Earthblog

It’s not just about the machine you use, but the tooling is also important.  The world’s greatest surgeon wouldn’t be able to do much with a chainsaw, and the World Lumberjack Champion would be “up a tree” if all he had was a scalpel to operate with.

Still, it’s not uncommon for us to get calls from people out there who have run into problems on the job because they didn’t have the right tooling for the job at hand.  Sometimes these are our clients, other times, just guys who bought or rented a floor removal machine elsewhere.

Whatever the situation, there are basically two reasons you might run in to trouble.  Either the machine is limited in what kind of tooling you can use with it, or maybe you’re just running into something you’re not sure how best to tackle.

Let’s deal with the machine first.  Some machines are simply not designed to do certain things.  You can occasionally do “work arounds”, but that can be a pain.  You could theoretically grind an entire room with an edge grinder, but that’s really not the best way to go, is it?  And you can go at ceramic tile with a lightweight floor stripper, just don’t expect good results.
 
While a little ingenuity can come in handy, you don’t want to have to be MacGyver to have to figure out how to get 4,000 feet of hardwood up in 2 days with a butterknife, sandpaper, and some dental floss.  Making sure you have the right equipment for the work you bid and take on will not only make your life easier, it will help you get more business.

The other situation which might come up is when you have the right machine, and even the right tooling in your toolbox, but aren’t sure what to use.  Some of our machines have 30 or 40 or more different blades and attachments, so you can be sure you can handle whatever comes up.  That can sometimes lead to indecision.

That’s where our expertise and experience comes in handy.  Feel free to call us anytime.  We have experts on our team that have seen it all.  We can talk through your situation with you, and help you figure out a game plan to get the job done in the best way.

When buying a riding floor scraper, one question every prep guy must face is that of getting a battery machine or propane.  We do our best to help our clients figure out what’s best for them and their needs.  A few of the factors you’ll want to consider are:

1. What environment do you work in?  If you’re working in hospitals, nursing homes, and the like, they’ll often reject propane, regardless of how clean it burns.  On the other hand, if you’re doing big box retail, office spaces after hours, etc, propane is often an acceptable option.
2. How do you run your shifts?  If you need to run “round the clock”, propane may be a better option (if allowed).  Even the longest life battery machines will top out at 10-12 hours on soft goods.
3. What is your budget?  If you have a pre-defined budget, you should know that propane machines tend to be 15-20% less expensive than battery machines to purchase. 

While keeping all of the above in mind, there’s no clear cut answer of which machine is right for everybody.  Other options, although not as popular as the All Day Battery machines and the propane riders include corded machines, and riders with replaceable/removable battery packs.

It seems to us that the long-life battery machines are the way the industry is going.  They do cost a bit more.  But many contractors like the extra weight and power they are able to generate, and the extra flexibility they give you in what kind of work you can take on.  we’ve also seen certain states get more and more strict with regard to propane usage (New York, for example).

So, the short answer is that there is no short answer.  Do your resarch, speak to one of our consultants, and you’ll be sure to make the best decision based on your unique circumstances.