Interesting, I will have to give this a shot. On a side note, I noticed the 260 area code. Are you guys out of the Ft. Wayne area?
The one thing Iâd say here is that if anybody wants to try this, make sure you have spare clips in your kit because a mod like this, once done, is almost impossible to reverse.
You see I have no issues (and never have) with either V1 or V2 of the clips. And that little piece Brian shaved off is designed to sit snugly under the bulb and hold the rubber snugly either side of the clip. I have found it beneficial to insert a small shim in the back between clip and rubber to further tighten it up but honestly thatâs all. Dial in the glass to rubber angle and Iâm offâŚ
Where I have had issues is with some Razer Red 14" lengths and Ettore where the bulbs are either larger or inconsistent and jam up when threading in the channels (even with soap applied). This caused uneven stretch along the length and performed less than optimally. The other small issue to be aware of is that the gap from clip tip to rubber edge is optimally 1.5-2mm (Moerman rubber). Unger and Black Diamond are a smidgeon off flush which makes the tips very firm. On hard rubber this doesnât seem to cause issues but on soft rubber the tension at tip to blade is quite different and can throw up some challenges.
Im not writing this mod off at all but after 4-5 years of modding and trashing and succeeding with Wag mods Iâve discovered quite often that what appears to be a fix initially, can often open up another even bigger one.
SoâŚintrigued andâŚwatching⌠
2 Likes
Yep, Iâm in Ft Wayne, good eye. Howâd you know Ft Wayne?
I lived most my life in Indiana (Hudson, Angola, and Goshen). When I was a kid I lived in Hudson (Smiley face exit on I-69) A lot of weekends were spent at the Glenbrook mall. From 18-31 I worked in the RV/manufacturer homes industry.
@Scenix_Kyle works out of the Michiana area.
Is it just me, or does the liquidator 2.0 seem to work better with the rubber cut a little longer than the entire channel?
I had always cut my rubber flush with the end clips, or even a hair short, with the 1.0 and it worked great. But the 2.0 gave me issues with the ends until I cut the rubber a tad heavy.
^^^ This is one of the most important tips in this thread, when working with the liquidator channel your angle of rubber to glass is the most important thing, second is your slip ratio in your solution, they like the slip factor more so then a normal channel.
4 Likes
Iâm relieved by this thread because this whole time i just thought i sucked at window cleaning.
5 Likes
Sounds like you might be having some issuesâŚAre you working through the issues you have been having with the handle and channel⌠Is there any thing we can help you work through or maybe we can shot some advice your wayâŚ?!?
Ive fussed with this tool everyday since i got it (I MEAN A LOT OF FUSSING AROUND.) So I have worked through a lot of issues that i thought was the tool but it was habits from other tools I use âŚIf i can helpâŚ
4 Likes
I use the 2.0 on store front and keep having the rubber skip while making a turn during fanning. Like the rubber bunching up, not sure hopefully I explained it well enough. I believe itâs to due with the angle between me and the pole. Any tips for using it for pole work?
The couple points i can offerâŚ
-
try a little more slip in your solution
-
Make your fanning angle cuts a little less sharp and deep (and slow down a bit on your turns.
There are some great youtube video in this thread that show these points I offered above, Watch how when they are poling they slow down during turns and notice how much slip most are using.
Hope this helps.
1 Like
Thank you very much I will post back after some storefront works this week with a update!
So today was the first day I would say the excelerator actually saved me time on a residential job.
I agree with @wcs and will say that the majority of the issues I had experienced were due to habits formed using different equipment.
I had to fuss with it a ton too, but I was comitted to making it work without modification. I cannot imagine the amount of frustration felt by a novice trying to use it.
The biggest keys to success I found were
1.) Be very sensitive to the angle of presentation from rubber to glass. Itâs absurdly easy to fold your rubber under if youâre just a tiny bit too steep.
2.) Keep your fans very shallow and rigid. A regular squeegee can draw spirals on the glass if you know what youâre doing. The liquidator 2.0, not so much. My worst habit to break was turning too sharp and doubling back, dive bombing the sides of the glass too steep and arcing high to grab the middle again. The 2.0 basically likes to go one direction.
3.) Choke up on the handle. I hold mine basically at the pivot point when itâs in my hand. This allows me to kind of âleanâ on it and adjust the pressure back and forth more easily. This solved the issue of edge streaking completely, without any modification to the end clips.
4.) Cut the rubber just a little bit long, and do it before itâs in the channel. I used to slide my channel over the rubber as a gauge, then cut it just flush with the end clips on the 1.0. Even cut just short of the whole channel length the 1.0 would perform fine. In the 2.0, it seems to work best if the rubber is peeking just a millimeter past the end clips. Measure and cut the rubber before itâs in the channel so you can be sure of the exact length. Then tease the rubber back and forth along the whole length of the channel before you clamp the handle back on.
5.) Use A LOT of slip.
3 Likes
That the way I have felt since first getting the tool, I was bound and determined to not modify it and learn to use it like others have. The only thing we have done with ours so far is this to keep the channel from sliding.
Thanks @anon35812390!
5 Likes
Considering this tool has humbled some 20+ year vets and required them to up their game, Iâd say if you can get a window clean AT ALL with the darn thing then youâre doing just fine.
Just curious: Do you have a set of ânormalâ squeegees?
Excellent observations Samuel. The interesting thing about ânewbiesâ. These guys are actually turning out to be the ones experiencing the LEAST problems. They have no prior ingrained technique to alter or overcome. Regards âdivebombingâ? Donât ⌠because of the 45° tip and the sharp supported rubber you are prone to âdig inâ then blade either jams or judders. Wagga actually had an early video with his modded Wagtails and explains this very thing. Regarding cutting the rubber? Never even considered that you wouldnât size and cut it prior to feeding it into the channel so excellent point.
3 Likes
Indeed this mod is impossible to reverse!
I tried snugging up the ends, to me it felt like a band-aid solution to a problem that shouldnât be there. On my wagtail, the only thing holding the rubber in the channel is a crimp in the middle of the channel (dont think I said this in the video) and it performs flawlessly, hence why I went the route I did.
I do use Black Diamond Soft and would agree itâs near flush with the rubber, so naturally Iâve considered shaving a bit off the tips to help close outs. I might do this to one set of clips and see how it turns out, but only because Black Diamond is my standard rubber.
Iâll take some video footage of the mod in action and report back! I got a grocery store this weekend where I can really test the mod with the 14" and 18" channels for pole & hand work, and they donât mind me recording.
You have no idea how envious I am⌠so jelly.
2 Likes
Dang is this even worth it?? Why not just dogear an ettore brass and call it a day?
4 Likes
I actually kinda did this⌠I just bent the tips of the corners down, it helps keep the rubber from riding up the gaskets/seals, while still maintaining the behavior of standard square end channels. I dont think the Ettore brass clips would allow for a 45-deg cut without modifying the channel & clips together.
Edit Picture: only a slight bend though.
Liquidator likes it juicy.
2 Likes
