[Richy L]

What needs to be cleaned with 150 degree washing that 'normal' hot pressure washing(80-90 degree) can't?

[Rob_Mac]

For most of our works Richy nothing.

My dry steam/chewing gum removal machines are suitable for 'live/trading/high footfall areas' where you haven't got to worry about s hit going everywhere!

Rob

[Rob_Mac]

Sorry, rephrase that - 'where you have to worry about s hit going everywhere!'

Rob

[Smudger]

Thx for that correction rob !!!


Don't people use the super heat on monuments and the like, or is that another system

( I know Chris would just reccomend throwing acid over them, but that don't count )

Darran

[Rob_Mac]

Superheated/dry is exactly that mate. Monument cleaning is not dry. If you wanted to used dry steam for monuments & historic buildings then you would be there a very long time because they operate at 6 bar and there is no flow at all. It is very specific cleaning.

I would love to utilise my machines elsewhere but I cannot see another avenue for them. As a sterilising option they are on the button - I guess. I would love to hear other peoples thoughts.

Keep me on my toes Darran

Rob

[Smudger]

Thank you rob!

As you can see still learning!!!

Darran

[Richy L]

I have no intention of getting into monument cleaning or paint removal - I believe the supereated water is used for this as well.
So I guess just a hot pressure washer is plenty.

I see what you're saying about the chew removal in busy places, but the doff, thermatech machines are not dry steam are they?

[Rob_Mac]

I am sure there will be a counter argument from Crosby Cris

Maybe he will teach us -



Rob

[Rob_Mac]

No mate. Probably the next best thing for gum removal and if you buy one you have the monument cleaning option

Rob

[Richy L]

I'm considering my options - either buy:
- a doff/thermatech NEW £7k
- good hot washer (21lpm diesel) NEW £4k
- Falch USED £7k

at the moment I have 2x GX390 21lpl petrol and a (15lpm)hot box that isnt set up as I have upgraded my machines, but not the hot box.

Basically I want to invest a bit into the business, but can't decide which way to go.

[chris scott]

I'm considering my options - either buy:
- a doff/thermatech NEW £7k
- good hot washer (21lpm diesel) NEW £4k
- Falch USED £7k

at the moment I have 2x GX390 21lpl petrol and a (15lpm)hot box that isnt set up as I have upgraded my machines, but not the hot box.

Basically I want to invest a bit into the business, but can't decide which way to go.

What do you mainly clean?

[Rob_Mac]

If I was going to make the choice from those the Doff/Thermatech only does 5/7LPM so it ain't a pressure washer, it would be the Falch.

Rob

[jmb]

I'm considering my options - either buy:
- a doff/thermatech NEW £7k
- good hot washer (21lpm diesel) NEW £4k
- Falch USED £7k

at the moment I have 2x GX390 21lpl petrol and a (15lpm)hot box that isnt set up as I have upgraded my machines, but not the hot box.

Basically I want to invest a bit into the business, but can't decide which way to go.

Rich, if you do sell the hotbox give me a shout plz, thx jon

[Richy L]

Would you get a second hand Falch over a new hot washer though? I like being able to keep it all in the van too rather than having to tow the Falch. If the Falch goes wrong I imagine it would be expensive to fix! There aren't many around, but was looking(as many people have) at this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WHALE-FALCH-COMPACT-T3H-4350-PSI-GUM-GRAFFITI-REMOVER-HOT-PRESSURE-WASHER-DEUTZ-/321572144198?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item4adf318446

Chris, I clean mainly K rend these days. I also clean stonework. I do more general pressure washing in the warmer months(block paving, brick cleaning), but usually price myself out of chewing gum removal due to the hastle of rigging everything up together.
I also do lot of other things that I dont need to clean with pressure.

[chris scott]

Buy Two 21 litre hot boxes to go with your two pressure washers.

If one part breaks down you have a spare you can carry on working.
You can run two independant 21 lpm hot setups,
A 21lpm hot box and a 5hp p/w will strip paint.
You can run two hot boxes (one pressure washer) in series to get steam .
You are highly still highly mobile for domestic jobs.
You have more than enough power/heat for commercial jobs.
You won't have to spend a fortune and you have more options available to yourself.
A Therma tech is too specialised to own...hire one if you need it. Jaime is sensible with the cost of hiring.
Flow and pressure is not everything...as you know. There are many ways to clean things.

[Matt Gibson]

Buy Two 21 litre hot boxes to go with your two pressure washers.

If one part breaks down you have a spare you can carry on working.
You can run two independant 21 lpm hot setups,
A 21lpm hot box and a 5hp p/w will strip paint.
You can run two hot boxes (one pressure washer) in series to get steam .
You are highly still highly mobile for domestic jobs.
You have more than enough power/heat for commercial jobs.
You won't have to spend a fortune and you have more options available to yourself.
A Therma tech is too specialised to own...hire one if you need it. Jaime is sensible with the cost of hiring.
Flow and pressure is not everything...as you know. There are many ways to clean things.

Spot on.

[KLEENAWAY]

Me and chris was just speaking about this yesterday, i have 2 large oil silos to clean (vegetable oil) that have over flowed some time ago and the oil has gone black on the outside of the silos. They have had drain jetter lads in with big machines that go "hot" but haven't managed to do a decent job. Now they want me to have a look and do test patches, big machines with flow and high psi havent worked......makes you think.

Danny

[chris scott]

And you will have money left over to spend on Crack and Hookers  .

[Rob_Mac]

I can't see the debate there but then it is knowing about the surface you're cleaning, understanding how to use your set up and if you have the options to reduce flow and increase heat etc as you go along I would rather have those options and be able to choose when to use them than wish I had them

Rob

[Great Outdoors]

Confused ... you mainly clean K render (Great pics on face book by the way!) why change your current setup ? Unless you are looking to target larger commercials ? Even then increased flow / heat is questionable.

[Richy L]

Thanks! I'm happy with the set up I use for K render, I'm not planning on changing that.
It's for other avenues of work.

[chris scott]

Thx for that correction rob !!!


Don't people use the super heat on monuments and the like, or is that another system

( I know Chris would just reccomend throwing acid over them, but that don't count )

Darran

[Darranvps]

Good Morning Everyone

We have a Falch T3H - hard to get repaired (often sat in a corner of the warehouse)

We have various cold water pressure washers with Hot Boxes (hardly used anymore)

And we have two Doff Systems - expensive but service is second to none - next day for parts anywhere in the country.

9/10 jobs my lads use DOFF - simply because they clean quite quickly and if water supply is limited they don't use so much.

Rob is correct in the fact that they are low pressure and low water flow - not what we are taught when thinking about pressure washers - and I should know as I used to sell Kranzle Pressure washers in Bulgaria.

The Doff is ideal for cleaning many surfaces - without causing damage - I would recommend these to anyone - we run ours on kerosene - very cheaply! Great on K Rend or any through colour rendered surfaces.

A short video to see the doff in action on render in Brighton 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZLceafdcdc

[Rob_Mac]

Would you not prefer to have one machine that suits all applications?

Rob

[Rob_Mac]

Not one machine for all your works but if you bought three of the same one you know you could clean low flow/pressure, high volume etc?

Rob

[Matt Gibson]

I understand the technology behind the DOFF systems, low flow/pressure, superheated water. Apparently good for cleaning vegetation/algae etc..

BUT.. and its a big but.. like Chris has said, why not get a 21lpm (or something similar) and a couple of 21lpm hot boxes. OR, you would probably only need one, because you can use smaller nozzles, reduce the flow, to bring the water temp up. I only have a 15lpm boiler on my frame, and when i do gum/paint removal/graffiti removal, i use an 03 nozzle, and the water gets pretty damn hot.

You can effectively turn any machine, into something similar to the DOFF system (albeit not as well) by adjusting nozzle sizes, flow rates etc..

If you set it all up in your van the right way, you could have quite a compact system, all mounted nicely, with reels etc and you could plumb in or remove each boiler with quick releases, add more hot water when you needed it, or just run cold for driveways etc in the summer.

Whole lot would probably cost you £4000 with all the fitting and hose reels and then your time on top fitting it in the van.

I have 21lpm, with a 15lpm boiler, and i have never not been able to clean something. Though its handy to know that Jamie rents the thermatech systems, as im getting quite a few enquiries with access issues for stone cleaning.

[justin cooper]

Ritchy L The pictures of the render cleans on your web site look spot on mate. Can I ask you a few questions. Do you have to use chems or can you just use heat? and do you use cherry picker to apply chems and to clean or do you have other ways of applying chems?

Cheers Justin

[Richy L]

Thanks,

Some are cleaned from the ground some for a cherry picker.
Some just chemicals, some with a little pressure(just cold). ... every job is different.

[Richy L]

Has anyone heard of a thermac 17?

[trevor perry]

Has anyone heard of a thermac 17?

I think you mean a thermic 17, they are made by Lavor and we have 2. They run at 21ltrs a minute and the temperature gets very hot, we often split to run to guns on 03 nozzles for gum removal and it works great

[Matt Gibson]

The thermic 17's are expensive.

[Richy L]

Yeah they're around £11K+ new.
I have a chance to get a second hand one for around £4K+.

They have an integrated gennie don't they? for the burner.


How hot do they get Trevor?

[trevor perry]

it says on the temperature dial 140 degrees but I doubt that is correct as that would make it steam, but it does get very hot. I often have to turn the heat down as the quick connect fittings get very very hot and this soon destroys the rubber o rings in these fittings.

[Blast Away]

For £11k you could have a nice skid mount hot system shipped over from the US from the likes of Hydro Max or Dan Swede whatever company name he's going by today.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-Cold-Pressure-Washer-8-5gpm-3600psi-new-26-1HP-Liquid-Cooled-Diesel-/271045800729?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1b96b319

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8012PRO-35KLDG-3500-PSI-8-GPM-GDiesel-Hot-Water-Super-Skid-Pressure-Washe-/280898104145?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4166d4eb51

I wouldn't touch that Falch on ebay for £7.5k. Looks like it's a big headache. He's been trying to sell it for over a year. The images are from that time too so it's been rotting away. The same firm sold me one for £5k, it didn't had a alternator generator on and fitted one ourselves, full service and run mint. Still does now after several services and even ended up mounted on it's original axle/chassis.