Thread: upholstery tool suggestions

I've got a $600 upholstery job coming up and I'd like to use the pay for a new upholstery tool. I have an older drimaster but I don't really like the constant water flow. What sould I get?

I would like to try the hydrokinetic one,could you buy that one and tell me how you like it?

Has anybody tried out both the Hydrokinetic and the new Drimaster. Also, can the new Drimaster be turned all the way off at the dial if I need to set the tool down?

have a look at the CFR upholstery tools.
David

You're right about the demo. I've misted a few pieces of upholstery in my limited experience with it but here's a rookie upholstery question: If you are using the Drimaster, in what situation would it be an advantage to be able to mist the upholstery?

Originally Posted by Rob Allen

OK I liked the video above but there are a few things that were not addressed.

1) The comparison was with low end uph tools.

2) It has no ability to mist the furniture.

3) If you change directions at the edges you don't have over spray with the other tools showed.

4) They showed the low end tool cleaning at 500 psi, when a skilled tech would cut his pressure down to prevent over spray and over saturation.

5) The Prochem has the ability to adjust water pressure ate the head and can be used to heat and not over wet while allowing one to mist pre spray to keep damp.

Other than that the DM is a great tool but some demonstrations can be misunderstood when information and other comprable products are not included.

Rob

I agree with most of Rob's observations especially the fact that he turned the psi all the way to 500 psi which is something I never do either, but I think he was trying to make the point that the Drimaster will not over spray or over wet even turned up that high. Any internal jet upholstery tool will not cause hardly any overspray if used properly such as the Hydry from Hydroforce. http://www.interlinksupply.com/index...++++++++++++++ Also, most external jet tools will have some overspray even turned way down. I still use my old Castex tool sometimes on the really nasty stuff and even at 200 to 300 psi I get lots of overspray. This new Drimaster tool now does have the ability to to control water flow at the head and shut the water off with a single dial that is recessed into the handle so no more reaching back to the end of your extension hose to adjust the flow.

On a side note, one of the main reasons I bought my current Drimaster was the fact it's so light weight and there is no valve to trigger. I held the Prochem tool and the new Drimaster on Teusday side by side and there is a considerable weight difference. I'm pretty sure it's even heavier than my old Castex tool. Although the Prochem tool is a very high quality tool, built to last, I found it quite heavy for an upholstery tool especially compared to the Drimaster.

As far as the misting question, I don't mist to keep the upholstery wet. I pretreat the entire fabric with upholstery prespray using an electric Spray 1 sprayer and immediately begin cleaning. I have used a hand held pump up sprayer too, but find the electric sprayer quicker and more effective in general. If I did need to add some moisture to the fabric all I have to do is either mist some on with a trigger sprayer, hand held pump sprayer, or hit it with my electric sprayer again.

That's a good idea but my drimaster doesn't put out water all the way across the opening. It goes about 3/4 of the way across with the heaviest flow at the bottom. I'm not sure what causes this flow problem. I bought it cheap on craigslist and I have cleaned it out well everywhere but can't seem to figure out the problem. Any ideas?

Originally Posted by Rafa-L

Hey Kenny, for $8 you can continue using that old Drimaster. Get yourself a ball valve at the end if the solution hose.
At which point you can control the flow and/or shut it down all together. Save your $600 until you make another $600 ($1200) then save that until you have $1800....then buy the Drimaster new. But at this point you'll probably not buy new since that $8 ball valve did the trick for you and saved you some money.

cheers.

The New Dri-Master2 puts out a lot more flow then the older one, so crank it up on the soiled stuff.

Originally Posted by Kenny Wright

Has anybody tried out both the Hydrokinetic and the new Drimaster. Also, can the new Drimaster be turned all the way off at the dial if I need to set the tool down?

I demoed both of these at Proline in Sacramento. Strictly based upon performance, the Hydrokinetic will win the battle when using both tools full bore at 400-500 psi. They will be no overspray and no leaking of water through the fabric into the upholstery with the Hydrokinetic. If you use the drimaster at those psi settings, you will have to restrict or dial down the water flow or it will overwet.

The Hydrokinetic will flow enough water with the trigger to keep the water hot without constantly flowing water back to the truck and filling the waste tank, though it can be set up to do that if you really wanted to clean super hot. ( at least that is how my Powermatic works. It might be different with a heat exchanger truckmount.)

The flow control dial in the handle of the new Drimaster also acts as the shut off valve. Here are brochures for both the new Drimaster and the Hydrokintic tool. I haven't gotten to see the Hydrokinetic up close, but it does look like a nice tool and would likely use less water than the Drimaster.
Hydro-Kinetic_Uph.pdf

DM2upholsterytoo&#1.pdf

Great help as always. Thanks and I'll post my decision.

I used about 7 different ones at the same time during a demo a few weeks ago............... I really like the new drimaster and jondon has it on sale for $422 bucks. I did the fabric test. ummm where they took a piece and showed the back of it. drimaster is the best

CFR upholstery tool for me with 3" and 5" heads and various interchangeable jets. Well built versatile tool. Great for carpet spot cleaning with the bigger jets and problem stair noses.

mark