What is your worst water fed pole purchase

Five star cleaning · Jan 30, 2020

I will start mine is the pure freedom nano trolley even though it is a mobile unit and the lightest trolley by pure freedom i bought it to take through terraced houses but its still to bulky and heavy i wish i went for the gardiners v3 backpack

scottish cleaning service · Jan 30, 2020

I try and buy what folk recommend on here and not been disappointed yet. That's why its important to follow someone with experience to save one buying things that are no use or will be hardly used once the business begins to grow.

Five star cleaning · Jan 30, 2020

scottish cleaning service said:
I try and buy what folk recommend on here and not been disappointed yet. That's why its important to follow someone with experience to save one buying things that are no use or will be hardly used once the business begins to grow.

i get what your saying and im always checking out you tube videos and the forums but when you look on facebook groups you see quite a bit of stuff for sale that is nearly new because they didn't like it. It would be nice to see what mistakes people say they made to help others for instance i also regret buying an upright 350L tank i wish i went for a 400L lay flat for better van stability as i only have a small van

spruce · Jan 30, 2020

A wfp trailer with Unger Teleplus poles and Salmon brushes. (We still use the Unger poles for trad cleaning on one high reach internal clean.)

Things got dramatically better when I purchased my first SWB Citroen Relay 1.9d and went to a van mount system.

Part Timer · Jan 30, 2020

57' Modular pole, always feels like it's going to snap

Five star cleaning · Jan 30, 2020

spruce said:
A wfp trailer with Unger Teleplus poles and Salmon brushes. (We still use the Unger poles for trad cleaning on one high reach internal clean.)

Things got dramatically better when I purchased my first SWB Citroen Relay 1.9d and went to a van mount system.

thanks for the reply its great to hear of the mistakes people make its probably better to hear what not to buy than what people say we should buy

dyson123 · Jan 30, 2020

Five star cleaning said:
i get what your saying and im always checking out you tube videos and the forums but when you look on facebook groups you see quite a bit of stuff for sale that is nearly new because they didn't like it. It would be nice to see what mistakes people say they made to help others for instance i also regret buying an upright 350L tank i wish i went for a 400L lay flat for better van stability as i only have a small van

Really? I’m just about to buy a 350L upright tank for my first van fit out.

From reading on here most say avoid flat tanks as you’ll be getting airlocks once the tank starts to empty?
Happy to give it a second though though if people can work with flats without too much bother

Five star cleaning · Jan 30, 2020

dyson123 said:
Really? I’m just about to buy a 350L upright tank for my first van fit out.

From reading on here most say avoid flat tanks as you’ll be getting airlocks once the tank starts to empty?
Happy to give it a second though though if people can work with flats without too much bother

my theory would be the extra 50L in a flat would compensate for the fact its a flat tank but don't hold me to that

Pjj · Jan 30, 2020

Two electric pure freedom reels both arrived faulty and powder coated steel in stead of stainless steel , luckily both sent back and a full refund issued .

Five star cleaning · Jan 30, 2020

Part Timer said:
57' Modular pole, always feels like it's going to snap

i don't think i would even bother doing a job that requires a 57" i only canvass houses but for the right money ill do flats and commercial work

Pjj said:
Two electric pure freedom reels both arrived faulty and powder coated steel in stead of stainless steel , luckily both sent back and a full refund issued .

thank god they took them back

dyson123 · Jan 30, 2020

For me it was buying a SWB VW Caddy van, had to take out the passenger bulkhead to fit my pole in.

Kept it for 6 months and sold it for £100 less than bought it for so wasn’t too bad!

Then bought the same van but LWB this time, much better suited to carrying poles and all our gear as a single operator.

I’ve had that for 4 months and it’s great but thinking I should have got something bigger ?

Unfortunately it’s now beautifully sign written or I’d definitely be looking to upsize it for something else.

BigFoot · Jan 30, 2020

Purchased all the parts to convert my reel to electric.

everything went wrong, I wasted an entire weekend trying to get it right, late on the Sunday night I threw the towel in and still use arm power to reel in nearly a year later

I still have nightmares of the chain slipping off and me losing my rag and making adjustments thinking I had it sorted only for it to jump off again!

Part Timer · Jan 30, 2020

Five star cleaning said:
i don't think i would even bother doing a job that requires a 57" i only canvass houses but for the right money ill do flats and commercial work

Waiting for confirmation where I'll need something bigger.

dyson123 · Jan 30, 2020

Five star cleaning said:
my theory would be the extra 50L in a flat would compensate for the fact its a flat tank but don't hold me to that

I like that theory, would be interested to see how that goes for when I’m buying

CMcB · Jan 30, 2020

18" ninja squeegee. On the odd occasion I do trad work the s-plus 14" is way better

Five star cleaning · Jan 30, 2020

dyson123 said:
For me it was buying a SWB VW Caddy van, had to take out the passenger bulkhead to fit my pole in.

Kept it for 6 months and sold it for £100 less than bought it for so wasn’t too bad!

Then bought the same van but LWB this time, much better suited to carrying poles and all our gear as a single operator.

I’ve had that for 4 months and it’s great but thinking I should have got something bigger ?

Unfortunately it’s now beautifully sign written or I’d definitely be looking to upsize it for something else.

yeah i cant wait to get rid of my swb too but it passed its mot on monday so ill keep it for another year

dyson123 said:
I like that theory, would be interested to see how that goes for when I’m buying

get second hand of a local just make sure you view it first

CMcB said:
18" ninja squeegee. On the odd occasion I do trad work the s-plus 14" is way better

at least thats not too costly

Five star cleaning · Jan 30, 2020

Part Timer said:
Waiting for confirmation where I'll need something bigger.

i thought you mentioned you was big enough already ?

BigFoot said:
Purchased all the parts to convert my reel to electric.

everything went wrong, I wasted an entire weekend trying to get it right, late on the Sunday night I threw the towel in and still use arm power to reel in nearly a year later

I still have nightmares of the chain slipping off and me losing my rag and making adjustments thinking I had it sorted only for it to jump off again!

those youtubers make it look easy lol

Part Timer · Jan 30, 2020

Five star cleaning said:
i thought you mentioned you was big enough already ?

Can only just do 1st floor with my CLX4, need something bigger for 6 floors and above ?

kevinc250 · Jan 30, 2020

ooohhhhhh, my list of bad purchases in the past, there would be a long long list.

a cheap £9 split relay charger from ebay it packed up days before I realised this- result flat battery in the middle of no where, cost me a days turnover I now have a voltmeter fitted.

a clx pole- bendy as hell and lost me loads of money because they are just so slow.

cheap controllers - again from ebay they pack up when you most need it.

aluminium poles and salmon brushes as spruce has said- they were a nightmare.

a wagtail.

gas water heater- an accident just waiting to happen.

peter fogwells water valve- that was a waste of money.

poles from facelift- i'm always disappointed with them after an hour or so.

wyedale tanks, just awefull to have in the van, the see-sawing effect and just the general cheapness of it all.

these are all experiences from years ago before I learnt to invest in quality rather than cheapness, I also don't buy anything window related from ebay anymore.

wee man · Jan 30, 2020

Probably the small van with 350 tank. So muck easier with a 650 tank and not having to fill up juring the work day.

Five star cleaning · Jan 30, 2020

kevinc250 said:
ooohhhhhh, my list of bad purchases in the past, there would be a long long list.

a cheap £9 split relay charger from ebay it packed up days before I realised this- result flat battery in the middle of no where, cost me a days turnover I now have a voltmeter fitted.

a clx pole- bendy as hell and lost me loads of money because they are just so slow.

cheap controllers - again from ebay they pack up when you most need it.

aluminium poles and salmon brushes as spruce has said- they were a nightmare.

a wagtail.

gas water heater- an accident just waiting to happen.

peter fogwells water valve- that was a waste of money.

poles from facelift- i'm always disappointed with them after an hour or so.

wyedale tanks, just awefull to have in the van, the see-sawing effect and just the general cheapness of it all.

these are all experiences from years ago before I learnt to invest in quality rather than cheapness, I also don't buy anything window related from ebay anymore.

wow they are some great answers thank you. My tanks a wydale ?

wee man said:
Probably the small van with 350 tank. So muck easier with a 650 tank and not having to fill up juring the work day.

ive got a small van and 350 tank ? lol

Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

What is your worst water fed pole purchase

Help Support WCF:

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

The Sprucefather

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads

Log in