op/orbital/osilation machines

OK Dustin.

Standing on the machine at the end was pretty impressive. If I did that with my Orbot my counterweight will come flying out.

It looks cool too Dustin. Did you help John design this one? I know you do good work on sprucing OP machines

Anyone know if that bonnet pro machine is a rotary or orbital, looks like a rotary to me.

kevinj6121 wrote:Anyone know if that bonnet pro machine is a rotary or orbital, looks like a rotary to me.

I think they are rotary, my sub was purchasing one after becoming disappointed with the Orbot reliability.

Well if it's a rotary i found this machine which i am seriously considering and the price is much better. here is the link http://www.janilink.com/bonnet/category-html
then scroll down to the JL Premium Bonnet Buffer 17" w/Auto Front Sprayer
check it out-let me know what you think

It looks like they took the design features of John's Carpet Max machines, even the same color. It looks like a good tool, but you have to wonder how it comes in at that price when even a basic 175 can cost more.

It has all the right features, just don't know about the quality of it. Is it smooth? Will the bearings last? Is it balanced? Will the sprayer fall off?

Just hard to tell without getting you hands on it, but if they offer a good return policy, then it might be worth trying it out.

don't know about the quality of it. Is it smooth? Will the bearings last? Is it balanced? Will the sprayer fall off? All good questions, most 175 rotary machines are built like tanks, at least anyone that i've ever had. I like the face that that machine has both the spray and shower feed. And your right, if they have a good warranty and return policy it might just be worth taking a chance for under a grand.

It does list the right kind of features.....can't beat the price.

You are right, all 175's that I have used are built like tanks.  Some ran smoother than others and some were quieter and some would twist your arm off with the unbalanced torque.

Which one is this?  I just don't know.  You might have to ask them some questions and follow your gut based on their responses.

I will call and ask some questions but you know they won't say anything bad about it. They want to sell sell sell and I don't expect them to say anything negative. Sure wish i knew some one who had or has one that would be truthful. I may just sell my current 175 and take a chance, what the hell. If I do get one i'd be more than happy to give you my honest opinion though.

Somebody has to be the first...there will be plenty of people interested in hearing what your experience turns out to be.

Bonnet Pro is a rotary.

That machine looks ok. Definitely not in the same category.

milspec6 wrote:Somebody has to be the first...there will be plenty of people interested in hearing what your experience turns out to be.

I called and spoke to this company about that machine, has a 5 year warranty and if returning just because you don't like it and nothing wrong it they will do it for a 15% restocking fee due to then having to sell it as used. If there is something wrong with it they will fix or replace and pay the shipping. So I think i will sell my current 175 and buy this one, no need to have two fro me.

Still have not pulled the trigger on that machine yet. Still can't get the lowboy out of my mind. Still will never be without a 175 no matter what i do. my current 175 is like 98 pounds getting older thats too heavy, found a new 17inch that comes in at 82pounds for 525.00 thats a 16pound difference not a hole lot but enough, don't want to go to light because you need the weight. but the janilink machine is 88pounds which is only a 10pound difference so not sure if worth it to sell my current 175 for only a 10pound difference just to have an onboard spray system in addition to shower feed. Thinking of selling my RV360i, i have the swoop head that came with it, also have the carpet brush head and the tile and grout head and suction ring which i only used like twice maybe 3 times. All is in great condition. I simply don't use it hardly at all anymore. So fighting myself over what to do, sell the RV306i and current 98pound 175 get a lowboy and the new 82pound 175 or sell RV and current 175 and get lowboy and new 88 pound 175 with shower feed and spray system from janilink or just get new lighter 175 or just get the janilink machine of just sell Rv and get lowboy.. see my delema. If money was not a problem i'd have them all, but thats not the case.. What would you guys do.

Have you checked to see if you can get a weight kit for your 175? If you want to go inexpensive maybe you can buy 2 10lb ankle weight and wrap them around the motor for an additional 20 lbs.

With regards to the 360i you wont have any problem selling it

I am good at spending other people's money, so here it goes.

After reading about the return policy on that machine and how they re-sell them after that, what is stopping you from buying a returned machine? The price difference might make it work out so that you can keep that 360i.

I am a tool hoarder, so I would keep the 360i in case you really need to pull it out for a job. Maybe the shoulder or back gets a little strained and you can't run a wand or heavy 175 for a couple of weeks....the 360i could save your bacon.

Beyond that....I have to say that I really like on-board sprayers. If you do any amount of encap, it is a must in my view. Encap works better if you get the pad onto the spray quickly while the solution is still on the fiber surface. Once it flows towards the backing, it isn't as effective.

There return policy is on any machine, not just that one, don't even know if they have one that was returned, would have to call and ask. If they did that would be great because like you i am a tool hoarder and i hate to give up toys i already have even if i don't use them much and would prefer to keep my RV if i was just to get that 175 to replace the one i have i could keep the RV. problem is i got that dam lowboy on the brain.

The lowboy does look nice, been watching those as well.

Tool hoarding might be a disease, but 20 years from now my Steamin Demon will be worth a fortune on ebay....just like my vintage Atari gaming system.

well I found a guy selling the Vario that excellent supply sells for $1850 its brand new, he never used it selling it to me for $1500 with pad driver and included with that he is giving me a case of vacaway chems, 10 pad/bonnets also brand new and a 5gal battery sprayer on wheels basically around $800 of freebies. Too good a deal to pass on, i'll have it next Wednesday. I can't wait

Good find Kevin you'll make that money back on no time. Did it come with the weight kit too? I think they came out with a new Vario??

Hey MO, ya know i'm not sure if the one i'm getting has the weight kit or not. They do have a new Vario, the added a solution tank to it with a 120psi pump and spray jet for $2410.25 don't know how they came up with that price why not just $2400.00

Well I got my Vario, waiting on some different pads to come in that I orderd, ordered some suporzorbs, some other cotton bonnets from Cobb supply and also ordered some pro cotton blends and 100% cotton pads from bonnet pro, already have some micro beasts and just plain micro fibers. When I get them i'll be doing a friends apartment for free just to try out the different pads and use different procedures and stuff to see what works the best, may or may not include My CRB into the mix/procedure. Will 1st try to clean using only the Vario and see how that goes, if not happy with results I will run CRB 1st then the Vario with cotton pads for extra scrub and absorption/extraction. Thinking that may be a killer one two punch with great results. CRB then Vario.

I have been in the business for over 30 years. I have a cimex( one 15" and one 19"), crb, chemstractors (2), an rx-20 with pad driver, and a Vario. When it comes to encap, I am the one using the Vario. It is faster and more aggressive than the others and I can get great results faster. As everyone already knows in this business, time really is money.

Strong endorsement against some good tools. Sounds like a winner then.

Looking forward to seeing it in action.

Well got all the pads/bonnets i was waiting on except the ones from Cobb. Did two jobs back to back with the Vairo. 1st job pre sprayed a small section, then went over it with a micro beast pad on the vairo, then a cotton blend bonnet pro pad. Did it clean, yes, was I impressed with how it cleaned, not really, but the girl who's carpet it was, was impressed. Decided to use the CRB. Pre spayed, ran the CRB then Used Vairo with cotton blend bonnets, 100% cotton bonnet, superzorbs and the micro fiber bonnet on different sections of the carpet. The crb made all the difference on that job in my opinion. As far as the different pads, gotta say that %100 cotton bonnet from bonnet pro picked up the most soil, the micro fiber bonnet most deffinately absorbed a lot of moisture out of the carpet but no visible soil, although the section i did with came very clean. The 2nd job I just pre sprayed ran the CRB and then vairo using different pads in each room, job came out great customer very happy. NO when i got home I put the blue micro fiber pad in a bucket with clean water to clean and when ringing it out a lot of soil came out and turned the clean water dirty, so they apparently do absorb soil but you just can't see it like you can on a cotton pad. My conclusion with this very limited usage of the Vario and pads so far. 100% cotton, micro fiber and micro beasts pads will be my pads of choice to use. The 2nd job was six rooms that took me 1 hr and 45 minutes. Which I know I can improve upon. For starters i'll use the onboard spray system That I have on my CRB so i can spray and scrub in one step instead of spraying then running the crb. got two more jobs coming up that I will use this method on and let ya know

Great review Kevin!

I prefer on-board solution delivery, it seems like the encap works better that way compared to using a pump-up and then running the machine over it....just dries too fast.