Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Dave Willis on November 30, 2016, 07:21:06 pm
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Minus six this morning but my tank was full to the brim with thirty three degrees of pure water. I'm loving this immersion game.
Warm water all day, constant warmth no poxy boiler tripping out, no gas to turn on and off and no worries of an explosion 100yds around the back of a house whilst an unattended boiler fires away! Should have done it years ago. ;D
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Indeed. First use of the immersion for me this winter too. On again tonight.
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Minus six this morning but my tank was full to the brim with thirty three degrees of pure water. I'm loving this immersion game.
Warm water all day, constant warmth no poxy boiler tripping out, no gas to turn on and off and no worries of an explosion 100yds around the back of a house whilst an unattended boiler fires away! Should have done it years ago. ;D
dave did you have to upgrade your electrics when fitting it?
or is it just a normal standard extension cable you use to heat the water up overnight?
cheers
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Ive been using a lpg water heater for about 9 yrs but have never used an immersion.
My concerns using an immersion would be using the warmest water at the coldest part of the day ( normally first thing )
Somedays in the winter i will clean some shops at 7 in the morning, & even with my water slightly warm the windows creak, i would worry using hotter
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You will also find when we reach the summer that water less than about 60 degrees makes no difference at all to first cleans, fascia and con roofs. Only when it's about 65-70 do you really see any difference, then it's a big difference! Of course if it's warm just to help through the winter then an immersion is good. I too would say the lack of temp control could be an issue but I doubt 30 is hot enough for that. We ran at 45 today with no problems
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@Dazmond
When I first fitted an immersion (3KW) in my previous van I just used a 13 amp extension lead but found that plugs got very warm and would scorch a bit around the pins after being on a few hours.
So I've upgraded to 16 amp "caravan" sockets.
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@Dazmond
When I first fitted an immersion (3KW) in my previous van I just used a 13 amp extension lead but found that plugs got very warm and would scorch a bit around the pins after being on a few hours.
So I've upgraded to 16 amp "caravan" sockets.
Granville, do you use the immersion heater only for the cold weather benefits of stopping equipment freezing up or do you think it makes a difference to cleaning quality as well?
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Water at 30°C won't make any noticeable to cleaning efficacy and efficiency. That's barely above the temp of the Med in the summer. It'll help to get out in the morning on days like today but nothing much else.
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@Dazmond
When I first fitted an immersion (3KW) in my previous van I just used a 13 amp extension lead but found that plugs got very warm and would scorch a bit around the pins after being on a few hours.
So I've upgraded to 16 amp "caravan" sockets.
I also had the 3kw with the same dodgy problem. Couldn't upgrade the electrics in my shed, so went to a 2kw element. Obviously, it needs to be on longer to get the temp up, but still works a treat without my plug going into near meltdown. I now sleep better at night :D
Yes Dazmond, you need stronger cable for running the 3kw element (and the 2kw probably). There's a good thread on here sometime ago about the 16amp conversion.
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If you want hot then you'll need a boiler. Personally I think 45+ is asking for trouble when its minus six. I don't use hot in the summer so the immersion suits my needs.
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Thanks for the quick replies Dave and Slack Bladder ;)
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I used the thermo II one man for many years would hit the start of the hose at about 28c I never had problems with any thing breaking
I think 2011 was coldest down here about -9 through days still no issue that year although fan jets didn't like it much,
I used hot to keep working, to be honest I find the additives as effective as hot, ( although they don't stop it freezing ) the hotter temp has a tendancy to eat through the extreme brushes and equipment
Missed hot today but the heater seemed to work for an hour or so
Now I've got rid of it, probably means be a cold winter, haven't needed it last few years
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Minus six this morning but my tank was full to the brim with thirty three degrees of pure water. I'm loving this immersion game.
Warm water all day, constant warmth no poxy boiler tripping out, no gas to turn on and off and no worries of an explosion 100yds around the back of a house whilst an unattended boiler fires away! Should have done it years ago. ;D
you ll probably melt your plugs/electrics now and set fire to your van while your asleep! ;D
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-2 yesterday morning in East Devon then working outside in t-shirt and jeans - Sun was ferocious and it was absolutely baking until 3pm!
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Can someone point me in the direction of what immersion heater you lot are using ?
Thanks
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Personally I've used an old duvet to cover stuff in the van overnight so far this winter
Jets needed thawing on a couple of mornings
Other than that no problems
Sometimes the solution is easier than you think
Only been down to - 3 so far in Cheshire though
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Third morning in a row with the immersion heater; it almost keeps all the frost off the windscreen too.
Not going out till about 9.30 am though. We were out earlier yesterday and all was cool and the gang in the sunshine, but around the back of our first property, one of the pole hoses froze up.
A short while later it must've warmed up a degree or two and it was no problems.
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That warm water in the tank won't stop all the hoses freezing in the van though
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Mine were fine this morning -6.5 didn't even empty the hoses last night including pole hose.
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I wonder at what temperature does bull poo freeze ? lol.
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Minus six this morning but my tank was full to the brim with thirty three degrees of pure water. I'm loving this immersion game.
Warm water all day, constant warmth no poxy boiler tripping out, no gas to turn on and off and no worries of an explosion 100yds around the back of a house whilst an unattended boiler fires away! Should have done it years ago. ;D
you ll probably melt your plugs/electrics now and set fire to your van while your asleep! ;D
Forgot to mention yer house as well ;D
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Oh and best watch out for urban foxes & rodents as they have an anoying habit of trying to chew through power cables left outside at night... daft little critters ;D
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;D strange the house has never caught fire with the household immersion on?
2kw element with arctic cable and 20a connectors so I'm not expecting trouble. If a shrew does manage to chew through the cable then the electric should trip out.
Malc, I'd be a bit concerned if your wiring from socket back to fuseboard hasn't been upgraded. 3kw is pushing it a bit.
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I wonder at what temperature does bull poo freeze ? lol.
Do you think it freezes at zero? Maybe -003? That's actually warmer than zero because there is no such thing as a minus number. Google it. There's a book on zero.
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I wonder at what temperature does bull poo freeze ? lol.
Do you think it freezes at zero? Maybe -003? That's actually warmer than zero because there is no such thing as a minus number. Google it. There's a book on zero.
So you don't know then ? lol.
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Tell me I can't work it out ???
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;D strange the house has never caught fire with the household immersion on?
2kw element with arctic cable and 20a connectors so I'm not expecting trouble. If a shrew does manage to chew through the cable then the electric should trip out.
Malc, I'd be a bit concerned if your wiring from socket back to fuseboard hasn't been upgraded. 3kw is pushing it a bit.
You can get 3kw room heaters that plug into the room sockets, why don't they burn out the electrics ?
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Tell me I can't work it out ???
Same here its why I asked the question, its went below minus nine on this topic and still hasn't froze. lol.
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;D strange the house has never caught fire with the household immersion on?
2kw element with arctic cable and 20a connectors so I'm not expecting trouble. If a shrew does manage to chew through the cable then the electric should trip out.
Malc, I'd be a bit concerned if your wiring from socket back to fuseboard hasn't been upgraded. 3kw is pushing it a bit.
You can get 3kw room heaters that plug into the room sockets, why don't they burn out the electrics ?
Because they dont run constantly for 6-7 hours at a time like the immersion does , it will cut in and out as the room heats/cools, so its not running long enough for cables/plugs to melt .
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Don't ask me, I was told 3kw is right on the limit for domestic wiring. The sockets and plugs will run it ..... just but will break down quicker. I'm not an electrician my son is.
I'm trying to remember if I ever plugged my 3600w gutter vac into the house supply.
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Don't ask me, I was told 3kw is right on the limit for domestic wiring. The sockets and plugs will run it ..... just but will break down quicker. I'm not an electrician my son is.
I'm trying to remember if I ever plugged my 3600w gutter vac into the house supply.
As far as I know a 240v 13amp socket is rated to 3100watts not sure how continuous use would effect this.
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Parp. What's 13 x 240?
I've had a poop day. Winter is poop.
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If you can't work that out you shouldn't be a window cleaner.
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3kw divide by 240 volts = 12.5amps.......in theory each socket should be able to handle that.
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I'm no sparky but still would not be daft enough to try running a 3kw immersion heater off a standard 13amp ring main. http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/immersionheater.htm
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Anyway I run 3KW and use 16 amp sockets and don't get the scorching I used to with a 13 amp extension lead after a few hours. The original wiring from my house to my garage (where the power comes from) was put in place over ten years ago by an electrician on the basis that I might need to run power tools and a fan heater off of it at the same time. (ie able to cope with 3kw)
Nevertheless, when sockets and switches got warm my bro. who's a "bit tecky and clever" with Lek Trickery and such like said the cable from the house to the sockets in the garage was "man enough" but that the 13 amp extension lead was "on the limit" so made up a 16 amp one which has worked fine for the last three years.
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That warm water in the tank won't stop all the hoses freezing in the van though
It does.
Acts like a big radiator. We had -9 here last week and van was well above freezing in the back with a 40c tank.
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Yep that's what I found. What surprises me is how long the water stays warm too. I went out at 8.30 every morning this week, it was so cold the water was freezing on some panes and instantly turning to ice on concrete. Normally I wouldn't go out until the temperature reached minus one. I think I've easily recouped my money this week.
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Yep that's what I found. What surprises me is how long the water stays warm too. I went out at 8.30 every morning this week, it was so cold the water was freezing on some panes and instantly turning to ice on concrete. Normally I wouldn't go out until the temperature reached minus one. I think I've easily recouped my money this week.
It's great innit! Dan the Man got his van frozen up yesterday and he lost half a day faffing around and thawing/replacing fractured hose joints etc.
Because I was up to schedule I offered to take him in my van to do some of his work for a half day. We cracked through it in 2 hours. He loved the supple hoses and warm water. (And me paying for fuel and heat of course!)
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an interesting question which interest's me about hot water heating via the elements as I'm interested in doing it this way
has anyone looked into the possibility that we could be creating a breeding ground for legionnaire disease through hot water heated this way?
when i talk to some prominent in the industry this topic does come up and i wonder what research is available, what research any one has done and what precautions some put in place,
as the application outside of an immersion heater in your home is different
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Good point.
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I guess though, as the water is never stagnant, it's used every day there shouldn't be a problem. I don't think the bath water gets infected. A static ibc could be worse if heated and left for long periods. .......... fingers crossed!
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But the van tank is never completely emptied, a certain percentage of the water will be reheated daily.
I dont know anything about legionaries disease, but it could be an issue ??
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But the van tank is never completely emptied, a certain percentage of the water will be reheated daily.
I dont know anything about legionaries disease, but it could be an issue ??
Same with an immersion in a little old lady's home. Maybe uses very little hot water - a tank is say 200L and even with a bath or shower twice a week a lot of that water will take time to get used up and may cool and be reheated.
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Apparently setting the temp to 65c kills off any bugs in an immersion tank. Anything below that temp then yes legionaries disease is a possibility.
Here is an interesting artical for wfp users http://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/blog/Legionnaires/
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Apparently setting the temp to 65c kills off any bugs in an immersion tank. Anything below that temp then yes legionaries disease is a possibility.
Here is an interesting artical for wfp users http://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/blog/Legionnaires/
Good point.
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The two things that Legionella bacteria need to grow and reproduce are:
a water temperature of 20-45C (68-113F)
impurities in the water that the bacteria can use for food – such as rust, algae and limescale
So with using pure water you should be alright, no?
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Minus six this morning but my tank was full to the brim with thirty three degrees of pure water. I'm loving this immersion game.
Warm water all day, constant warmth no poxy boiler tripping out, no gas to turn on and off and no worries of an explosion 100yds around the back of a house whilst an unattended boiler fires away! Should have done it years ago. ;D
What immersion heater are people using please , thank you in advance
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I used a 3kw element one from tool station or screw fix. The sort that goes into a household immersion tank.
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Is it just lowered in and turned on? Simple as that? ;D
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Is it just lowered in and turned on? Simple as that? ;D
No!
A hole is cut low down in the tank and it is inserted into that.
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Is it just lowered in and turned on? Simple as that? ;D
No!
A hole is cut low down in the tank and it is inserted into that.
So you literally cut a hole in the top of the tank and lower the probe into the water?
But, when I get home from work in the evening my 650lt tank in the back of my van has probably 300lt left . I then set it to fill over night but if I put the immersion heater into the tank it will be just heating air before the pure water reaches a level that the probe will be submerged (or am I completely missing something?
Also, Pure water is a lot more corrosive to metal so is it really safe putting a metal immersion heater in it?
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This may help to uderstand how to fit one to a tank https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxrgYEurE3A
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Is it just lowered in and turned on? Simple as that? ;D
No!
A hole is cut low down in the tank and it is inserted into that.
So you literally cut a hole in the top of the tank and lower the probe into the water?
No. Wasn't that clear from my post?
But, when I get home from work in the evening my 650lt tank in the back of my van has probably 300lt left . I then set it to fill over night but if I put the immersion heater into the tank it will be just heating air before the pure water reaches a level that the probe will be submerged (or am I completely missing something?
You are. Don't, whatever you do do the above! The element will blow.
Also, Pure water is a lot more corrosive to metal so is it really safe putting a metal immersion heater in it?
No, pure water is NOT more corrosive to metal. My immersion has been in place over four years now.