Floor burnishers are an important component of a complete floor care program in any facility with hard floors. Burnishers are high-speed floor machines used to polish or burnish hard floors, bringing back the floor’s original shine. Keeping your facility’s floors in top condition and looking great relies on a quality floor burnisher.
But, are all burnishers the same? No. Burnishers are offered with several different features including varying power sources, motors, cleaning path sizes, and more.
So, how do you decide which one to purchase?
Below we breakdown the 5 best floor burnishers of 2024 to help you narrow down your choices:
- Clarke Ultra Speed Pro® 1500DC
- Advance ADVOLUTION™ 20XP
- Tennant B5 walk behind 20” Burnisher
- Tennant B7 walk behind 27” Burnisher
- Tennant B10 Rider 24” and 27” Burnisher
1. Clarke Ultra Speed Pro® 1500 Burnisher
Manufactured by Nilfisk, this 20-inch walk-behind burnisher operates at 1,500rpm. This is the most cost-friendly burnisher but offers minimal features.
Power Source
The burnisher is cord-electric with a 50ft yellow cord.
Cord-electric burnishers have limitless run time as long as they are plugged into an outlet. Cord-electric machines are good for relativity small areas.
There are limitations to how long a power-cord can be because of the power it takes to power the motor and spin the floor pad. For use in larger areas, the cord will need to be moved from outlet to outlet which can be time-consuming and restrictive when outlets are not available.
Motor
The Ultra Speed Pro® 1500 burnisher has a belt drive motor.
Pro Tip: Cord-electric burnishers can be either direct drive or belt-driven. Direct drive is where the motor is mounted directly above the pad driver. On belt-driven models the motor is offset and connected to the pad driver with a pulley system. Belt-driven units can require more maintenance than direct drive. Belts can become worn and slip, increasing the likelihood of machine downtime and lower worker productivity.
Dust Control
This machine does not have dust control. Burnishers without dust control are more cost-effective to purchase initially, but you will spend more time on labor and cleaning supplies when having to dust mop or vacuum.
Pad Pressure
The operator controls the pressure on the pad. Floor burnishers that require manual adjustments allow for operator error, increased mistakes, and potential damage to your floor.
Pro Tip: More pad pressure does not mean more shine. Adjusting the pad pressure to create more downward pressure is not best practice. It can cause damage to your facility’s floor and shorten the useful life of your machine.
2. Advance Advolution™ 20XP Burnisher
Manufactured by Nilfisk, the Advolution™ 20XP is a 20-inch walk-behind floor burnisher that runs at 2,000 rotations per minute (rpm). This burnisher operates at the highest speed when compared to the other 20-inch floor burnisher options.
Power Source
This is a cord-electric machine with a 75-foot power cord. Cord-electric machines are less productive than battery operated machines. Cords will require the operator to maneuver around the cord, ensuring they do not run over it. Cords will also have to be moved from outlet to outlet.
Motor
This is a direct drive floor burnisher. Direct drive motors require less maintenance over their lifetime. They do not have any belts to wear down, extending the life expectancy of the machine.
Dust Control
Advolution™ 20XP is equipped with the passive dust control feature.
This burnisher has a wrap-around skirt that tightly seals to the floor with small airflow openings that control dust. Powerful suction collects burnishing dust in the unit’s dual-port dust bag, providing total dust control for improved indoor air quality (IAQ).
The dust control feature allows for increased productivity by eliminating the need for dust mopping after burnishing. Dust control also protects the health of the operators and facility occupants.
Pad Pressure
ADVOLUTION™ 20XP uses a patented gas spring technology that precisely regulates the pad pressure for a maximum shine on hard floor surfaces.
3. Tennant B5 walk behind 20” Burnisher
Manufactured by Tennant, the B5 is a 20” walk-behind burnisher that operates at 2100 rpm. This burnisher operates at the highest speeds when compared to the other 20-inch floor burnisher options.
Power Source
The T5 is a battery operated floor burnisher that holds up to three 12V, 185 Ah wet/lead acid batteries, which translates to about 3 hours of run time.
There is also the option for batteries with a higher amp/hour. You can go with 3, 12V, 234 Ah AGM, or 6, 12V, 225 Ah Wet/lead acid. More amp/hours allow the machine to run for more time, which is beneficial when cleaning large commercial spaces.
Motor
This is a direct drive floor burnisher. The direct connection between the motor and the brush pad provides an uninterrupted transfer of power, leading to more reliable and consistent burnishing.
Dust Control
This walk-behind burnisher is equipped with standard active HEPA dust control filtration.
Active dust control means that burnisher uses a set of mechanisms and features that are integrated into the machine to actively capture, contain, or eliminate dust during the polishing process.
Pad Pressure
On the B5, pad pressure can be adjusted mechanically, or based on the actuation force applied by the operator.
4. Tennant B7 walk behind 27” Burnisher
The B7 is a large walk-behind burnisher at This is a 1875 rpm walk-behind burnisher manufactured by Tennant. In terms of size, power, and warranty, the B7 is a great package that delivers high quality results.
Power Source
The T7 is a battery operated floor burnisher that holds up to six 6V, 240 Ah wet/lead acid batteries, which translates to about 3 hours of run time. While that isn’t the longest run time on this list, 3 hours is a solid amount of time to run this machine.
There is also the option for batteries with a higher amp/hour. You can go with 6, 6V, 312 Ah AGM, or 6, 6V, 360 Ah Wet/lead acid. More amp/hours allow the machine to run for more time, which is beneficial when cleaning large commercial spaces.
Motor
This floor burnisher is equipped with a direct drive motor. Direct drive motors require less maintenance and machine down time because they are less prone to slipping and stretching than belt drive motors.
Dust Control
This floor burnisher is equipped with passive dust control. Dust control makes a floor burnisher more expensive, but it ends up saving workers on time that would otherwise be used to complete dust mopping procedures.
Pad Pressure
The pad pressure on this machine operator controlled. On the Tennant B7, it can be adjusted mechanically, or based on the actuation force applied by the operator.
5. Tennant B10 Rider 24” and 27” Burnisher
This is a ride-on floor burnisher that operates between 1,500 and 1,700 rpm. Ride-on burnishers perform the same tasks as traditional burnishers but allow the operator to sit on the machine and maneuver it with hand controls. The ride-on feature helps reduce operator fatigue for increased productivity.
This machine is practical for areas larger than 2,000 square feet where smaller burnishers would be inefficient. The B10 Rider has a 27-inch cleaning path to help cover more ground in the same amount of time when compared to a 20-inch burnisher.
This is the largest, most expensive burnisher on our list.
Power Source
This burnisher uses six, 6V, 435 Ah batteries which provide at least 3 hours of constant run time. Battery operated burnishers are great for facilities that require a burnisher to reach beyond where a cord is capable of.
Battery operated burnishers also provide increased productivity. They eliminate the need for the operator to plug and move cords to a new outlet.
Motor
This burnisher has a 4hp direct drive motor, making it the fastest burnisher on this list.
Dust Control
This machine has active dust control, and is equipped with a HEPA filtration system. The filter collects 95% of particles at .3 microns and more.
If your facility is interested in earning LEED certification, dust control burnishers will improve indoor air quality and can help earn you credits in the Indoor Environmental Quality segment.
Pad Pressure
This burnisher has three pad pressures and drive speed settings to adjust your burnishing process to different floors. It must be manually adjusted.
Everything you need to know about commercial floor burnishers including types, sizes, specs, & more!
Final Thoughts
There are many considerations when choosing which floor burnisher is best for your facility.
If you are a large facility looking to polish floors in the least amount of time, the Tennant B10 27” burnisher provides the largest cleaning path and is a ride-on, battery-operated machine that will allow you to be most productive in your space.
The 20 inch BU 800 is also battery operated, and will allow you to be most productive in areas slightly smaller than where the B10 is needed. However, for smaller facilities the cord-electric burnishers the Advolution and Ultra Speed 1500® are good options. Sometimes deciding between these two options will be based on price.
The Tennant B7 is one of the less expensive options and it is best at delivering propane-like, high-gloss results.
No matter your situation, Imperial Dade can help match you to the best burnisher for your needs.
If you are still not sure about which is the best option for your facility or have a question about a floor burnisher, let an Imperial Dade Equipment Specialist help.
Imperial Dade has an unrivaled selection of commercial cleaning products and janitorial cleaning equipment to help you build the most effective floor care program.
Our Team begins by understanding your needs and desired outcomes so we can suggest the best equipment choices for you. We’ll guide you through the decision-making process to ensure you make the right purchase.
If you are still not sure about which is the best option for your facility or have a question about a floor burnisher, let an Imperial Dade Equipment Specialist help.