Need something more reliable than backpack

[Barry Williamson 17]

I think I’m the exception when it comes to X-Line, no issues at all with their service, called them a few times when I first got the trolley, got called back with answers etc.  Big orange thing certainly stands out! It fits 45l of water too. Not cheap but zero complaints from me.  

[THL4KEL 369]

The Facelift must be 90kg if it's full... At least with Pure Freedom you load unload the containers and dont get a bad back filling them. I have the Pure Freedom 50litre and pushing it on bad surfaces is awkward. Wouldn't want to be pushing 90kg in bad surfaces..

[Nudel 425]

7 hours ago, P4dstar said:

This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I have a sack truck but as soon as you stick the hose on the back it looks like something from Steptoes yard 

I added a autoretracting air hose reel to mine, and it helps a bit. But it's a time consuming task to build something that looks professional.

The DIY route does make it robust and easy to fix though.

[Dragbag 36]

20 hours ago, Master Jedi Alejandro said:

I know other guys have had issues like you with the Gardiner one. Personally the one I’ve got (which my uncle had for who knows how long before me) has never had a issue. Maybe give them a call and see if they’ve managed to fix the switch problem. Mine is always in the van for those unreachable jobs but like you I use the van system 98% of the time. 

Just replaced the variable speed controller on my backpack for the second time in a year, but got the one from  da components for a change. Hope this switch lasts longer than the gardiners one.

Edited January 11 by Dragbag

[ks789 108]

Ive just gotta defend the humble backpack. Ive got a gardiners, and it has kept giving, through thick and thin, ice and snow, enemy fire everywhere etc etc. Well, getting a bit carried away, but seriously its got me through many a day when the damn airlock problem on the van mount recurs. Would obviously not be so ideal on large jobs, and I am only part time at the moment, but its saved my day often. Cant help thinking though that theres gonna be a great new item in the future. What about a kind of old peoples mobility vehicle, with wfp attachment and good water capacity? just ride it off the back of the van? Im laughing but who knows  

[P4dstar 732]

The backpack is a good addition to every van. The last 3 months of 2018 went by pretty quickly for me. My lack of organisation came to a head and I've had to make some changes to my round in order to complete my work. This is why the issue with the backpack went by the wayside. Now i've sorted my organisational issues I will have time to resolve problems like this.

 

I honestly think if you plan to use a backpack on a regular basis you should expect to replace a part here and there. They're not expensive in the first place and neither are the replacement parts. The different with a trolley is its mainly protected by a metal cage, plastic junction box etc. Sack trucks are made to move things around so it just seems logical they will last longer than a back pack. Our backpacks are thrown around, perhaps loaded in vans without strapping them down etc.

[THL4KEL 369]

Never had one problem with my Gardiners Backpack. Use it all the time.

[P4dstar 732]

1 minute ago, THL4KEL said:

Never had one problem with my Gardiners Backpack. Use it all the time.

I've heard a few people say that. I reckon some must treat them better than others! 🤷‍♂️

[ks789 108]

Keep mine bungee strapped in the van, def getting a back up one. usually my claber hose reel decides to roll over in the back.

[Mabozzer 2]

53 minutes ago, ks789 said:

Ive just gotta defend the humble backpack. Ive got a gardiners, and it has kept giving, through thick and thin, ice and snow, enemy fire everywhere etc etc. Well, getting a bit carried away, but seriously its got me through many a day when the damn airlock problem on the van mount recurs. Would obviously not be so ideal on large jobs, and I am only part time at the moment, but its saved my day often. Cant help thinking though that theres gonna be a great new item in the future. What about a kind of old peoples mobility vehicle, with wfp attachment and good water capacity? just ride it off the back of the van? Im laughing but who knows  

Quad bike with a crop sprayer tank, just add a reel and pole holder. Good in the snow as well.

[Master Jedi Alejandro 79]

9 hours ago, P4dstar said:

Fancy looking piece of kit the Xline machines. Not a fan of the colour and they have a bad rep for poor after sales care. It's reasonably priced compared to the facelift one. I think for what I want to use it for I would be better doing a build but if this was going to be my only way of cleaning windows I would certainly be looking at the X-Line or the Facelift models, they look really professional.

 

This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I have a sack truck but as soon as you stick the hose on the back it looks like something from Steptoes yard (I don't expect you're old enough to know who he is mind)

Pfft, fine then, @P4dstar, that's the last time I give you advice. Enjoy your legionnaires! 😜

[dazmond 29]

i just dont get it.....its very rare that i cant get my hose to a job from my van mount,if i cant then i dont take on the job,simple......

 

IMO its not worth buying a backpack/trolley unless your going to use it a lot...why spend money on something that only gets used on say 2% of work?you might as well drop them jobs and concentrate of the vast majority of work that you can clean with a van mount....

[Den 961]

1 hour ago, P4dstar said:

I've heard a few people say that. I reckon some must treat them better than others! 🤷‍♂️

I have two for nearly three years one on a trolley and another for carrying through houses both work like the day they were new, they don't get used much now days but wouldn't hesitate to buy another. 

[P4dstar 732]

1 hour ago, dazmond said:

i just dont get it.....its very rare that i cant get my hose to a job from my van mount,if i cant then i dont take on the job,simple......

 

IMO its not worth buying a backpack/trolley unless your going to use it a lot...why spend money on something that only gets used on say 2% of work?you might as well drop them jobs and concentrate of the vast majority of work that you can clean with a van mount....

It is relatively rare i can't get the van mount system to work. There are a couple of occasions where I pass around 80M of hose down the back of houses I do in a row, have to leave the van unattended and open for longer than I would like. carrying the back pack is too much effort but having a trolley would be good for these and others. I've just thought of 3 off the top of my head and of those 3 I can think of 2 where parking can be an issue. If I can't park in the right spot then i'm dragging the backpack and a full 25L drum all the way round the back. There is an area I am continually getting calls from where the access to the front is a long walk round or through the house. The type of place they use the back of the house to come in and out, the front has no road, there are some of these everywhere you go. When I say long walk i'm talking 150m+ in some cases.

 

As well as the above a trolley system would be a good step into having a second man. Can't see myself spending £600 on a trolley due to the various problems listed above but if you can build your own professional looking trolley for sub £150 then its a worthy investment.

 

Backpacks IMO are more useful to get to places the hose couldn't like through the house.

 

I see what you're saying about taking on the majority, each to their own. I have found that you never know what one job might lead to, by way of recommendation I mean. Once I learned to price the job factoring in the set up time these jobs are just as profitable to me. Some customers look at you a little funny over price as the local trad guy won't give a cr4p about set up time and some are just grateful that you're willing to give them a price.

Edited January 11 by P4dstar

[adamangler 1,642]

A backpack is just like a van mount in that it's a pump a d a battery, some wires and a switch or two in a plastic casing.

 

So what would you do if your van mount developed  fault? Probably fix it.

 

So why not just carry a spare pump and battery and fix the backpack if it breaks? They are only cheap pumps in them they will go eventually.

 

 

[dazmond 29]

i must admit backpacks have got me out of a tight spot in the past when ive had various van breakdowns etc and allowed me to keep on working albeit on a limited basis.....

[Marko067 677]

I've never used a backpack, however as adamangler says they are fixable. I pretty much use the same setup on my trolley that is in these backpacks and have found that the longevity problems with these pumps is mainly down to the pressure switch on the pump. It utilises a microswitch that really isn't up to being switched on and off all day which is how we use them, and as a consequence they often burn out quickly rendering the pump useless. Wiring a 40amp automotive relay into the circuit to carry the motor load fixes this issue and can be done on a backpack as well as a trolley.

Edited January 14 by Marko067

[P4dstar 732]

On 10/01/2019 at 19:37, P4dstar said:

All of the backpacks on the market just look like cheap Chinese tat that will give me the same issues

I just want to correct myself on this. Having opened the backpack up and seen the parts inside, coupled with the fact its all put together ready to use and comes with a warranty from a reputable supplier I think I was wrong here. The parts to build a window cleaning trolley wouldn't be as high quality and would cost only a fraction less than a backpack does.

 

Thanks to @Alex Gardiner for sending out the parts as offered earlier in the thread. I know they aren't expensive bits but without your kind offer I wouldn't have ordered them until I next place an order. Thankfully my backpack is now back to 100% functionality.

On 12/01/2019 at 23:30, adamangler said:

A backpack is just like a van mount in that it's a pump a d a battery, some wires and a switch or two in a plastic casing.

Opened mine yesterday, really easy to get into. Everything is relatively simple to access. It would appear the switch wasn't the issue stopping it from working (Although it did need replacing) but the wire to the negative terminal had snapped off. I haven't used a soldering iron since I was at school but even I managed it.

 

On 14/01/2019 at 08:53, dazmond said:

i must admit backpacks have got me out of a tight spot in the past when ive had various van breakdowns etc and allowed me to keep on working albeit on a limited basis.....

Me too. When my van broke last year I just loaded the car with a backpack and some water containers and carried on. In retrospect the title of the post should have been ''Need something more hardwearing than a backpack'' or ''something that carries more water''.

 

I am going to go ahead with a trolley build. For £120-130 it would be useful. With a trolley system you can carry 50 litres of water, this will be handy for the back of some of the properties I have. If I have 3 or 4 houses in a row I could get through them with 50 litres and leave the van locked at the front. It also removes the need to wind in loads of hose. It would also be good to just chuck some pre-mixed chemicals on a trolley instead of worrying about rinsing out etc.

[Part Timer 2,000]

Well if you carry, or trolley for the wimps, your 25l back pack and a 25l drum job sorted 💪

[P4dstar 732]

1 hour ago, Part Timer said:

Well if you carry, or trolley for the wimps, your 25l back pack and a 25l drum job sorted 💪

It's not the weight, it's difficult to carry the pole too. If it slips you end up looking like Mr Bean 😂

[Part Timer 2,000]

3 minutes ago, P4dstar said:

It's not the weight, it's difficult to carry the pole too. If it slips you end up looking like Mr Bean 😂

Well if you stick it up your @rse you'll sweep the path as well. Got to be  a £20 job then 👍

[P4dstar 732]

2 minutes ago, Part Timer said:

Well if you stick it up your @rse you'll sweep the path as well. Got to be  a £20 job then 👍

Can't do that, i'm afraid I might like it 😂😂

[Part Timer 2,000]

9 minutes ago, P4dstar said:

Can't do that, i'm afraid I might like it 😂😂

Only if you walk backwards, otherwise it falls out. Unless your buns are really tight 🤔