joburnet
01-11-2005, 12:01 AM
I ordered the Aztec Mini Heated Extractor last week and it arrived today as expected. Here is a link to the unit.
http://www.aztecproducts.com/Products/extractor/overview.cfm
I`ll compare it to the Bissell Little green as that is the only other machine like this that I have used.
Instructions: The instructions it comes with really doesnâ€â„¢t tell you much. I had to figure out where to put the water and where to plug the hose in from the diagram but there are no instructions and nothing is labeled on the machine. It took me a few minutes to get it up and running as I wanted to triple check where I was going to add the water.
Construction: The Construction was very good; it used a 12-gauge extension cord, which is thicker, then most home extension cords. The spray hose is very good quality and connects to the unit with a quick connect valve that is very nice. The vacuum hose is good quality but about what I was expecting. The detail tool was much bigger then the one on the Bissell but also much better quality. There were some parts that were not user friendly such as the cover to the solution tank, which can be very difficult to remove. The hose was 16ft long so it`s easily long enough to set to unit by the car and use it on the entire inside of the car without having to move the unit. The best part about this unit was it size. It was probably about twice as big as the Bissell but still easily portable and at 18 pounds it`s very easy to carry. Overall the construction was what I would expect of a professional tool.
Heating: This unit heats the water and then you can switch it to vacuum but you cannot do both at the same time. I added hot water and it took it quite a while to heat up, much longer then I was expecting. I didn`t time it so I don`t know exactly how long it was but I`d guess 20 minutes. It says that it heats to 200 degrees and I wouldn`t doubt it because there was a good amount of steam coming out when I went to refill the not quite empty tank.
Vacuum: The vacuum on this unit was pretty strong. Not quite as strong as my Rigid Wet/Dry Vac but not that far off.
Usage: I shampooed the inside of my Mazda, which has been done by the Bissell before, and I would definitely say that this machine got out some stains that the Bissell would not. The amount of spray that this puts out is probably twice what the Bissell is and with a much more powerful vacuum it`s a pretty good combo. My biggest problem is that the water cools down a lot in the hose; maybe some sort of insulation would help this problem. When I would run the sprayer constantly for a couple of minutes then the water would get pretty hot. Hot enough so I could touch the spray but not for very long. When I would use it on and off like I normally do then the water wouldn`t be any hotter then the Bissell and in some cases it wasn`t even that warm. This is definitely a flaw but probably something that can be worked around. The detail tool was large and rather cumbersome. It is perfect for floor mats that you can take out of the car but it`s kinda tough to work around small areas inside the car. Like I said before I think this got out some stains that I thought were permanent so I was pretty impressed with that.
Conclusion: At $600 this machine isn`t perfect but it is well built and professional. If your just looking to clean you car a little better then it`s definitely not worth the money but if your a professional mobile detailer then you NEED this or a similar machine. I think that it will allow me to do a better job for my customers and do it faster. I think in the end it will definitely pay for itself and I do plan to purchase a few more of these.
I`ve only had this for a few hours so I`ll post part 2 once I`ve had it for a few weeks.
http://www.aztecproducts.com/Products/extractor/overview.cfm
I`ll compare it to the Bissell Little green as that is the only other machine like this that I have used.
Instructions: The instructions it comes with really doesnâ€â„¢t tell you much. I had to figure out where to put the water and where to plug the hose in from the diagram but there are no instructions and nothing is labeled on the machine. It took me a few minutes to get it up and running as I wanted to triple check where I was going to add the water.
Construction: The Construction was very good; it used a 12-gauge extension cord, which is thicker, then most home extension cords. The spray hose is very good quality and connects to the unit with a quick connect valve that is very nice. The vacuum hose is good quality but about what I was expecting. The detail tool was much bigger then the one on the Bissell but also much better quality. There were some parts that were not user friendly such as the cover to the solution tank, which can be very difficult to remove. The hose was 16ft long so it`s easily long enough to set to unit by the car and use it on the entire inside of the car without having to move the unit. The best part about this unit was it size. It was probably about twice as big as the Bissell but still easily portable and at 18 pounds it`s very easy to carry. Overall the construction was what I would expect of a professional tool.
Heating: This unit heats the water and then you can switch it to vacuum but you cannot do both at the same time. I added hot water and it took it quite a while to heat up, much longer then I was expecting. I didn`t time it so I don`t know exactly how long it was but I`d guess 20 minutes. It says that it heats to 200 degrees and I wouldn`t doubt it because there was a good amount of steam coming out when I went to refill the not quite empty tank.
Vacuum: The vacuum on this unit was pretty strong. Not quite as strong as my Rigid Wet/Dry Vac but not that far off.
Usage: I shampooed the inside of my Mazda, which has been done by the Bissell before, and I would definitely say that this machine got out some stains that the Bissell would not. The amount of spray that this puts out is probably twice what the Bissell is and with a much more powerful vacuum it`s a pretty good combo. My biggest problem is that the water cools down a lot in the hose; maybe some sort of insulation would help this problem. When I would run the sprayer constantly for a couple of minutes then the water would get pretty hot. Hot enough so I could touch the spray but not for very long. When I would use it on and off like I normally do then the water wouldn`t be any hotter then the Bissell and in some cases it wasn`t even that warm. This is definitely a flaw but probably something that can be worked around. The detail tool was large and rather cumbersome. It is perfect for floor mats that you can take out of the car but it`s kinda tough to work around small areas inside the car. Like I said before I think this got out some stains that I thought were permanent so I was pretty impressed with that.
Conclusion: At $600 this machine isn`t perfect but it is well built and professional. If your just looking to clean you car a little better then it`s definitely not worth the money but if your a professional mobile detailer then you NEED this or a similar machine. I think that it will allow me to do a better job for my customers and do it faster. I think in the end it will definitely pay for itself and I do plan to purchase a few more of these.
I`ve only had this for a few hours so I`ll post part 2 once I`ve had it for a few weeks.