[ftp]

I expect you've read Kevs omnivac post. I'm just wondering in your opinion how far behind is your diy version? What are it's shortcomings? I'm not knocking the Omnivac because i've never seen one. As you know i'm going to try the carbon pole and diy method mostly for cost and the fact that i already use the superlight poles. I intend to mount a camera on a spare pole and will probably make a spike of some sorts to fit a glassfibre pole. I'm never going to be in Kevs league so i don't need the best set up just one that works.

[Mr H]

What do you mean by "How far behind".....?

What questions do you want answered.....?

If you want to chat away from the forum to discuss it then phone me......

Regards
Mr H

[Kevin R]

I'm never going to be in Kevs league so i don't need the best set up just one that works.

It may surprise you to know that originally I started with cameras from Maplins - but the resolution was poor and the generator interfered with the wireless signal.

I originally had the cheap northern tools lance which was fantastic for pressure washing and  flushing but when spiking  It kept breaking as it just was not strong enough.

I have tried several vacs. Off the shelf, modified, petrol driven, electric etc etc.

So its not the "best set up" its the "only" set up I have found that is suitable so far. Its been a long road and my advice is save yourself the wasted £££ I have and just buy the only solution that is available and is strong enough to cope with everyday work.

If you cant afford it, wait until you can 

[ftp]

That pesky Kev again. 
I know you're right Kev - i did the same with wf/poles bought cheap at first. However, wheels are in motion so to speak so i'm going down the MrH route for now. I've heard your version and thats fair enough i just wondered how MrH felt his system compared to yours from his point of view. Not interested in starting an argument just curious as to what he felt his system lacked (maybe nothing in his eyes). Thanks for all your input Kev it's very helpful.

[ftp]

In another post i think KevR did £12000 in one month! None of us will manage that for a long while but his posts make interesting reading.

[Mr H]

It does "lack" in attachments but I currently have all the attachments I need. Just like Kev I will sort out any attachments I need when I come across situations that require something different.
When Kev came across problems and needed a specific tool he contacted Omnivac and got something sorted out. He didn't instantly have all those attachments available to him.
The Omnivac has been going for a lot longer than the DIY idea and so naturally has more attachments off the shelf. With DIY you make them as you need them.
The Omnivac does look good but so does the DIY if its done properly. One thing I must say is the front manifold on the Omnivac does look like its a DIY job and should be powder coated black to match the vac better.

I went down the DIY route purely to save money as I noticed I had sections of the SL2 just sat around not earning money for me.

In my opinion if your going to be doing high level vacuming of rafters or gutter clearing then the weight saving of the DIY system is well worth thinking about as 1 man can go higher with a DIY system than he can with an Omnivac system.

If you ALREADY have an SL2 and want to do high level cleaning and gutter clearing then it works out even cheaper to go the DIY route as you don't have SL2 parts just sat around.

If you want a system straight out of the box that is well made, will last for ages if properly cared for and has a lot of user support and attachments then go for the Omnivac.

If your only going to be doing standard height houses and have no need for an SL2 then go for the Omipole.
If you don't look after your equipment well and want something more substantial to throw around in the back of the van then go for the Omnivac.

The DIY system is strong but not as strong as the Omnivac.
How long will the DIY system last......? Well its earned me over £5k so far and no sign of wear on the joints. So I'm happy with its durability.

Jeff (Electric) did a destruction test on a length of carbon pole by vacuming up sharp sand constantly. The pole he used was on its side rather than straight up so all the wear was on one side and as he said this would accelerate the wear process greatly. I can't remember how long the pole lasted under those conditions but I do know that my DIY system is still going strong and if it did need a section replacing then "SO WHAT..!" nothing lasts forever in this game and at around £60 a section its not going to break the bank even if I needed to replace a section every month that would be £720 a year, but the sytem would by then have earned me nearly 10 times that amount.

The gutter vacuums real come in to their own at height and in awkward areas where ladders and cherry pickers can't reach. Because they are cheaper and quicker than scaffolding it means you can charge a premium rate but still be half the price.

Each system has its pros and cons just like a bought WFP system compared to a DIY setup.

I have NEVER knocked the Omnivac because it is a good system and it works well but it does have its limitations just like the DIY system has different limitations.
Neither is the best system but neither is the worst system either.
You have to work out which is better for YOU.

Now if Omnipole were to offer people the choice of either a metal or a carbon pole then with their backing, attachmes and support there would be no need for DIY and Omnipole would have all the bases covered.
1 vac but 2 poles. 1 for every occassion..... lol

One thing is for certain and that is what ever you do, do NOT buy the upkeeper.
Max height is 24ft and even at that height it is really heavy for 1 person. At the cleaning show in Coventry the salesmen where going a lot of grief off people who had already got one and they even admitted to the customers that it was "no good for UK gutters because the end fittings were to big because they were designed for American gutters and it would be a few more months before something could be done about it."
Its to heavy, to short and way to expensive.

Regards
Mr H



(all the views I have expressed above are my own and not meant to offend anyone.
If they do offend then tough.... get over it.... Life is to short)

[Chris Galloway]

nice post. 

[Mr H]

In another post i think KevR did £12000 in one month! None of us will manage that for a long while but his posts make interesting reading.

Never done that much in a month.
My best day so far was £2400 and that was less than half the price they were quoted by the scaffolders who wanted to take a week to do the job.
Other jobs have ranged from £50 for domestic gutters above conservatories 1/2 hr job, full house £100 2 hr job, to £750 for doing gutters on a 4 storey block of flats.... 5hrs

I don't do as many jobs as Kev but enough to keep me happy....

Regards
Mr H

[ftp]

Thanks for that MrH plenty to think about.

[Kevin R]

Good posts as always Richard 

I think the reason I have done so well with the vac is I already had large commercial contracts. My Omnivac was bought specifically for one very large job. The Original job I bought it for took 11 days and the profit was £10,200. But as you can imagine 11 days of gutter cleaning for one client will give you an idea of scale. We were £12K  cheaper than our nearest competitor.  Once you have large clients your name gets put about especially if you have specific skills. So now we look after a large portfolio of larger clients. However the Omnivac is only a tool in the gutter cleaning arsenal. You need to be able to use mewps, rig lines, anchors etc etc.

However I do agree there is a need for a lighter pole, especially for use over structures. I hope that someone develops a stronger and longer lasting pole specifically made for gutter cleaning. Also the tooling still needs improvement too.

[ftp]

Way out of my league!
MRH or Rich? Did you have to convert the vacuum body to take 51mm hose? Or are you getting away with smaller bore?

[Glyn H]

If you do invest £5,000 plus on the Omnipole guttervac system when would you expect to get a return on your investment either for commercial or residential?

Just to inform readers Its not £5000.00 for the GutterVac the GutterVac is £1090.0 for a 24' system.

The complete package which is £4750.00 is for the following complete exterior maintenance kit.
   1.  GutterVac System
   2. Omni-Cam Surveying System
   3. Gutter and High Level Pressure Washing System
   4. Commercial Honda GX340 3000psi (200BAR) 15 lpm Pressure Washer
   5. Generator
   6. Full range of pressure washing  Accessories to handle most tasks.
1-GutterVac System  Patent Pending

48’ aerospace alloy telescopic suction tubes 8 x 6’ sections
3 x 1200 watt two stage by-pass motors
Choice of 110 or 240 voltage
78 litre dry 55 litre wet - heavy duty chromed steel tank
15metres x 50mm lightweight highly flexible reinforced abrasion resistant hose
Reaches and Vacuums up to 16 meters from the ground using lightweight aerospace alloy telescopic tubing
Flexi commercial head
Fixed adjustable domestic head

2-Omni-Cam Surveying System

Carry out surveys to Gutters, Chimneys, Roofs etc.
The monitor/recorder will hold hours of surveys

Standard Colour Cam

1. 1/3” Sharp Super sensitive CCD
2. Illumination 0.3Lux@F2
3. Resolution 380
4. White balance Automatic
5. Shutter speeds1/50-1/100,00 sec
6. Lens 4.3mm
7. Lens options 3.6mm 6mm 8mm 12mm 16mm
8. Operation current 80mA 12V DC
9. Size 21mm x 72mm
10. Weight 180 gms
11. PAL Scanning system

SPECIAL CAMERA OPTIONS (extra charge may be applicable)

Black and White
Total Darkness IR
Under water
Wide Angle lens
Narrow Angle lens

Supplied in padded aluminium travel case, with AV in connectors, independent camera rechargeable battery, cam battery charger, monitor charger
flexible camera mounting pod TV Cradle with audio/video connections & SCART adapters for European version, Remote Control with 2 AA batteries, leather Protective monitor case, USB 2.0 cable, Stereo headphone, Manual, AC adapter/charger with US/UK/EU plug

The Cam and Pole are linked to a :

Micro Monitor and Video Recorder includes Audio and Video storage

Capacity: 20 GB minimum (specification may vary depending on model availability but never below 20GB)

Interfaces: USB 2.0 high-speed, compatible USB 1.1, PC & Mac.Built-in CompactFlash™ Type I slot to accept CompactFlash™ memory cards and optional 4 in 1 CF adapter for SD, SM, MMC, MS and MS Pro.

Video playback: MPEG-4** SP with MP3 or ADPCM stereo sound, near DVD quality up to 704x480 @ 30 f/s, AVI file format**.

Video recording: MPEG-4** SP with ADPCM stereo sound, near SVCD quality (optimised resolution for standard TV through composite video line-in) with up to 512x384 @ 30 f/s, in AVI format.

Photo viewer: JPEG (except progressives) or BMP

Display: 3.5"  TFT LCD, depending on model, (QVGA) 320x240 pixels, 262 000 colours and TV output

AV Connections: Composite Video/ E Earphone/ Line Out jack. Built-in microphone and speaker. TV cradle to connect to TV with analog audio/video In & Out to RCA jacks, S-video In, and IR receiver for remote and IR emitter for tuner control, SCART In & Out for European version. Travel audio-video kit in option to record audio and video analog source on the move.

battery life: up to 12 hours for music or 3 ½ hours for video on built-in LCD

Scalability:Download firmware updates from website

Power source:Internal : rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries. Removable battery External : AC charger/adapter

Dimensions:20 GB model: approx. 125 x 78 x 20 mm (4.9" x 3.1" x 0.8").

Weight: 280 g (9.88 oz).

System requirements:         

PC: Pentium® III 800 MHz or higher, Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000 or XP. 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended) with USB port and CD-ROM drive.

Mac: 9.2 or X (10.2.4) USB Manager version 1.2 or higher with USB port and CD-ROM drive.

*Specification may vary


3-Gutter and High Level Pressure Washing System

36’ Pressure Washer PowerPole 3000 psi internal hose, set of five colour coded quick connect jets, Gutter Hook, Straight attachment, Gutter Spike

IMPORTANT care must be taken when using PowerPole fitted with high pressure jets at height  - We recommend the colour coded quick connect black jet for gutter washing)

Commercial Honda GX340 11hp 15 lpm Interpump Pump, Reduction gearbox, low oil alert, mounted on steel wheeled frame, complete with high pressure hose, high pressure gun and lance

Pressure wash gutters, concrete, stone, cladding
remove graffiti and posters. High Pressure PowerPole tackle a wide variety of high level exterior cleaning tasks

5-Generator

Options depends on choice of 110 or 240 volt GutterVac
Examples:- HM Petrol Range5000HM 5.0kVA / 4.0KW / HONDA GX270 Standard Features : Honda four stroke engines with oil alert / Noise compliant using the latest low noise engine specification / Dual voltage output c/w overload protection / Fully welded industrial carry frames for maximum strength / Brushless maintenance free Markon alternators with exceptional component design quality / Rubber bushed control boxes for longevity of electrical components OUTPUT: 5.0kVA / 4.0KW SOCKETS:BS4343 industrial sockets -1 x 115V 16A sockets1 x 115V 32A sockets2 x 230V 16A socketsENGINE:HONDA GX270 HP/CYLINDERS:
9.0/1 START:RC FUEL TANK:6.0 litres RUN TIME:3.5 hours @ 75% Load NOISE LEVEL:
71dB

[mark311069]

i had my guttervac from omnipole for a few months now and belive me iam no expert with it, like most things (including wfp) it takes a bit of getting used to. but today has been a big day for me. i did a demo at my local butlins site and they loved it , they want me to clean all 64 accomadation blocks, all venues (16 buildings)  and inside cleaning in the skyline pavillion. iam not going to say how much this is worth on here but its a large amount of dosh for me.

on a smaller scale i have my first job in the morning for my local council 3 hours work for £400.

So tonight iam a happy man sitting enjoy my glass or 4 of wine!!!!!!!!1

 

[Jeff Brimble]

That'll take you all year then time to start again  Well done.

[Mr H]

Way out of my league!
MRH or Rich? Did you have to convert the vacuum body to take 51mm hose? Or are you getting away with smaller bore?

I've not had a problem with 38mm hose. Only thing I've done to the vac is just t remove the plastic right angle piece behind the hose manafold on the vac to stop twigs and longer stuff from blocking it. Takes 2 mins to remove 6 screws, take off the piece and refit the screws.

No real point in converting it anyway as the SL2 sections are a similar size diameter.

Regards
Mr H

[ftp]

Thanks again Rich. 
Off to Maplins later to source a camera and monitor.

[matt]

Thanks again Rich. 
Off to Maplins later to source a camera and monitor.

and a waistcoat i bet

[ftp]

  I'll get one converted to plug into the cigarette lighter.

[Kevin R]

i had my guttervac from omnipole for a few months now and belive me iam no expert with it, like most things (including wfp) it takes a bit of getting used to. but today has been a big day for me. i did a demo at my local butlins site and they loved it , they want me to clean all 64 accomadation blocks, all venues (16 buildings)  and inside cleaning in the skyline pavillion. iam not going to say how much this is worth on here but its a large amount of dosh for me.

on a smaller scale i have my first job in the morning for my local council 3 hours work for £400.

So tonight iam a happy man sitting enjoy my glass or 4 of wine!!!!!!!!1

 

Well done Mark - Now its started you'll be cleaning more gutters than glass soon. This is where the money starts -