Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Jonny 87 on January 05, 2016, 06:58:10 pm
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I've had a lot of people asking how I'm getting on with my new tank, so thought I'd post this on forums/groups to hopefully answer everyone's questions at once. This will be a long post but think I've covered everything.
Short story time...... :)
Stephen Scargill at Aquaeous plastic fabrications custom makes these tanks to spec. So for prices etc your best to ask Stephen directly ......(price wise he is extremely competitive but quality in my opinion is second to none) .....as it all depends on what you want from your tank, and what dimensions. Me personally I had made the following;
670 litre capacity,
Frameless design,
Screw thread for immersion fitting,
Fully insulated.
Fast fill outlet for backpack/trolley.
I'm absolutely in love with this tank (sad I know), and the main reason is the heat side of things. It is insulated so well that it's basically a tank within a tank. The tank is coated with 50mill insulation, and then that is sealed in place with another tank over the top of everything.
I did a test to monitor the hot water side of things so that I could give specific figures so here goes;
I have a 2kw (not 3kw) immersion heater fitted to the tank which is connected to my garage on a separate board and rcd using 16amp fittings right to the immersion. I used a timer and set it to run for about 7 hours, From 3pm in the afternoon to 10pm at night.
In that time it raised the temperature from 7 degrees to 25. I know that temperature isn't boiling hot but it's nice and warm, perfect in my book for window cleaning in winter. (If you wanted more heat you could just set the timer for longer) Pretty impressive I though considering that it only costs me 25p an hour to run on my current tariffs.
Then the bit that really impressed me.... I left the van alone from 10pm and in the morning I checked the temperature again at 9am...... It was reading 22 degrees! So in nearly twelve hours of sitting still on a cold day it only loses a few degrees c in heat.
After a few days of testing it now I can say that the heat is evenly spread throughout the tank, and consistently you will only lose a few degrees as your working.
So going forward I'm going set the timer for heating from 10pm till 6am, and that will give me 30degree water in my tank, that will never drop below 25 degrees in my working day, all for a total cost of £2 per day (tax deductible so real cost is less).
I know 30 degrees c doesn't sound like a lot, but today I hadn't warmed my tank up since the night before, so water was less than 20 degrees in my tank, and it was still steaming up on the glass as I was cleaning. Makes working in the winter so much easier now.
I wasn't paid to say all this either, :) I'm just struggling to find anything negative to say about this tank. Only down side is with hot water you have to make sure your connections are spot on. Hot water will find leaks that cold water won't. I've switched to John guest speed fit and everything is fine now though. Also if you don't have access to parking and can't run a power cable to your van then it's no good, or if you use more than one tank of water a day then this would only work for your first fill. Apart from that it's all positives. Perfect hot water set up in my opinion.
Here is Stephen Scargills details if anyone wants more in depth info.
Stephen Scargill,
Aquaeous Plastic Fabrications,
07445 315910
steve@aquaeouspf.co.uk
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1452020272_image.jpeg)(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1452020270_image.jpeg)(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1452020257_image.jpeg)
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Looks good Jonny. 2 questions..
1) How much was your particular tank?
2) Where did you get the 2kw immersion?
3) ;D Can you put the pics up the right way? ;)
Cheers
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looks good mate.however for me an on demand gas heater is better as i can turn the heat up for add on jobs/first cleans etc.
ive been using hot water every day since november and its so much nicer to work with in winter.a bit of comfort and it cuts through the dirt a little easier.it costs me £3-£4 a day in gas.i can live with that.
i hate using cold now in the winter months!you just cant beat soft,warm manageable hoses! :)
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Looks good Jonny. 2 questions..
1) How much was your particular tank?
2) Where did you get the 2kw immersion?
3) ;D Can you put the pics up the right way? ;)
Cheers
The same ad is on Facebook with the pictures the right way up. ;)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/windowcleaningmagazine/permalink/742509669216464/
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i hate using cold now in the winter months!you just cant beat soft,warm manageable hoses! :)
Amen to that Dazmondo! My gas bottle ran out today and my hoses went like wire >:( ::)roll
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Looks good Jonny. 2 questions..
1) How much was your particular tank?
2) Where did you get the 2kw immersion?
3) ;D Can you put the pics up the right way? ;)
Cheers
The same ad is on Facebook with the pictures the right way up. ;)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/windowcleaningmagazine/permalink/742509669216464/
Cheers mate, although I am one of those saddos without Faecesbook! :)
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Looks good Jonny. 2 questions..
1) How much was your particular tank?
2) Where did you get the 2kw immersion?
3) ;D Can you put the pics up the right way? ;)
Cheers
1) Don't like giving prices on a public forum really but it wasn't crazy money. Not cheap though.
2) here is the link to the heater
http://www.onestopbioshop.co.uk/shop/2kw-immersion-heater/
3) sorry mate. Just use a series of mirrors to get them the right way up. ;D on my screen they are the right way for some reason. ???
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Looks good Jonny. 2 questions..
1) How much was your particular tank?
2) Where did you get the 2kw immersion?
3) ;D Can you put the pics up the right way? ;)
Cheers
1) Don't like giving prices on a public forum really but it wasn't crazy money. Not cheap though.
2) here is the link to the heater
http://www.onestopbioshop.co.uk/shop/2kw-immersion-heater/
3) sorry mate. Just use a series of mirrors to get them the right way up. ;D on my screen they are the right way for some reason. ???
Cheers Jonny
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looks good mate.however for me an on demand gas heater is better as i can turn the heat up for add on jobs/first cleans etc.
ive been using hot water every day since november and its so much nicer to work with in winter.a bit of comfort and it cuts through the dirt a little easier.it costs me £3-£4 a day in gas.i can live with that.
i hate using cold now in the winter months!you just cant beat soft,warm manageable hoses! :)
Good point that daz. Suppose that's another downside, not being able to adjust the temperature on the go. I agree with you about the hoses. I forgot how nice warm hoses are to reel in.
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Looks good Jonny. 2 questions..
1) How much was your particular tank?
2) Where did you get the 2kw immersion?
3) ;D Can you put the pics up the right way? ;)
Cheers
The same ad is on Facebook with the pictures the right way up. ;)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/windowcleaningmagazine/permalink/742509669216464/
Ad? I wish. :)
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nice tank, is it baffled?
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1. how is a frameless tank fitted to your van?
2. who fitted the system?
Looks very nice.
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nice tank, is it baffled?
Z plate baffling.
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nice tank, is it baffled?
Yeah as number23 said its z plates. Even when half full I did a brake test and when j came to a stop I couldn't feel any movement what so ever. Much better than previous wydale tank.
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1. how is a frameless tank fitted to your van?
2. who fitted the system?
Looks very nice.
On the pic below you can see the moulded frame at the base. It's this that gets secured through the floor of the van with spreader plates.
Stephen can fit all his systems, but he is in Swindon, and I was in Scotland, so I opted to have it shipped up and a local garage fit it for me.
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1452155940_image.jpeg)
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I like that i'd chuck my fogwash in the nearest bin if I didn't have a pure freedom system already. No faffing with gas bottles, no insurance worries brilliant. I could I suppose insulate my current tank and do the same ;D
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I'd vouch for Aquaeous too.
Stephen made me a very simple 500 L tank to my spec ( also with a quick fill outlet for backpack )
great thing with bespoke is you can make to fit a space and make securing so much easier if you wish without need for a frame.
I'm not going to mention price either but it cost way less than other quotes and not a lot more than an off the shelf ;)
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1. how is a frameless tank fitted to your van?
2. who fitted the system?
Looks very nice.
On the pic below you can see the moulded frame at the base. It's this that gets secured through the floor of the van with spreader plates.
Stephen can fit all his systems, but he is in Swindon, and I was in Scotland, so I opted to have it shipped up and a local garage fit it for me.
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1452155940_image.jpeg)
Thanks for the info. Impressive system.
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Awesome , warm water is plenty and like Dave Willis says it saves messing about with gas bottles and diesel heaters .
Very good
However if gas and diesel works for you then that's equally as good
It's just another option .
I have a gas boiler and hardly use it .
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looks ok but for me a framed tank it better as I mount my reel on it so no bending down
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I like that i'd chuck my fogwash in the nearest bin if I didn't have a pure freedom system already. No faffing with gas bottles, no insurance worries brilliant. I could I suppose insulate my current tank and do the same ;D
I think it would still be worth doing Dave. It wouldn't be quite as good as Aquaeous because of the secondary tank coating the insulation, but it would still do a good job of keeping the heat in.
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I keep meaning to do it just not keen on making that hole in my tank :-\
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I keep meaning to do it just not keen on making that hole in my tank :-\
Winpro gives some good advice on it, think he's done a few with no real issues.
It must be a bit daunting though cutting a wacking great hole in your tank.
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I keep meaning to do it just not keen on making that hole in my tank :-\
Winpro gives some good advice on it, think he's done a few with no real issues.
It must be a bit daunting though cutting a wacking great hole in your tank.
Sorry it's chum bucket now. :)