Stand alone Water Extractors

[Sunflower]

Please share your thoughts on those stand-alone extractors. Someone told me a 5 load capacity machine will suck 2.5 gallons of water out in one spinning session....

Pros? Cons?

(I'm thinking of use mostly for myself when I do w,d,f.)

[pete f]

search " bock" extractors. I think that as the big name in those things. I have never owned one, when mats were being set up in the 50's. 60's in tight high rent areas, like NYC, they put these things in. Customers would pay 25 to let there clothes get extra extraction. This was before stack dryers and high rpm washers where invented.
You might be able to acomplish the same thing by using your existing new equipment and doing and extra spin out cycle. You may not even need that.

[Ken]

As far as I know Bock is only one sucess make extractor for coin op business.
Wascomat ,Milner made some but not a lot in coin laundry.
The old washer spin only 60,70 G,so you may need those extractor,most newer washers spin near 100G now,it is no point to buy a extractor any more,they cost more than a 50# washer.
Extractor spin over 700G,it will get rid a lot water but safy is a big issue for it.
One of my store had 4 none coin op extractors,it did a lot drop off laundry,it has the old yellow Phico/Bendex/Dexter,only spin 60G,I took them out as soon as I bought the store.

[DaveLevenson]

I almost bought a store that was equipped with two of these machines. Duirng my due diligence process, I spent some time in the store, and watched these machines work. They spin MUCH FASTER than any top or front-load washer I've ever seen. They're very sensitive to balance issues, and will stop and wait for the user to re-balance the load almost every time they're started. When they're willing to run, they spin like a centrifuge, and the laundry comes out nearly dry to the touch. They'll surely save some dryer time.

But...if you're expecting dryer revenue, these things will likely reduce it, and not earn enough to make up the difference. You may find that your insurance is more expensive if these machines are in your store. They have interlocking door switches like your front-load washers, but if anybody did manage to get into it while it's spinning, they'd lose an arm! I would expect anything that uses that much mechanical energy to need lots of maintenance, but I didn't buy that store, and I don't have any experience to back up or refute this expectation.

Perhaps best to keep it in the back room and only use it for WDF.

[Sunflower]

search " bock" extractors. I think that as the big name in those things. I have never owned one, when mats were being set up in the 50's. 60's in tight high rent areas, like NYC, they put these things in. Customers would pay 25 to let there clothes get extra extraction. This was before stack dryers and high rpm washers where invented.
You might be able to acomplish the same thing by using your existing new equipment and doing and extra spin out cycle. You may not even need that.

Thanks Pete. As always, we appreciate your insights!

[Sunflower]

Thanks Guys. I think I'll stear clear! (Can't blame a girl for trying to save a little money...;o)

[Anonymous]

I have a bock and it works great. If customer use it you make more on it then a dryer. I charge .50 and it spins for I think 3 1/2 min. Thats 3 1/2 min of electric (no gas), nice profit. The customer still has to put the clothes in the dryer for 1/2 the normal time they would if they didnt use it.

[Sunflower]

It wouldn't hurt to have it in the back room. But the liability thought scares me.

[mjwalsh]

Sunflower,

We have 2 of them. In fact since we did our light green marble-granite floor (some peoples' perspective) prestained cement floor polishing last week we spruced them up with a little enamel to make them look better. They are much safer than they used to be with more safety interlocks. They are great for pre-drying down items especially. If you scout out what they cost let us know what kind of quotes you get. I don't think it is a good idea to portray them as being much more dangerous than a bunch of ultra high g force washers that could have a door lock shortcoming here & there that develops that is not caught soon enough....especially in an unattended store!

[Silent Roo]

The liability is somewhat overrated on these thing. There are very few cases. They do as stated above have a much higher profit center than dryers. They are GREAT for WDF depending on what you are doing.

If customers know them they love them.....

[PeterH]

For the price of one extractor, you can get 2 stacked dryers.

The most common complaint about extractors is that they tend to shake themselves apart. Very few customers can properly balance a load of wash, and with the speed these things run, the vibrations tend to take a toll.

[mjwalsh]

Sunflower,

From another post you said you were short of dryers. An extractor or 2 would help that situation besides the other benefits. I would not be overly concerned about vibration as long as the signage is good & there is someone available to get the customer started right. After enough of your regulars are familiar new customers notice how the regulars are loading them properly. We had to rebolt them down after we did the floor & it is necessary to have strong anchors & tightened properly. We used 5/8 inch flush mount anchors with 1/2 inch bolts with anti sieze.

[DuboisLaundry]

I'll keep one in mind for future enhancements to back room WDF.

First I have to finish my last round of improvements.

[Tom@Troske.com]

Have new Bock. Great item. frees up dryers faster. Lots of customers ask for it. Have many customers that use it and then hang up clothes and do not dry. No issues with extractor. Was pricey.

[Chas]

An extractor is for removing stale air or moisture from a bathroom!!

You say TOO-MAY-TOE we say TOE-MAR-TOE - if you know what I mean.

Anyway, we have an ECOMATIC - probably a model name rather than a manufacturer - and it regularly smells to say the least. I managed to partially remove the top and get a wire coat hanger in and removed a load of debris - old socks, etc - and this got rid of the problem. But as I had a lot of trouble getting the top back on, I'm relunctant to go down that route again unless I can find a way to either remove the lid so I can remove the top completely. Anyone got any ideas?

[freebird]

Please post pictures of your Establishment please.
Inside and out -Show us how other run there show....

Lets see how the other half does it :)

Thanks

[tree6199]

Not sure if this will help you or not because we have a Bock extractor, but we have a "grabber" sort of like something you can buy to reach a top cabinet in your kitchen. You stick it down in the extractor to grab socks and stuff that gets down in there if you can't fit your hand down there.

As for the extractor itself, my husband and I think putting it in is the best thing we've done since we bought the laundromat. We charge 75 cents and it costs almost nothing to run. The customers love it. It saves them time and money. We have the only one in town. We are making about 67 or 68 cents for every 75 cents on the extractor, and only about 18 to 20 cents for every 75 cents someone puts into the dryer, so it's a no-brainer. Plus my husband got it used for a song.

It's locked when moving, so I don't see how it's a liability issue any more than any other piece of equipment unless it malfunctions. We've had it since January and I noticed a decrease in our gas usage right away.

[laundryboy]

Extractor are great in a mat with older, lower G washers and lots of top loaders. I think they are less effective with the high G machines on the market now.

They are bloody expensive to purchase new, though.