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Gutter vac upgrade

Iain kinnell

Member
Messages
59
Hi all any recommendations for a gutter vacuum that can go 3 storeys in height.

I done a 2 storey in December with my omnipole junior which did the job.

However I have had 2 quotes to do at care homes and one is a 3 storey.

All advice and recommendations welcome.

Also any advice in getting commercial gutter work as these have come through a friend who has a large window cleaning contract.

Thanks

 
Myself I prefer to stay well clear of 3 storey guttervac jobs now only because I can and don't want to be going up ladders etc if a problem occures.

 
Check out the litres per second flow rates and quoted ranges, the junior will be a lot less than a more powerful vac.

Like Grand Master Smurf, I too will avoid three story as I don't want to travel that high to fix a self made problem /emoticons/smile.png

Maybe invest in a mobile tower and a helper?

 
I must admit I wouldn't fancy getting up the ladder that height, have to ring the fire brigade lol.

I found another machine but the hose was 38mm instead of 50mm so more blockages??

 
Yeah I guess more blocks but more suction per cubic mm (?), I've got a 51mm entry and hose, but check the internal diameter of the poles too as that's less.

Prob factor in the cost of hiring a ladder/tower and a mate should you need to in the event of having to climb up. Like a risk/cost assessment and add that to the quote.

Say it costs 200 to fix a problem that might occur 1 in 4 times, add 50 to the quote perhaps.

 
One of my very first guttervac jobs was on an old victorian building. The type that has steps to the front door over an open basment area below. One corner was full of sods that would not come out no matter how I tried using hooks to try and break it up first & try to suck the sods out. I spent ages trying but gave up in the end and that was using a 4200 watt guttervac. I had cleared the rest of the front guttering but because I could not clear out that coner the chap said "I'm not paying you" /emoticons/sad.png

I learnt very quickly that some jobs need to be done by hand properly. Especially in corners with tiny gaps with sods matted together and tightly packed under flashing.

I must admit I wouldn't fancy getting up the ladder that height, have to ring the fire brigade lol.I found another machine but the hose was 38mm instead of 50mm so more blockages??
 
Hope you shoved all the **** back through his letter box smurf. Should have paid you a percentage.

Do you think a stiff carbon pole with hook on would help? The harris poles are floppy at 5m

I've seen some three story turf gutters but I wouldnt quote them. Or the main road ones with hardly any pavement. Sod that

 
That one was on a step hill close by a busy road. I got very close to lossing control of the guttervac pole when it got taken by a gust of wind that nearly hit a passing double decker bus.... I shat myself then decided this guttervac marlarky was not a very clever idea /emoticons/biggrin.png

 
I do three storey properties quite often and to this day I have never had a problem. I think I have been quite lucky! I do have the ladders to get up to 10m to fix any problems if they occur but that would only be if I knocked a joint loose or something, and so far it hasn't happened, and when it does it will probably be the last!

Also there is quite a bit of difference in height on 3 storey houses. Old victorian buildings like smurf is on about can be a few metres taller than some newish build block of flats. I turned up to one recently that was described as 3 storey 2 bed. I get a bit complacent sometimes and in my head it was a small terrace with loft conversion. It turned out to be 3 storey victorian with basement, gutters at about 40'. 4 flats in total. I could see the downpipe was blocked as the wall was soaking. I took one look called the customer gave him what for for grossly underdescribing the property and moved on to the next job. To be fair I didn't even look at it on Google which was my fault.......

Anyway to answer your question I have a numatic 2400w and works fine with 30' of poles and 5m of hose. You can pick up cheap 3000w vacs but would need to convert for 50mm hose somehow.

 
I will only take on the odd so say easier 3 storey or taller 2 storey gutter job now. That is why it's important for me to do a full gutter camera survey and risk assessment so I can see what I'm up against first before deciding if it's worth the hassle or not.

I do three storey properties quite often and to this day I have never had a problem. I think I have been quite lucky! I do have the ladders to get up to 10m to fix any problems if they occur but that would only be if I knocked a joint loose or something, and so far it hasn't happened, and when it does it will probably be the last!
Also there is quite a bit of difference in height on 3 storey houses. Old victorian buildings like smurf is on about can be a few metres taller than some newish build block of flats. I turned up to one recently that was described as 3 storey 2 bed. I get a bit complacent sometimes and in my head it was a small terrace with loft conversion. It turned out to be 3 storey victorian with basement, gutters at about 40'. 4 flats in total. I could see the downpipe was blocked as the wall was soaking. I took one look called the customer gave him what for for grossly underdescribing the property and moved on to the next job. To be fair I didn't even look at it on Google which was my fault.......

Anyway to answer your question I have a numatic 2400w and works fine with 30' of poles and 5m of hose. You can pick up cheap 3000w vacs but would need to convert for 50mm hose somehow.
 
There's enough regular 50's semis in my areas to survive on I hope, avoid the tough stuff!

I was put off the cheap vacs, it's more likely to break then the money's gone.

10m is your 15 rung triple?

 
Ideally, I think our 7m ladders are meant to be two man. Unless your're Davey 'the beast' Windie

 
my triple 15 rung is about 10m fully extended. I can get it to about 8m on my own. I got it on ebay for about £60 just in case I need it!!

 
How much u looking to spend?the junior is a great little machine

I've done hundreds of gutters with mine and its never missed a beat,I've dropped mine down stairs etc and tbh I think it will run forever

Airflow wise it puts out 5580ltrs a minute,the cheap Chinese 3000w vacs u see generally put out 6360ltr a minute hardly worth shelling out for when reliability is an issue

If I was going to spend 500-600 quid it would be on a gecovac

 
We use Omnipole triple motor vac which is good, but with a few small modifications to the equipement, it is fantastic. 3 and 4 storey jobs a doddle.

If your doing commercial jobs, unless they are standard size gutters or not much bigger, vacs are useless. You need to make use of access platforms or get access to the gutters via their roof cable access system, (if they have one).

If you want to get serous with commercial jobs and get better paid work, then you need to get trained up to the hills and have the suitable equipment such as harnesses, lanyards and ropes. Hire in a access platform, its a lot easier, cheaper and safer. Not only this, you can charge extra for repairs that may be needed and can access them properly to do them. We live in the era that big companies wont entertain you unless you meet specific criteria.

You could always sub your work and take a cut of the money instead for doing SFA, just another option.

 
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