the full carbon Facelift has a fibreglass bottom section so I wouldn't compare it with another full carbon pole.

That is to insulate from electric shock from overhead power cables. Seems reasonable to me.

The point I'm making is Facelift have saved money making the bottom section fibreglass so why are they the same price or more than full carbon poles?
They could have insulated a carbon bottom section same as Gardiners but chose not to to save money imo.

[Stephen Fox]

The point I'm making is Facelift have saved money making the bottom section fibreglass so why are they the same price or more than full carbon poles?
They could have insulated a carbon bottom section same as Gardiners but chose not to to save money imo.

DG,

Not the case at all. Not all Carbon is the same - quality, amount, etc. There is a reason why some Carbon Facelift poles have been around longer (8 - 10 years in some cases) than any other make.

If you do a like for like comparison you will see the difference (rigidity, strength, etc)

[formb]

Got my Pheonix (Phoenix?) 22 pro 

Just waiting on my SLX-22 now....

[dd]

Please give a review when you have had a chance to compare the two poles.

[formb]

Please give a review when you have had a chance to compare the two poles.

Will do. Phoenix looks good, disappointed not to have my SLX  yet. A courier issue, TNT are pretty useless round here.

[telfordwindowclnr]

I love my gardiner poles, but they are not as durable as Brodex. Brodex customer service as we know is naff, but their aluminium poles are employee-proof. I bought a load of gardiner poles over the last 12 months and had resineck goosenecks break this week and John guest fittings I find let the hose out from time to time. It never happened with the Brodex stuff.

Which do I think is a superior design pole? Gardiner. Which do I think is more durable? Brodex.

Hi Steve

Was this doing Solar panels or standard window cleaning?

Looking at the pictures etc of your work that you have sent in the past, solar panel work on the scale you are doing does put a lot of extra strain on to the resi-neck.

I am thinking for solar panel farm cleaning I am going to have to come up with a tougher solution at exactly the right angle as discussed previously with you.

If you find that the hose is not staying put under all situations in the John Guest fittings then these little barbs adapters will cure it - http://www.gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/acatalog/John-Guest-8mm-stem-to-6mm-Barb-PM250806E.html

Do you also use the Brodex poles on your solar farm work?

Hi Alex. We have had the goosenecks break on the solar work as we have discussed and i was more than happy with the customer service. But we have also had resinecks go on the solar work and had one go this week on windows. The teeth seemed to sheer off the rest of the plastic.

I was in St. Austell this morning and did think about swinging by and buying some more gear, but didn't think you took trade 'off the street'.

With the solar work, a tougher solution would be perfect for us, but needs to be a profitable line for you too. I would be interested in seeing your ideas and could even test prototypes on some large scale sites if you wanted us to. You could really hone it and test for durability then.

What I am doing now is factoring in a breakage cost into my solar work. We will expect the necks to break and have plenty with us so that we can replace them at will. It caught me out on the Derby site, but I will be better prepared next time.

I will probably purchase some barbs on my next order, which won't be far away. Hopefully that should sort it. It didn't happen on the Brodex hose because we O -ringed it onto the Y-connector. Your pole hose and fittings seem a little delicate for that.

Will email you about the Brodex poles and solar.

[DG Cleaning]

The point I'm making is Facelift have saved money making the bottom section fibreglass so why are they the same price or more than full carbon poles?
They could have insulated a carbon bottom section same as Gardiners but chose not to to save money imo.

DG,

Not the case at all. Not all Carbon is the same - quality, amount, etc. There is a reason why some Carbon Facelift poles have been around longer (8 - 10 years in some cases) than any other make.

If you do a like for like comparison you will see the difference (rigidity, strength, etc)

How come they aren't very popular then?

[formb]

SLX-22 Finally arrived 


Dunno what you've got to do to get a hat in this day and age. 

[Alex Gardiner]

SLX-22 Finally arrived  


Dunno what you've got to do to get a hat in this day and age.  

Glad it has arrived - have to love TNT  

To get a hat these days you need to be ordering either an Xtreme or more than 3 poles - You do get a gooseneck and brush in the price though (and hopefully a pen)  

[formb]

When the Phoenix and the SLX arrived the general consensus among the lads has been;

"Eh?, are you not getting proper poles, these are toy poles surely?"

Obviously with the late arrival of the SLX no one has had a chance to use it yet but the lad who used the Phoenix is very impressed, I haven't seen him this happy since he got his Land Rover. I am now all but certain that we will be switching poles.

My first impressions are that there is not a whole lot between them. The Gardiners pole certainly fells better manufactured and the clamps seem to be well thought out and well designed. The Phoenix clamps feel more 'natural' although I suppose that is just because they are more similar to clamps I have used in the past.

Tomorrow will be the first day that both poles are to be used, is it sad that I am quite excited? Probably.

[formb]

The 2 lads using the poles (Cheeko-Phoenix and Polski3-SLX) are split so far on which they prefer.

Polski3 is happy with either but prefers the SLX. Cheeko does not like the SLX as much, mostly due to the brush head (Super-Lite® Radius-Sill Brush Dual-Trim Medium-Mixed Bristles (I think)) perhaps this isn't the best choice for everyday maintenance cleans? I went for that one because our preferred choice had been the Vikan sill brush heads until now, and I wanted to go for the most similar to that.

Polski3 commented that he felt like he had been "cheating". Both are adamant that they wont be using aluminium poles again.

[andyM]

The 2 lads using the poles (Cheeko-Phoenix and Polski3-SLX) are split so far on which they prefer.

Polski3 is happy with either but prefers the SLX. Cheeko does not like the SLX as much, mostly due to the brush head (Super-Lite® Radius-Sill Brush Dual-Trim Medium-Mixed Bristles (I think)) perhaps this isn't the best choice for everyday maintenance cleans? I went for that one because our preferred choice had been the Vikan sill brush heads until now, and I wanted to go for the most similar to that.

Polski3 commented that he felt like he had been "cheating". Both are adamant that they wont be using aluminium poles again.

Perhaps now would be a good time to add a few extra jobs on to their work list, me thinks. 

[formb]

Still stuck in a quandary as far as brush heads go.

What brush heads do you guys use on your Gardiners poles? Has anyone bodged a different make of brush head on your Gardiners pole?

The problem I have is that the SLX seems like the right choice but both Cheeko and Polski 3 prefer the Unger brush head that came with the Pheonix. It has longer bristles and a wider angle of splay. This means that you cover more area of glass with your brush and can work quicker. Also the longer bristles and wider splay mean that there is less chance of the base of the brush coming into contact with window frames etc.

We have tried 2 Gardiners heads:



and



What do you guys use? Is there one with loner bristles and wider splay? I have watched the very informative video, the only one not mentioned seems to be this one



Anyone used it? Reviews?  

[formb]

Unger HiFlo that came with the Pheonix

[Richard iSparkle]

Decided to take the plunge and go for new 'everyday' poles. We have been using Brodex HA25s. I have no problem with these, they have served us well over the last few years.

We have long poles for the occasional high stuff so I am looking for advice on what poles are best suited to everyday residential work.

Points to consider:

• Value for money is important, I will need quite a few poles
• Durability is key, the poles are likely to get a fair amount of abuse
• Weight is not really important, not one of our lads has ever had any complaints about the HA25s

 

I realise most of the replies will be for Gardiners poles so, what's the difference between a CLX and a CLX-II? Has anyone tested one to destruction? How long are they likely to last in the hands of an 'exuberant' employee? Are the SLX poles worth the extra money? Do they require alot of maintenance?

I would also appreciate reviews/feedback on other poles. I will be buying 2 different poles for a months trial before fully committing so your experiences of any types of pole is much appreciated.

Looking at your post I think the choice is an easy one for you:

Value - Brodex aluminium poles are very cheap.
Durability - Aluminium has a much harder surface than carbon - especially with employee abuse. Brodex aluminium again.
Weight - You say that it is not important being light - Brodex aluminium again fits this bill as it is relatively heavy.

With your criteria aluminium would be the pole material of choice - Brodex fits the bill.

it seems strange to disagree with alex here...  but i think for performance, value for money, and durability the CLX (either model) is king for me.

our CLX's get very heavy use every day by employees and we never clean them down unless they stick (once of twice a year?).  they get chucked around the back of our van and never wear out.

the only problem (which i could live with) was the clamps coming unstuck after a certain age, but this seams to be much improved or stopped by the new clamps and new glue they're using.

[CleanClear]

Has anyone bodged a different make of brush head on your Gardiners pole?

You should be able to use this to put your brodex brush on.....
http://www.gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/acatalog/resi-neck-quick-release-type-1.html

[dd]

Of the few Gardiner brushes I have tried my favourite is the sl flocked standard splay. Sill brushes a bit to narrow and I have not tried an extreme because I find it hard to trust a brush with so few bristles.

[Alex Gardiner]

Still stuck in a quandary as far as brush heads go.

What brush heads do you guys use on your Gardiners poles? Has anyone bodged a different make of brush head on your Gardiners pole?

The problem I have is that the SLX seems like the right choice but both Cheeko and Polski 3 prefer the Unger brush head that came with the Pheonix. It has longer bristles and a wider angle of splay. This means that you cover more area of glass with your brush and can work quicker. Also the longer bristles and wider splay mean that there is less chance of the base of the brush coming into contact with window frames etc.

We have tried 2 Gardiners heads:



and



What do you guys use? Is there one with loner bristles and wider splay? I have watched the very informative video, the only one not mentioned seems to be this one



Anyone used it? Reviews?  

Hi Soupy

Looking at what your guys have been used to I would personally recommend either the SuperLite DT Medium-Mixed or a SuperLite DT Flocked.

http://www.gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/acatalog/the-super-lite-brush-dual-trim-medium-mixed-bristles.html

http://www.gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/acatalog/the-super-lite-brush-dual-trim-flocked-standard-splay.html

I think that you would find the black soft Sill brush too soft.

Drop me an email on alex@agardiner.co.uk and I can sort out your guys trying these out.

Of course it is possible to use a variety of brushes with our poles. It usually means changing gooseneck type to the older Resi-Neck style - http://www.gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/acatalog/resi-neck-quick-release-type-1.html