Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: combat1 on January 29, 2016, 10:13:50 pm
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Been doing full wfp this week instead of wfp tops and trad bottoms.
Now rich! Wow how much faster is that.
Got a van coming in march and need to convert from backpack to hose and reel.
What do you reckon is a decent set up?
Thanks.
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get a power up reel . if you are using hot water get some thermo bore hose
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get a power up reel . if you are using hot water get some thermo bore hose
ignore this advice.you dont need a power up reel and you DONT need thermobore hose(gardiners standard microbore is suitable for hot water now they ve changed suppliers)
a redashe or pure freedom fixed reel is what you want and 100m microbore.
very light,manageable hose and the redashe reels are quality and very easy and smooth to reel in.job done.
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Like Dazmond said, pure freedom reel , 100m hose with a couple of these clips so you can take your hose in and out the van when it suits -
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/151486438752?_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=33844&meid=cc51cb25464e4a5a8f600501f7aae26b&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=301821095249&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_mwBanner=1
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8mm-Minibore-Hose-100m-Wheeled-Metal-Reel-fittings-WFP-Window-Cleaning-/351410216185?hash=item51d1ae5cf9:g:hZcAAOxynwlTedtr
These have done us well over the years.
The reason why I recommend a wheeled hose reel is that I often (2 or 3 times a day) take the whole hose reel to the furthest point around the back and walk the hose reel back to the van, laying down hose as I go. It makes it much quicker when trying to negotiate obstacles/walls in the customers garden.
Of course you could still use your backpack for those odd times.
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Thanks very much everyone - on order.
Must have cost me thousands bowing to family pressure to keep the estate going over the last seven years.
I manage about £150 a day wfp and trad but can see how much more I will earn with plenty of water.
So thanks for all your help.
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If your using cold water then a £40 reel will do - no point throwing money away.
http://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/all-products/pump-hose/hose-reels/lightweight-metal-reels/lightweight-metal-freestanding-microbore-hose-reel.html
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Yep those clabers are cheap and cheerful. Had mine for three years. Just by a spare spindle and some O rings and replace as necessary.
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cancel your order, get a claber instead, they are excellent quality really smooth and a lot cheaper
tony
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theres some really crap advice on this thread IMO.(sorry lads!) ;D
claber reels are ok BUT buying a decent reel makes a massive difference when reeling in.my redashe reel is so much quicker,smoother and easier to reel in than the claber and will probably last 10 years+.
sorry spruce but your advice on lots of things is usually very good but on this thread not so good!6mm microbore and leaving the reel FIXED in the van at all times is far easier on the body than your suggestion.there is a huge difference between minibore and microbore.i guarantee you if you tried microbore you d never go back to minibore.
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My claber reel lasted a month .supplier did replace .I often pull out 200 feet of hose just found it not strong enough
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wheel works 460 are the ones to go for , bolt them straight thought the floor of the van , only fools life hose reels in and out of the van at every job
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If you fancy doing something a bit different, run 50 metres of microbore and then attach 50 metres of Aquadaptor red pole hose. I can reel in using two fingers. But that's just me, it's not to everyone's taste!
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theres some really crap advice on this thread IMO.(sorry lads!) ;D
claber reels are ok BUT buying a decent reel makes a massive difference when reeling in.my redashe reel is so much quicker,smoother and easier to reel in than the claber and will probably last 10 years+.
sorry spruce but your advice on lots of things is usually very good but on this thread not so good!6mm microbore and leaving the reel FIXED in the van at all times is far easier on the body than your suggestion.there is a huge difference between minibore and microbore.i guarantee you if you tried microbore you d never go back to minibore.
I've tried both (in fact one hose reel has 6ml & the other 8ml) and there aint that much difference in reeling either in or out, especially if the reel is fixed in the van
Not enough to say that 6ml is so much lighter and no one should touch 8ml
If you're finding it that much harder you may need to get on the weights?
(You still using an aqua-adaptor on an extreme pole?)
:P
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theres some really crap advice on this thread IMO.(sorry lads!) ;D
claber reels are ok BUT buying a decent reel makes a massive difference when reeling in.my redashe reel is so much quicker,smoother and easier to reel in than the claber and will probably last 10 years+.
sorry spruce but your advice on lots of things is usually very good but on this thread not so good!6mm microbore and leaving the reel FIXED in the van at all times is far easier on the body than your suggestion.there is a huge difference between minibore and microbore.i guarantee you if you tried microbore you d never go back to minibore.
Spot on about hose reels. Why some persist with using and recommending cheap reels makes no sense. A better quality van mounted reel is much nicer to use, produces less strain on the body and is quicker to reel in.
Yes it is more expensive but should last much longer. My Hannay reel is 10 years old and very easy to use. Not had to replace any parts on it so far.
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theres some really crap advice on this thread IMO.(sorry lads!) ;D
claber reels are ok BUT buying a decent reel makes a massive difference when reeling in.my redashe reel is so much quicker,smoother and easier to reel in than the claber and will probably last 10 years+.
sorry spruce but your advice on lots of things is usually very good but on this thread not so good!6mm microbore and leaving the reel FIXED in the van at all times is far easier on the body than your suggestion.there is a huge difference between minibore and microbore.i guarantee you if you tried microbore you d never go back to minibore.
I've tried both (in fact one hose reel has 6ml & the other 8ml) and there aint that much difference in reeling either in or out, especially if the reel is fixed in the van
Not enough to say that 6ml is so much lighter and no one should touch 8ml
If you're finding it that much harder you may need to get on the weights?
(You still using an aqua-adaptor on an extreme pole?)
:P
don kee if your dragging 100m of hose about every day using microbore makes a massive difference over the course of a day ,week,month compared to minibore.
its more manageable too.no need to make your working day harder is there?
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Cant say I notice much difference either. Most of it's on the ground or on the reel.
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There is a massive difference in mini/micro , why anybody would prefer using mini over micro is beyond me , maybe they like getting tired out sooner who knows ?
Rich
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As for reels , get the best you can afford , i have been running the clover leaf steels for the last 8 years , i have the fixed and wheeled versions , all i have had to replace is 1 manifold at £13 that was due to frost damage , i have converted the one in use to running on bearings but not imperative.
Fix it in the van and raise it is all i will say , took me 8 years to see this was the way forward , couple of pics for you , previous and current van .
Rich
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My cheap and cheerful clabers are fixed in the van.
@ robbo333
That idea about 50 metres of pole hose + 50 of microbore - interesting. Any wear and tear issues?
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Hi Rich,
It's honestly nice to see you back and posting. You haven't had a good time health wise lately have you?
We have also used the petal side hose reels successfully for many years now. The first one I bought is now over nine years old and used everyday (I work). It runs freely as I lubricate the shaft and bushes periodically.
The only time I had problems was with a bad batch of hose I fitted that swelled under pressure. Once I ditched that hose and replaced it from another supplier - no more issues.
I recommended a wheeled hose reel due to the number of times a day I take the hose reel out to the furthest point of my clean and then wheel it back, laying hose down as I go. I find it the easiest and quickest way to get round obstacles in customer's gardens. So Dazmond in my experience this has been a benefit to me on my round. Hence it's my opinion based on my experience.
I always park in the street and only occasionally reverse into a customer's driveway. So pulling hose from a fixed hose reel round the back of a customer's property already has 2 x 90 degreed bends to negotiate.
I would love to have a motorised fixed hose reel in the van but I don't leave the van doors open from a security point of view. I also haven't found a truly satisfactory way or routing the hose through the van floor and out under the bumper. Its a desire that I regularly revisit. I like Jordan King's under floor roller guide system but his under floor components are just too expensive and I can't afford them.
Since I bought my first hose reel I decided to go with minibore. The reasoning behind it was the Williamson pumps advised that they wouldn't honour warranties on Shurflo pumps used on hose less than 1/2".
With 6mm microbore internal bore size being just over half the bore size of minibore, I opted for minibore as I felt the pump wouldn't have to work as hard. (Baring in mind that minibore is less than 1/2 the size of 1/2" hose. So taken to its extreme microbore is about 1/5 the bore size of 1/2" hose).
I don't have the financial ability to experiment with different hose reels and hose and bin them at random like you do Dazmond.
A search through past posts on this forum under hose and hose reels by poster Dazmond will highlight how you highly recommend something one day and then change your mind the next. No offense Daz but:
Thermobore is just one example.
To start off with you recommend it in a number of posts that it is the best thing since sliced bread and then you announce you've binned it.
Anyone following your first advise and purchased 100 meters of Thermobore would feel very let down.
http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=182803.msg1557743#msg1557743
Claber hose reels is another.
I have to make an equipment decision based on a calculated judgement and stick with that decision. I struggle to get through 8 only 3 bed semi's a day due to health issues, so I can't just bang out another couple of houses to recoup a bad purchase.
I would love to buy an Extreme pole and looked at it on several occasions but I can't justify the price for what I do. Far enough, I may be able to clean a couple more houses a day and justify the expense; I used the same reasoning when changing from Aluminum poles to CLX and then SLX. I was fitter in those days and was able to justify the expense.
One day maybe I will have no other option if I want to keep going.
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This week Daz doesn't like Gardiners brushes. Next week he'll be taking the heater back out, Vision was crap now it's brilliant!
North face Goretex brilliant now it's crap. ;D
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This week Daz doesn't like Gardiners brushes. Next week he'll be taking the heater back out, Vision was crap now it's brilliant!
North face Goretex brilliant now it's crap. ;D
;D ;D ;D
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spruce the thermobore bubbled up(delaminated and burst).once i got a decent redashe reel i realised just how much easier it was to reel in(and much faster too)compared to the claber.i still have the claber as an emergency back up reel.
once alex switched hose suppliers their microbore is now suitable for hot water and is excellent.doesnt delaminate etc and lighter than thermobore,making it very easy and manageable to use day to day.
i do change my mind sometimes but its usually from my experience with various products over a period of time. ;D
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spruce the thermobore bubbled up(delaminated and burst).once i got a decent redashe reel i realised just how much easier it was to reel in(and much faster too)compared to the claber.i still have the claber as an emergency back up reel.
once alex switched hose suppliers their microbore is now suitable for hot water and is excellent.doesnt delaminate etc and lighter than thermobore,making it very easy and manageable to use day to day.
i do change my mind sometimes but its usually from my experience with various products over a period of time. ;D
Fair enough. :)
Maybe what I said was a bit harsh. Sorry.
I have always thought that you were the best product tester anyone would want and you are a valuable asset to this forum. When you use something, you use it to destruction so we get the pros first and then the cons later. ;D
I have certainly toyed with the idea of microbore. Smudger recommend it years ago, but I'm still on my same hose having turned it around on the hose reel.
With hot water's greater (higher) viscosity it will flow quicker and easier through microbore, so I can see that as an ideal situation, but we currently only use cold water.
Funnily enough the Minibore hose we got on the second hose reel from Cleantech was fractionally smaller than the hose I have now. It isn't microbore as I've measured it. It has an internal bore size of slightly more than 7mm. If I use that hose reel I can feel the difference in flow on the same setting. Hence the hesitation with buying microbore.
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My cheap and cheerful clabers are fixed in the van.
@ robbo333
That idea about 50 metres of pole hose + 50 of microbore - interesting. Any wear and tear issues?
No wear and tear issues as yet. I've been using this setup for 4 years or so with no problems. Actually it might be 50 metres of minibore rather than microbore (can't remember but I can double check if you're interested and put some pics up).
The pole hose fits perfectly inside the minibore with a jubilee clip to hold in place and stop leaks. There are no pressure issues, I use my pump on about half and get a good flow rate. Pulling the hose out and round the sides and backs of houses is easy, as is rewinding in again. It does tangle now and again but I've learnt to shake it (which is light and easy to do) and it usually comes free. Or twist it in the opposite direction. Also I've been using the same red Aquadaptor hose with no splits or tears in all that time. And I use a Claber reel mounted in the van. Also you can shut the van doors on it and it still works fine. Also you can use the gap between the open rear door and the van as a pole hose guide, so I can pull out the hose at literally any angle.
Anyway, hope that's helpfull GG. If you need any pics let me know. If you fancy a try out, I am in Bournemouth.
Cheers
Robbo
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Buy a coxreel the 300 quid one its leak free and if you put the brake on off it will reel in like an electric on as for hose I use microbore with hot I've had the same one on the reel for over 18 months at the mo. I guarantee you you may only pay 80-90 notes for a reel but the one I have will still be going strong when your on your 3rd 80-80 quid one,also the cheap ones are good at giving you a bad back and are hopeless with hot water.
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Petal leaf reel with two threaded bars through it secured with nyloc nuts each end - save yourself £200.
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I would buy the coxreel quality product.
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So would I, if it was my only hobby.
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IMO Hannay has the edge over cox. The cox reel looks very similar to the Hannay but I remember seeing a second hand cox reel on ebay that was quite rusty. My Hannay is 10 years old, no rust and is a pleasure to use.