Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: GB Window Cleaning on May 10, 2011, 09:28:12 am
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ok so im thinking about doing a DIY van mount and heres some details.
Ive got:
2 di vessels + resin
50 mtr hose and reel
Pole + brushes
Combo van
what i think i need:
R.O. im on a water meter! which one?
Water tank. how big and how do i fix it to the inside of my van?
Pumps and other stuff ;D
any advise welcome :)
thanks
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What's your budget for all this, one thing I will say is I would say get a longer reel, I've got a 50 mtr, 70mtr and 100 mtr reels, I'd say 70 is the best as the 50 wouldn't be long enough on all work
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What's your budget for all this, one thing I will say is I would say get a longer reel, I've got a 50 mtr, 70mtr and 100 mtr reels, I'd say 70 is the best as the 50 wouldn't be long enough on all work
I'd even suggest 100M reel. It might only allow you to do an extra couple of jobs on your round but if my experience is any guide, they are jobs that will be worth it as you can charge more for the access problems.
Vin
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thanks so far, what else?
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A flow controller. I've two different ones, but my preference is the Variflow. You'll also need a battery and charger. I use a leisure battery which at £80 wasn't cheap (apparently the price goes up on them this time of year because it's the caravan season).
Some lads just use car batteries though.
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what does a flow controller do tosh?
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you can set the speed of flow, it also stops the pump when the water from the pole stops
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what does a flow controller do tosh?
It controls your flow of water so it's not blasting out. Some guys like to work this way, and granted when you're experienced and on a regular clean it's quick. But if you're new to WFP, a flow controller will allow you to manage your flow of water out of your brush head to a manageable level.
It also protects your pump from being on 'full throttle' all the time, and it increases the life of your battery.
I like my flow controller; for leaky leaded windows I can turn it down so I'm not 'pressure washing' water through all the leaky bits of glass, or for when I want to be quick I can turn it upto full blast and work quickly.
I think they're a 'must'.
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thanks lads, should i get someone who knows what there doing to set it up for me? labour only and i get the parts?
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do it yourself mate, its not that hard to do.
you will also know how to put things back together, when things go wrong ???
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do it yourself mate, its not that hard to do.
you will also know how to put things back together, when things go wrong ???
thats what im hoping too mate ;D so what should i do/buy first?
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what online shop is best for buying components?
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theres a few things we/you need to know.
ro- system, how much you want to spend and how much water you want to use per day.
tank, what size to fit in your van and how much water you need in a day.
suppliers, gardiners, window cleaning warehouse. you can get most things from these quickly
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Ref suppliers:
Anyone who recommends Gardiners seem to get a panning from certain (not disinterested) parties but I'll give it a go and put my tin hat on.
I've never dealt with anyone better than Gardiners. They are head and shoulders above most suppliers. If you ask for advice they will give it. If a component fails they will replace it. Their poles are heartily recommended on here by people who use them daily. They deliver quickly. Bluntly, I do not use anyone else for WFP equipment if they stock the item.
Their only weakness is that they are sometimes too busy for their phone answering capability. Now, I've never suffered that but plenty seem to have. I do tend to phone mid morning, which may help. However, if you DO have to leave a message, they call back.
When I set up I called, spoke to Alex and basically said "I have an empty van; what do I need to do to get going?". The next day I got a quotation for the lot.
Water treatment: I call June at Gaps Water. She knows more than anyone you're likely to meet and will deal with you with a joke and a smile. Again, prompt delivery, though if they go on holiday they shut the business, so don't leave things late.
So, there's my tuppen'orth.
Vin
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One more thing. If you can afford it, get two of everything you order (within reason). Get spares of every connector etc in your system. Gte five of each circlip/jubilee clip. Buy a comprehensive toolkit. Screwfix sell a decent one in a handy bag: http://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-tool-kit-31-piece-set/78230
All of that will mean that when something gives up and you're ten miles from home, you won't miss a couple of hours' work for a stupid problem. It'll always happen on the job furthest from base on the day you're most rushed. That toolkit and the spares will pay for themselves the first time you don't have to go home.
Then, whenever you use a part from your spares kit, make a note and add it to your next order.
Vin
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theres a few things we/you need to know.
ro- system, how much you want to spend and how much water you want to use per day.
tank, what size to fit in your van and how much water you need in a day.
suppliers, gardiners, window cleaning warehouse. you can get most things from these quickly
thanks for that, those seem like good suppliers. im still unsure if the merlin would do me my tap tds is 300!?
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will i need to weld a tank in my van?
or can i use straps?
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if your on a water meter i wouldnt get a merlin, they have a high waste rate, and they dont bring the tds down that wel,l so you will use alit of resin.
i myself have a tank frame bolted to the chassis, but in my old van i use 5 ton ratchet straps, and it never moved, mind you i never had a crash ???
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if your on a water meter i wouldnt get a merlin, they have a high waste rate, and they dont bring the tds down that wel,l so you will use alit of resin.
i myself have a tank frame bolted to the chassis, but in my old van i use 5 ton ratchet straps, and it never moved, mind you i never had a crash ???
thanks mate, what ro would you use mate? can you tell me a name please?
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ive got a ro-man 450 gpd ro, with a booster pump.
as i said, how much water do you need and how quick to you need it, and how much have you got to spend on one
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ive got a ro-man 450 gpd ro, with a booster pump.
as i said, how much water do you need and how quick to you need it, and how much have you got to spend on one
id use maybe 200ltrs a day, i dont have much money to be honest an i need the water quick i suppose, tar
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ive never used one of these, but for £230 with booster pumps it seems good value.
i think nat jones from the acs forum has one and seems to be happy with it.
http://acsforums.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl
http://vyair.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=96
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ive never used one of these, but for £230 with booster pumps it seems good value.
i think nat jones from the acs forum has one and seems to be happy with it.
http://acsforums.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl
http://vyair.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=96
thata ro looks good for the money! what does everyone else use?
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http://www.windowcleaningwarehouse.co.uk/shop/ro-systems/450-gpd-ro.html
would this do?
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http://www.cleaningspot.co.uk/acatalog/RO_system_spare_parts.html
or would this be better? ;D
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yes the bottom one is a tad better ;D
the one from wcw looks good, but it would run better with a booster pump and it would be easier to source spares and new filter etc, than the vyair one i put up
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http://www.cleaningspot.co.uk/acatalog/Ready-Fit_Tank_Straps___Cages.html
what do you recon to these tanks?
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whats the difference between baffles tanks and unbaffled?
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hi GB dont forget about pure freedom, thats were i got my DIY unit from. its very easy to set up , if i can do it you can. i went for the 200gpd day RO ( my TDS is in the 500's) . the RO takes it down to 28 ppm then i have 2 DI units which polish it off to 000ppm. dont get the pole ive never used mine, got a gardiners 27 clx. i got the 250lt tank but i find this is too small now( i drive a combo ). my tank is strapped to the bulkhead, and more recently ive had a catflap fitted to the rear doors for security reason ( i will post a pic ). regards
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dont know about those tank straps ??? ???
dont look that good for the money, dont know if anyone else on here uses them or not
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whats the difference between baffles tanks and unbaffled?
unbaffled is a hollow tank, baffled has compartments in the tank
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whats the difference between baffles tanks and unbaffled?
unbaffled is a hollow tank, baffled has compartments in the tank
thanks mates, what sthe benifit to and against?
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whats the difference between baffles tanks and unbaffled?
a baffled tank has a plastic insert inside to stop the water sloshing about too much
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the advantage is that with a baffled tank, the water doesnt slosh about so much when you go around corners.
heres a like to purefreedoms diy set ups, give them a call and ask if you could get rid of the pole in the package and upgrade the ro to a 450 gpd unit instead.
then buy a slx/clx pole from gardiners
http://www.purefreedom.co.uk/pure-freedom-diy-water-fed-pole-kit-p-295.html
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the advantage is that with a baffled tank, the water doesnt slosh about so much when you go around corners.
heres a like to purefreedoms diy set ups, give them a call and ask if you could get rid of the pole in the package and upgrade the ro to a 450 gpd unit instead.
then buy a slx/clx pole from gardiners
also if you go on line for some strange reason it works out cheaper ???
http://www.purefreedom.co.uk/pure-freedom-diy-water-fed-pole-kit-p-295.html
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how would i fit the tank?
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how would i fit the tank?
do you have a bulkhead in your combo
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yea i recon so.
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Look through Alex's back posts before taking his comments on poles/brushes at face value. He's a Gardiners basher by trade.
Vin
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how would i fit the tank?
this is how i fitted my tank
(http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z295/dune19670/004.jpg)
(http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z295/dune19670/005.jpg)
(http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z295/dune19670/006.jpg)
me and my brother in law welded the tank frame out of 50x50x5 angle iron
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Look through Alex's back posts before taking his comments on poles/brushes at face value. He's a Gardiners basher by trade.
Vin
not really, you cant say anything negative because of the handful of extremist
look at the decent quality brush on thewaterfedpolecompany website £18 fair price
gardiners £30 and I dont think the quality is nowhere as near as good
now this post is not bashing gardiners
im just looking at the equipment
the extremist are a daft bunch
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what do you do with b.o.b when in transit to stop it tipping over?
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:o
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Look through Alex's back posts before taking his comments on poles/brushes at face value. He's a Gardiners basher by trade.
Vin
not really, you cant say anything negative because of the handful of extremist
look at the decent quality brush on thewaterfedpolecompany website £18 fair price
gardiners £30 and I dont think the quality is nowhere as near as good
now this post is not bashing gardiners
im just looking at the equipment
the extremist are a daft bunch
Have you used that brush Alex (Ewan)?
I have & I can tell you it's rubbish!! Mine went in the bin!
They are a bog standard design all made by Hillbrush (salmon) stiff as a board! ;)
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i did say last time i came on the brush is no good
but better made than others
(forgot to mention you going parnoid again, take a break)
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i did say last time i came on the brush is no good
but better made than others
Quality means nothing if the product doesn't perform! ;)
They are cheap because they are a standard design produced in masses!
I think this is where you get a little confused. ;D
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i dont think they are mass produced
I have spoken to hill brush a few times
at the trade shows and on the phone
they say the wfp market is small
£18 is still a lot for a brush like that
at least we agree on something at last
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i dont think they are mass produced
I have spoken to hill brush a few times
at the trade shows and on the phone
they say the wfp market is small
£18 is still a lot for a brush like that
at least we agree on something at last
Give it a rest. Let the thread go back on topic.
Vin