by Shane Henson — June 13, 2014—Columbus, a Stuttgart-based manufacturer of commercial cleaning machines and part of The Staehle Group, released a scrubber dryer earlier this month called the RA 43|B 20 that the company says is ideal for spaces in which compactness and maneuverability are needed, such as hospitals, senior care centers, and schools.
According to Columbus, the design of this walk-behind machine focuses on agile, flexible work: a 20-liter solution and a 23-liter recovery tank economize space by integrating into a space measuring 76 centimeters long by 53 centimeters high. The brush-head of the RA 43|B 20 protrudes 5 centimeters to the right side and is made to clean thoroughly right up to the edge, while a handle that can be tilted right down to horizontal enables users to clean beneath protruding furnishings and objects.
In addition, the company says that the single-axle scrubber dryer is as agile and comfortable to wheel from one job to the next as a twin-axle unit: a foot-pedal lowers a transport wheel, taking the brush unit away from contact from the floor. This is designed to make the machine very easy to roll, and takes the load off of the brush when users store it, allowing it to dry properly. The handle can be folded flat over the machine if users need to put it into a car or store it in a small cleaning cupboard. Its squeegee tool can be removed without tools in just a few moves.
Service and cleaning of the machine is also an easy matter, says Columbus. The recovery tank can be completely removed without tools, providing easy access to batteries and other components inside, while cleaning and disinfection are reportedly quick and thorough thanks to large openings. The recovery tank is designed in such a way that it can be tipped back and held in position in one move. This allows dirty water to be emptied through the dirty water drain hose, directly and down to the last drop into the sink, even as high as 50 centimeters. Filling the machine with fresh water is similarly easy using a large opening, and the fill level can be seen at a glance using an integrated indicator in the fresh-water drain hose, says Columbus.
The walk-behind unit in its standard version with integrated 13 A charger and powerful 76 Ah gel batteries can work uninterrupted for up to 2.5 hours. A version with 55 Ah OPTIMA batteries and a 30 A fast-charging device is available for flexible, whole-day use with interim charging. The RA 43|B 20 produces a low noise level of 63 dB(A), and the optional silent version is as quiet as 59 dB(A), the company says.
