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Gutter Vacuums

Incheck

Well-known member
Messages
1,739
Location
Cardiff
Hi everyone, new to this forum so wondering what advise I can get. Been window cleaning just over 3 years, purchased a skyvac atom early on, and it’s proved 90% brilliant. Only snag is the other week we went to a terraced house with a solid mass of a gutter garden at the back. No access for a ladder whatsoever, no back lane, house too small to get a ladder through. Proved too much for the vac (it has a 1600 watt motor) no chance of sucking it out. (Another company showed up previously and failed just to back up my point of it being “one of those” jobs. I have considered once or twice about getting the “gutter sucker” which has 3 x 1000 watt motors (pretty much double the suction of our machine) but i’m concerned about it sucking all the roofing material out and ripping it. , as we all know there are those houses where the roofing felt laps in to the gutters. Basically are they worth the investment? Or do gutter suckers also meet their match where they simply won’t suck out the most solid of build ups and you still have to get the ladder up there and dig it out by hand? Would appreciate all advise from those with gutter suckers, thanks.

 
You can actually get them up to 4200 watts, 3 1400w motors, they won't damage anything on the roof unless it is already loose. However some jungles just can't be shifted as they key into cables etc. I have just bought a tool from a company and will review it when I get it. 

 
Ok thanks, The more powerful machines look pretty heavy, 38 kgs when empty or something? I’d be huffing and puffing moving that around! & If they also can’t shift the most severe clog ups then i don’t see the point in spending more money ?


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Hi everyone, new to this forum so wondering what advise I can get. Been window cleaning just over 3 years, purchased a skyvac atom early on, and it’s proved 90% brilliant. Only snag is the other week we went to a terraced house with a solid mass of a gutter garden at the back. No access for a ladder whatsoever, no back lane, house too small to get a ladder through. Proved too much for the vac (it has a 1600 watt motor) no chance of sucking it out. (Another company showed up previously and failed just to back up my point of it being “one of those” jobs. I have considered once or twice about getting the “gutter sucker” which has 3 x 1000 watt motors (pretty much double the suction of our machine) but i’m concerned about it sucking all the roofing material out and ripping it. , as we all know there are those houses where the roofing felt laps in to the gutters. Basically are they worth the investment? Or do gutter suckers also meet their match where they simply won’t suck out the most solid of build ups and you still have to get the ladder up there and dig it out by hand? Would appreciate all advise from those with gutter suckers, thanks.
Try putting water in the gutters if they are dry then adjutait the debrie in the gutters with a spike and break it up and vac it out usually it can be broken up and cleared this way there are sometimes issues but this will usually Work , we have two gutter vacs one mains powered 1800 Watts one 4200 that runs of a genny the small one doesn’t have the power of the big one but will suck out anything asked of it up to 3 floorsby doing the above 

 
Thanks, tried my utmost to be honest, was chucking it down at the time so should have been as loose as it could get. No luck hacking away at it with dirt breaker. I agree it does work on most occasions but not this time!


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Aye me neither pal, Pretty sure insurance wouldn’t cover any potential damage to the roof if i went about it that way, + don’t have a roof ladder! Then if tiles start slipping etc (knowing my luck they would) Not worth opening a can of worms over 50 quid is it! Like the pressure washer idea though, never thought of that. Would need a 180 attachment for the lance though which i’m pretty sure you cant get anywhere [emoji51]. And then she doesn’t have an outside tap to connect to anyway....I offered the job to another company in the end who i exchange work with every so often, has a more powerful vac than I.
Just annoying when you come across those jobs you can’t solve. Done a gutter clearance yesterday on a bungalow. Cleared the lot all downpipes unblocked (they were all clogged ridiculously, pull apart jobs)
Then on the last one thought i was home & dry only to find out it was blocked all the way underground [emoji849] had my hand down there as far my elbow, snakes, rods, vac hose, the works. Turned into a right mare. Drainage company needed defo. Been hitting the wrong jobs lately it seems [emoji23]


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Solution! And quite possibly another preverbial can of worms... Petrol engined gutter vac! 1 ton waste tank, thus far haven't found something it can't clear!
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Yeah it's a good piece of kit. Custom built for us so also includes 400L clean tank and pressure washer for guttering. Based in Norfolk, doing primarily carpets and ovens plus windows, gutters etc even gravestone. Got 10 vans on the road.

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You have the best set up so far that I have seen, definitely a serious gutter vac, hat off for innovation! What's the best form of advertising you have found for your company, as it must take allot of advertising to keep 10 vans on the road if you don't mind me asking. 

 
Why thank you haha The van had a reorganisation the other day to included a built in window cleaning tank, pump and reel so i'll take a new photo on Tuesday and post it. 50% of our work is repeat custom year on year. The other 50% is word of mouth, our exhibition trailer which we take to shows such as game fairs or currently Christmas light switch ons, advertising in local magazines etc. We've never been afraid to try something new or different and so far it's worked!

Between that machine and our 3500psi custom 1000L water bowser there isn't much we can't clean outside!

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Aye me neither pal, Pretty sure insurance wouldn’t cover any potential damage to the roof if i went about it that way, + don’t have a roof ladder! Then if tiles start slipping etc (knowing my luck they would) Not worth opening a can of worms over 50 quid is it! Like the pressure washer idea though, never thought of that. Would need a 180 attachment for the lance though which i’m pretty sure you cant get anywhere [emoji51]. And then she doesn’t have an outside tap to connect to anyway....I offered the job to another company in the end who i exchange work with every so often, has a more powerful vac than I.
Just annoying when you come across those jobs you can’t solve. Done a gutter clearance yesterday on a bungalow. Cleared the lot all downpipes unblocked (they were all clogged ridiculously, pull apart jobs)
Then on the last one thought i was home & dry only to find out it was blocked all the way underground [emoji849] had my hand down there as far my elbow, snakes, rods, vac hose, the works. Turned into a right mare. Drainage company needed defo. Been hitting the wrong jobs lately it seems [emoji23]


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Karcher power washer n their drain 20m clearing kit, could be option for blocked drains underneath? They also do a long lance for cleaning walls, think it only goes to 20ft?though.

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Just stick a camera up there before you start any gutter job and make sure your not gonna run into slipped tiles or anything else that will cause damage.

 
Karcher drain kit would be the tool of choice i dare say. trouble is mate what i’m finding is that no matter how much i invest, theres always some extra tool or piece of equipment you could have. I’ve got to draw the line somewhere as I’ve only got a certain amount of storage space and would rather leave drains to a drain company who have correct insurances and know what they’re doing. + when you have other work booked in, a gutter clearance can only go so far, clear out the gutters, unblock downpipes, pull apart and re-fit if necessary, if blocked under ground at least try to solve it, which i do half the time as blockage isn’t that far under. I’m a firm believer in that everybody has a purpose so let the drain guys serve theirs? [emoji4]


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Finished a job in the dark today [emoji50] arrived at 2:30, half past 4 still there. Gutter above conservatory, absolutely rammed along whole length, solid, thick clumps of mud & grass tufts. Deep guttering too, No ladder access whatsoever for rodding, hacking away with vac and dirt breaker for what seemed like forever until it all came free enough to suck out bit by bit. Not many gutter clearances coming easy for me this week [emoji23] customer next door asked if i could do theirs straight after, just as well i said come back another time or i’d be taking a trip to screwfix to see if they’ve started stocking night vision goggles yet [emoji23]


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Awesome machine and kit-my feeling regarding all this is everything is a bit more tolerable if there has been a decent price put in .I will put another comment up when I become an expert in pricing?

 
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