I have 2 Sl-X poles 30ft & 18ft
The 30ft has never given me any trouble with sticking but the last section on the 18ft has played up since the early days of getting it.
I keep the pole's in good condition by wiping the hose down and cleaning the pole's out every week or so. I still get grit inside the 30ft pole but this has never really stopped the pole from working.
On the last section of the 18ft I was having problems with it constantly sticking. So I decided to remove the Yellow & Red indicators from this section as they seemed to be sat quite proud on the pole. The other sections still have markers and looked to be reasonably flush with the pole so thought I would just try the problem section.
It was after cleaning the pole I realised that the majority of debris inside the pole was the bits of sticky remnants of the markers.
After 2 weeks using the pole without these markers it hasn't jammed up once. You can still hear bits in the pole when your hose gets dirty but the pole still operates as it should. I have washed the pole out twice and there are no large objects coming out, just tiny particles of grit and carbon. (Very little if I'm honest)
It seemed strange some people were having problems with poles sticking and others weren't. It could just be that some markers are too thick and dont have much tolerance inside the pole when grit or dirt gets inside.
Another thing I tried was I rubbed some car wax on the section (Mer Polish) but I suppose any would do. This has made the pole unbelievably slick in operation and maybe protecting the pole from grit sticking to it.
I have bought some Metal Protekt paint from B&Q and will re-mark the pole this weekend. Apparently this is used when Alex refurbishes a pole.
Overall with the new levers clamps barrels etc. it's been an absolute dream to work with. I used an 18ft x-tel pole and a Home Made Harris pole on a cladding and upvc clean at the weekend. Not a cat in hells chance would I use either of them again for my general work.
I'm still looking forward to Jouk's hose cleaner as I'm sure this would help minimise the wear on carbon poles.
Anyone else tried this? Maybe worth a look at the markers on your pole if you are having probs.
Hope it helps, it worked for me
Any Q's I'll be back later after Footy
Wayne