ok guys, I have been messaging with Nica alot about this topic and am almost ready to buy a vapor master for my detailing business that is ready to go full time. still need to know a few things if it is the best option and am looking for any feedback can get from all of you. do any of you own a steam machine? do any of you own/use the VX5000 or the Vapor Master? my understanding is that the vapor master is the best on the market. Nica told me there is a better one but did not disclose the name of the unit and also told me that it is just way too expensive for any of us to consider. vapor master is the best, is on a cart and can shoot dry steam like a preasure washer which I would love to use for interiors as well as wheels and wheel wells. unit is also very heavy and not easiest to bring around from job to job detailing at customers houses. unit price is $2700 vx5000 is much smaller unit. has terrific customer service and a great return policy. will send you out a temporary unit while you send in the broken unit so that your detailing business is not put on hold. not on a cart so can be placed in small car for easy transport . unit price 700 dollars personally I am leaning toward the vapor master because the of the overall feedback I am getting from everyone online. let me know what you all think thanks
Depends if you are going mobile or static. I have both - shop and in the Sprinter. Both work well!! Andy
Ah found it, here is a link of the new machine Kevin was telling me about: Steam cleaners | high pressure steam machines | industrial steam machines | vapo - Kleen Car | professional detailing training | auto detailing steamers, products, equipment I have the Vapor Chief steam cleaner the new one is Vapor Chief 180 industrial car wash steam machine, the price is much higher then the Vapor Chief but I am considering purchasing the Vapor Chief 180 Industrial car wash steam machine :thumb: Time will tell. Sorry, this still doesn't help you choosing between the vx5000 but just thought I'd share the link and I finally found the link I was looking for as a few members had been asking me about this.
man, thanks for the post, love all the info that I get from everyone in here. one could go full time with detailing from reading all the posts in here alone. have to say that it is really difficult to say which steamer to get. want one with alot of power to steam the inside of a car and its carpets but man is it expensive for someone that is starting out when the price tag is 2700 dollars. even if I do get the vapor master (vapor chief) I know that I will still need to get an extractor to compliment it for the hard to do detail jobs where people destroy their cars like pick up trucks and heavily soiled mini vans I have someone that is making a small investment into my start-detailing business so with the money that I have am trying to make the best possible buy for the money to speed up the detailing time of my customer's cars and get the wheels and tires looking flawless as I hate wasting so much time and chemicals (and chemicals cost money) on wheel cleaning. I am betting that with the vapor master the whole process with speed up alot. will still have to do extraction on half of my customers cars instead of all of them.
Well I don't know about the extractor, to be honest I've hardly ever use my Mytee Extractor now...in fact it's back in the basement as I doubt I'll have to us it again...not unless I get another ruck like that monster truck I detailed.
I have the vx 5000. I like it alot and wouldn't be without a vapour cleaner. I love that clean smell you get. I bought an instructional video from another site and found it was well worth the money. I only clean interiors so I dont think I need the pressure from the vapour chief( or the cost) but I do think it would be very handy cleaning wheels. My only complaint is when I do my hard wood floors, I have to wait for the pressure to build back up before I continue ( when doing cars this is not a problem ). I think that it would be the same with any steamer. My 2 cents. The guy that sells the vx 5000 ( Steve) is good to deal with ( I have heard the same from Kevin from vapour chief.
check out this steamer guys, this thing must be the best in the market but I heard it runs for about 8k. way out of my territory but from what looks like, it will take cleaning a car to a whole new level by not wasting water, using chemicals and cleaning wheels and tires just like that. a whole car done thoroughly inside and out in less then an hour and then onto detailing. check it YouTube - Audi TT 2.0T enjoy and please let me know what you think thanks
You know what I've always been curious on how would a $8k steamer handle mud and really dirty exterior. I mean the video is nice and all but the vehicle if anything is just dusty. I'm not knocking the unit or technique or anything like that but when I use my steamer on exterior it takes a long time on wheel wells and it does get the job done but it just takes longer and at the end I often get a spray bottle filled with water to loosen up all the dirt. What I'm trying to say is that on paint it's one thing on wheel wells that's a different story, using a house in wheel wells is much more efficient but I'm curious how a more powerful steamer would handle wheel wells :shead: Like I said I have nothing against the video I’m just curious how a more powerful steamer would deal with such areas such as wheel wells….well there is only one way to find out huh
this will show you exactly what you were asking about. in this video he takes on a jeep wrangler covered in dried up mud that was caked on. the whole thing just cleaned right off. also took on the wheel weels and tires and all that good stuff and did not use any chemicals at all. just wish I had a picture of the unit to see how big it is YouTube - Speed Steam, Inc: Topanga Canyon Earth Day (Jeep Wrangler) let me know what you think now enjoy!
Thanks for the video godoman...but I was looking at it a bit closer and I just realized that white/blue tip he's using I wonder if that's what makes a difference..mmmm...any who what ever unit he has I'm 'assuming' it has a higher out put then the one I currently own...I wonder if he has the step up of my unit....mmm...interesting. Cool video, I'm still a bit skeptic on the tire and wheel well part, just from my experience/steamer but maybe my steamer doesn’t have the power/pressure/temperature to handle the wheel wells like the unit in the video...hard to say :shrug: Never the less good video :thumb:
I saw some other posts that he has from googling his company name. he is in a forum saying how the psi is like 85. which sounds really low for the out put it is giving in the video. at the same time he says that the heat it puts out is not enough to melt off high end carnuaba waxes unless it is focused on an area for a long period of time.
85psi..mmmm..:shead: :shead:...that can't be right, my unit puts out about 90psi on it's highest setting and does not look like that...like I said maybe it's that attachment it has on it's wand :shrug: who knows
he psi on the unit is right, the difference here is the heat that the gun puts out. see....all of these steamers create alot of heat up in the 300 F range with ease, but as the heat leaves the steam tank, travels down the hose and comes out the nozel the temp drops so much and then it hits room temperature air and drops even faster. this unit produces more heat then most as it is powered by natural gas and has a considerably larger engine behind it to do what it does. so this unit is effective at removing dirt off a tire (dirty dirty tire) at 5 inches while a steam like the vx5000 or even the vapor chief have to be closer to the tire then that to get the same results because in the long run it is not about the psi, is is about the quality of steam coming out of the unit. emailed the guy in the videos and he already emailed me back answering all of my questions. he sent me an attachement with the companys brochure and a description of each unit. they are very expensive but cleaning the exterior, engine and interior with in 30 minutes, it will more then pay for itself within the first month especially if you go mobile and people see you using this thing the calls will never stop. IMO let me know godoman
The best thng to do is find out how their return policy is and make sure you can find them when you need them. If you really like what you see and would purchase the machine instead of the VX or Vapour, then save up the cash and purchase it. You could also do like I did and get you a cheaper model like the VX and get started on your projects right away and when you have earned enough cash where now the business is paying for itself, the purchase th big boy!
Hmmm I am wondering does the pressure from the steam pushing against the dirt like that induce marring on the paintwork ? I also noticed the gentlemen from speed steam when steaming the engine went over the alternator with the dry steam without much precaution is that safe? I am impressed with the tire cleaning but I would like to see those tires once they have had a little time to dry from what little moisture that was provided by the steamer. Godoman would you mind sharing the price of the machine?
here is a listing of the three different units he is offering and the prices that were given as well as some of the specs of each unit: unit name SS2700/SS2600 $13,000/$12,000 2 nozzles 100 psi 210 ºF Natural gas 250W (power consumption 22.5” x 31.5” x 29.5” (w,d,h) 176 lbs (gross weight 6 gallon or continuous 50 ft (/ 32 ft (hose length 10mm / 3.5mm (nozzle size 50 Cents / Car Wash Up to 6 Cars / Min unit name SS2300e "electric" $7000 80 psi (max pressure 210 ºF (max temperature) Electric (Electric heater 5kw (power consumption 50 lbs (gross weight 4 gallon or continuous 32 ft (hose length Up to 3 Cars / Minute answers to my email sent to company about the units is there training if I buy one of your speed steam units for my detailing business? Yes, up to 2 person per product. is there a dvd or video on how to use? No, but we have operation manual what is the warranty for this unit? 1 year does your company have a brochure that they can send out with information on the unit size, power (psi levels), temperature of steam when coming out of nozzle. Attached how long does it take to clean a car using this method? 10 to 15 minutes does it remove road tar that is severely stuck to wheels or does it just move it around? Yes is there a small unit with same power that will allow for mobile detailing from the back of a truck or van? Both of our machine are portable and can be mounted on a truck or van How many pieces does it come with such as hose, brushes and cleaning tools? 1 for single nozzle machine and 2 for dual steam nozzle. Brushes and cleaning tools are separate hope this helps guys. I personally am going to talk to my other guy I do business with and see if we can go meet this company, do a demo and ask a ton of questions and maybe go in together on investing in their mobile van that is a Euro style van. has two car batteries, the unit is inside and has a really long (50ft) hose for cleaning customer's cars at their houses. this van would be great for filling up my buffers and pads and waxes and everything else. really think this could be a life saver if they have a good program set up for repairs, replacements and basic customer service. godoman
I too was thinking about after seeing the pressure being applied. My guess is like anything else you would't have it very very close, but close enough to get the pressure to blow away the dirt and have steam applied to the surface. I'm hoping that I can get to do some waterless car washing done for the winter. I'm thinking if the steamer and some ONR works nicely together I wouldn't have to get something like CG Car Wax, Car Polish, Auto Detail Supplies : CHEMICAL GUYS WHOLESALE AUTO DETAILING SUPPLIES CAR WASH PRODUCTS PROFESSIONAL CAR DETAIL SUPPLY FACTORY DIRECT, or maybe I would. The less chemicals the better.
