Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: colin bird on December 30, 2022, 09:24:44 am

Title: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: colin bird on December 30, 2022, 09:24:44 am
Ive been a window cleaner for twelve years all using wfd.

I've always used pencil jets,yesterday for the first time I tried a mates pole which had fan jets ,have to say I was impressed,  felt I could work at a faster pace as rinsing took a lot less time,

Just wondered what others thought and what they prefer either pencil or fan jets  and the fors and against
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: Don Kee on December 30, 2022, 09:33:57 am
Ive been a window cleaner for twelve years all using wfd.

I've always used pencil jets,yesterday for the first time I tried a mates pole which had fan jets ,have to say I was impressed,  felt I could work at a faster pace as rinsing took a lot less time,

Just wondered what others thought and what they prefer either pencil or fan jets  and the fors and against

Water Fed Dole?

Fans are great for normal domestics, prefer pencils and a slightly higher flow rate when going up to 45ft or above.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: Lee GLS on December 30, 2022, 10:12:17 am
Wow. It’s like I’ve gone back in time 15 years 😂😂
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: SB Cleaning on December 30, 2022, 10:37:37 am
I don't like the noise fan jets make,  ive had some right funny looks off customers too ;D
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: windowswashed on December 30, 2022, 10:43:25 am
Neither, prefer rinse bar brushes
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: Splash & dash on December 30, 2022, 11:16:51 am
Dont like fan jets find they spray water everywhere and hit lintels above Windows bringing dirt onto the glass , pencil jets are far better .
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: dd on December 30, 2022, 11:43:23 am
I find rinsing takes longer with fan jets. The water flow is less, I found I used less water over the day but went back to pencil jets as for me they rinse quicker.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: Smudger on December 30, 2022, 11:51:43 am
You’ve opened a can or worms now - in the past these threads would rage for 100’s of posts


Needless to say

Fan jets are best 🤣🤪

Darran
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: NWH on December 30, 2022, 11:57:25 am
No need to go on for 1000s of posts fans are messy pencil jets are more accurate,fans bring down any dirt and rubbish around the window pencil jets allow you to clean glass only on problem windows and that’s just 1 example.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: DJW on December 30, 2022, 12:19:27 pm
Pencils for me especially if it’s a tad windy.
Fans for gutters.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: Jay Le Huray on December 30, 2022, 01:42:52 pm
pencil jets for me
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: lal on December 30, 2022, 03:14:31 pm

   Fan jets for me, i think you have to tweak the water flow to your personal preference, as its different for everyone,
   for me on the right water flow setting, they rinse better with better coverage of the glass, i use the Gardiners  Red 50% fan jets.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: zesty on December 30, 2022, 08:35:17 pm
Pencil all day long, heavier water weight for increased rinse speed.

Found fan jets slow to rinse, water flows too ‘lightly’ down the glass, especially on bigger windows. Means dirt and debris takes ages to rinse.

3mm Pencils give a big, fat, heavy water flow down the window.

Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: DeLuce on December 30, 2022, 09:49:20 pm
Personally, i’m a pencil jet user, the Gardiner green variety. Highish flow. Accurate, no overspray for reasons others have already stated.
 I tried the fan jets using different varieties and just couldn’t get on with them and so didn’t trust them.
I do think it’s a personal preference thing though…….whatever floats your boat  ;D
Pencils for glass, fans for gutters.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: KS Cleaning on December 30, 2022, 11:44:10 pm
Pencils to get the curtain effect👌
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: SB Cleaning on December 31, 2022, 07:25:11 am
Pencils to get the curtain effect👌
Sheet effect you mean ;D
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: zesty on December 31, 2022, 07:33:52 am
I just think fan jets are sooooo slooowwwwww.

It’s like a mist of water, which isn’t heavy enough to rinse bits off the glass.

3mm jets just give that heavy water flow that makes rinsing quicker.

I would love to to use fan jets, but every time i try them, I’m disappointed.

I’m surprised us window cleaners haven’t ventured into even faster pumps. Some 5mm pencil jets and a 300 psi/10lpm pump  ;D
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: dd on December 31, 2022, 10:16:10 am
I just think fan jets are sooooo slooowwwwww.

It’s like a mist of water, which isn’t heavy enough to rinse bits off the glass.

3mm jets just give that heavy water flow that makes rinsing quicker.

I would love to to use fan jets, but every time i try them, I’m disappointed.

I’m surprised us window cleaners haven’t ventured into even faster pumps. Some 5mm pencil jets and a 300 psi/10lpm pump  ;D
That is is what I found with pencil jets. It is just psychological for people who think they rinse quicker. If you spend less time rinsing with fan jets you are probably not doing a good job of rinsing all the dirt off.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: DJW on December 31, 2022, 10:59:47 am
I just think fan jets are sooooo slooowwwwww.

It’s like a mist of water, which isn’t heavy enough to rinse bits off the glass.

3mm jets just give that heavy water flow that makes rinsing quicker.

I would love to to use fan jets, but every time i try them, I’m disappointed.

I’m surprised us window cleaners haven’t ventured into even faster pumps. Some 5mm pencil jets and a 300 psi/10lpm pump  ;D

You’d need to use bigger bore reel and pole hose to get more flow (heavy).
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: robbo333 on December 31, 2022, 11:44:40 am
Pencil jets for me. Sometimes I use fan jets on fsg jobs, but even on those I've now gone back to pencils.
I also have an Xline brush with a rinse bar; not bad, but I find the width of the  jets not wide enough compared to the width of the brush.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: KS Cleaning on December 31, 2022, 12:57:24 pm
Pencils to get the curtain effect👌
Sheet effect you mean ;D
Guess who was on the sauce yesterday😵‍💫🤣🤣
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: NBwcs on December 31, 2022, 01:33:14 pm
I just think fan jets are sooooo slooowwwwww.

It’s like a mist of water, which isn’t heavy enough to rinse bits off the glass.

3mm jets just give that heavy water flow that makes rinsing quicker.

I would love to to use fan jets, but every time i try them, I’m disappointed.

I’m surprised us window cleaners haven’t ventured into even faster pumps. Some 5mm pencil jets and a 300 psi/10lpm pump  ;D


Do you find you use more water with the 3mm jets than the 2mm jets or does the faster rinsing compensate for this?
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: Splash & dash on December 31, 2022, 03:20:04 pm
I just think fan jets are sooooo slooowwwwww.

It’s like a mist of water, which isn’t heavy enough to rinse bits off the glass.

3mm jets just give that heavy water flow that makes rinsing quicker.

I would love to to use fan jets, but every time i try them, I’m disappointed.

I’m surprised us window cleaners haven’t ventured into even faster pumps. Some 5mm pencil jets and a 300 psi/10lpm pump  ;D


Do you find you use more water with the 3mm jets than the 2mm jets or does the faster rinsing compensate for this?


We used to use 3 mm but changed to 2 mm we use less water now and time taken to do the job is the same
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: Stoots on December 31, 2022, 03:50:54 pm
Fan jets are useless too slow to rinse and noisy. First time I used them it sounded like a pressure washer on the glass
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: JandS on December 31, 2022, 04:11:19 pm
Rinse bar all day long and rinse on glass.......can't remember last time I rinsed off.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: zesty on December 31, 2022, 04:13:46 pm
I just think fan jets are sooooo slooowwwwww.

It’s like a mist of water, which isn’t heavy enough to rinse bits off the glass.

3mm jets just give that heavy water flow that makes rinsing quicker.

I would love to to use fan jets, but every time i try them, I’m disappointed.

I’m surprised us window cleaners haven’t ventured into even faster pumps. Some 5mm pencil jets and a 300 psi/10lpm pump  ;D


Do you find you use more water with the 3mm jets than the 2mm jets or does the faster rinsing compensate for this?

Notice no difference, you can get away with a bit less flow as you get less bounce back off the glass. 2mm hets create a lot of spray off the glass.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: KS Cleaning on December 31, 2022, 07:52:51 pm
2 x 3 mm pencil jets on 26cm brush, 4 x 2mm pencil jets on 35cm brush
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: DJW on January 02, 2023, 06:59:47 am
Rinse bar all day long and rinse on glass.......can't remember last time I rinsed off.

Does that mean you don’t rinse at all? ie. just scrub with the water on?
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: rycalshaw on January 03, 2023, 11:47:54 am
Rinse bar for me' i wouldn't go back to jets.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: JandS on January 03, 2023, 01:36:04 pm
Clean window with up and down strokes then rinse down  left to right across the window all the way to bottom....you are rinsing because the jets are just above the brush.
Title: Re: Pencil or fan jets ?
Post by: Slash on January 03, 2023, 05:44:58 pm
Wow. It’s like I’ve gone back in time 15 years 😂😂
Lol