Univalve +

[P4dstar]

Anyone tried the new Univalve +. It would seem they have just taken the normal univalve, stuck some of @Skxawng parts in there and stuck £20 on the price ??‍

 

[Crystalalan]

Believe it or not I`m still on my original one from nearly 4 years ago.

 

[Skxawng]

Anyone tried the new Univalve +. It would seem they have just taken the normal univalve, stuck some of @Skxawng parts in there and stuck £20 on the price ??‍

There's a very deliberate dig in the description aimed at repair kits ?
The thing I don't understand is it's still not chemically resistant, so it seems that the O rings haven't been upgraded, just the spring.

 

[P4dstar]

There's a very deliberate dig in the description aimed at repair kits ?
The thing I don't understand is it's still not chemically resistant, so it seems that the O rings haven't been upgraded, just the spring.

I also noticed he has stopped offering to service them for £10. Didn’t think there would be much profit in that for him.

 

[P4dstar]

Believe it or not I`m still on my original one from nearly 4 years ago.

That must just be luck. I’ve had some last no longer than a month before getting issues.

 

[Mattlekim]

I generally get about 2 years out of them, then use @Skxawng repair kit although it's more like an upgrade kit than repair kit.

Been using chemicals with them no problems at all

 

[spruce]

That must just be luck. I’ve had some last no longer than a month before getting issues.

I still have an original one on my pole. I swapped it over when I replaced my slx22 a few years ago now. It sticks a bit too begin with but then frees up during the day.
I seem to remember the original repair kit was £15 + vat and delivery. I think it was £25 + vat and delivery when I last looked, but that was a few months back now.

 

[Deleted member 5762]

I've tried a univalve and it was ok, but have seen recent comments on the Facebook groups that they aren't so well made any more. It's not the same but I have a little ball valve tap between the top of my gooseneck and the t-piece on my brush hoses to turn the water on and off. Obviously not as convenient as extending the pole and then opening the univalve but works fine overall. Cost about £5 on eBay so no complaints from me.

 

[Den]

That must just be luck. I’ve had some last no longer than a month before getting issues.

Couldn’t agree more they used to be great but the quality as gone down hill big time have had them fail after a Week or so the quality is shite now exceed now this as well as YouTuber but they can’t tell the truth.
understand exceed need to earn money but in my opinion the quality is craap and makes sense for them to sell 4xmore = 4x the profit selling bad quality products Just my thoughts I know lots of window cleaners and all same the same.

 

[Mattlekim]

I literally could snot go back to a tap!
My way of thinking is having stuff that makes me quick. So when I used to use taps they would get chucked on floor when not used, dragged and everything. Yea they where only £5 but I went though 4 to 5 a year.

Also I would not turn off while going from upstairs to downstairs. Wasting water, I turn off a lot more than I used to. Makes using backpack when I use it go further on same water.

My most recent one is about a year old. Still works but to be honest I would be inclined to immediately upgrade it.

I think they are very expensive but just can't work without them

 

[spruce]

I've tried a univalve and it was ok, but have seen recent comments on the Facebook groups that they aren't so well made any more. It's not the same but I have a little ball valve tap between the top of my gooseneck and the t-piece on my brush hoses to turn the water on and off. Obviously not as convenient as extending the pole and then opening the univalve but works fine overall. Cost about £5 on eBay so no complaints from me.

I'm not sure how a univalve can be made to a lower standard.

The spring and o rings are the only 'consumables' and are outsourced. How many compressions should a spring last for? How long must a univalve last for before we are happy to replace it? Or do we now expect it to last forever? These are questions I often ask myself.

Honestly, I have never replaced a spring or o rings. I've had the small one come off once. That's it. I open it up once in a while and lubricate the spring and the large o ring with silicone grease and put it back into service.

I did put a service kit in my son's pole as he was moaning about it not shutting off. He didn't know I did this and he just continued moaning afterwards so I ignored him.

Over the years Steve has taken a lot of flack from users. The thing is that Steve takes many of the negative comments made too personally and over reacts to internet trolls. Facebook is full of posters who are just there to see what reaction they get to a post they have made.

Steve also gets over protective if he feels his products are being threatened. That's the way he is.

It started back in the Aquadapter days when users complained about the extra weight of the unit. He kept redesigning it to reduce weight, but the complaints kept coming. I never understood what the problem was. I never had an issue with it weight wise. If weight was an issue then fitting a lighter brush would have compensated.

I originally had a tap on the pole hose. I often dragged the tap on the ground as I couldn't hold it a clean windows at the same time. When the Aquadapter was first advertised it was the best thing since sliced bread for me. I still have a working Aquadapter on one of the poles on the van and tbh, it's easier to operate than the univalve is. The Aquadapter was a real water saving device and paid for itself many times over as does the univalve.

I've communicated with Steve often over the years and have always been in awe of his design capabilities. He has always come across as a nice guy to me.

Cost wise, the univalve cost about half the price of an Aquadapter when first launched and is more durable and trouble free. Just consider all the issues Gardiners have had with the Aquatap redesign from Peter Fogwill.

 

[Den]

Spruce, you have always been a great asset to this forum and I hold you to the highest esteem, you personally have help And many others with with your detailed replies and knowledge and I for one owe you many pints of beer.
back to the univalve the first 4 univalves lasted two years each being on four poles we have on the van, but all the the later univalves I have bought since have had much lower quality rusty springs in and have many of them become useless after a matter of weeks we havnt changed the way we use our poles as a matter of fact I have used the spring remote fob controller for a couple of years this is actually reducing the the univalve pulling motion quite considerably but the univalve still fail a lot of the times.
maybe I and many others I personally know have had bad batches who knows?
wished There was a new market that could or closely match the original components that were in the original univalve so they don’t fail so premature as the current ones do?
maybe the replacement kit you installed on your son’s univalve is the same bad quality as the now newer univalve as installed with And hasn’t lasted 5 minutes as my previous post explained regarding the newer univalves.
all that I write on these forum is my own experience, my sons a other windowed cleaner I personally know. I fully understand that others have their own experiences and can easily differs from my own Point of view this what the forum does best most of the time is genuine people like your good self offering a brilliant insight to real life experience.

 

[P4dstar]

I still have an original one on my pole. I swapped it over when I replaced my slx22 a few years ago now. It sticks a bit too begin with but then frees up during the day.
I seem to remember the original repair kit was £15 + vat and delivery. I think it was £25 + vat and delivery when I last looked, but that was a few months back now.

Yeah it's still £25 now mate. Originally when Exceed made a fuss about the service kit he was offering to complete a service at £10. This was a send it to them and they'll send it back type thing. I have no idea why they got so upset about @Skxawng , you would have thought he was a direct competitor not someone selling something to compliment the current device. It would have looked much more professional to just make their own and start selling it without saying a word. The window cleaning warehouse started selling a rectus protector which is exactly the same as what Skxawng sells. They made no fuss to my knowledge and simply started selling it quietly on their website.

 

[P4dstar]

I'm not sure how a univalve can be made to a lower standard.

The spring and o rings are the only 'consumables' and are outsourced. How many compressions should a spring last for? How long must a univalve last for before we are happy to replace it? Or do we now expect it to last forever? These are questions I often ask myself.

Honestly, I have never replaced a spring or o rings. I've had the small one come off once. That's it. I open it up once in a while and lubricate the spring and the large o ring with silicone grease and put it back into service.

I did put a service kit in my son's pole as he was moaning about it not shutting off. He didn't know I did this and he just continued moaning afterwards so I ignored him.

Over the years Steve has taken a lot of flack from users. The thing is that Steve takes many of the negative comments made too personally and over reacts to internet trolls. Facebook is full of posters who are just there to see what reaction they get to a post they have made.

Steve also gets over protective if he feels his products are being threatened. That's the way he is.

It started back in the Aquadapter days when users complained about the extra weight of the unit. He kept redesigning it to reduce weight, but the complaints kept coming. I never understood what the problem was. I never had an issue with it weight wise. If weight was an issue then fitting a lighter brush would have compensated.

I originally had a tap on the pole hose. I often dragged the tap on the ground as I couldn't hold it a clean windows at the same time. When the Aquadapter was first advertised it was the best thing since sliced bread for me. I still have a working Aquadapter on one of the poles on the van and tbh, it's easier to operate than the univalve is. The Aquadapter was a real water saving device and paid for itself many times over as does the univalve.

I've communicated with Steve often over the years and have always been in awe of his design capabilities. He has always come across as a nice guy to me.

Cost wise, the univalve cost about half the price of an Aquadapter when first launched and is more durable and trouble free. Just consider all the issues Gardiners have had with the Aquatap redesign from Peter Fogwill.

The only thing I would say is that the boots on the ground reports say the quality has dropped. If the manufacture of an item is outsourced to a cheaper place this can cause this... I am not claiming this is what has happened, just using an example of what may have happened. My first ever univalve lasted a lot longer than the ones I bought last year. The latest one lasted approx 5 weeks before issues began. That same one only half turns off. It has never been used with chemicals.

I remember when I first ordered from Exceed, I thought their products were very expensive. What I ordered then (particularly the pole hose) was fantastic quality. Some of it I still use today. Happy to pay extra for something that will last. It's the same principal as my kids buy new clothes all the time because they buy cheap tat. I have jeans that are clocking on 10 years old with plenty of life left in them. What I would say is he is honest in the listing for the Univalve + that it has upgraded springs and o rings. This has put £20 on the price, that is just profiteering. The right thing to do would have been to upgrade the current model with better parts and stick a couple of quid on the current price.

My only knowledge of Steve was his dealings with Skxawng. I don't think the attacks were warranted. In contrast Alex Gardiner may or may not have noticed the hose stop that Skxawng designed. Not long afterwards he changed the gooseneck's and resolved the problem.

 

[Mattlekim]

I will say one thing. My second univaulve didn't work when I got it, contact him and immediately got it fixed free of charge wich is good mark for him. I Was very happy.

Now I wasn't around on here well all the trouble started because of @Skxawng prepare kits, and regardless of his response it doesn't change the fact the product is very cleaver.

Also I thought I had a problem with my univaulve ot turning off and it ended up been unrelated and due to a unrelated issue.

Yes I have had some issues with them rusing, but overall I'm quicker and save money compared to replacing taps every other month.

On a different note I have see knockoffs of @Skxawng product some just plane copy's others like exceeded host stop that came out not long after skxawngs.

Thing is competition is what makes things better for us window cleaners.

 

[Mattlekim]

I will say one thing. My second univaulve didn't work when I got it, contact him and immediately got it fixed free of charge wich is good mark for him. I Was very happy.

Now I wasn't around on here well all the trouble started because of @Skxawng prepare kits, and regardless of his response it doesn't change the fact the product is very cleaver.

Also I thought I had a problem with my univaulve ot turning off and it ended up been unrelated and due to a unrelated issue.

Yes I have had some issues with them rusing, but overall I'm quicker and save money compared to replacing taps every other month.

On a different note I have see knockoffs of @Skxawng product some just plane copy's others like exceeded host stop that came out not long after skxawngs.

Thing is competition is what makes things better for us window cleaners.

 

[Deleted member 5762]

@spruce it's only what I read on the groups there. I found it ok to use but I would imagine if you have lots of jobs close together, or work far away from your vehicle then it's a great water saver
@Mattlekim of course, that's fair enough. The little plastic tap I have saves enough water for me and if I have the pole in a position where it's facing down a bit in the van then it stops any water leaking out the brush. Definitely though what works for some won't work for others.
I bought the rectus protectors from @Skxawng recently and they are brilliant. Very well made and I'm not surprised if he also sells univalve parts that exceed have then tried to up their game.

 

[Skxawng]

The Univalve is a fantastic invention, one of the best things I've bought so props to Steve for inventing it. There was a bit of awkwardness when I started selling spare springs an o clips (which I only started because I don't like throwing things away if they can be fixed) but since then he's released a repair kit of his own and has an option for a non corroding spring now so it's worked out well.
I think competition and improved equipment will benefit all of us.

@P4dstar Yep I noticed window cleaning warehouse is selling a very similar protector cover to me and have no problem with it, it's the obvious solution to protecting your couplers.
I'm not a competitor to the big producers as I can't compete on price and scale as I'm primarily using 3D printing rather than injection moulding but I'm working on it ?

 

[Iron Giant]

Never wanted to try a univalve!!

As soon as @Skxawng had his tuff tap available I was on it straight away very well made product and I wouldn't buy anything else the durability of the outer casing has taken the worst of abuse and is still rock solid I'd have thought all of his products are of equal high quality.

 

[Mattlekim]

@Iron Giant have you tried his new tuff connect? Tuff Connect | Rootek-Designs

They are amazing.

Going back to the original question as far as I know it's just the springs that are different, I think the washers are just the same as it still doesn't recommend any chemicals

 

[Marko067]

I still have three of the original Univalves each of which still work. My only issue with them was that after a few months of use they started dribbling a little and the water would drip out the end of the pole and all down me. I tried stripping them down and cleaning re-greasing with silicon grease etc, but it only stopped the problem for a short while and then it would start again.
When Gardiner's released their gooseneck valve I didn't find the mk1 model to be much better except that I preferred the twist action over the pulling action. I just found the action more slick when working. However, it had problems of its own so I went back to the Univalves. When Gardiners brought out the mk2 version most the issues I had with the mk1 were addressed so I switched back to the gooseneck valve which is now my tap of choice. It's not perfect as I believe it could benefit from one more improvement. But it doesn't leak.

I think the Univalves are more versatile in use but for me the gooseneck ticks all the boxes I need it to.