Let's Talk About Portable Steam Cleaners

[Northendzone]

So I was thinking I'd like to get a portable steam cleaner so that I can clean things with steam and have the unit offer a degree of portability (would be handy if I was ever invited to a steam party); based on a review of the websites for Can tire, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes etc it seems you can only get these little wimpy hand held units in Canada. Of course Amazon has a selection of more robust units

Anyone have any idea on where in Calgary I could purchase a more manly unit like this bad boy below.

I was hoping to spend around $140

[jwslam]

Do some research as to HOW the steam is produced.
The cheapo unit I bought years ago ($25) works.. but not well

The one I have is a water reservoir that you fill with water, wait for it to boil, and when you trigger it releases the steam by pressure... so when the pressure gets low, you need to stop and wait for the steam to boil for more pressure. There's also the risk of boiling the pot dry. And when it comes time to refill, you need to wait for the entire unit to cool before you can open the pressurized vessel to fill up with water.

There exists (i believe) ones where the water is drawn from a cold water tank, directly into an instant heat to provide steam. As such, when the tank runs dry you can add water right away. Also with this, the pressure is much more consistent than blast-on-blast-off

Essentially it's the difference between a hot water heater and a on-demand hot water system.

[Northendzone]

I bought a unit for $70 from lowes today, I will,have to try it out, but it does not hold much water, so I am not holding out much hope that I will be happy with this purchase.

Interesting that Home Depot in the US carries a unit similar to the picture above, but it is not carried in Canada at all. It is like the government does not want us to have access to steam or something