Tile Wands

[wandwizard]

I've been thinking about buying a tile & grout wand. There really aren't many to choose from. I would already have bought the Turboforce one from https://shop.truckmountforums.com except for one thing that I perceive as an issue with it which is they put the solution line with a quick connect on the inside exposing it to water externally. I already read one post on here stating it caused problems when switching between the two heads it comes with. From what I can tell none of the brush heads do very well at recovering water which to me is a big negative. I'm actually wondering if the squeegee head is even worth having? Is it even a useful tool? I'm looking at the Gekko, Westpac, and Turboforce. I honestly like the design of the Turboforce best with the exception of the internal solution line. I think Turboforce made a mistake placing that line internally. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated. I'd like to get something ordered this week. I don't want to buy a piece of junk that I'll wind up not using. I already have an SX-12 spinner which has been my main tool for hard surfaces. If you've owned one of the above tools I'd like some pros and cons.

Hydro-Force, Gekko Wand, No Head

Hydro-Force, Gekko Wand, No Head

www.aramsco.com

https://https://shop.truckmountforums.com/raptor-quick-connect-hard-surface-tool.html

Westpak Tile Blaster Wand Combo II - Squeegee and Brush Head

The Ultimate Tile kit Westpak Tile Blaster Wand II Combo - 14" Head w/ 4 Jets (Comes with both the Brush Head and the Squeegee Head attachment!

shop.truckmountforums.com

 

[Hacky-sack]

I've been thinking about buying a tile & grout wand. There really aren't many to choose from. I would already have bought the Turboforce one from https://shop.truckmountforums.com except for one thing that I perceive as an issue with it which is they put the solution line with a quick connect on the inside exposing it to water externally. I already read one post on here stating it caused problems when switching between the two heads it comes with. From what I can tell none of the brush heads do very well at recovering water which to me is a big negative. I'm actually wondering if the squeegee head is even worth having? Is it even a useful tool? I'm looking at the Gekko, Westpac, and Turboforce. I honestly like the design of the Turboforce best with the exception of the internal solution line. I think Turboforce made a mistake placing that line internally. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated. I'd like to get something ordered this week. I don't want to buy a piece of junk that I'll wind up not using. I already have an SX-12 spinner which has been my main tool for hard surfaces. If you've owned one of the above tools I'd like some pros and cons.

I feel like the SX-12 is the best wand for open areas.

If yer tryna increase speed while limiting damage risk, the Gekko edger is a must have.

You'll rarely need a single jet wand but on stubborn grout, it's really nice to have on certain jobs.

Counters and showers are excellent paying jobs and a mini turbo is essential.

I have a Cobra hand tool for hard to reach spots and bullnose but it's really not a necessary tool.

If yer gonna have a Gekko, get the squeegee head as it makes easy cleaning situations go really fast.

 

[Kevin Dumas]

I have the turbo force and hate it.
If I were to buy another I would try the westpak.

 

[Hacky-sack]

I have the turbo force and hate it.
If I were to buy another I would try the westpak.

Yup. Horrible design. I hate how easily mine lifts off the ground

 

[wandwizard]

I have the turbo force and hate it.
If I were to buy another I would try the westpak.

Could you give me why you hate the turbo force? Is it because it just does a lousy job or because it's hard to switch between the small and large heads or both?

 

[Kevin Dumas]

Could you give me why you hate the turbo force? Is it because it just does a lousy job or because it's hard to switch between the small and large heads or both?

Mine is older and maybe they have made improvements over the years.
I had to rejet it because the jet pattern was not uniform.
I had to have a machine shop bend the tube so a human being could use it without extreme back stress.
The 14" brush head leaves an undesirable amount of water behind. This was cured by taking the front edge of the brush and coating it with clear silicone basically turning the 1/2 of the brush into a squeegee to remove water.
It's a screamer with the choked down air tube and internal hose when it is lifted off the floor.

 

[AussieCarpetBloke]

Love my gekko
The edger is great, don’t know how I did without one after I got it, and the dog and pony show is impressive
The Sx7 attaches to the wand(needs a glide though it’s not easy to swing on the gekko wand but doable and very handy in the odd occasion, multiple bathroom partitions etc
Of course use on bathroom /tile walls is perfect too!
I have the brush head 14in wand has great pickup and agitation
Thinking about buying a sx15 head to go onto the wand...

Does anyone have one?

My sx12 is a beast also made me lots of money
But I probably prefer swinging the gekko wand than pushing the t bar handle with my height....6’2

 

[wandwizard]

Mine is older and maybe they have made improvements over the years.
I had to rejet it because the jet pattern was not uniform.
I had to have a machine shop bend the tube so a human being could use it without extreme back stress.
The 14" brush head leaves an undesirable amount of water behind. This was cured by taking the front edge of the brush and coating it with clear silicone basically turning the 1/2 of the brush into a squeegee to remove water.
It's a screamer with the choked down air tube and internal hose when it is lifted off the floor.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I think I'm checking that one off my list. I'm not into modifying stuff because it wasn't made right to start with. I don't like the idea of having to switch between heads on the others. It seems like they could make something that would give good recovery and be safe for any kind of flooring.

 

[wandwizard]

Love my gekko
The edger is great, don’t know how I did without one after I got it, and the dog and pony show is impressive
The Sx7 attaches to the wand(needs a glide though it’s not easy to swing on the gekko wand but doable and very handy in the odd occasion, multiple bathroom partitions etc
Of course use on bathroom /tile walls is perfect too!
I have the brush head 14in wand has great pickup and agitation
Thinking about buying a sx15 head to go onto the wand...

Does anyone have one?

My sx12 is a beast also made me lots of money
But I probably prefer swinging the gekko wand than pushing the t bar handle with my height....6’2

The Gekko system looks pretty neat. If that brush head can get good recovery that would make it more ideal IMHO. I have doubts that those squeegee heads would be very user friendly although they might come in hand in certain cases. Do you think that squeegee head is even worth buying? I don't like tossing money in the paper shredder. If the brush head gets good recovery I don't see a need for it. I'd rather spend that money on another part of their system. I do like the looks of that edger and the SX-7 looks ideal for certain jobs.

 

[Hacky-sack]

There's tons of extraction tools. Some better than others but I think a 175 and grit brush is essential

 

[AussieCarpetBloke]

The Gekko system looks pretty neat. If that brush head can get good recovery that would make it more ideal IMHO. I have doubts that those squeegee heads would be very user friendly although they might come in hand in certain cases. Do you think that squeegee head is even worth buying? I don't like tossing money in the paper shredder. If the brush head gets good recovery I don't see a need for it. I'd rather spend that money on another part of their system. I do like the looks of that edger and the SX-7 looks ideal for certain jobs.

The brush head picks up awesome
And isn’t hard to push at all
If it had squeegee lip like the sx7, it might be harder to swing????

 

[sbsscn]

I use to have the Westpak, but honestly I did not like it it was not the best design but you could get use to it i guess.

I switch over to hydroforce wand and a spinning sx-12 but too bulky to keep 2 seperate wands,
I sold the sx12 and got the hydroforce wand with different heads including a sx15 spinning head. I prefer having 1 wand and different attachment heads. I have the small 4" with teflon glide, a 14" with multi jets and the x15 spinning head. Works for me

 

[Fedri]

I've been thinking about buying a tile & grout wand. There really aren't many to choose from. I would already have bought the Turboforce one from https://shop.truckmountforums.com except for one thing that I perceive as an issue with it which is they put the solution line with a quick connect on the inside exposing it to water externally. I already read one post on here stating it caused problems when switching between the two heads it comes with. From what I can tell none of the brush heads do very well at recovering water which to me is a big negative. I'm actually wondering if the squeegee head is even worth having? Is it even a useful tool? I'm looking at the Gekko, Westpac, and Turboforce. I honestly like the design of the Turboforce best with the exception of the internal solution line. I think Turboforce made a mistake placing that line internally. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated. I'd like to get something ordered this week. I don't want to buy a piece of junk that I'll wind up not using. I already have an SX-12 spinner which has been my main tool for hard surfaces. If you've owned one of the above tools I'd like some pros and cons.

Hydro-Force, Gekko Wand, No Head

Hydro-Force, Gekko Wand, No Head

www.aramsco.com

https://https://shop.truckmountforums.com/raptor-quick-connect-hard-surface-tool.html

Westpak Tile Blaster Wand Combo II - Squeegee and Brush Head

The Ultimate Tile kit Westpak Tile Blaster Wand II Combo - 14" Head w/ 4 Jets (Comes with both the Brush Head and the Squeegee Head attachment!

shop.truckmountforums.com

hydroforce gekko wand not with squeegee with the brush head that will agitate at the same time.

 

[Fedri]

The Gekko system looks pretty neat. If that brush head can get good recovery that would make it more ideal IMHO. I have doubts that those squeegee heads would be very user friendly although they might come in hand in certain cases. Do you think that squeegee head is even worth buying? I don't like tossing money in the paper shredder. If the brush head gets good recovery I don't see a need for it. I'd rather spend that money on another part of their system. I do like the looks of that edger and the SX-7 looks ideal for certain jobs.

I have the brush head gekko wand and it does have an amazing recovering the tiles and the grout will dry very quickly. I tried the westpack brush head and the recovery wasn't that great.

 

[wandwizard]

Well, sounds like the Gekko is winning so far. I'm definitely leaning that direction. I may go ahead and order it tomorrow. I'll probably go ahead and get the wand and brush head for starters and may add to it later.

 

[wandwizard]

I just ordered a few of the Gekko system tools and wand. I appreciate the feedback so thanks for that. I'm kind of OCD on purchases. I purchased the wand, brush head, squeegee tool, and the small detail tool for tight areas like around toilets. I felt the squeegee tool w/o jets might come in handy just in case I need water recovery after using the SX-12 with the brush ring since it leaves behind quite a bit of water. I just purchased a new hard boot for my SX-12 which leaves regular tile and grout pretty dry so water recovery is a non-issue with that. I may add to the system later if I think it's needed, but I think these parts will do the trick for now.