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Tecbuk Ariel Wfp Brush (Vs Diy) Review

WCF

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Dodger

Well-known member
Messages
5,646
Location
Midlands
Product Name: Tecbuk Ariel WFP Brush

Where to get it: www.wfp-brush.co.uk

Your rating out of 10: 10

The reason that WCF was given the chance to trial and review the Ariel WFP brush was a discussion about DIY brushes, the pro's and con's of these and the real benefits of using a professionally made, purpose built brush. Richard Sorrell from Tecbuk got involved in the discussion and pointed out that his brushes were built to be better and faster than any other, that they are more rigid therefore any pressure applied transfers directly to the bristles and that those bristles are arranged in such a manner that rinsing is minimised and cleaning is faster.

In keeping with the discussion that led us here I've compared Richards brush with the one in the picture below, this is the first brush that I used when I built my 'WFP on a tight budget using a pressure sprayer' system and I'm presuming that many window cleaners first venturing into WFP from Traditional methods might look at doing it cheaply just like I have although there are other reasons for me using the pressure sprayer which far outweigh the cost issues.

I'm looking at this trial and review from a beginners point of view, is buying a Tecbuk brush really worth spending all of that extra money and the answer is a very simple YES!

Now the DIY brush does the job and it loosens the dirt, I thought that it did it quite well too but as soon as I opened the box that Richard sent me I could see a huge difference and although the stock is much smaller the bristles had a little larger surface area which is due to the angle of the outer rows.

Putting it simply the outer rows of bristles angle outwards so that when pressure is applied they splay across the glass pushing away any dirt and getting into corners easily and loosening any dirt effortlessly. The inner rows are shorter, set at 90 degrees and these I guess do all the scrubbing thats needed. I found that the brush glides across the glass without any effort at all which I couldn't say about my DIY one.

I can't comment on other purpose built brushes myself so I'll leave that to someone else but compared to my cheap DIY brush (& a Vikan Sill Brush), YES the Tecbuk Ariel Brush cleans dirt away much faster and more efficiently, it rinses better whilst scrubbing so much less time and effort is needed for your final rinse which to anyone like me that harvests rainwater is an added bonus as it needs less water for the final rinse.

I also tried not rinsing on a third house on same street, just brushed with water at a good flow rate (yes my diy system has plenty of that), now the water sheeted on this house but not on the others so that may be a factor but without a good rinse this house's 4 upstairs windows dried spot and streak free.

The stock is indeed totally rigid with no flex at all so all pressure applied goes exactly where you want it to go, straight to the bristles and therefore the glass.

The small plastic scraper is a handy addition as well and although you couldn't get right to the edge on some recessed windows you could on most so maybe a wider scraper option Richard /emoticons/smile.png it's strong though and thoughts even gone into not being able to put it on the wrong way round.

To round off, yes a DIY brush will save you money in the short term but the Tecbuk Ariel Brush will save you a lot of time and from comparing just 2 identical houses next door to each other which both had their first initial clean done by me last month I can safely say that the first maintenance clean was done faster and better by a mile with the Tecbuk.

Comparing my DIY (& the Vikan) with the Ariel is like comparing a rusty old Skoda with a top of the range new Jaguar, one will get you there (just) and the other will get you there so much faster and in comfort too, enough said..

Well almost enough!

Will I DIY a brush again, no not for window cleaning.

Will I buy Tecbuk brushes instead, ABSOLUTELY!!

Video/Pics:

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Compared against..

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Gotta be honest Paul, experienced I'm not but I think I know when somethings good and this brush is (in my opinion). Why anyone's dissing it I really don't know, they should buy one and see. It really is everything Richard says it is I reckon.

 
in that picture i can see 3 possible design faults, but will see if im right or wrong when it turns up!
There'll be a lot more faults when it reaches you, I'm sending Mark my diy one and keeping the Ariel hahahahahahaha
Speaking of sending it to Mark, I'd better get off (havin cuppa at mums lol) and get it in post. Left it to dry out a bit before I parcel it up.

 
There'll be a lot more faults when it reaches you, I'm sending Mark my diy one and keeping the Ariel hahahahahahaha

Speaking of sending it to Mark, I'd better get off (havin cuppa at mums lol) and get it in post. Left it to dry out a bit before I parcel it up.
Haha. The look on his face when he opened the parcel would be priceless!

 
Personally the only fault I found was the scraper which I mentioned and it's minor but hey it's got one at least, I can't say I've got any faults with it apart from that.

 
No offence to the brush or the review - but I've got a toilet brush that would beat the DIY one in the photo!! (That thing must weigh a tonne!)

For the next reviewer - I'd be more interested in a direct comparrison between the Tecbuck offering and mainstream pro brush's pls!

 
No offence to the brush or the review - but I've got a toilet brush that would beat the DIY one in the photo!! (That thing must weigh a tonne!)

For the next reviewer - I'd be more interested in a direct comparrison between the Tecbuck offering and mainstream pro brush's pls!
Yes the diy one is probably twice the weight of the Ariel but then the Vikans not far off either, That was the point of this review though, should a beginner use a **** brush on the cheap or spend the money on an Ariel (or similar).
The brush is now on it's way to Mark M who as we all know is very experienced and has various brushes he can compare it against so watch out for his direct comparison review.

On the weight issue to be honest the method I use puts a bit more weight on the pole than microbore hose would and I'm using a Harris pole which ain't the lightest so the weight never came into it as the change in brush weight wasn't really noticable and thats why I didn't mention it in the review, it's the way the brush is made that makes all the difference.

 
I personally don't see a reason or need for a review comparing it to a D.I.Y brush.

It's not in the same class as a D.I.Y brush.

I mean, until I read this review I didn't even know people made their own brushes, it seems silly.

This brush is made professionally and is set to compete with other top brand brushes, not DIY.

You wouldn't compare a Land Rover with a scrap-heap challenge 4x4 would you?

Anyone who has a DIY brush obviously has no money, so comparing it to a brush that they can't afford won't help.

(I'm assuming lack of funds as the ONLY reason someone would go diy, as if you had money and didn't spend it on a purpose made brush you'd have to be slightly short of brain cells).

And anyone with money who hasn't had to use a DIY brush will want this comparing to another quality brush.

Nice review, but slightly pointless in my honest opinion.

 
The point was if there is a lack of funds a beginner may buy cheap or they may even just think that the brush doesn't matter if they don't have any idea about WFP which to be honest was my position a few months ago.

There are people on this and other forums with plenty of money that use diy brushes and fishing poles but then that's really how WFP started isn't it.

The real comparisons to pro brushes are to come but this was never meant to be one and that has been stated quite clearly, it's simply an unbiased review of a pro brush compared to a diy brush that we know isn't in the same class. That's the point I've tried to make here, don't scrimp on the brush as it's important and for just 35 quid you can get a brush thats designed for the job at hand and does it incredibly well but we shall see if it does it better than others in due course.

And yes if I was trying to get across how much better one product is than another I would use the scrap heap comparison.

This brush after one use made my mind up not to diy a brush ever again for window cleaning and that's what this thread is about, I'm out!

 
I must admit I've DIY'd brushes before,.. not through lack of funds, but simply to get something lighter than the salmon brick I used when I first went WFP years back. Then Gardiners brushes came out & I switched because they were as light but cleaned much better - - but if no manufacturer makes the tool you need, there's no reason not to attempt a diy job!

 
Good review pal. Glad you appreciated it. As I couldn't be bother waiting, then having to send it away again I took the plunge and bought my own.

The brush kit I bought was just short of £50 ( that included a scrubber pad, which was extra few ££ )

Really lads this brush is worth every penny, when you think a gardiners sill brush is £40+... A tecbuk aerial is not expensive at all. You are paying for a quality designed and made..

It comes nicely in a box, that you have to assemble like a kit, when I bought my gardiners brushes they came in a plastic bag.

Tecbuk brush is in a different league to a gardiners brush..

 
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