BUILD AN ETM - ELECTRIC TRUCKMOUNT CARPET CLEANING MACHINE

After some requests to make a step by step video on how to build your own electric truckmount ETM, I made this how-to video showing the identical machine that I personally used for many years in the carpet cleaning business. Actually, I still use basically the same machine and design, the only exception is that I use a different style waste tank. I love the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of electric machines and that they are so reliable with almost no down time. Even though many people have come to realize that ETM's are a great option, there still are not that many manufacturers who are making them and even though they are priced below what a traditional gas truckmount costs, they are still out of the reach of some people who are trying to start a carpet cleaning business. Even a portable carpet cleaning extractor can easily cost three to eight times more than what you can build a carpet cleaner like the homemade ETM extractor for. I built this electric truckmount for less than $450 and even though I already had a few miscellaneous items, it would still be well under $500. My average hose run is 125 feet and the machine has absolutely no problem getting the carpets dry in just a few hours since I focus primarily on residential and light commercial carpet cleaning. I have gone a maximum of 175 when necessary and still get good dry times with just an extra dry stroke. With the addition of an inline carpet booster vac, the effective range would easily be over 200 feet while still getting the carpets dry. Just as a point of reference, I run my pump at 600 psi and when the wand is keyed, the pressure gauge shows 325 psi so I'm flowing a decent amount of water and still get good dry times. In my opinion, there are only a couple drawbacks to using a steel drum as a waste tank. First is that they will not last as long as a stainless steel or aluminum waste tanks. I was able to get a couple years out of them before the rust set in badly, but, considering how cheap they are, I don't consider it to be a big deal. I found the lids would last substantially longer so you can just set the lid onto a new drum and all you need to do is install the dump valve. Second is that you can't see the water level in the tank but after using it for a short time you know about how much carpet you can clean before it needs to be dumped. I have had the vacuum motors suck in water quite a few times and I just ran the vac motors to dry them out without any damage. Hope you find this helpful if you are looking to build your own carpet cleaning machine or looking for an economical way to get into the cleaning business.