oki we (me and the missus) did that large job last friday, 7700 sq.ft. i still consider myself learning the ropes of Encap'ing in terms of time...i think i will get a lil faster as i get more confident with the process.

so we arrived a little before 2pm. we both pre-vac'ed for an hour and 15 minutes, then i began Encap'ing with my Mex. Shawna continued to pre-vac for another 3 hours and 45 minutes....thats 5 hours total pre-vac'ing for her and 1 hour 15 min for me.....6 hours and 15 minutes pre-vac'ing 7700 sq. ft.!

goes without saying, the "janitorial staff" doesnt do much of ANY vacuuming. lotta tight spaces and desk / cubicle work which meant getting on hand and knees to vac up under stuff that no Cimex, no GLS, no wand could EVER reach....picking up paper clips, thumb-tacks, etc... with the hose / wand (i may be a little anal about edge vac'ing and under partition / desk vac'ing hehe)

this was not with one of the "better" vacuums yall may use. it was with a new Rubbermaid "Commercial" vac that surprisingly has excellent suction. my 1 hour 15 minute was with a Minuteman MPV (piece of garbage for a vacuum....dont ever buy one).

BTW, took me from 3:15 pm til 9:30 to Encap the entire 7700 sq.ft of half-trashed / half average carpet (took a couple 10 minute breaks to eat / goto bathroom).

thanx for any input --- Derek.

BTW, half the job i used the MAX pad's, the other half i used the regular FP pads. i am not yet sold on the MAX pads. seems the regular FP pads created alot more foam than the MAX pads did.....maybe cause they are more pliable (less aggressive) they have less surface contact.?. and they definitely make the Cimex harder to push lol, but i guess since they are more aggressive that they would.

anyone else have any feedback on the MAX pads vs's the regular FP pads???

Derek I did a decent sized DNR type building last weekend. It was an all-niter 5pm-4-am. I didn't get going with the Mex until almost 9:30. I had the vacuum out several times more after that too.

Derek -

The vac time was slow, but without seeing it, I'm not sure it was 'too' slow.

Reason - most jobs we have done did not need much vacuuming. But if it did, we do it. So, how bad was the place? Do they have a regular cleaninng every nite? Every week? Every change of Presidential administrations? Bottom line is that if it really needed that vac, then it' gotta be done. But hopefully most places you'll do won't need that much.

Derek

Your best investment was the Cimex. Your second best investment would be a Pro-Team backpack vacuum with an air driven power head. You will never use a upright vacuum again.

Steve Frasier
Drew and Steve's Floor Care
www.drewandsteve.net

Hey steve.
does that bac pac vac have any beater bars on it or just vacuum.
I used to try the bac pac, but found it didnt get anything down into the loop patterns, just a great surface cleaning. just wondering.
I dont recommend bac pacs for proper pre vacing for encapping.
just my thoughts. Not saying that it doesnt work for you.
Encap just primarily is dealing with commercial carpets, which most generally mean a low, tight loop design which mean that you had better have a vac that beats and vibrates and gets down and dirty. I just dont have the confidence that any bac pac vac affords that opportunity. Surface cleaning? Sure. they work fine.
but i dont really think they get down and open up the loop and go looking for the dirt.
Your thoughts in return are welcome.

Happy encapping to all.

steve

Steve Dobson
ProFloor
Custom Cleaning Services

The power head doesn't have a beater bar. I have used all different types of vacuums. When I use a backpack all the time, jantorial, I have to do less dusting.
I seem to find that a beater bar can tend to leave more dirt in the carpet. I base this on pulling up residental and commerical carpet, if the vacuum isn't powerful enough to suck it all out, I don't believe any vacuum can, or used with improper height setting. Beater bar beats it deeper into the carpet. When ever possible, a power lifter should be used on commerical. It is glued to the floor, a power lifter has no beater bar.
Today I HWE 450 PSI 300FT of hose flushed a hallway and college dining hall. Put out 3 speed fans, dries in an hour. I have cimex cleaned it 3X in the last 6 months. Always looks good when done, and dries in 20 minutes with fans. It is vacuumed everyday, sometimes 2X. Vacuums used(done some testing lately) Sanitaire, Hoover Windtunnel commerical, wide area vacuums, pro team industrial model.
The carpet cleaned up easier then it ever has, releasit qualities really helped this process. The undissolved dirt in the TM clear view filter is the worst it has ever been. Carpet also is cleaner then it has ever been. This is why I believe that no one vacuum is better then the other. It involves the person doing the vacuuming.
Derek spent alot of time vacuuming, a backpac speeds up the process. I have also cut my repair bill down to nothing. Not all backpacs or uprights are created equally.
One think I noticed, when I clean the hallway I still have foot traffic. When I cimex clean the hall, the ceramic tile area between the 2 halls gets very dirty from the foot traffic. It doesn't get this way when I HWE. Every system has its good and bad points. I have an RX 20, can't stand it, but I love my titainum prochem wand, The hydra master guy doesn't like the wand, he sold me the RX. LOL. Like the DRI-MASTER for residential. I have a 470 MAXX, your Bulter is a nice machine also.
I haven't measured these areas, it takes 3.5 hours to pull and 2 hours to cimex. Start to finish. Includes table moving.
Thanks for the conversation. Looking forward to chating again. Leaving tomorrow to catch some Pacific Salmon, going over the Columbia Bar to spend a few days on the ocean.

Steve Frasier
Drew and Steve's Floor Care
www.drewandsteve.net