Best value on vacuums?

[splash1]

We want to replace our 4 vacuums. We are not familiar with the different brands, so we need the voice of experience. Can you offer advice?

 

[ToFarGone20]

J.E. Adams is the way to go if you ask me.

I have 5 of them and they have some age on them. Still look good and function properly.

It was money well spent with NO regrets.

AJ

 

[Eric H]

About 5 years ago I bought 15 JE Adams vacs with 3 motors, dixmor timers, and ginsan multitron acceptors. The timers and acceptors have been almost trouble free.
If you are upgrading to 3 motor vacs you need to have 10 ga wire. There is a noticeable difference between 2 and 3 motor vacs. I replaced the wire on all my vacs when I upgraded to 3 motor and have no regrets.

BTW: Vacs with bill acceptors became popular about 3 months after I installed my vacs. While I think that bill acceptors would be nice I am not sure that the added expense is worth it. My nearest competitor has combo vacs with bill acceptors. I am not convinced that the added expense is NOT worth it. I do plenty of business with regular vacs.

PS: I ordered my vacs with NO decals. They still look good after 5 years and I do not need to replace any decals!

 

[Earl Weiss]

I like my Coleman Combos. Pricey but worth it. I would suggest considering combos. The last ones I ordered had bill acceptors. Agonized over whether it was worth it. The Coleman Upgrade was about $1000.00 for the acceptor and added security.

Suffice it to say any new vacs I order will have Bill acceptors and I am thinking about retrofitting the ones I have.

Don't just consider "Value" consider appearance as well. The Coleman dispaly fo the Air freshener is Bland, but for about $25.00 I made it pop with a flashing ropelight.

I have no experience with a 3 motor extra pay option. But AFAIAC if 3 motors aren't going to make you more $ it's not worth it. ( Ihave 42 vacs at 4 locations. 14 are 3 motor. Nothing but an extra PITA. )

 

[Sequoia]

Vacs

I believed that combo vacs would increase revenue, so I replaced my older vacs with a shampoo/vac and a fragrance/vac. Ditto with including bill acceptors.

What I experienced was disappointment. People rarely used the bill acceptors because few knew they existed. (My vacs are on the ground, not on a pedestal, so it was hard to see or find the bill acceptor down so low.)

And, I can say without hesitation that the extra money for the shampoo option and fragrance option never came close to being made up for in revenue-- and I'm talking gross, not net. The shampoo head was damaged and needed to be replaced at a cost of over $200, and I seriously doubt that the shampoo function even grosses that in a full year. You can't tell as there is no reporting of income from vac versus combo function.

My vacuums are hidden from view when you enter the wash, so many people wash and drive away-- leaving my vacs unused. So, in my case, combo vacs were *not* worth the extra cost. I have since replaced both former combo units with standard 3-motor turbo vacs, and I have less maintenance and feel this is right for my location.

If your vacuums are prominently located and your vac revenue is a good percentage of overall gross, the combos are probably a good choice. In my location and market, they were not.

fyi I thought I had dixmor timers in my JE Adams units as well; however, I believe they are actually IDX?

 

[Doug P.]

I have about 20 combo vacs with the first ones being purchased about 13 years ago. Compared to a regular vac they are very, very high maintenance. It has been my experience that they don't produce much more revenue than a standard vac either. Having said that, I have one self serve location that is perpendicular to the road and it has a vac island between the first bay and the road. I replaced the vac island with two new combo vacs and one of the prefab vac islands and canopy from IVS. The bay revenue at that location jumped by 20 percent over the next year. There were no other changes and my other locations only had a modest increase of 2 to 4% that year. The last vacs I purchased were standard vacs with bill acceptors.

Doug P.

 

[Randy]

We have 27 J.E Adams combo 3 motor turbo vac’s at 4 locations with bill acceptors. They have all been broken into at least once, going after the bill box. They are very high maintenance. At the location that is the furthest out we have 4 of the basic 2 motor round vac’s without the fancy decals on the sides, they do just as well as the 3 motor Turbo vac’s, go figure. They are about 12 years old, have never been broken into and are require very little maintenance. If I were to replace them again I’d go with the round 2 motor J.E Adams vac with an electronic coin acceptor. I don’t think you need a digital display on a vac, the customer has his head under the seat vacuuming they’re not going to be watching the display nor can they hear the horn beeping over the sound of the vacuum.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I have about 20 combo vacs with the first ones being purchased about 13 years ago. Compared to a regular vac they are very, very high maintenance. Doug P.

What brand are you using?

I would not classify my combos as high maintenance. Once a year or two I have to replace the Frag or shampoo hose. Probably less than an hours work. 2-4 times a year I need to fill the fragrance or Shampoo. Probably about 30 minutes a pop.

On occasion, so infrequent it's hard to estimate how often a compressor, pump or solenoid has gone bad. maybe an hour for the swap.

 

[Doug P.]

11 of them are Fragramatics and the other nine are IVS(the ones IVS makes). For the record the select-a-vacs(2 or 3 motor selection) from IVS have been trouble free.
I am considering having Fragramatics refurbish some of them, anyone out there that has had this done? New decals, domes, led visual displays on the frag/vac, recondition the mirror finish, new LED elements in timers where needed, and other misc reconditioning.


Doug P.

 

[ToFarGone20]

Thumbs up to Eric H on ordering without decals...They are expensive and I have found places local that can make decals with my logo on them for a tenth of the price.

AJ

 

[Whale of a Wash]

Fsagramatics direct sure knows what to charge, new shampooer hose on the way for $203 Including ship.

 

[MEP001]

Fsagramatics direct sure knows what to charge, new shampooer hose on the way for $203 Including ship.

I order all the components without the outer hose and use wrapped pressure washer hose. It's kind of a pain to put together but the hose lasts a lot longer and it saves about $50.