[mark_roberts]

Thinking of putting a 45 gallon water barrel on the van to fill the portable.

How do I get the water from the barrel into the portable if they are on the same level ie. I cant use gravity.

thanks
Mark

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Ask John Flynn he has done this before.

Shaun

[Dave Parry]

Why you doing this Mark, Dont your customers have a water supply? I bet they do, and its probably hot as well. Also think of the weight about 450 lbs or or 204 kgs.

[Dynafoam]

Mark,

Transferring the water is easy - either a submersible pump (as used in ponds) or and external impeller pump (as used in washing machines) will give a good flow-rate.

I share Dave's reservations about the value and weight.

The tank would need to be properly secured - in the event of a front-end collision, with two vehicles each travelling at only 30 mph the momentum of the tank would enormous. The impact on your bulkhead or seat would be roughly equivalent to being hit by a family saloon car travelling at 15 mph. If you cannot visualise the energy involved, try driving your van into a brick wall at 10 mph.

John.

[conallon]

hi mark why not just buy a tank cleaning support do some 140 litre ones ( lot safer ) tel 01923 330034 uk dealer, look on cross american website, now if your porty as a connection for a scrubber you could run a pump like john said to fill up solution tank  

                              Conrad

p.s are you wanting to operate porty from van ?
     

[Dave_Lee]

Mark,
I assume your meaning to use your porti without taking it out of the van. If this is the case why not just get a TM.
A portable is just that, its not a TM, its meant to be taken out and wheeled to the job. Any on board water tank has to be adequately secured, but a water bowser even more so, due to the head of waters centre of gravity being so high. 50 gallons of water weighs 500 lbs.
Dave.

[Shorty]

Course you could always drop the potty on the ground, leaving the water tank in the van.

Instant gravity feed.

Cheers,

Shorty.

[Len Gribble]

Mark

Whatever water tank you put in make sure its baffled and a watertight lid.

Len

[alan_lewis]

Hello Mark

Have you received your booster yet from Bob Savage, could you e-mail me, would like to ask a few questions.

Thanks

Alan

[mark_roberts]

The reason for carring water is to speed up the job time instead of 6 buckets of water from the tap (60 litres) I'd fill the portable and wheel to the front door.  95% of my jobs the portable stays outside.

Of course I would fix it to the van floor.  I didnt think of baffles.  Do the prochem tanks have baffles?

Weight isnt a problem as I've a 350 LWB transit.  I bought it to get a truckmount but not so sure I really need or want one to be honest.

Alan, not got the booster yet as it has to be specially made for our electric spec.

Also for those small jobs when I can get parked real close I could leave the portable in the van and run 50ft of hose.

Mark

[Len Gribble]

Mark

Prochem as far as I believe only do two types of tanks saddle tanks and a sub mount need to check with them if this one fit yours, don’t think any of them have baffles, that also applies to the others imports from the US, you will know when going round a corner or coming to stop. Remember equal weight, low centre of gravity.

The cheaper option is have one made for you check in yellow pages under Fiberglas mine cost £400 including baffles, then I’m a tm/porty

Len

[Shorty]

Why not go to one of your agricultural stores?.

They usually have roto-moulded ones.

The farmers use them for pesticides, etc;

They also, (down under), have a 12 volt pump attached to them, to pump the liquid out.

Same as what you can buy from a chemical supplier, but a darn sight cheaper.

Cheers,

Shorty

[conallon]

hi Mark
           how do you use porty outside when its raining  

[Len Gribble]

Use a cover or in Dave P’s case a top hinged door.

Len

[cleanability]

How about a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very long hose permanently connected to the hot water tap in your house. Then you can drive to every job, but use your own water at a temperature of your choosing. Even better, attach the hose  to a mixer tap with your wife/girlfriend on tap duty waiting for the call from you to tell her the temperature you require. I think this solution is on a par with driving round with a water tank in your van !!!!!                            


                              Sorry Couldnt resist it

                                           Chris
 

[conallon]

got it, when its raining leave solution tank lid open  

[Dynafoam]

got it, when its raining leave solution tank lid open  

And with a very VERY big funnel, it should shield the machine  

[mark_roberts]

I use a plastic cover although Ashbys have a 'tailored' rain cover for the Ninja.

[Dynafoam]

Mark,

I find the biggest problem with a plastic cover if re-filling in heavy rain without the machine getting soaked. I have never found the time to design a cover that has a waterproof flap for this purpose.

If I can get the van anywhere near the building I put the machine under the vans' plastic awning.

John.

[conallon]

Mark
       couldnt agree with you more regarding the bucket situation been looking at ways round this myself thinking of boosting vac and leaving porty in van on certain jobs,

             good luck with whatever you try
                 
                            Conrad    

[Dynafoam]

Conrad and Mark,

On one of my first posts to this forum, I stated that if I did not have a need to stand at the kitchen sink waiting for a bucket to fill, I'd have to invent another reason to stand there.

With a new customer this can be a time to 'break the ice' and establish a relaxed atmosphere. You can also establist the customers' main concerns with the carpets and maybe start adjusting expectations towards real-world posibilities. The term 'Kitchen Sink Marketing' was mentioned in one of the replies.

With an old customer you can also use this time to catch up on news and get any 'chit-chat' out of thre way before the serious business begins.

Once you realise the value of this time, bucket filling take on a new meaning.

John.

[Ken Wainwright]

Again I agree with John re. Kitchen Sink Marketing.

If you've completed all the chat with madam, why not  carry at least 2 buckets for fresh water. If the tap fills quickly you can fill one whilst transporting the other to your machine and so on. If it's a slow running tap, rather than stand around doing nothing, you can "Multi Task" by doing such things as connecting hoses and power to the machine, pre-spray or pre vac etc. etc.

If you are serious about using a porti as a sort of mini truckmount, what about this route. A CFR 1000psi (forgot model name). They hold about 15 gallons. This is a working equivalent of upto 105 gallons. Plenty of water pressure for the longer hose runs. I don't know if it would work with a CFR, but would a Recoil Booster be a viable option to increase hose length further?

Safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[cleanability]

Am I completely missing something here. But if you carry your own water and use it. It's cold water!!!!!!!!!  Yes?  So fill your solution tank up and wait 20 minutes to get hot enough to use? Surely I must be missing something here. Unless an in line heater is used. Someone enlighten me because I have heard these in line heaters are not that reliable.

                          Chris  

[mark_roberts]

Not too sure what your getting at cleanability?

My main idea to this is as follows

today I cleaned an empty 3 bedroom house.  I used about 110 litres approx but filled the Ninja several times to keep the heat up during cleaning so I'm thinking to link the machine to the water tank for continuos (sp) supply and constant 70c heat (90c tomorrow as Im getting the new advantage) to save time.

Yes I know I should get a truckmount but then I can only use it for about 60% of my jobs its not worth it YET.

Mark

[Dave Parry]

Mark, If your thinking of linking your m/c to a tank, I presume your talking of auto-fill. Assuming you use microsplitters, thats fine, you dont need chemical injection as well. so why not just get a auto-fill option and connect to the tap? or fit a ball valve into the solution tank (which is all auto fill is anyway)? If you do fit it yourself you need the type which has a small cylindrical float, and not the big orange ball type. saves the hassle of having to fit a tank.

[Mark_Jubb]

Mark,
Why not send your Ninja back to Ashbys and have the auto-fill device fitted? Then all you need to carry on the van as an extra is a good sized reel of hose to connect the machine to a water supply.  As it has an auto shut off float valve, you can be pre-vaccing or whatever as the machine fills up.
Personally, I prefer John & Kens kitchen sink marketing method, but if you are doing a lot of empty rental places there isn't anybody there to market to, and bucket filling can be very boring and seemingly time consuming
Regards
Mark

[Mark_Jubb]

Dave Parry can type quicker than me  
Mark

[mark_roberts]

Ive got autofill which is good but when theres no outside tap available I can never get the hozelock connector to work on the square taps.  Any better ones out there?

Mark

PS. I've got 3 connectors for square taps and they all fall off or the pressure of the water squirts out.

[Mark_Jubb]

What about using the washing machine supply (with the customers permission of course)?  
Mark

[Dave Parry]

I never had a problem with kitchen taps only toilet taps which are smaller. Try the green and orange adapters from Homebase. Also try putting in two of the rubber adapters, found this can work sometimes.
Mark I wouldn't disconnect the w/m connector in case the rubber washer was old, and wouldnt re seal. If it floods your the one to blame.