[Steve H]

Hi Chaps,
Just asking if any of you guys use a gutter vac and if so can you let me know if they are worth having, generally speaking!
I have just been given a few jobs to do, small commercial jobs, flats etc. and I think health and safety wise this looks a good option for these types of jobs.
If I were to get one, it wouldn't be for everyday use, but would get used on these types of jobs.
I have seen a vac with a 3000 watt motor which can go to heights of around 35 feet, if I went for this would there be other certain tools I would need to attach to it to maybe help scrape/clear the gutters ready for the vaccum etc etc.
Many thanks in advance
Steve

[Smudger]

There are good and bad ones even at 3000 watts - what's the make ?

Get a good set of carbon poles with a one piece aluminium 135 deg. Bend and you won't need any other tools, other than a crevis type end, this will deal with most gutters, and a genny.

Worth it ? - hell yes.   

Darran

[wpclean]

Get a good camera ( Gopro is very good )  customers are really impressed when you show them their gutters being cleaned, and you can send before, and after photo's when peeps are out.
Make sure you get a narrow pipe ( 38mm ) to attach to the tubes for vacing out the down pipes  ( the square swan necks are notorious for blockages ).
As above carbon fibre tubes are a must, as aluminium poles will kill you!  www.carbonfibretubes.co.uk

[SB Cleaning]

I have a grippa vac and it's a good bit of kit but you will still need a set of ladders as some gutters with tiles hanging over are too tight for vacs.

[mike1986]

I have a sky vac and it only leaves the garage once a year for one nursing home i do...otherwise i find it much quicker and easier to get the ladders up on domestics.

[NWH]

Once you've cleaned them out once the next time round nearly every time it will just be silt to hoover out if you've done a good first clean,money for old rope the hardest part from then on is dragging the vac round the job and looking busy for your money if there yearly I wouldn't clear any out by hand now after using the vac. Check some gutter widths though before you quote cos some tools won't go in em even though it looks like they might from the ground. 

[Oliver @ GrippaTank]

I have a grippa vac and it's a good bit of kit but you will still need a set of ladders as some gutters with tiles hanging over are too tight for vacs.

Thanks for the recommendation!

[Steve H]

Hi Guys,
Sorry for delay in getting back on this, really appreciate all the advice on this.
It looks like I will need to get one as I had another commercial job today to look at and the flats in question were 3 high. Too high for me to go up my ladders for sure.
Im okay  using my ladder on domestic jobs, but on these commercial jobs I think it will pay for itself, eventually!!!
Cheers
Steve

[NWH]

I was sceptical but winter is the time when people want them doing when it's a dirty cold job scooping out wet moss and plant life. Like I said get a good selection of tools to go the end of the vac and only go for the really light carbon poles,the other heavier poles are very hard going even at first floor level.

[Klean07]

http://www.thecleaningwarehouse.co.uk/genie-vac-package-deal-3-30ft-reach-4818-p.asp

I think this is a good buy.

[SeanK]

Wouldn't say I'm a great fan of gutter vacs to be honest, basically because there will be a lot of gutters that you wont
be able to get the nozzle into and if you use a smaller nozzle then all they do is block or hold the contents while you lift them
out and drop them to the ground ( the gutter sense will do this at a fraction of the cost ).
Its still advisable to carry a ladder anyway in case you accidently knock a piece of the gutter off or the down spout is
blocked and so on, so for somebody trying to get away from ladder work this sort of defeats the purpose.
You then have to take in the cost to run and maintain them compared to a couple of guys walking the streets with a ladder
and a bucket. You are going to have to charge a lot more just to make the same money.
I haven't got much gutter cleaning in the last few years because of this very reason, don't get me wrong there's not a hope in
hell that I would clean gutters from a ladder anyway, but in my area there's always somebody who will.
Just make sure that you can get the work at the right price before investing in a vac.
So to answer your question is a gutter vac worth it then for me the answer is no, there's safer and handier work cleaning
windows from the ground.

[SeanK]

Will give you an idea what ruined it for me, there are two guys that head out on a Saturday and charge £10 for a semi
front and back.
They take it in turns one foots the ladder and the other cleans, they dump the waste into the customers bin and move on.
Because they are so cheap nearly every door they knock they get the custom and between them they do about 40 or
more properties in a day.
There's no way I could compete with that using a gutter vac.

[NWH]

When you use a vac it gives you more reason to charge  more for doing them just by down to it looking more professional IMO,I charge a minimum of £80-90 on almost any job it's just not worth the hassle otherwise as I can earn more cleaning windows.i mainly use it as an add on for the work I have I don't look for gutter work but it saves them getting somebody in that might fancy the windows,that was the only reason I got one. Doing gutters from ladders can take ages as you can only do a few meters on each climb,like I said before once you've given them a good fist clean there are easy from then on in.

[hasti]

Hi Chaps,
Just asking if any of you guys use a gutter vac and if so can you let me know if they are worth having, generally speaking!
I have just been given a few jobs to do, small commercial jobs, flats etc. and I think health and safety wise this looks a good option for these types of jobs.
If I were to get one, it wouldn't be for everyday use, but would get used on these types of jobs.
I have seen a vac with a 3000 watt motor which can go to heights of around 35 feet, if I went for this would there be other certain tools I would need to attach to it to maybe help scrape/clear the gutters ready for the vaccum etc etc.
Many thanks in advance
Steve

Hi Steve
All you need is at Grippa Tank.

[NWH]

Saw grippatank coming out of battle last week or week before,they must have fitted someone out local to me

[Steve H]

Ive just revisited this post, so big thanks again for all the feedback for "why" or "why not" to invest in a gutter vac.
Loads of good reasons for both sides, very much appreciated.
Many thanks
Steve

[NWH]

I think they are worth getting as long as you get the light poles to go with it ,people or places want it done in autumn winter months I stack the jobs up and say I'll do it when I get a wet day and they agree. Doing it this way it turns a lot of 4 day winter weeks into 5 dayers

[Oliver @ GrippaTank]

Hi Chaps,
Just asking if any of you guys use a gutter vac and if so can you let me know if they are worth having, generally speaking!
I have just been given a few jobs to do, small commercial jobs, flats etc. and I think health and safety wise this looks a good option for these types of jobs.
If I were to get one, it wouldn't be for everyday use, but would get used on these types of jobs.
I have seen a vac with a 3000 watt motor which can go to heights of around 35 feet, if I went for this would there be other certain tools I would need to attach to it to maybe help scrape/clear the gutters ready for the vaccum etc etc.
Many thanks in advance
Steve

Hi Steve
All you need is at Grippa Tank.

Thanks Hasti!

[Oliver @ GrippaTank]

Saw grippatank coming out of battle last week or week before,they must have fitted someone out local to me

We get everywhere NWH! Looks like we were delivering a brand new van and system to customer in your area.

[NWH]

Are you using wydale tanks still on your systems