[Jeff Brimble]

I use an alternative method and take a power driven trollley and reel to the job and then use Algarde light hose on a reel. I wind up faster than any other standard hose reel with a pencil for speed.(instead of the handle)

[Clive McDonald]

The big area where it is a distinct advantage is repeat domestic. If you have this type of work then bingo.You will eat your words Alex.Even Dad will will be knocking out more work.

But honestly Alex you are not typical, you have other businesses, and I believe in the very narrow sphere that we are involved in you have been left behind as a working window cleaner- think card index instead of george, cold instead of hot, hoselock reels, working out of cars not vans......Even some of the things where you are in front like direct debit do not apply to most of us

Of course your pole innovations have been matchless.

[Alex Gardiner]

The big area where it is a distinct advantage is repeat domestic. If you have this type of work then bingo.You will eat your words Alex.Even Dad will will be knocking out more work.

But honestly Alex you are not typical, you have other businesses, and I believe in the very narrow sphere that we are involved in you have been left behind as a working window cleaner- think card index instead of george, cold instead of hot, hoselock reels, working out of cars not vans......Even some of the things where you are in front like direct debit do not apply to most of us

Of course your pole innovations have been matchless.

You may be right!

I do not use george at all, but all of my work is on the computer with computer invoicing. A lot of commercial clients are now receiving emailed invoices from me , so I think that I may even be ahead in this area! All of my private clients are on S/O. However you're right about my dad, not only would he like an electric reel, but he does use old fashioned round books still.

On the cars front, you would be surprised how efficient the car can be, also it has cost me peanuts over the last 4 years which has helped on the investing in new products front......However I do have a new T5 on order to show off our new systems and I'm sure that I will enjoy working from it.

[Clive McDonald]

You've got me started now, because i was worried about the plastic stock chewing up I converted one of my reels to metal.

[Clive McDonald]

nnn

[CLEANGLASSUK]

If you need an electric reel to reel your hose in you must have arms like tooth pic's, i bet i can reel in faster than an electric reel anyday, wot a crock of poo.

[jefftemperley]

love this one, the reel im having designed will have a variable speed control with a  max setting of 150/160 rpm , the whole point of having one is to make the job easier! not particularly faster it certainley wont be slower

i go to the gym to keep in shape, there are nice ladys to look at while doing so!

i do an average 25 houses a day and and an average 50m of hose out on each job
so im hand cranking:

1,250m per day
6,,250m per week
25,000m per month

id rather get power reel to do that work!
same reason  im wfp rather than ladders, van mount rather than backpack, slx rather than power pole, george rather than book, freepost envelopes & paypal rather than collecting

i want my working day to be as easy as possible, ill wear my body out doing stuff i enjoy.........

[Alex Gardiner]

love this one, the reel im having designed will have a variable speed control with a  max setting of 150/160 rpm , the whole point of having one is to make the job easier! not particularly faster it certainley wont be slower

i go to the gym to keep in shape, there are nice ladys to look at while doing so!

i do an average 25 houses a day and and an average 50m of hose out on each job
so im hand cranking:

1,250m per day
6,,250m per week
25,000m per month

id rather get power reel to do that work!
same reason  im wfp rather than ladders, van mount rather than backpack, slx rather than power pole, george rather than book, freepost envelopes & paypal rather than collecting

i want my working day to be as easy as possible, ill wear my body out doing stuff i enjoy.........

Good Point.

[williamx]

If you want to work every hour of every day, and you want to earn more, then the only way apart from employing is to work faster.

Any tool that enables you to do this will earn you more money, but the whole point of this product and others that have changed the industry over the last 30 years (Squeegie-Wfp-Carbon Poles-Round Software and Home Banking) is to make you working time more easier.

It is better to work more smarter than harder, an electric hose reel will be of benefit to quite a few cleaners, the same, that on some jobs, a backpack is better than a trolley or van mount system.

The majority of cleaners who do get electric reels in the future will not nessasary earn more but they will make their working time more pleasurable. 

[steve a]

i want my working day to be as easy as possible, ill wear my body out doing stuff i enjoy.........

The majority of cleaners who do get electric reels in the future will not nessasary earn more but they will make their working time more pleasurable. 

Two good quotes above.

I loathe the last hour of the day when I'm reeling in the 100 yrds for maybe the fifth time that day and knowing I will have to do it again before I go home, it does take it out of you, especially when you're no longer a spring chicken.
I have tried reeling in slowly so as not to be knackered at the finish, but this is even harder than doing it fast,
In the real world, (for me that is), reeling a 100 mtr hose in 5 times a day is something my body could do without, and yes I would probably do the extra job or two because of it, not because I would be faster, but because I would be fresher. Its not about speed it's about stamina.

Personally I would have one, and will, as soon as they have been tried and tested, cos there's nothing worse than a bit of dodgy gear adding to your workload.

Footnote.. Speed isn't everything, you can be too fast for the customer.

Steve a

[Peter Fogwill]

Footnote.. Speed isn't everything, you can be too fast for the customer.

Steve a

It may not be everything, but I would say it was quite a lot especially along with efficiency.  I would rather work 16 hours a week for the same money as people earn in 30 - 40 hours, and if the weather is particularly bad sometimes you don't fall behind.  I used to hear this all the time from local guys being weeks behind in the winter because of the weather, I was never behind.

I have never once lost a customer due to cleaning the windows to fast.

Peter

[paul mc]

hi guys i posted on here a while back about this topic. i have designed an elctric reel that has worked now for bout 5 months with no prolems. its great you just stand at the back of your van and watch the hose reel in while you feed it thru a towel to keep it clean. its so easy. my design is quite simple but would prob take a bit of design work to make it a patented product. unfortunately i dont have the money to invest in this product but maybe sometime i will. when i finish a clean i know i dont have to stand reelin in my hose manually i have a machine to do it plus its clean. anything to make life easier

[NWH]

How much would it cost to design and patent properly.

[paul mc]

How much would it cost to design and patent properly.

not sure nwh havin looked into it properly but im sure it would cost a fair bit.

[G & M]

I think that using microbore and a nice easy to roll reel is half the battle. I did convert a reel and used an electric drill to wind it in but the battery lasted about a day and more often than not I'd forget to charge it that night. Maybe a 12v motor wired to the battery of the van would do the trick. I wonder if it would be possible to regulate the speed using something like the varistream.

[Peter Fogwill]

Take a look at these...

http://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/Product.asp?PG=1957
http://www.reelcraft.com/products/motor.htm
http://www.allman-sprayers.co.uk/html/hose_reels.html

The first thing you should do before contemplating throwing money on an idea is do a search.

I am not saying there is no market for another design, something reasonably priced, and maybe a bit simpler, but you have to think what is available before spending money on  designs and Patents.

Peter

[Peter Fogwill]

I think that using microbore and a nice easy to roll reel is half the battle. I did convert a reel and used an electric drill to wind it in but the battery lasted about a day and more often than not I'd forget to charge it that night. Maybe a 12v motor wired to the battery of the van would do the trick. I wonder if it would be possible to regulate the speed using something like the varistream.

Was the reason you stopped using it because you forgot to charge the battery, or was it because you could not regulate the speed properly, or something completely different???

Peter

[Nathanael Jones]

For me to be convinced it would need to be:
1: powered of the wfp battery
2: include a self layering mechanism to keep the hose tidy
3: be remote controlled
4: look like a pro bit of kit,... I'd be embarrassed for a customer to see a battery drill rigged up to my reel, no matter how well it worked!

[Peter Fogwill]

For me to be convinced it would need to be:
1: powered of the wfp battery
2: include a self layering mechanism to keep the hose tidy
3: be remote controlled
4: look like a pro bit of kit,... I'd be embarrassed for a customer to see a battery drill rigged up to my reel, no matter how well it worked!

Powered from the battery would be good. 

While you are busy guiding your hose in your hands may not be free to switch off when needed.  I think a button,  trigger, or lever, would be better for that. 

You could do away with the self layering mechanism, you would still have to use your hands because of knots and tangles.

I wouldn't bother if it looked like an electric drill was driving it.

Peter

[G & M]

Peter I just kept forgetting to charge the battery, the reels I use are very easy to wind anyway so I just stopped. That said I was using a 14v drill from aldi and the battery wasn't the biggest but regulating the speed was no problem.