Tool Upgrades!

As mentioned in the previous post, all of Westpak's 4-jet wands have been upgraded. This comes at no additional cost! In addition to the standard features of these wands, they are also getting these upgrades:

• Soft-Touch Stainless Steel Valve
• Stainless Steel Jets
• Inline Filter

With these upgrades your wand will preform better and last longer! Remember to keep your eye out for more benefits coming your way!

Upgrading Your Tools

The December Westpak Tell-Tale
by Craig Tyler

Wand Upgrades: Glides. There are a few reasons to add a glide to your wand. First, if the material is Teflon then it's generally easier to clean with the wand. Easier meaning the Teflon glides over the carpet freely and easily with less restriction then stainless steel lips or glides. This will also help a carpet cleaner to have less stress and strain in his arm, shoulder, and back which will allow him or her to work more efficiently throughout the day.

The second reason is that the glide is designed to enhance the cleaning capabilities of the wand. This is done by creating enough air flow through the glide that it will maximize the power of the vacuum motor with the wand.

Now both of these reasons may be up for debate and glides have also been made from other materials. Feel free to share your thoughts about glides.

Wand Upgrades: Nozzle Extenders.

When you put a glide on a wand it raises the nozzles from the carpet. The solution to this is putting 1/2inch or 1inch nozzle extenders between the nozzle and the manifold. If you have 1/4inch nozzles you'll need to change from a standard vjet nozzle to a tjet nozzle. The Westpak Nozzle extenders come with a filter and an option check valve. As discussed in the filter post in November, this will help keep your nozzles free of clogging. Just remember, for every inch your nozzles are above the carpet you're losing 10°. So if you're looking at getting higher heat to the carpet, a nozzle extender may be the solution.

The Wand Process

The Wand Process

Westpak March Tell-Tale

By Steve Tyler

Westpak USA entered the wand business to manufacture wands that were thoroughly engineered and designed to be the best in the industry. Their wands, hand tools, valves, and spin tools are fully designed and engineered in Garden Grove, California, then manufactured to our exacting standards.

One at a Time

Many manufacturers make wands, essentially “one at a time”. Each one has the stainless steel pieces cut out one by one, and then the bends are all made one by one. When this is done they are tack-welded together, then finish welding is done, polishing (or brushed finish), then assembled with valves, and some are tested.

Consistency is Quality

Westpak invests extra money on full tooling for their wands. When a wand is designed and approved for production, it will be another few months to actually start the production process. Complete tooling is made for each part. That is, a custom tool punch is made to stamp out each part. A custom tool is also made for each part to make all of the bends. This process, while expensive, insures that each part will be made exactly the same from the first wand to the last wand. You will be able to rely on Westpak to give you the same quality products over and over again.

Added Strength and Quality

Each wand is designed with overlapping tubes at the s-bend tube connection to the head. This provides extra strength to take the many hours of stress that the wands are designed for. The wands are welded with TIG process to ensure clean defect free welds.

These wands are fully polished. Polishing does two things. First it enhances the appearance and makes the wands easier to keep clean. Secondly polishing also increases the surface hardness of the steel and makes it more difficult for welds to crack or damage to occur. So now you have a structurally sound wand, with excellent appearance and strength.

The Complete Wand

Once complete these wands are equipped with the best control valves in the industry, full stainless steel solution lines, manifolds, and spray bars, with properly sized and positioned nozzles. Once done the wand is checked under water pressure in our warehouses for strength and quality. Each wand is tested for defects, leaks, valve operation, and nozzle spray pattern. Once it has passed these tests it is sent to you ready to use.