[handyal]

Hi All, new to the forum and the world of carpet cleaning. I am after a preferably s/h carpet cleaning machine and have seen a Extracta BX for sale at £500 which is approx 7 years old. Does anyone have any further info. regarding this machine and its suitability and is the price ok.
Thanks

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Id say £500 for a 7 year old BX is a lot of money! What do you get with it or is it just the machine itself? Your best off getting finance and paying about £20 a week for a brand new machine, hoses and preferably a scrubber as well.

[handyal]

Hi Skywalker, thanks for the reply. I thought £500 was quite expensive as well for a (roughly there words) 7 year old machine and they are only including a basic hoover and some cleaning solution.

I think I will look for something newer or even new as a good friend and myself are buying the machine together.

Regards
handyal

[Phild]

Good advice from Skywalker.

Also ........... if you are going to become a professional cleaner don't refer to "Hoover" as a generic name for a vacuum cleaner. It is the trade name of a USA company which got involved in a massive fiasco offering free flights as a sales promotion in this country who also shat on their long standing employees when they stopped manufacturing in Glasgow and moved production to China

[Colin Day]

The BX is only a single motor where as the Exel has 2.... I'd buy new or as Skywalker suggest, spend £20 a week on a brand new one from John and Brian at Extracta..... Coupled with the Scrubba, it's a good cleaning system and really brings the pile back up!

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Excellent advice from both Phil and Colin. Getting the carpet as dry as possible is important these days and it would be hard to do with a single motor machine which you would have to endure multiple passes to suck up as much water as possible.

Extracta get knocked occassionally on this forum for being in the dark ages and not introducing new machines and machinery. But I have been using their machines for years and they are work horses no doubt about that and do a damn good job!

John

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Andy

There are much better machines than Extracta on the market and I suggest you do some research.

Prochem, Altec, Cleansmart, Solutions, Ashbys and plenty of others.

Cheers

Doug

[malcom1961]

Hi i you can afford it go for the excel  on lease/purchase from extracta would cost deposit £219.30 plus vat  then 33 months at £73.10 plus vat 
£16.66 plus vat per week ( less than half a carpet clean )
this machine has two motors unlike the one you have mentioned
extracta say their super motor is 20% more power than normal commercial motors i have seen one and the fan chamber is a lot bigger than the normal motor. all extratas range is excellent quality and their service is second to non.
as for buying a second hand machine i would be iffy i bought one a few years back spent £600.00 and it lasted only a few months
then one of the motors went the vac hose split  cost well over £200.00
Malcolm   Ritz cleaners     www.ritz-cleaners.co.uk

[handyal]

Hi All, thanks for all of your replies. There appears to be some differing advice though which are the best make of machine to go for as there are so many on the market and at present my knowledge is rather limited.

How would an Extracta Excel compare with a Craftex 5022 as I have seen one of the latter, ex demo at what appears to be a competitive price.

Thanks

[Glynn]

Well, I would prefer the Exel.

[Joe H]

Obviously you upped your budget, and there is 2 of you putting in to the pot.

To me the Craftex has the edge spec. wise as it has a 0-400psi pump. If I read Excel correctly it has 100psi.

What budget have you come to, cause these machines new are expensive, and maybe just a bit more and you could do a bargain deal on a 3 vac 3-stage machine with 0-500psi pump.

[Ken Wainwright]

Over the years, feedback on the forums suggests that the Extracta range of machines are solid, reliable performers with good back up.

The only criticism that pops up from time to time is that the twin vac models in particular are very cramped for working on ie service and repair.

Like the similar Alltec Professional Plus, they're a bit on the heavy side.  The balance of my Pro Plus made it difficult to lift up and down steps for one person, otherwise no problem. I presume the Extracta may be similar?

Nowadays, if buying new, I would always prefer a machine with the smaller but more efficient 5.7" vacs.

Safe and happy cleaning
The Ken

[handyal]

Hi Joe
Have you any suggestions for manufacturers of 3 vac 3 stage 0-500psi pumps. I have upped the budget slightly, well quite alot really but it's not too bad when it is a joint purchase.
Thanks
Alan

[Colin Day]

Hi Joe
Have you any suggestions for manufacturers of 3 vac 3 stage 0-500psi pumps. I have upped the budget slightly, well quite alot really but it's not too bad when it is a joint purchase.
Thanks
Alan

Alltec Advance is a brilliant machine mate.... Triple  Vac with 600 psi pump.... I've never loooked back!!!!!

[Ken Wainwright]

Beating Joe to reply Alan, I can think of Prochem, Alltec, Cleansmart, Solution and HydraMaster.

Depending on your business plan, current vehicle, marketplace etc. have you SERIOUSLY considered an entry level truckmount? If you have sufficient work, or able to generate it, to support a unit such as this, with good business financing you should be able to grow more rapidly.

Safe and happy cleaning
The Ken

[Joe H]

During 2009 Cleansmart in Nottingham introduced the Airflex.
http://www.cleansmartsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/Carpet_Cleaning_Portable_Extractors.html

Also this year Alltec in Hertfordshire introduced a 3 vac machine.
http://www.alltec.co.uk/page/1kocq/Portables/NEW_Advance.html

And Solutions in Cornwall have had a 3 vac machine out for about 4 years which is therefore well proven
http://www.worldofclean.co.uk/index.php?productID=449
BUT the strong rumour is they are soon to release a new model which could be revolutionary.

and Ashbys in Sittingbourne, Kent do a 2 vac Ninja but can add a 3rd vac externally.
http://www.carpet-cleaning-equipment.co.uk/ninja_intro.htm

Also what you need to take into account is after sales service which is very important. When you read comments on forums like this you will get to know who has a good reputation and who is not so good.
Personally, I have dealt with Cleansmart and Solutions and have very good service from both.

[handyal]

Hi Ken
I have not considered a TM as this will be a new add on business to complement my existing property maintenance work. Currently have a 05 Fiat Scudo which already carries quite a bit of stuff but is really handy size as it is easy to park in tight spaces and can fit where Transits won't.

Will look at the Alltec Advance spec Colin as well but I fear I maybe increasing my budget even more.

Cleansmart have been on my list of potential suppliers as they are approx 60 miles away which is the closest of any supplier I have looked at.

Any purchase will be financed by myself with cash if I can raid the piggy bank before the wife fits a lock to it.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Andy

Matt at Cleansmart has a good reputation to deal with and they are also a Prochem dealer, I believe, so will have a range of machines.

It does depend on how much CC you are intending to do, a TM is a very efficient bit of kit but not much use if you are doing 300 Pounds per week.

The ability to drive to your supplier is invaluable, especially when you are starting out. After a while you will learn the type of spares to keep and become confident in doing your own repairs.

I used Extracta for years but had a lot of problems with my Exel, particularly vac and pump motors going and literally 50 or more pipe bursts. The most frustrating part was that it was always 'my fault' and as the machines are still the same some years later, the same faults must be there.

My Alltec by contrast did 1800 hours on the same vacs and only one pipe burst.

Cheers

Doug