Squeegie choice

Hi guys just after some advice on choosing a new squeegie,been cleaning windows for free for a year or so now and just completed my first paying job,about time I start getting better equipment,the squeegie I have now is just a cheap one with aluminium channel and I use ettore rubber and slightly crimp the end to keep rubber in,it does the job but I do have to do more detailing than I would like.

I’m looking at getting one from online as from the research I have done channels with clips are better? my local store has ettore channels but they don’t have clips plus they are pricey at this shop so would save money by getting online from within Australia,narrowed my choice down to the moerman liquidator 2 or the unger ninja channel,will also be getting a quick release handle,have found good reviews for both and bad reviews so don’t really know what to believe,I am not an expert yet but by no means a beginner,I just want to start forming good habits now,I want to avoid having to buy 20 channels till I find a good one,what are the disadvantages of using each of the ones I listed,obviously they both work so I will let the disadvantages sway me to which to use or stay away from,thanks for any advice

Oz,
Have you checked these folks? Input: Am no authority. It looks like they have a lot of Ettore, but I also see Wagtails. I love Wagtails. Keep it simple in the beginning. Maybe you can call these folks and get some guidance. Squeegees are expensive. But…I have old Ettore brass channels that are 30 years old and still good. You will get good input here, but it comes down to what works for you. Anyway, see what’s up with these folks, they are 19 hrs. away, 1800 km…so shipping should be reasonable.

This thread is a great place to see what tools and workbelt setups people use.

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i think most of us buy stuff we end up not liking. everyone has a little different style plus not all hand are the same size.

i like my wagtail high flyers but my moerman holds more water but i dont like the feel of the handle

i do 99% and i still usually end up using my sorbo

but in a nice dealership i like the highflier inside since it doesn’t hold a lot of water lol its easier too keep work areas nice and clean.

ebay n amazon have some deals sometimes

I buy most of my gear from here http://windowcleaningworld.com.au/
or https://windowcleaningsupplies.com.au/

Acorn site doesn’t sell anything, they have a affiliated site but there range is VERY limited no unger no moermon.

Personally I use a 18" and a 14" & 10" moermon liquidator channels, with sorbos in 18,22,30 for commercial
glass.

Unger is not very popular or that readily available from most places. sorbo & Ettore are the most used here.

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Steve any reason why you only use the moerman inside and sorbo for out side? do you leave the clips in the liquidator? I saw that as a bonus for the zero detailing or is it the angle the end of the channels are cut on that gives the zero detailing?

I don’t only use a moerman inside, just mainly for residential. In my market 90% of windows are powder coated aluminium, the liquidator has zero detailing due to the end clips and the rubber being flush with the clips.

Where as I prefer larger channels on commercial glass, which is generally much larger than residential glass so in this cases I normally start with a 22" sorbo or the 30" if the panes are big enough. Using the dive bomb techniques can remove around 70% of any detailing, and most commercial jobs( I’m not talking shop front) would be perfectly satisfied without detailing the 1%.

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Aha! Thanks for that incite. You know I was just trying to help. So should I not point someone to this? And how do remote Aussies get the stuff they need?

Well I did link the sites that I prefer that are fully stocked with much of what’s available everywhere else, I guess what you posed is one option, all I did was give other options, especially when many people are directing the tools towards unger when the site in question does not stock any unger products.

and BTW remote Aussie would be someone in the middle of the outback not someone in this situation.

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You done good. Thanks for helping your fellow Down Under window cleaners. Was being a little sarcastic. But it is good to know you have some great suppliers. :sunglasses:

Thanks for the links guys,most likely will order the liquidator 2 for now and then see how I go for anything bigger,I doubt I’ll do much bigger than residential

Been a bit slack but have ordered a moerman handle(non swivel) and liquidator channels,from researching it the rubbers that come with ot are junk so I want to try different rubbers,most seem to suggest the ettore rubber but all the online shops don’t list whether or not their rubbers are hard or soft,where I live it is mostly pretty hot so I will get 90% hard rubber and a few soft rubbers for when it gets cold,a biut hesitant to order not knowing what they are but also I like the idea of having bulk rubber that I can just cut down to the size I need,only bulk rubber I can find like that here in OZ is wagtail red and black rubber.does anyone rate this rubber at all? I am assuming the different colours are for hard and soft,if so which is which? or can anyone point me in the direction of what rubber will work best in hot conditions for the liquidator 2 channel?

TBH I have never bothered to switch between, I just order the 12 packs of Ettore they work fine.

Wagtail rubber is red.

Ettore, pulex. merman, sorbo, back diamond, unger and so on are all black colour is no determining factor in rubber hardness. Its really only 35C+ or 10C or below when the rubber hardness matters.

For me this has always worked pretty well as where I live daytime temps are above the mins and below the max.

one of the online shops sells the rubbers in 3m rolls but they only have wag tail which comes in a roll of black or a roll of red,i’m aware that colour doesn’t dictate hardness for the rest of them but wagtail sells both black and red rubber so it must signify hard and soft?

I just noticed the black on the world site, the black just contains more UV protection compounds.
It really does not matter here, I used sorbo for over 10 years in Adelaide and they have more severer climate and sorbo on comes in soft.

Pretty sure the ettore is a soft-medium its an all rounder.

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From what I have seen described in the U.S., Ettore is a medium hard rubber, and Black Diamond lists their rubber as medium hard as well, not “hard”.

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