Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Spruce on November 01, 2011, 09:46:22 pm
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Hi All,
Son in law is joining us part time and we just finished his van today. Full tank and first day out in it tomorrow.
It's a 2004 1.8 Tddi Ford Transit Connect LWB L with 43k on the clock. We put a 500l tank in the back, Varistream and Shurflo pump. I'm running the unit off the van battery to see how it goes.
Spruce
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Nice one. Would suggest putting in split relay charger and buying a leisure battery. Your vehicle battery will last longer this way, and can still charge leisure battery as you go along, without risking running your main battery down.
But otherwise I am jealous! Very smart looking interior. I like the use of gutter brackets!
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spruce
do you think you get air locks with the pump that high????
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those blue ettore handles are cool
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Nice one. Would suggest putting in split relay charger and buying a leisure battery. Your vehicle battery will last longer this way, and can still charge leisure battery as you go along, without risking running your main battery down.
But otherwise I am jealous! Very smart looking interior. I like the use of gutter brackets!
Hi A,
I'm fully into Leisure batteries as a supply with a split charge relay - I have them on both my son's and my van. But some on here are adamant that you can use the van battery so I thought I would give it a try.
I will take a set of jump leads out just in case.
Trouble is we do very little mileage so I can't see it working for us.
I will follow this up thread up and report back one way or another.
Spruce
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spruce
do you think you get air locks with the pump that high????
Hi Franky,
I've never had a problem with air leaks. This pump has been mounted at a similar height to my van and with my son's van it is higher.
I use o clips on the couplings and always nip the plastic wingnuts into the pump and onto the strainer a little bit more with a spanner. I also think its important to put the ends of the hose in hot water to soften it before pushing it onto the connectors and crimping the o clips.
Another reason for the height of the pump is so we can drain the pump to prevent damage during the freezing winter period. This van won't be heated.
Spruce
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thanks for the reply spruce,and a few good tips there ;)
hope all goes well
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Hope Chris likes it, he has just started at the right time, especially with the North East winds , and the winter coming up. Van look smart and proffesional
idealrob
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It's far too neat.
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Nice and neat,but iv`e never seen a tank positioned that way before they are usually width ways not length ways may be someone can answer that ??????
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Would spread the weight out better i think, mine is along bulkhead width ways but does overload the front axle slightly when up to maximum load.
But less usable space this way i think.....
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Nice and neat,but iv`e never seen a tank positioned that way before they are usually width ways not length ways may be someone can answer that ??????
The 500 litre tank is nearly 'square'. The length is not that much longer than the width. He had the choice of it either way and opted for it length ways. Had I put it across the width of the van, then the tank would have had to sit a bit further back to distribute the load more evenly over the axles. (My son also has a 500 litre tank in his Partner van, but has it width ways. There wasn't much room down the side - he couldn't put my step ladder down the side - just a couple of warning notice boards on the one side and his pole on the other.)
At the time, S.I.L. wasn't sure what ladders he was going to get, so he decided he wanted a bit more space down the side for a pair of combination steps ladders similar to what I carry around. The ladders he ended up with are much shorter as they have collapsable sides as well - but he's happy. He has enough space at the back to put his hose reel in.
It was actually ideal having it length wise in the end as I didn't have to drop the diesel tank to fit the spreader plates I bolted the frame to, which I would have had to do if I bolted it side ways.
Spruce
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How do those metal bands prevent for and aft movement of the tank particularly in a shunt?
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How do those metal bands prevent for and aft movement of the tank particularly in a shunt?
They are actually welded to a rectangle frame made of 40mm angle iron. The angle iron frame will prevent backward and forward movement of the tank.
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arr, I see.
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Nice one. Would suggest putting in split relay charger and buying a leisure battery. Your vehicle battery will last longer this way, and can still charge leisure battery as you go along, without risking running your main battery down.
But otherwise I am jealous! Very smart looking interior. I like the use of gutter brackets!
Running off the van battery is not working, so we are going to fit a Leisure battery and a split charge relay which is the way we run our vans. Again the split charge relay won't fully charge the leisure battery, but its a backup. We just don't do enough mileage.
We will 'bench' charge his battery every couple of days.
Spruce
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had some flat batteries?! I haven't got around to putting split relay charger into mine yet, but don't imagine will need charging every couple of days from mains tho?
I have 1 110 amp leisure battery, and it lasts 2 pumps about 7 to 9 working days between charges. if yours gets topped up inbetween would imagine a weekly mains charge would do it easy enough.
mind u I used to carry spare battery for when it goes flat as I work 35 miles from home and don't want to loose work time
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very tidy van that, i like it ;)
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had some flat batteries?! I haven't got around to putting split relay charger into mine yet, but don't imagine will need charging every couple of days from mains tho?
I have 1 110 amp leisure battery, and it lasts 2 pumps about 7 to 9 working days between charges. if yours gets topped up inbetween would imagine a weekly mains charge would do it easy enough.
mind u I used to carry spare battery for when it goes flat as I work 35 miles from home and don't want to loose work time
its actually quite easy to fit a split charge relay as there is a power point take off in the rear of the LWB van which is used in the people carrier I'm told.
There wasn't a fuse in the fuse box for it, but if you do use it, then it is a 15amp one. In my experience we haven't blown a 15 amp fuse on any of the other split charge relays so this should be ok. It's easier to fit an intelligent split charge relay - you just need a positive and negative to earth will do fine.
We were using this point to supply current to his pump via a Varistream to begin with.
I have just finished painting a modified battery holder frame which I will bolt on and connect up this weekend.
A couple of small teething problems - the outlet from the tank started to leak and needed to be given a bit more thread tape ( a bit of a pain as the tank needed to be drained and lifted up but sorted now.) The only other issue was a push in pipe fitting to the brush which broke.
Otherwise, works well.
The Transit Connect carries the payload well - it doesn't look overloaded like the Berlingo/Partner vans do, and seems a really solid van under load.
Couple of niggles with the van that need attention, but we will get round to that in due course. The van blip remote will unlock the van, but won't lock it and the courtesy light won't switch off on the door switches - perhaps a short to earth somewhere.
Spruce
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I've found a split relay charger is overkill. I had it for a long time but now I run the pump from the van battery after David St. Ives told me he has run them for years. I run with my lights on all the times, radio on, and do plenty of jobs, not many miles. Also have got 12v solenoid in the van for the 4040. Never ran out and have been doing this for over a year now.
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Nice one. Would suggest putting in split relay charger and buying a leisure battery. Your vehicle battery will last longer this way, and can still charge leisure battery as you go along, without risking running your main battery down.
But otherwise I am jealous! Very smart looking interior. I like the use of gutter brackets!
Running off the van battery is not working, so we are going to fit a Leisure battery and a split charge relay which is the way we run our vans. Again the split charge relay won't fully charge the leisure battery, but its a backup. We just don't do enough mileage.
We will 'bench' charge his battery every couple of days.
Spruce
Sounds a good idea. I do a fair bit of mileage but still need to bench charge the leisure battery sometimes - especially if I've had a run of larger jobs and lowish mileage. I sometimes need to run the engine for a while when working if I've been a bit slack about charging. At least there is always this to fall back on but have to be selective as wouldn't want the van nicked. I tend to take a break at such times and sit in the van with engine running with my sarnies.
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Nice one. Would suggest putting in split relay charger and buying a leisure battery. Your vehicle battery will last longer this way, and can still charge leisure battery as you go along, without risking running your main battery down.
But otherwise I am jealous! Very smart looking interior. I like the use of gutter brackets!
Running off the van battery is not working, so we are going to fit a Leisure battery and a split charge relay which is the way we run our vans. Again the split charge relay won't fully charge the leisure battery, but its a backup. We just don't do enough mileage.
We will 'bench' charge his battery every couple of days.
Spruce
Sounds a good idea. I do a fair bit of mileage but still need to bench charge the leisure battery sometimes - especially if I've had a run of larger jobs and lowish mileage. I sometimes need to run the engine for a while when working if I've been a bit slack about charging. At least there is always this to fall back on but have to be selective as wouldn't want the van nicked. I tend to take a break at such times and sit in the van with engine running with my sarnies.
I tend to take a break at such times and sit in the van with engine running with my sarnies.
Especially nice when the weather is freezing cold outside. :)
I've had to do this several times when my first battery started to see better days. I often thought that we need a similar device that Police cars use that allow them to idle with their lights on with them away from the car. You can't steal it as the moment you touch the clutch the engine cuts and can't be started.
Spruce
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I can't comment on multiple pump setups, but if your van battery is failing when your pump runs off the van (with digi controller) then your van battery is no good. I do very few miles, and it works brilliantly.
Have you actually tried it Spruce? I thought it would never work, but went ahead and did it, backup charger pack in the van and it's been fine for a very long time now.
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I can't comment on multiple pump setups, but if your van battery is failing when your pump runs off the van (with digi controller) then your van battery is no good. I do very few miles, and it works brilliantly.
Have you actually tried it Spruce? I thought it would never work, but went ahead and did it, backup charger pack in the van and it's been fine for a very long time now.
Hi Tim,
Yes, run off his van battery for 4 or 5 working days. His van battery in a 60amp unit. Had a 10 amp charger on it for 3 hours after the last time it was out working all day. If I hadn't of recharged it, then I doubt it would have lasted the following day.
Spruce
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Update time again.
Both son and son in law have the identical 85 amp hour Numax leisure batteries. I have swopped them around and they both behave the same way in Son in Laws Transit Connect.
He goes out with a full battery charge in the morning and comes back in the evening with half a charge. I put it on my Numax intelligent charger and read the voltage gauge. He then drives the van home and returns the next day having driven 18 miles. The battery will then about 3/4 full which will get him through the day. It does appear that the flatter the leisure battery is the quicker it will take a charge, but it's charge acceptance seems to diminish as the battery comes more fully charged.
His van also has the lastest Varistream with our usual 5l Shurflo pump and I'm getting the impression that it consumes more current than the older digital and analogue varistreams do.
I'm very tempted to buy a 30amp volt and amp meter combo and test the amp draw on his pump and compare them to the old units we (son & I) have. I will also be able to see what amps his alternator charges his battery at.
Son in Law does run his pump at a slightly higher flow rate than we do, so that could account for his higher power consumption, but I know of a local lad with a 2 man system who only charges his battery every second day and he doesn't have a split charge relay.
Otherwise the only addition to this van has been an inline on/off tap fitted to the supply from the tank to allow the pump to be drained down overnight with this freezing weather.
S.I.L. also finds that this Connect, with the Tddi motor (non comon-rail but with turbo) is very fuel efficient and takes ages for the engine to warm up, so the other day we spent some time thawing pipes to get him going even though he had driven 9 miles here that morning with the heater fully on.
Spruce
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Just a thought, have you cleaned the van battery terminals and greased them. Have you taken the leads off the alternator and taken off oxidation on those posts and ring terminals? Electricity is lazy and needs proper clean contacts.
I'm still running with just my van battery. I do few miles. And that's with the positive terminal knackered so doesn't exactly have good connectivity.
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Just a thought, have you cleaned the van battery terminals and greased them. Have you taken the leads off the alternator and taken off oxidation on those posts and ring terminals? Electricity is lazy and needs proper clean contacts.
I'm still running with just my van battery. I do few miles. And that's with the positive terminal knackered so doesn't exactly have good connectivity.
Hi Tim
I know the Transit Connect generally suffers from cable issues from the alternator to the battery. The insulation breaks down, water and moisture play havoc with it. It's a well know Ford issue. So it could be that although the alternator is charging sufficiently (his battery is always fully charged) it may not be working efficiently. (I understand that Ford also use the ECU to regulate alternator charge rate on these Connects and the early ones did have ECU program issues which Ford didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to correct.)
On my son's Peugeot Partner van we have a change over switch that allows him to either use the van battery or is leisure battery, and even with a new van battery it went flat, so there may be a problem with that alternator as well.
I know you have a Partner/Berlingo so I'm not sure why you can sucessfully do it and we can't - it makes no sense as the charging circuits and alternator will be the same.
Spruce
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Nice and neat,