[*strawman69]

anyone got a gutter vac and if so how good are they

[poles apart]

I've got one and find it excellent although a few on here will tell you it's not! It's the same one Ionics are selling. I looked into an Omnipole one but didn't want the hassle of a generator etc. I get plenty of work and once you get the hang of it it's a doddle.
Rod

[windowwashers]

I've got one and find it excellent although a few on here will tell you it's not! It's the same one Ionics are selling. I looked into an Omnipole one but didn't want the hassle of a generator etc. I get plenty of work and once you get the hang of it it's a doddle.
Rod

Where did you get it from ??

[Kevin R]

I've got one and find it excellent although a few on here will tell you it's not! It's the same one Ionics are selling. I looked into an Omnipole one but didn't want the hassle of a generator etc. I get plenty of work and once you get the hang of it it's a doddle.
Rod

Do you mostly do domestic gutter cleaning? Have you tried it on blocked / heavily soiled commercial if so how did you get on?

[poles apart]

I've got one and find it excellent although a few on here will tell you it's not! It's the same one Ionics are selling. I looked into an Omnipole one but didn't want the hassle of a generator etc. I get plenty of work and once you get the hang of it it's a doddle.
Rod

Do you mostly do domestic gutter cleaning? Have you tried it on blocked / heavily soiled commercial if so how did you get on?

I mainly do blocks of flats. All the jobs so far have been on blocked / heavily soiled gutters which haven't been cleaned for years! It works well but you will need to loosen thick growing stuff with a rake first for speed!
Rod

[Kevin R]

When I first looked at the upkeeper Im sure the tubing only went up to 25 ft. Have they made it longer?

[DASERVICES]

Right here is the truth which Ionics will not like which I am now talking to Trading Standards.

If I purchase anything and the descriptive statement says it does this and that it should do according to the statement it says. The gutter vac clearly indicates it cleans gutters therefore I would expect it do it.

Fact it has only worked 15% of the time. I feel it is a good design but the tools to do the job are not fit for the UK market. The main problem is the nozzle does not fit flat into the gutters, with their new design they cut a semi-circle on both sides of the nozzle. This causes a huge lack of suction and the nozzle in most cases because of the design does not sit flat on the gutter. In effect it will not suck up anything as the distance is too great

Another huge concern is they moved the wheel which is causing the machine to topple over when full therefore there is a huge risk of damaging the machine.

Rods machine is totally different, they changed the modification. Also the tubes they changed the thickness of them making them crack under pressure.

The design is good but it needs sorting out to fit the UK market. My feeling is it should come with attachments to fit various gutters. This I felt the omnivac was designed a lot better.

In summary I have spent £3k on something that does not fit the description which goes against the sales act. Ionics have been aware of this but nothing has moved any further.

For £3k I would expect a machine to clean gutters which it does not in it's current design.

I expect this post to be removed very quickly as Ionics have a hold on this site. My advise keep your money in your pockets until the design is modified.

Rod, my machince is totally different to yours.

Cheers

Doug

[trevor perry]

Right here is the truth which Ionics will not like which I am now talking to Trading Standards.

If I purchase anything and the descriptive statement says it does this and that it should do according to the statement it says. The gutter vac clearly indicates it cleans gutters therefore I would expect it do it.

Fact it has only worked 15% of the time. I feel it is a good design but the tools to do the job are not fit for the UK market. The main problem is the nozzle does not fit flat into the gutters, with their new design they cut a semi-circle on both sides of the nozzel. This causes a huge lack of suction and the nozzle in most cases because of the design does not sit flat on the gutter. In effect it will not suck up anything as the distance is too great

Another huge concern is they moved the wheel which is causing the machine to topple over when full therefore there is a huge risk of damaging the machine.

Rods machine is totally different, they changed the modification. Also the tubes they changed the thickness of them making them crack under pressure.

The design is good but it needs sorting out to fit the UK market. My feeling is it should come with attachments to fit various gutters. This I felt the omnivac was designed a lot better.

In summary I have spent £3k on something that does not fit the description which goes against the sales act. Ionics have been aware of this but nothing has moved any further.

For £3k I would expect a machine to clean gutters which it does not in it's current design.

I expect this post to be removed very quickly as Ionics have a hold on this site. My advise keep your money in your pockets until the design is modified.

Rod, my machince is totally different to yours.

Cheers

Doug

  i wish more people would post like this as it isnt just slagging a product off but is actually showing  both the good points and also where the equipment fails, i hope ionics listen to what you say and ammend their future equipment also if a firm is trying to build a good reputation you should be compensated accordingly or equipment made right.
  me personally have not bought a guttervac yet as i can see their is still away to go in making them totally efficient and will save my money till then.
 
hope you get your case sorted

[Chris Galloway]

Isn't Ionics just a UK licensed (possibly wordwide) supplier of this product and not actually the manufacturers of it? Just like the range of crash tested van racking they sell.

Therefore its not up to them to make changes to it, they sell it on an "as is basis"

The actual manufacturers of it are www.upkeeper.com who are American, and yes its designed for the American market.

[DASERVICES]

I sent them an email Chris but no reply

[Kevin R]

I tested this machine over 18 mths - 2 years ago, before they were imported by Ionics I believe.  I also tested another modified wheelie bin petrol machine and the Omnivac.

To be honest initially I was not keen on the generator idea or having an electrical machine for use outdoors. However after testing all three machines I opted for the Omnivac system. The petrol machines worked to a certain degree on domestic properties (3 bed semi type) where as the Omnivac just gobbled up the debris. And on three storey commercial work especially with box gutters the petrol machines simply did not work.

The rest is history - we use the Omnivac system.

Im sorry to hear of your troubles Doug, and I hope you get some recompense.

[Jeff Brimble]

Aftyer a year of messing about I have tried and tested a Billy goat and an Echo Bearcat and the wheelie bin poo vac ( which is pants), as leaf suckers they are great but as gutter cleaners they do not have the 8000+ cuft/min needed.
Next step up would be to adapt a trailer sized version costing £5k but I aint going there.

[poles apart]

Aftyer a year of messing about I have tried and tested a Billy goat and an Echo Bearcat and the wheelie bin poo vac ( which is pants), as leaf suckers they are great but as gutter cleaners they do not have the 8000+ cuft/min needed.
Next step up would be to adapt a trailer sized version costing £5k but I aint going there.

I suppose you're referring to Omnipoles quoted 8460 cfm on their website. I'm no expert but last time I spoke to Omnipole, which was a few years ago, their cfm was about 260 (which is about right for the motors they are using). How it's jumped to nearly 8500 is anyones guess as the only machines producing this cfm as far as I can see are huge petrol or diesel monsters! I think someone has got their maths wrong!
If I'm wrong then I'll hold my hands up but I just can't see it!
Rod

[Jeff Brimble]

Well its usually me thats wrong  - just a figure I found scribbled on a piece of paper when I was doing my returns today.

I have found that 3x1000watt vacs are not powerful enough for the commercial stuff  the slightly larger 3x1200 is needed.

There is another make called www.bigbrute.co.uk/  but they seem to be three phase and £2500

[poles apart]

Well its usually me thats wrong  - just a figure I found scribbled on a piece of paper when I was doing my returns today.

I have found that 3x1000watt vacs are not powerful enough for the commercial stuff  the slightly larger 3x1200 is needed.

There is another make called www.bigbrute.co.uk/  but they seem to be three phase and £2500

You're not wrong, it's quoted on their website!

[Kevin R]

I dont know about the technical terms all I know is out of the ones I tested the Omnivac had the best suction at height. However a poorly designed tool can make a huge difference which was the main problem I found with the upkeeper.

[DASERVICES]

Kev you're 100% correct there, the machine at base is a very good machine. The end tools are not fit for the job.

I have my ideas which will resolve the problem but this would end up me spending more money which I would begrudge doing after spending £3k already . It is up to Upkeeper or Ionics to come up with the solution.

One thing I have learnt never lease anything, it's not worth it on paper.

[Kevin R]

Kev you're 100% correct there, the machine at base is a very good machine. The end tools are not fit for the job.

I have my ideas which will resolve the problem but this would end up me spending more money which I would begrudge doing after spending £3k already . It is up to Upkeeper or Ionics to come up with the solution.

One thing I have learnt never lease anything, it's not worth it on paper.

The thing with gutter clearing with vacs is its still very new. The tooling will improve as more people buy the machine and new tools are invented. Omnipole now have a range of tools which expands every few months, mostly because end users request different tooling for specific problems. They have built me several tools which they now sell. (mostly for the powerpole).

The thing I like with Omnipole is they are helpful. If you have a problem or suggestion they always try to help (in my experience anyway). Ionics (from what I have read) are not very good at customer service. I think the upkeeper will fall behind because of this.

The Omnivac is a British machine, designed and built for Britain and its muddy wet gutters. The company in my opinion has an interest in developing the machine further and they show this with the help and advice they give freely.

I have had a couple of problems with Omnipole products in my past and on both occasions they have resolved them to my complete satisfaction which in my mind make them an excellent company to deal with.

I know I go on a bit but like the saying goes "if it ain't broke don't fix it"

[poles apart]

Kev you're 100% correct there, the machine at base is a very good machine. The end tools are not fit for the job.

I have my ideas which will resolve the problem but this would end up me spending more money which I would begrudge doing after spending £3k already . It is up to Upkeeper or Ionics to come up with the solution.

One thing I have learnt never lease anything, it's not worth it on paper.

Doug, drop me a line as I may be able to help.
Rod