should i buy the VX5000?

I just emailed Steve about this. It kind of makes me wish I had ordered the Daimer. I understand people get those in a couple of days.
 
I had mine vx5000 for over a year... no complains abouth the performance at all!.... the only think the rubber housing of the steam hows got disconnectet from the handle . I tried to connect it again with the only one litlle screw but it came out again.... Maybe I will use some kind of glue to hold it beter. I use it to clean carpets with yellow drill carpet brush the results are awsome. Leather,ac vents,vinyl,enigine,wheels,tires,doors any rubber and everithing with minimum chemicals ( Meg.APC+ most of the time) Tip : fill the steamer with hot water if you have- will reduce the heating time... If you need it.
 
I had a similar situation with shipping. Apparently these units are shipped from Italy and when I ordered mine, steve told me that one of his guys forgot to inventory correctly and he didn't realize that they were all out.

I have had some issues with mine... stopped completely working one day, shipped it back and when I got it back, it still didn't work right. Caused some down time and wasn't happy. The connecting hose that plugs into the steamer doesn't have a very good connection and the spray nozzles are difficult to connect and disconnect. Don't want to keep having to ship this unit back every time something goes wrong as the shipping gets expensive after awhile.

when it comes to getting another steamer, I will be looking for something better. I haven't used this one much and it gives me problems, not something I had expected from reading all the hoop-la over these units.
 
scrubs147 said:
I had a similar situation with shipping. Apparently these units are shipped from Italy and when I ordered mine, steve told me that one of his guys forgot to inventory correctly and he didn't realize that they were all out.

I have had some issues with mine... stopped completely working one day, shipped it back and when I got it back, it still didn't work right. Caused some down time and wasn't happy. The connecting hose that plugs into the steamer doesn't have a very good connection and the spray nozzles are difficult to connect and disconnect. Don't want to keep having to ship this unit back every time something goes wrong as the shipping gets expensive after awhile.

when it comes to getting another steamer, I will be looking for something better. I haven't used this one much and it gives me problems, not something I had expected from reading all the hoop-la over these units.
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I am sorry to hear this. Hopefully once it gets here it will work correctly. It's 5:30 here and it still has not shipped, and I did not receive a response to my email asking about it.
 
Just a short follow-up: The VX5000 has arrived and it was well worth the wait! :dblthumb2:
 
OK so I have used the VX5000 through a gallon of distilled water now. Read the manual and watched the video instructions. It will go to 4 bars at its highest point but the steam does seem very wet and it is really not dissolving grease like I expected it to. I am waiting for it to cool down now and then I am going to do the modification recommended on this forum. Kind of nervous about doing this but I know a lot of you have done it successfully so I am going to forge ahead.:eek:
 
Did the modification and now it goes up to 4.5 bars (almost 5) and does not drop as low when it loses pressure. That is an improvement for sure.

Just wondering about the wetness though. When I steam something hard (without using a towel wrapped around anything, just "straight"), water literally runs down from where I am steaming. Seems to be a lot of water to wipe up. Just wondering if this is normal or not.

Thanks a lot--just trying to get to know this machine. :xyxthumbs:
 
ozziepuppy said:
OK so I have used the VX5000 through a gallon of distilled water now. Read the manual and watched the video instructions. It will go to 4 bars at its highest point but the steam does seem very wet and it is really not dissolving grease like I expected it to. I am waiting for it to cool down now and then I am going to do the modification recommended on this forum. Kind of nervous about doing this but I know a lot of you have done it successfully so I am going to forge ahead.:eek:
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The mod is. It difficult. I'm not very mechanical and I had NO trouble. The instructions should say "so easy, even a lawyer can do it". The steam will be wetter if you have it on high but on low it should be somewhat drier. What is the surface you are trying to get grease off. Maybe some of us with steamers can offer suggestions. I have found almost nothing the steamer won't remove except dried baby formula. After a shot of pet urine removed, came right out with a little steam. Good luck with the mod.
 
ozziepuppy said:
Did the modification and now it goes up to 4.5 bars (almost 5) and does not drop as low when it loses pressure. That is an improvement for sure.

Just wondering about the wetness though. When I steam something hard (without using a towel wrapped around anything, just "straight"), water literally runs down from where I am steaming. Seems to be a lot of water to wipe up. Just wondering if this is normal or not.

Thanks a lot--just trying to get to know this machine. :xyxthumbs:
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Make sure that the only two buttons that are on (on top of the machine) is your heat and spray. The other button is for for hot water, I rarely ever use that button. On your handle is also an low pressure and high pressure. For high pressure both buttons should be in the up position. For low pressure only the left button is in the up position. I believe (but could be wrong once again) that if you depress the right button in the down position you may get more wetness, but not really sure.

I just haven't found these machines to be all that high end, just too many issues (in my experience) with them. When this machine breaks down AGAIN, I will be going for the Dupray Tosca Steam Cleaner.
 
I made sure the button for the hot water was not pushed down so that is not the issue. I think I am going to turn the screw a little more (maybe another quarter of a turn) just to see if I can get it up to 5 bars.

I think I was focusing too much on the concept of "dry steam" -- even though it is only 5% water, there is still water there and that water will run off and make puddles when there is no cloth wrap to absorb the water.

Overall I think it will be a very satisfactory machine and certainly much better than the alternatives that are available at the same price point.
 
scrubs147 said:
I just haven't found these machines to be all that high end, just too many issues (in my experience) with them. When this machine breaks down AGAIN, I will be going for the Dupray Tosca Steam Cleaner.
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Besides $1500, wonder what the difference is in the Tosca and the Hill Injection?

Thats a HUGE price jump and it looks like the same machine
 
This will probably be my last post about the VX5000 (I know you guys are probably tired of hearing about it!) BUT I did want to let you know that I did ANOTHER tweak this morning (turned the screw another 1/4 turn, for a total of 3/4 of a complete turn in all) and now it seems to be working perfectly! The pressure comes in at a solid 5 and if I steam on low it basically stays at a 5! If I steam on medium or high it will decrease but only to about 3.5, and as soon as I stop steaming it goes right back up to 5 in about 20 seconds! The steam is much drier also. I have done a lot with it today and it has been such a pleasure to use! Much better than with the original factory settings (pressure would go down to a 2 and I had to wait for it to go back up--and then it would only end up between a 3.5 and a 4, usually).

THANK YOU so much for the information and encouragement on this! I am now so incredibly happy with this machine! :thankyousign:
 
So you were able to get drier steam by adjusting it?I haven't fine anything to it and its really wet steam that comes out.also now when I have it on for a while and don't UAE it, steam starts popping out of the fill hole.I need drier steam door sure and if that's the fix that's great
 
Mobile detail said:
So you were able to get drier steam by adjusting it?I haven't fine anything to it and its really wet steam that comes out.also now when I have it on for a while and don't UAE it, steam starts popping out of the fill hole.I need drier steam door sure and if that's the fix that's great
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There is a strange but direct relation between the temperature and pressure. Here is my understanding of how it works. If the pressure is too low, it will still push the steam out but the higher pressure will cause the steam to be drier because it heats more of the water to the steam point.
 
Flash Gordon said:
Besides $1500, wonder what the difference is in the Tosca and the Hill Injection?

Thats a HUGE price jump and it looks like the same machine
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Tosca: 72.5 psi @ 316 degrees
Hill Injector: 121 psi @ 345 Degrees

I like the 3 year parts and service.
 
Mobile detail: Yes, The steam is drier now at 5 bars, especially when I press only the "Low Pressure" setting on the Control Wand (the right button ONLY is pressed FORWARD on the Control Wand). Also, be sure that the Water Pulse Switch (the square black button to the far right on your machine with the diagram of the water droplets just beneath it) is OFF.

Don't get me wrong--there is still some water to wipe up, but there isn't as much as before.

It seems to me that you should never have water coming out of the fill hole on your machine. Are you pressing down on the cap for the final few turns?
 
scrubs147 said:
Tosca: 72.5 psi @ 316 degrees
Hill Injector: 121 psi @ 345 Degrees

I like the 3 year parts and service.
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I couldn't find the psi for the Tosca, so thank you!

Is that 3 year parts/labor warranty on both of these units?
 
Flash Gordon said:
I couldn't find the psi for the Tosca, so thank you!

Is that 3 year parts/labor warranty on both of these units?
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Yes, 3 years parts/labor on both of these units and lifetime on the boiler. I'm not sure I would go with the higher unit because it's priced out of my budget for now. The lower unit seems better for what I do as I am Mobile only.
 
Robert8194 said:
I know the waiting is the hard part. You can search for VX5000 on the forum and find instructions. When I get to a real computer, I can send them. For some reason the iPad doesn't want to cut and paste from old threads.
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I did a search using "vx5000 instruction" and "vx5000 video" and I can't find any relevant video showing you how to adjust the psi. Any suggestions on key words to use? - thx
 
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