Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: mlscontractcleaner on November 28, 2014, 09:56:17 am
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Morning all.
I currently have a 400l upright tank in the back of my Transit but plan to upgrade it in January to a 650l tank.
I am playing with the idea of buying a flat tank and securing it with heavy duty ratchet straps and then boarding over the top of it, thus creating more "floor space". I'd be able to easily remove the new "floor" if need be so that wouldn't be a problem.
My question is what is the most popular, upright or lay flat and why???
Many thanks.
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Upright.
In the early days a local cleaner had 2 identical Combo vans, each with a 400 litre tank. One was flat and the other upright. He preferred the upright. The upright tank has a smaller footprint. He found he could have a 1/4 of a tank of water with the flat tank and have to park with the tank pointing down to the outlet to stop the pump sucking air. He also found that even parking with enough water to cover the outlet still caused the pumps to suck air.
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Custom tank made to the shape of the floor with outlets in the middle of tank.
Tank inside is a sump design so you can use 98% of water.
Stephen scargil is your man.
Just had some parts made and gob smacked. Quality is amazing.
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wheres the photos then? ;D ;D
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No more opinions or advice??
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For safety and stability a flat tank is a better solution.
However there can then be issues, as already mentioned, of draining the tank sufficiently. The solution that Pure H2O Services outlines is probably the best for a DIY tank.
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However.
I have a Grippa tank system and would always recommend this system in conjunction with Gardiner poles.
Now where's my free pen :D
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:)
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Custom tank made to the shape of the floor with outlets in the middle of tank.
Tank inside is a sump design so you can use 98% of water.
Stephen scargil is your man.
Just had some parts made and gob smacked. Quality is amazing.
Cheers for the advice mate; who is this guy and how do I contact him for a price??
Cheers.
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http://www.yell.com/biz/aquaeous-plastic-fabrication-swindon-7605982/
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Many thanks.
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So does nobody else use a lay flat tank??
If there are do any of you suffer from the problem already mentioned??
Many thanks.
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500 flat, stable, never run out, if close to running out park on a kerb.
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So does nobody else use a lay flat tank??
If there are do any of you suffer from the problem already mentioned??
Many thanks.
Have a 650 ltr layflat, takes up a lot of room.
Requires extra baffling as there is more sloshing about of water, also find I get a lot more leakage through the lid when full and parking/driving up hills.
Probably never actually get to use all the water, reckon approx 100 ltrs of it never gets used and as such is just an unescessary weight to carry about.
I've never usually use 650 in a day and so over xmas am changing to a 400 ltr upright.
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I have had a 350 flat/350
upright 650 flat/650
upright 850 flat.
For cost,use etc etc etc i would go for a custom tank with modified baffles and extraction.
For off the shelf it would be upright for space saving.
If you are ok on money. Grippa max system. My van with 50 - 850 L Just drives like a van. It is bloody perfectly balance. I love driving it, and i do chuck it about :-X
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I have had a 350 flat/350
upright 650 flat/650
upright 850 flat.
For cost,use etc etc etc i would go for a custom tank with modified baffles and extraction.
For off the shelf it would be upright for space saving.
If you are ok on money. Grippa max system. My van with 50 - 850 L Just drives like a van. It is bloody perfectly balance. I love driving it, and i do chuck it about :-X
Just a hypothetical question then H20,
If I were to have a custom made tank that was a snug fit to the footprint of my vans floor ,e.g up to the bulk head and around wheel arches, would there be any need for it to be bolted down ?
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I have had a 350 flat/350
upright 650 flat/650
upright 850 flat.
For cost,use etc etc etc i would go for a custom tank with modified baffles and extraction.
For off the shelf it would be upright for space saving.
If you are ok on money. Grippa max system. My van with 50 - 850 L Just drives like a van. It is bloody perfectly balance. I love driving it, and i do chuck it about :-X
Just a hypothetical question then H20,
If I were to have a custom made tank that was a snug fit to the footprint of my vans floor ,e.g up to the bulk head and around wheel arches, would there be any need for it to be bolted down ?
I would honestly say no, the best tank would be what you have described and then storage placed on top. Due to the size and shape. Imagine a head on crash, is the tank gonna come crashing through the bulk head? Nope.
I honestly think custom plastic tanks are the way forward unless you have a crash test system. My grippa tank will not burst on impact, bet a plastic tank would!
My van died, so needed a new van and system quick. Don't get me wrong i love my grippa set up and its a dream to use. But if i had more time, a custom tank from Stephen would be very very very hard to down.
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Ok, thanks for the reply H20
food for thought
something I had considered for a while now and something I would budget in to my next van.
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I did some measurements in my transit custom and a flat tank custom made to the floor was very very appealing. But I was losing money hand over fist every day I wasn't in my own van.
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I did some measurements in my transit custom and a flat tank custom made to the floor was very very appealing. But I was losing money hand over fist every day I wasn't in my own van.
???
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I did some measurements in my transit custom and a flat tank custom made to the floor was very very appealing. But I was losing money hand over fist every day I wasn't in my own van.
???
I worked in another van with my dad. Two vans with one in each van will always earn more than two in one van.
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I did some measurements in my transit custom and a flat tank custom made to the floor was very very appealing. But I was losing money hand over fist every day I wasn't in my own van.
???
I worked in another van with my dad. Two vans with one in each van will always earn more than two in one van.
Agree there mate!
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A concern with large upright tanks is that if you butt them up to the bulk head the weight could be too far forward to balance it out over both axles? I've seen a few pro' fitted upright tanks "not" butted up to the bulkhead but some feet away from it.
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So does nobody else use a lay flat tank??
If there are do any of you suffer from the problem already mentioned??
Many thanks.
Have a 650 ltr layflat, takes up a lot of room.
Requires extra baffling as there is more sloshing about of water, also find I get a lot more leakage through the lid when full and parking/driving up hills.
Probably never actually get to use all the water, reckon approx 100 ltrs of it never gets used and as such is just an unescessary weight to carry about.
I've never usually use 650 in a day and so over xmas am changing to a 400 ltr upright.
You can cure this by wrapping the threads of the lid or tank (depending whether internal/external lid) with lots of PTFE tape. By lots I mean two to three full rolls!! It works.
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So does nobody else use a lay flat tank??
If there are do any of you suffer from the problem already mentioned??
Many thanks.
Have a 650 ltr layflat, takes up a lot of room.
Requires extra baffling as there is more sloshing about of water, also find I get a lot more leakage through the lid when full and parking/driving up hills.
Probably never actually get to use all the water, reckon approx 100 ltrs of it never gets used and as such is just an unescessary weight to carry about.
I've never usually use 650 in a day and so over xmas am changing to a 400 ltr upright.
You can cure this by wrapping the threads of the lid or tank (depending whether internal/external lid) with lots of PTFE tape. By lots I mean two to three full rolls!! It works.
Or a plastic bag over the hole and screw the lid over that :)
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Cheers for the replies lads.
After a chat with my mechanic he's going to build me a frame to fit a 650l upright tank and bolt it in place for me; I've used him for years so I've got a good price too.
My tank now is situated right at the back of my Transit; about as far away from the bulkhead as possible. It works fine for me with no issues.
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You want to check you are not overloading the rear axle.