Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: king marko on August 21, 2012, 07:58:48 pm
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Flow control starting flashing 'bat' this afternoon - flow became very intermittent :(
Put my charger on battery when I got home and it's showing full charge!!
Any thoughts/help appreciated
Thanks :)
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loose connection ??? more than likely
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How old is the battery?
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No idea how old battery is I'm afraid - at least 2 yrs old
Just googled problem and some suggestions are that the flow controller needs recalibrating - anyone had the same problems?
Bobplum-would it be connections to pump from battery then? (the whole thing is wired into the loom of the van)
Cheers
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take battery out of van and charge it should be fine then had this on mine today
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take battery out of van and charge it up sometimes if you do not run your van long enough there wont been enough power in starter battery to relay power to your wfp battery
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No idea how old battery is I'm afraid - at least 2 yrs old
Just googled problem and some suggestions are that the flow controller needs recalibrating - anyone had the same problems?
Bobplum-would it be connections to pump from battery then? (the whole thing is wired into the loom of the van)
Cheers
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you would just have to back track from on end to the other and physically inspect all of the available connections,even the connections on the battery as they can rot away
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take battery out of van and charge it up sometimes if you do not run your van long enough there wont been enough power in starter battery to relay power to your wfp battery
I've disconnected my van battery and put it on charge - immediately the light came on showing full charge on battery charger ?
How Will I know if my battery is the on the way out if it's showing full charge?
Cheers :)
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No idea how old battery is I'm afraid - at least 2 yrs old
Just googled problem and some suggestions are that the flow controller needs recalibrating - anyone had the same problems?
Bobplum-would it be connections to pump from battery then? (the whole thing is wired into the loom of the van)
Cheers
[/quot
you would just have to back track from on end to the other and physically inspect all of the available connections,even the connections on the battery as they can rot away
Cheers bob
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I have this on mine, Gardiners flow controller, I know my wires are fine but still does it, battery is almost new as well, I don't know the answer.
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http://www.springltd.co/node/42
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spooky.... the same happened to me yesterday. full battery but controller said it needed charging turned out to be one of the wires from the battery had sort of eroded. (making a bad connection )and needed to be cut and reconnected..
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spooky.... the same happened to me yesterday. full battery but controller said it needed charging turned out to be one of the wires from the battery had sort of eroded. (making a bad connection )and needed to be cut and reconnected..
I'll have a look mate cheers - might be giving you a bell tho as I'm bloody useless when it comes to owt like that ;D
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take battery out of van and charge it up sometimes if you do not run your van long enough there wont been enough power in starter battery to relay power to your wfp battery
I've disconnected my van battery and put it on charge - immediately the light came on showing full charge on battery charger ?
How Will I know if my battery is the on the way out if it's showing full charge?
Cheers :)
We have had a couple of leisure batteries show the same symptom - they show fully charged but only work for a couple of hours. Running the van engine allowed our SCR to replenish some of the charge but it doesn't last long.
Both batteries were over 3 years old and replacing them solved the problem.
I also had a 3rd do the same on my first trailer, but as it was only a year old I persevered with it until I got the van mount and a new 110 amp leisure battery for that.
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Is your flow controller a variflow? Mine did this, so I bought a new battery. It turns out the old battery was fine, my Variflow just needed a really high charge. It would start off great in the morning and by early afternoon conk out unless I reduced the flow.
My other flow controller (cleaning warehouse) worked fine from the same battery.
Luckily enough I blew the Variflow by connecting the battery up wrong one morning, so wired my pressure switch back up, and now work without a flow controller, which I much MUCH prefer.
Because of my experience with the Variflow, I would never recommend one. Flog it on ebay and work without it!
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Tosh - its a streamline controller mate
Not sure if there any diff tho ??
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Think you need to re-cal it,because your pump is worn
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Flow controllers are rubbish, just get rid and work without one. You get a good high flow rate and no problems.
Manufacturers make them so they're easily broken; they're also expensive, and they waste your time having to fanny about with them.
I make Wor Lass use one, 'cos she's not satisfied unless she's spent a minute on a fifteen-second window, but I just blast through them with a high flow rate.
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Tosh, right mate, i just use a flowjoet 60psi no controller and it is fine flowrate
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The reason why flow controllers became popular with window cleaners is that we were suffering from burnt out pressure switches. This was especially a problem with Shurflo pumps. The electronic speed and pressure controllers bypassed that problem, and for us have worked well over the years.
In the 'early' days we had a 5 litre pump supplying a brush with 2 x 3mm jets through a 1/2" garden hose. The problem was 2 fold - far too much water was wasted as we couldn't work fast enough with whippy ali poles and heavy vikan brushes, and if we tried to reduce the flow, our pump cycled, which was responsible for premature pressure switch failure.
Peter Fogwill included a bypass valve in his pump box so the pump could run flat out and we could reduce some of the flow to the brush head. I found this very unsatisfactory in practise though. He also still has a diagram on his website on how to wire up a seperate on/off HD relay that will save the load put across the contacts of the pressure switch.
When Williamson Pumps brought out the Varistream this was magic as far as we were concerned and the only problem we have had is with the latest one is that it needs a seperate isolator switch to switch everything off at night or it just drains the battery.
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the only problem we have had is with the latest one is that it needs a seperate isolator switch to switch everything off at night or it just drains the battery.
I enjoyed reading your well thought out post, Spruce, as they normally all are.
But I have a two man system using two different flow controllers. My Cleaning Warehouse flow controller worked perfectly (still does), but the Varistream gave me no amount of problems. I'm glad I knackered it by connecting up the polarity wrong, because I prefer working without a flow controller.
It took about five minutes to wire up the pressure switch again.
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the only problem we have had is with the latest one is that it needs a seperate isolator switch to switch everything off at night or it just drains the battery.
I enjoyed reading your well thought out post, Spruce, as they normally all are.
But I have a two man system using two different flow controllers. My Cleaning Warehouse flow controller worked perfectly (still does), but the Varistream gave me no amount of problems. I'm glad I knackered it by connecting up the polarity wrong, because I prefer working without a flow controller.
It took about five minutes to wire up the pressure switch again.
Hi Tosh,
I know that Nat prefers to have a controller that is still operated by the pressure switch which he adjusts lower and an electronic speed controller only so he can regulate the motor speed and hence the flow. I quite like this idea as the 'on' action of the pressure switch is immediate, where we find that we can wait a few very long seconds for the electronics to start the pump again which can be annoying. That's just minor though and I'm starting to get too old and slow to let it rattle me too much.
Since those early days of Shurflo pressure switch failure which was an expensive replacement part, we now know of the cheaper Maplin alternative, so a burnt out switch is not that much of an expense any longer and, after all, it is a wear and tear item.
With Nats concept, a pressure switch won't be doing as many cycles as it would normally do, so will last longer anyway.
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Flow control starting flashing 'bat' this afternoon - flow became very intermittent :(
Put my charger on battery when I got home and it's showing full charge!!
Any thoughts/help appreciated
Thanks :)
On hols so a bit slow picking up on this. The Controller will flash BAT if it detects 11V or less.
If the battery is showing a full charge and is undamaged I would suggest you check the following
Ensure the cables are as short as possible between the control and battery - Pump Cooper does have a resistance factor so the longer the cable the greater the volt drop along its length.
2. Check all the connectors replace any corroded ones
3. Check all the cable for any damage replace damaged cable
4. Avoid using tape to make connections as these will pull apart again causing a volt drop.
5. Consider a new battery
Other factors are a worn pump motor which may be worth considering
With the poor flow recalibrate the controller and also check for any air blocks or other blockages
Cheers
Ian
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Recalibrated controller this morning - everything seems to be working fine now!!
No probs at all today :)
Gonna look at the wiring at the weekend now just in case - probably early warning signs of pump failure or battery ??
Can't work out why it's fine today tho?
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It may have been a loose connection somewhere which once the battery went back in was sorted.
I have tried to cover some issues with an FAQ page on our site http://www.springltd.co/faq
Glad all is well for now
Ian
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It may have been a loose connection somewhere which once the battery went back in was sorted.
I have tried to cover some issues with an FAQ page on our site http://www.springltd.co/faq
Glad all is well for now
Ian
Thanks for your help it's very much appreciated - good to know a little help is there when you need it, cheers :)