Carbon poles

[bobski]

Would you recommend carbon poles over Ali ones??

 

[Part Timer]

Depends on how high you go and how long you work. If you're doing the odd standard house every now and again then alloy poles will do.
If you're doing 3 floors plus on a regular basis then it's a no brainer upgrading to carbon fibre.

 

[Deleted member 15640]

Would you recommend carbon poles over Ali ones??

Only my opinion but yes. I am quite careful with mine though. I have a friend with a couple of employees and he gets the aluminium ones as they tend to bash them about a bit and throw them in the back of the van. Mine are only the push fit ones but a local gutter cleaner let me try his clamped carbon version a couple of weeks ago and they are brilliant (it was the skyvac ones). If I did enough gutter clearing the clamped carbon would be top of the wishlist.

 

[WindyinNorfolk]

Carbon all the way - the difference is massive even on standard house gutters

 

[DansClearView]

I had to weigh up cost over weight last autumn when I bought my Skyvac. So glad I went for carbon. Although they can get heavy 3 or 4 poles up if you're sucking up sludge that sticks to the sides.
In hindsight the clamped version may have been better still as I've got the push fits stuck on occasions.

 

[CMcB]

I bought the aluminium poles when I bought a vac. Mainly because I didn’t know if I’d get much work clearing gutters so didn’t want to spend too much. No regrets about buying them. In the future I may upgrade to the clamped carbon poles, but these are good just now

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Would you recommend carbon poles over Ali ones??

I only ever use Aluminium. More robust in my opinion. Don't delaminate or or split and there's nothing wrong with a free weight lifting workout on the job
I can also weld Aluminium so repairs are free

 

[WindyinNorfolk]

I only ever use Aluminium. More robust in my opinion. Don't delaminate or or split and there's nothing wrong with a free weight lifting workout on the job
I can also weld Aluminium so repairs are free

Thats a bit of a specialist skill - not really a reason to recommend Ali over carbon in general

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Thats a bit of a specialist skill - not really a reason to recommend Ali over carbon in general

It's a good enough reason that you can service and repair your equipment If it breaks or fails instead of just throwing it away. Having additional skills and qualifications in life is a no brained

 

[THL4KEL]

Once you have used Sky Vac elites you will never go back to aluminium... I have both. They allow allow you to work harder and longer without as much strain on the body especially over awkward stuff.

 

[Pjj]

Once you have used Sky Vac elites you will never go back to aluminium... I have both. They allow allow you to work harder and longer without as much strain on the body especially over awkward stuff.

Yes they are very lite , but also very delicate I have broken a half length and full length section today lifting a turf out of a gutter over a conservatory!!!! Not much profit in that job

 

[Part Timer]

Yes they are very lite , but also very delicate I have broken a half length and full length section today lifting a turf out of a gutter over a conservatory!!!! Not much profit in that job

They start to wear and get thinner, I have a full set of "new" Elite Poles and compared to my 4 year old set they are much thicker, especially round the clamped area.

 

[Pjj]

They start to wear and get thinner, I have a full set of "new" Elite Poles and compared to my 4 year old set they are much thicker, especially round the clamped area.

So are you saying the new poles are thicker design?

 

[Part Timer]

No, the older the poles the thinner, and more bendy, they become

 

[THL4KEL]

Suppose if you get four years out of them with heavy use they're worth it.

Always got to be careful when they start getting heavy with mud, to carefully lower and flush them... I've had a few snap on me.

The extreme pole is pretty much the same, once it hits a couple of years section 1,2 snap easy...

 

[Base Window Cleaners]

Repling to an old enough thread here...

We use a the SkyVac Industrial.

Problem: the carbon poles break and they wear out, costing us a lot of money to replace.

Resolution: Use Aluminium poles

Question for you: Have any of you put the GVS Alu Poles on a SkyVac?

Here is the link: https://guttervacuumsystems.co.uk/p.../aerospace-aluminium-gutter-vacuum-pole-kits/

 

[Pjj]

All poles ware out and carbon ones are more delicate but like all things they are consumable items that will need replacing over time , regardless of make . If you treat them with respect they do last years and when you consider how much they have earned you they are very cheap items

 

[Base Window Cleaners]

There's about €2000 worth of broken carbon pipes here...

There were far more that that for the whole year.

The carbon poles are just not fit for a lot of work.

Need to know about using an aluminium...will they fit the skyvac hose pipe?

 

[Pjj]

There's about €2000 worth of broken carbon pipes here...

There were far more that that for the whole year.

The carbon poles are just not fit for a lot of work.

Need to know about using an aluminium...will they fit the skyvac hose pipe?

Is that staff breaking them ? We do well over 50k worth of gutters per year and in the last 5 years have broken two sections , as I said earlier they have to be treated with respect looks like a case of abuse by staff that don’t give a dam rather than faulty kit . But I must admit the elite poles aren’t anywhere near as robust as the carbon fibre tubes ones we had before

 

[THL4KEL]

I bet whoever snapped them has been doing big jobs, where the gutters are full of mud and they have been raising the built pole of the ground and they have snapped the sections raising them.

Once I start feeling weight in the pole I tend to flush it out. The best thing to do it is pump water into the gutter via WFP and that keeps the elites constantly flushed and light... Saves dropping the poles and drawing water via a bucket.

If they are heavy with mud I lean the pole against a building and dismantle it one section at a time.

I wouldn't give staff elites if this is how they are coming back to you.... Better off with alloy poles...

 

[ched999uk]

There's about €2000 worth of broken carbon pipes here...

There were far more that that for the whole year.

The carbon poles are just not fit for a lot of work.

Need to know about using an aluminium...will they fit the skyvac hose pipe?

Sorry not to be of more help but measure the carbon poles and check GVS site - I think ali are 51mm. Alternatively give @Julia Martin at GVS a call Monday, I'm sure she will help.