Anybody used Strippers VACWASH

[skier-hughes]

Has anyone?

Is it any good?

Anybody want to sell one now they've finished with it? Or hire it out?

Has anyone seen anything similar around, £148 is a bit pricey, but I've not fund anything else adn our local hire shops are a bit "er what's that?"

Link http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/products.htm#i

Graham

 

[Penners]

Graham

I've PM'd you about this. My daughter has one, and I've asked her to post here.

 

[skier-hughes]

No pm, but I'll await more news.

Graham

 

[Gervase]

I've not used it, but if it prevents the mess one usually gets from using a pressure washer to remove poultice strippers, it'll be a boon. You'd need a hefty wet vac and a heated pressure washer, though, so the whole set-up would be pretty pricey.

 

[Penners]

No pm, but I'll await more news.

Hopefully should arrive soon. Please post again later if it doesn't.

Gervase - I agree with your description of the kit required, except for the word "heated". My daughter used a cold pressure washer and a wet-and-dry vac successfully.

 

[skier-hughes]

[drumming fingers in expectancy - emoticon]

Thanks David.

 

[Penners]

Well, Graham as it hasn't arrived I've just looked in my Sent box. There's no sign of it! God knows what I did - maybe someone else is reading it and wondering what the hell it's all about!

Sorry about that.

What I said was that my daughter and son-in-law have a Strippers vac-wash that they used on all the beams in their house - a substantial quantity! I have emailed her and asked her to post here with her views on the device. I've also asked whether they want to sell it.

I think she's out tonight, but hopefully will post over the weekend.

And I mentioned what Gervase has noted above - you'll also need a pressure washer and a wet vacuum cleaner, so the whole kit is no mean investment.

 

[skier-hughes]

David many thanks.

Trying a pm to you. I'll also log out and back in to see if that helps.
It won't be in your sent box until it is sent, check your outbox.

Graham

 

[Jaykaypi]

Dear Graham

Hi - I'm the junior member of the Penners clan. My husband and I have used the Strippers Vacwash (they used to call is a Washvac - strange rebranding!) on our timber-framed house. In fact, we have stripped about 300 beams with it, so we got fairly familiar with the routine.

It works well, if you know what to expect. If used after you have scraped away the worst of the poultice, it does give the beams a really good clean-up. We found we still had to use the neutraliser on the beams afterwards, else we got a white bloom after a few weeks, but the Vacwash system certainly gets rid of the poultice.

You need a large wet/dry vaccum cleaner, and a pressure washer (atached to tap), to plug into the Vacwash head. Then when you pull the trigger you fire water at the beam, whilst sucking it back at the same time.

Things to bear in mind, though:

1) The square head of the Vacwash needs a totally flat surface to remain pretty water tight, and most of our beams didn't provide this, so we did get a fair bit of water escaping the chamber. We got over this by using plastic sheeting wherever we Vacwashed (it's a messy business) and old curtains and sheets to soak up the water so it didn't run off the sheeting (our floors are wonky, too, so the water tended to pool in places).

2) There is a lot of water involved, so you need the largest vaccum cleaner you can afford, else you spend your life emptying it.

3) The pressure washer and vacum cleaner you need are the largest industrial karcher models - which don't come cheap. Our system, excluding Vacwash head, came to just over £1000, plus head for £148.

This is a messy process, but as far as I am aware there is no alternative if you're going to use the poultice, as you need the force of the pressure washer to force it off the beams and out of the cracks.

We would be interested in selling, though. You could come and see how it worked first, too, if you're nearby?

Do email me if you'd be interested in buying - we can talk about price. How do I post an email address without getting spammed by a gazillion double-glazing/kitchen makeover salesmen?

Jane

 

[MattJ]

I have one too. My tip is buy a pumping wet vac that empties itself through a drain hose while it's vacuuming. Then you can wash beams for as long as you like (or as long as your arms can hold the Vacwash + 2 hoses aloft).

I think my washer was a cheap one (£60?) and I had to buy a custom washer hose to fit the VacWash for £40 and it all worked fine. The pumping wetvac was about £160, but makes a great vacuum for all kinds of building muck.

I had a kitchen ceiling to strip and had the luxury (!) of just a bare concrete floor while washing the beams so didn't worry about the water at all.

Matt

 

[skier-hughes]

OK Matt, can you give me a name for a pumping wetvac?