Washer/Extractor Recommendation

[bw232002]

We were just awarded a grant for a washer/extractor and a drying cabinet and I am looking for ideas on what we should look for when selecting these units such as manufacturers, specifications etc. We have some info from a few dealers already but this is all new to us. Thanks for your help with this.

[islandfire03]

We were just awarded a grant for a washer/extractor and a drying cabinet and I am looking for ideas on what we should look for when selecting these units such as manufacturers, specifications etc. We have some info from a few dealers already but this is all new to us. Thanks for your help with this.

wascomat is a very rugged unit

[DepChief03]

After review of several manufacturers, we ended up going with Unimac. Should be delivered in a few weeks.

[admpaul]

Cissel and Uni Mac are owned by the same company and you can get one cheaper then the other. I know their washers are made in Ripon WI. The washers size goes by lbs. A 35lbs washer will wash 3 sets of to gear, liners and outcoat should be washed seperate according to NFPA. I would look at a Cissel or Uni Mac cabinet because not only can you dry turnout gear you can get racking to dry hose. I did buy a washer and dryer and they work great.

[chief1120]

I would look into the type of foundation will be required for the washer. Some of suppliers I looked at wanted a 8 inch thick or larger cement pad with large fasteners to bolt it down to the pad.

We bought a Continental washer/extractor and are very pleased with the way it cleans our gear. Plus it has a special internal mount design to handle the G-forces, so you don't need a crazy foundation.

[mmagette]

Anybody have a copy of specs for these? We are looking at getting one and I don't know how specific we need to be. Do we just need to have the size speced or is there more?

[sandy3810]

I would really like to see one too. [email protected] (numerals needed.) thanks so much. we are looking at unimac. you will need to specify electric or gas and single or 240 phase. hard or soft mount. delivery costs and training to be included.

[bw232002]

Chief1120 thanks for that info. I was reading about those crazy foundations that some units require and that would definitely influence our decision making process. I guess these things can really rock-n-roll with some gear in them. What model did you get? Also, any thoughts on a drying cabinet?

[mmagette]

Forgot to add email address for specs.
[email protected]

Thanks in advance.

[fireinfo10]

That some washers claim no mount is needed does not mean a big commerical unit should just be thown in the corner. This is no moms Maytag. If you're spending tax $ you should be planning/buying a unit that will last 20+ years. Get a real commerical unit (it will bolt/mud to the floor, with floor of sufficient thickness to support it).

Unimac a new drying cabinet that has integral boot/glove drying racks. Holds more that the Cissell.

[chief1120]

Chief1120 thanks for that info. I was reading about those crazy foundations that some units require and that would definitely influence our decision making process. I guess these things can really rock-n-roll with some gear in them. What model did you get? Also, any thoughts on a drying cabinet?

bw232002
We went with the Milnor drying cabinet. Realy liked the all stainless steel construction. With the mositure these thing see, the stainless cabinet should hold up for a long time. The others we looked at had powder coated paint, which should be fine as long as the paint don't chip off.

As for the size, we went with the 3 gear unit, if I would have done it again, I would have went with the 6 gear unit. The 3 gear has hanging capacity of 3 hangers and when you wash 3 sets of gear you end up with 3 inners & 3 outers and the 3 hangers is just not enough to dry them together.

[chief1120]

That some washers claim no mount is needed does not mean a big commerical unit should just be thown in the corner. This is no moms Maytag. If you're spending tax $ you should be planning/buying a unit that will last 20+ years. Get a real commerical unit (it will bolt/mud to the floor, with floor of sufficient thickness to support it).

Unimac a new drying cabinet that has integral boot/glove drying racks. Holds more that the Cissell.

fireinfo10,
I fully understand you comments, but the Continental washer/extractor that we purchased does require it to be bolted and mudded to the floor, just not as much as some as the other machines on the market. The unit is a real commerical unit, they designed a shock absorbtion system into the internal frame to soften some of the motion the the other require the floor to handle.

[neiowa]

fireinfo10,
I fully understand you comments, but the Continental washer/extractor that we purchased does require it to be bolted and mudded to the floor, just not as much as some as the other machines on the market. The unit is a real commerical unit, they designed a shock absorbtion system into the internal frame to soften some of the motion the the other require the floor to handle.

Maybe/ And Toyota has this nifty new rig algore came up with that runs on batteries. It's really expensive, goes 40mi without stopping, and needs a coal fired powerplant behind it. BUT it's going to fix all problems of the world.

Sometimes light duty is just light duty is just cheap/marketing. You're right though, installing the commercial washer the rest of the markets is expensive. Sometimes least expensive isn't

[admpaul]

There are hard mount and soft mount units out there. So depending on what you get depends on the pad. The water also needs to be free flowing to a drain. We had to cut out a chunk of our floor to run piping to the drain. No pump unit on these like home units. When I find our specs I will send them.

[prelude102]

Do you have a sample of the narrative you used to get the grant? If you do could you email it to me please. [email protected]
Thank you