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How many and what length poles recommended?

DrGonzoSnr

Member
Messages
65
Location
Overseas
Hello again, 

Now I am looking for advice on which poles I should be getting. i.e. how many and of which lengths?

Looks like people around me clean up to the 5th or even 6th floor, would that be around 17m?

I asked a company for a quote and they put one together with

2.3m glassfibre

4.3m glassfibre

13.5m Himod which I think is carbon fibre,

I think the majority of my work should hopefully be 3 floor houses but that's just a guess.

I am yet to begin and am new to the industry so hoping those with experience can help point me in the right direction and save me from some rookie mistakes and not wasting my cash on necessary gear!

Thanks in advance

 
Hello again, 

Now I am looking for advice on which poles I should be getting. i.e. how many and of which lengths?

Looks like people around me clean up to the 5th or even 6th floor, would that be around 17m?

I asked a company for a quote and they put one together with

2.3m glassfibre

4.3m glassfibre

13.5m Himod which I think is carbon fibre,

I think the majority of my work should hopefully be 3 floor houses but that's just a guess.

I am yet to begin and am new to the industry so hoping those with experience can help point me in the right direction and save me from some rookie mistakes and not wasting my cash on necessary gear!

Thanks in advance
Buy the best your budget can support.. a 25ft pole would be idea for 1st, 2nd floor and possibly reach skylights too.. I bought an 18ft pole when I first started and soon realised I needed a longer pole.. you can take sections off or even add on at a later date.

 
Pole length will depend on the height of the job you are doing if just starting out I wouldn’t recommend doing anything above 3 storey , untill you have some experience, Gardiners poles are probably the best option slx up to 30 feet are good above that height  either the extream or ultimate are the best but expensive , depending the type of properties you will be doing most modern 2 storey houses can be done with a pole between 18-22 feet , you don’t want to be using a bigger pole than you need as it will be heavy and oviously cost more , again when starting out get one pole that will do 90% of the jobs you are likely to get , we have a selection of poles in the following lengths 18,25,35,46,72 , , personally I would avoid aluminium and fibreglass poles , if you want a cheap good all round hybrid pole ( mixture of fibreglass and carbon ) the Gardiner clx is a good starter pole bit whipped but cheap and last well , if you can afford it go for an slx carbon they are a bit stiffer and slightly liter 

 
I’ll say starting out the CLX will seem like a dream! It’s only when you buy better you notice a difference. So if it’s only a CLX you can afford, don’t worry, it’s been my daily pole and it’s great! 

As per above, whatever length you go for, buy Gardiner and you won’t go wrong! Even call them for advice, they’ll happily help.

 
We use hybrids poles from WCW. (the blue ones) they aren’t the most rigid or the lightest, but compared to our old aluminium ones we started with they’re a dream. 

35 ft and 30 ft we use. Reaches just about everything residential wise (the 35 ft in particular being useful for loft conversions) at this sort of height its a struggle mind. Make sure you Charge an additional wedge for very high windows or skylights, they are the most time consuming and uncomfortable/awkward to clean. a light breeeze at 18 ft is a strong breeze higher up. Ive made the mistake in the past of not charging enough for abnormally high windows and once they’re on the rounds you’re forever wishing youd gone higher, but im on the ball with it now when it comes to new customers. 

a telescopic ladder also comes in handy for windows that are set deep behind connys or extensions.

 
We use hybrids poles from WCW. (the blue ones) they aren’t the most rigid or the lightest, but compared to our old aluminium ones we started with they’re a dream. 

35 ft and 30 ft we use. Reaches just about everything residential wise (the 35 ft in particular being useful for loft conversions) at this sort of height its a struggle mind. Make sure you Charge an additional wedge for very high windows or skylights, they are the most time consuming and uncomfortable/awkward to clean. a light breeeze at 18 ft is a strong breeze higher up. Ive made the mistake in the past of not charging enough for abnormally high windows and once they’re on the rounds you’re forever wishing youd gone higher, but im on the ball with it now when it comes to new customers. 

a telescopic ladder also comes in handy for windows that are set deep behind connys or extensions.
I used to like my Brodex Hydra Alloy as despite the paint wearing off it never wore down so no spinning sections 

 
Right now I have to following poles with me on the van (all Gardiners):

SLX18 with small 25cm brush head and swivel. I use it for a few customers with small panes, and with my trolley. It's very wippy compared to the other poles I have though, so I don't use it when extended all the way.

Xtreme 25 is my main pole I got in January, and I absolutely love the 35cm Dupont brush with black fan jets on a swivel. It's light and rigid and makes back it's own weight in gold in a year.

Xtreme 47 for what the 25 can't reach. I have two brushes, one 35cm and one 45cm for the bigger jobs. I've had this for two years now and it'll last me a long time still.

 
Thanks for the replies to this question.

Why wouldn't you just buy a 35/40 foot pole and then use it for all your work rather than buying two?

I expect there is a good answer to that so I imagine I will buy one 25 foot which I will use the majority of the time and then a further 35/40 foot pole what that can't reach.

Now I need to check my budget and work out how much I am willing to spend  on them.

If there is anything further I need to think about when choosing poles please let me know! 

Cheers

 
No matter how long you've been cleaning, and how physically strong you are, you don't want to be swinging a 35' pole all day. You might start off fast but you will be slowing down after a few hours. If you're a newbie and have a limited budget and need a 35' pole then you might not have an option, if your budget stretches to it then an 18' pole and a 35' pole would be the better option. If your budget doesn't stretch to 2 poles then, personally, I would buy a Gardiner SLX25' pole with extensions 6 and 7

 
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What @Part Timer said, and apart from weight the longer poles are also thicker so not very comfortable to hold onto compared to the smaller diameter pole sections.

When I got my Xtreme 47 I took the four bottom sections off and only used the top for daily work. But it saves a huge amount of time when you don't need to take sections on and off all the time.

Think of several poles as a carpenter with two drills, one with a drill bit and one with a torx bit and hammer function so he doesn't have to change the bits all the time. For the amateur it doesn't matter, for the professional it'll pay for itself in a short time.

 
Thanks for the replies on this. Think I've got it figured out now. 

Just one more question though. Until I get the poles and start getting a feel for it how can I estimate the height of windows? 

There is a building nearby that is converted from a factory or something and it has windows right at the top. There are no internal floors to count to help estimate. 

 
Just one more question though. Until I get the poles and start getting a feel for it how can I estimate the height of windows? 

There is a building nearby that is converted from a factory or something and it has windows right at the top. There are no internal floors to count to help estimate. 


There are several apps available that lets you measure the height of building with the help of your phone. Haven't tried them out myself, but they give a good approximation.

After you get your poles it mostly comes down to experience, and you can guess the height pretty accurately after a while. I sometimes take my 25 out and extend it to be sure.

 
There are several apps available that lets you measure the height of building with the help of your phone. Haven't tried them out myself, but they give a good approximation.

After you get your poles it mostly comes down to experience, and you can guess the height pretty accurately after a while. I sometimes take my 25 out and extend it to be sure.
I’ve done this, used the pole to measure a job while quoting! ?

One thing to bare in mind, which I’ve found anyway, is pole length doesn’t equate to working height. As you go higher, the pole will start to bend, meaning you’ll need more to go less. You’ll also want to be able to stand further back from the building to help reduce strain on your neck, so again this will require more pole for less height. ?

 
Thanks for the replies to this question.

Why wouldn't you just buy a 35/40 foot pole and then use it for all your work rather than buying two?

I expect there is a good answer to that so I imagine I will buy one 25 foot which I will use the majority of the time and then a further 35/40 foot pole what that can't reach.

Now I need to check my budget and work out how much I am willing to spend  on them.

If there is anything further I need to think about when choosing poles please let me know! 

Cheers


We have 3 pole sizes on the van.

My everyday pole is an SLX22 and my son's is an SLX25. We have an old SLX40 which get used for those high jobs and gets used about 5 times a month tops. (This last month of January its been used twice.) Do I need the SLX40? I did but now I wouldn't take on work where I need to use it.

When using the 40 foot I pack it away as soon as I have used it and revert back to my SLX22 to finish the job if there are still a lot of lower level windows to clean. As others have said, I find the diameter of the base section too big to handle as an everyday pole and its too long and heavy.

There is a windie on Teesside who, many years ago, had an SLX22 and an SLX40. He decided that he wanted to just have 1 pole for everything so he sold the SLX22 to Kentkleen. Within a couple of days that windie purchased another SLX22 as he found the SLX40 wasn't the ideal everyday pole.

 
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