Had a demo yesterday of the Upkeeper R2D2 revised version.  The one that was demonstrated to me yesterday was much improved over the first R2D2's that were imported from Upkeeper.  The actual machine was very light and manageable and the set up time was a lot quicker than I have experienced with a colleague on a guttervac job using the Omnivac.  Although the Omnivac is a very very good machine it has it's pro and cons, as does the R2D2.  One the original one most operators reported that it was just not powerful enough, this has been improved by adding a cyclone ducting system to the actual body of the machine.  The tubes that are plastic are very hard wearing and quite light in weight.  What I liked about it was you could see debris going down the tube.  The tubes are much bigger than the aluminium omnipoles.  Putting the tubes together is a doddle, overall I was very impressed with the machine, although it is actually more than I really want to pay I think that eventually it will pay for itself.

i seen this demo'd by the maufacturer over a year ago and was impressed with the lightness of the poles, however i did point ou that it should have a cyclone side entry to maximise power suction this was apparenty changed on their latest model. they are imported from the USA by Ionic systems and will be exhibiting at the NEC cleaning show 1st to 3rd march.