Anyone want to talk me off the ledge?

[Jeff_L]

I'm nearing the point of pulling the trigger on a Ring-O-Matic 850 Deep Vac Pit Cleaner to do my pits and at least a friend of mine who has 7 washes. Yes, I do have a place to put the mud, so no worries there.

I have three fears about making the purchase. The first is that I've seen other pit cleaner "companies" come and go. I don't know where they went so I can't contact them to find out. However, from what I could tell about them they were good ol'boys who seemed to be doing the work on the side and not really focused. The second fear is that it's a lot harder than it looks. I'm not adverse to hard work, I just don't want it to be over the top. The third is maintenance, how often do they break down?

I have an attendant who will help me out, but was curious to anyone else's feedback before I go make the purchase.

 

[boywonder]

A vacuum cleaner is a lot more work than a digger. I use to have a digger, and loved it. The company that does my cleaning now, rented the vacuum one to try on my pits. It seemed like it took at least twice as long to clean my pits. Actually it did cause I could clean all of mine it about 12 hours and it took them 3 days.

 

[MEP001]

The first is that I've seen other pit cleaner "companies" come and go. I don't know where they went so I can't contact them to find out. However, from what I could tell about them they were good ol'boys who seemed to be doing the work on the side and not really focused.

I've dealt with some of these guys. They get the equipment thinking it's lots of easy money, then they find they have to contend with paperwork, permits, CDL to haul the waste, so they just let the equipment get repo'd.

The second fear is that it's a lot harder than it looks. I'm not adverse to hard work, I just don't want it to be over the top.

It's pretty hard work, and takes a strong back. If you do them often, you can just throw the hose into the pit and it'll take just about everything right up. If you let them get full and it gets compacted, it turns solid and you have to constantly lift and move the hose around and spray water to break up the mud.

The third is maintenance, how often do they break down?

There's not much to them, and they're built well. It should last a lot of years if you keep it maintained.

 

[Randy]

We have a 750 Ring-O-Matic, it’s worked flawlessly for over 15 years. The only we do to it is check the oil in the vacuum pump and engine before we use it. Pull it with a F-250 truck, no paperwork, no special permits, no CDL. We haul the waste to place that burns it and turns it into top soil, costs $35 a ton the get rid of it. We can do 27 bays in one day, if the line isn’t too long to dump and its long hard day. We pump the pits out every 4 months whether they need it or not, a little tip we always pump off the water before shuck them out.

 

[rph9168]

Always best to do it regularly because if you wait too long in between the dirt gets compacted and is tough to get out. I remember when we had to get someone down there with a shovel to break it up. Talk about back breaking work. I also agree if you maintain the machine well it should last a long time with little trouble.

 

[dogwasher]

My attendant uses a shovel.

 

[dogwasher]

I would really like to own a Ringomatic! sound like a great idea.

 

[Ric]

I bought a new 750 Ring O Matic in 1984. Went to the 1000T clamshell digger a few years later. Much easier on the back. I am now using my 2nd 1000T which I bought in 1999. I needed to have a boom extension added at that time to accommodate my new wash pits and decided to buy a new unit. I have not had much contact with Ring O Matic since then but they are still in business. Other than normal wear and tear the units have been good for me.

 

[Jeff_L]

Ric - sounds like you have experience with both units. Since you've had two clamshell types, I suppose you prefer it? Which do you think does a better job? Does the job quicker? Easier to use? Not as messy?

 

[mjwalsh]

Ric - sounds like you have experience with both units. Since you've had two clamshell types, I suppose you prefer it? Which do you think does a better job? Does the job quicker? Easier to use? Not as messy?

Jeff,

The way I have seen it ... the vac is more thorough. For our pits when the hired vacuum pumper guy comes ... it is nice to get all the little floating debris too. My nickels worth. We used to hand shovel into a homemade trailer so I am kind of speaking from experience on the thoroughness part.

mike

 

[mjc3333]

Go with the clam shell type from Ring O Matic. We have one specially connected to our 1 ton dump for the past 20 years. Very little effort. Before that we used a vacuum pump from a place in Texas. Very hard to work with. Hard on your back, hard to clean out, and when a clog in the hose (which happens often) gets loose and unclogs you are literally thrown to the ground if your are not ready for it. It is like trying to wrestle a 4in 25ft snake! Any of the clam shell models will work. We made a custom extension as our pits are 6 feet deep.

 

[soapy]

I bought a 1970 ring o matic 750 pit cleaner in 1994. It was all original then. I have replaced the vac pump vanes once and the motor once. I can still clean a 500 gallon pit in less than 15 minutes. If you do not clean your pits every few months then the black sand will build up in the bottom and can be hard to get out. For what it cost it has saved me thousands of dollars over the years.

 

[bighead]

If I bought a vac trailer, I would buy one of these as well, or at least make my own...

http://www.crustbusters.com/

http://www.autocareforum.com/showthread.php?8705-Pit-Mud-Agitator

 

[jimbeaux]

I have had a 2000T ring-o-matic for 12 years and have never even had to adjust the chain. Probably the best investment I have made for the carwash.

 

[Jeff_L]

Thanks for everyone's input. Looks like there are pros and cons either way I go, but it doesn't sound like anyone is encouraging me not to make the purchase. I really appreciate the feedback and hearing your experiences. I'll let you know what I end up doing.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

I would say go rent one first. I rented one, and they yank the hose out of your hands. It was way to violent, and too much work for me. I have a company with a 3000g pump truck come and do the wash. It builds vacuum slightly slower and doesn't yank the hose as bad. One 6bay completely fills his truck, and we even drop back some of the water. For around $650 it not only gets cleaned but i then have the paperwork for legal disposal. It takes us about 90 min to do a wash. For about 40K i could purchase a truck like theirs used and be super busy in that business also. They clean the truck stops wash pits once a week. With 5 washes pit cleaning would be a full time job with a small 500-750g vac.

 

[Reds]

I have debated getting either a vacuum or clamshell type pit cleaner. My problem with the clamshell is that when my wash was built the top of the tanks should have been cut bigger. I cannot fit a clamshell thru the opening and cannot cut it bigger due to pex lines around the grates. I prefer the clamshell but am stuck. Right now I am paying a contractor who works in the natural gas industry to suck them out. For $800 he does four 500 gallon tanks that are full of that thick sandy muck. But I would still like to find a used vacuum that had the power to do the job. It is very demanding work controlling that vac hose. I work as the contractors assistant when he does my pits and it is all we can do to hold that hose when we are dipping it in and out a little to break a clog.

 

[Kevin Reilly]

Jeff, I've have a Ring-o-Mat vacuum pumper for as long as I can remember! I've replaced the motor, overhauled the pump once and just replaced the gaskets on the back door last year. Can't tell you about the Clam-shell because our pit-hole diameters are too small in the bays. I can tell you that we use it monthly and have always had a place to put the mud. We have 5 locations so it has saved us tons of money by pumping all of our own pits. We do not de-water the pits before pumping because we would have to shut the location down, and if the mud happens to be impacted (some of our pits are 7' deep) we put a straight shot on a trigger gun with a long shaft and use it to saw cut and break up the mud while pumping. It has been an exceptional piece of equipment for us! The only thing I can say is with multiple locations and a place to put your mud, it's a no-brainer whether it's a pumper or a clam-shell!

 

[Jeff_L]

Thanks Kevin. I'll take the advice and have a gun ready with a long shaft and a zero degree tip.

 

[Jeff_L]

Update - just put the order in a couple days ago for the 850 Deep Vac from Ring-O-Matic. After reviewing everyone's posts and doing my own research, my own pros for the vacuum style outweighed the pros for the clam shell style.

Should be sucking mud by early October!