Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jay moley on October 26, 2024, 07:30:25 am
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I use a high flow as I find it speeds up my rinsing and so overall I work faster.
Yesterday after 4 hours work the flow went right down. Couldn't rinse properly.
I checked for air gaps in connections but no joy. Could it be the controller? A red light was flashing which I haven't seen before. I have the old style dile style controller.
What are the possible causes and what are the fixes?
Thanks
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I would guess your battery voltage is dropping off after a few hours. Probably needs replacing. A lot of people don’t know how to look after their battery properly.
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Fit a smart battery to battery charger to avoid running your battery down during prolonged use, helps keep your battery at it's maximum charge so kinder on your battery in the long term.
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I'm connected to my van battery.
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That’s your problem then. Fit a seperate high ampage leisure battery. Bench charge it every night (easier in situ). Maybe fit a battery to battery charger or scr depending on the age of your vehicle to help keep you topped up in between bench charges.
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How old is your system battery? Do you have one or two system batteries?
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He doesn’t have a system battery. He’s running it off the van battery he said.
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He doesn’t have a system battery. He’s running it off the van battery he said.
Run your pump too long on van starter battery and you'll end up with a flat battery and will need a jump start, madness killing a perfectly good battery.
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Temperatures have dropped a bit, might be your controller needs calibrating , pump tricked into thinking it's on a low flow. To check if this is the issue, disconnect half inch hose from hose reel and just run/return water back to tank directly from half inch hose, leave running for a few minutes going through all the flow rates/settings then return it back to where you want the flow, connect back to hose reel and see if pump is running correct speed. :)
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I'm not an advocate of running the pump off the van's starter battery.
We tried it with 3 different vans, and the starter battery was flat in 4 days. We later replaced van number 3's battery and tried it again. Same result.
I need to recharge my van's starter battery every couple of weeks. Our neighbour down the road has the same van except 2 years younger. He's a plumber, and he needs to do the same.
Temperatures have dropped a bit, might be your controller needs calibrating , pump tricked into thinking it's on a low flow. To check if this is the issue, disconnect half inch hose from hose reel and just run/return water back to tank directly from half inch hose, leave running for a few minutes going through all the flow rates/settings then return it back to where you want the flow, connect back to hose reel and see if pump is running correct speed. :)
He could just try and run the engine when the pump slows down and see if that rectifies the situation. I concur with others that it sounds like a battery state of charge issue, either flat or needs replacing. The other thought could be a faulty connection. A faulty connection can heat up with resistance and restrict current flow. The fuse holder is a prime suspect.
The other question is; is the tank venting?
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I dont think it's the van battery issue as Im only 5 mins between jobs and I have a back up pump that I switched to yesterday and it was fine. Could it just be a knackered controller?
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That's the first time I have heard of running a system from the van's battery. Surly this would be the quickest way to burn out the battery unless you charged it after every session. Everyday a school day and another way to run a van system but as Spruce says :- Run the van and rev it up and get someone to hold the pole. If it works fine then the battery is near flat and needs replacing. I found this out when I failed to charge my batteries and needed two new ones.
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I dont think it's the van battery issue as Im only 5 mins between jobs and I have a back up pump that I switched to yesterday and it was fine. Could it just be a knackered controller?
How you come to that conclusion? That says to me you’ve identified it as a pump issue.
I still wouldn’t run off the van battery though.
Too many window cleaners try to cut corners on things in general imo. Battery being one of them. Insurance is another - see other thread🤣
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Many windies move on to wfp from Trad and think you need no money to start up. You either save up and get a system fitted or you build your own. Once you go down the build your own system then you need the money to buy new equipment. Some try and buy second hand and it usually ends in breakdowns, frustration and lost output. Best thing is to save up and get a system fitted then you are good to go from the beginning. fwiw
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Many windies move on to wfp from Trad and think you need no money to start up. You either save up and get a system fitted or you build your own. Once you go down the build your own system then you need the money to buy new equipment. Some try and buy second hand and it usually ends in breakdowns, frustration and lost output. Best thing is to save up and get a system fitted then you are good to go from the beginning. fwiw
You don’t need to tell me. I’ve been cleaning windows full time for 32 years, 18 on a ladder. Not a lot I haven’t seen. Personally I’d rather build my own system. That way I know exactly how it works & where every wire & hose goes. Saying that, I’m always still learning. This forum alone is an eye opener!
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You don’t need to tell me. I’ve been cleaning windows full time for 32 years, 18 on a ladder. Not a lot I haven’t seen. Personally I’d rather build my own system. That way I know exactly how it works & where every wire & hose goes. Saying that, I’m always still learning. This forum alone is an eye opener!
Aye, okay if one has knowledge of what it consists of. I didn't have a clue and didn't know anyone who did. After Grippa fitted it I began to understand how it all fits together even the RO system.
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I dont think it's the van battery issue as Im only 5 mins between jobs and I have a back up pump that I switched to yesterday and it was fine. Could it just be a knackered controller?
How you come to that conclusion? That says to me you’ve identified it as a pump issue.
I still wouldn’t run off the van battery though.
Too many window cleaners try to cut corners on things in general imo. Battery being one of them. Insurance is another - see other thread🤣
Fitted two new pumps when I bought and fitted out my new van four months ago.
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It doesn't matter what you use to pull juice from a battery, if it ain't charging at the same time it's obvious it's getting depleted. Need to charge it in between to keep it topped up via B2B charger, alternator or solar.
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I started wfp in 2001 and only one other person was using it near me, it was a fast learning curve making plenty of mistakes but there wasn't the help around to find stuff out so had to learn from the ground up building my own systems.
It was very hard back then trying to sell wfp to customers when they all wanted shiners going up ladders, soon learnt how to sell myself and the benefits. So easy for start ups now going on the internet.
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You don’t need to tell me. I’ve been cleaning windows full time for 32 years, 18 on a ladder. Not a lot I haven’t seen. Personally I’d rather build my own system. That way I know exactly how it works & where every wire & hose goes. Saying that, I’m always still learning. This forum alone is an eye opener!
Aye, okay if one has knowledge of what it consists of. I didn't have a clue and didn't know anyone who did. After Grippa fitted it I began to understand how it all fits together even the RO system.
How long have you cleaned windows traditionally?
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18 trad
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I use a high flow as I find it speeds up my rinsing and so overall I work faster.
Yesterday after 4 hours work the flow went right down. Couldn't rinse properly.
I checked for air gaps in connections but no joy. Could it be the controller? A red light was flashing which I haven't seen before. I have the old style dile style controller.
What are the possible causes and what are the fixes?
Thanks
I am guessing you have a V11 Analogue http://springltd.co/assets/uploads/content/manuals/V11_A.pdf
The RED LED is the pump pressure switch activating due to high pressure in the system. What is possibly happening is that high pressure is causing the pump pressure switch to open and close ( this is cycling the pump on and off. The V11A does not cause the pressure switch to activate It is just reporting what is happening. The pressure switch can activate if
1. A blockage in hoses,brush jets. Pump pre filter
2. Twisted or kinked hoses
3. Running very high flow and cal rate ( Pressure switch activates instead of DE)
4. Loose/damaged wiring connections including fuse/fuse holder
5. Low battery volts
Check hoses and connectors are ok and no blockages. Also check wiring for any damage or corroded connectors. also check fuse and fuse holder.
Low battery voltage can also cause an issue after 4 hours use the battery might be low. A pump needs 9V minimum to run. As others have commented having a separate battery for the system is useful.
The Van battery will need approx 10 minutes of engine running in order for the alternator to recharge it after each engine start.
Vehicle batteries are designed to give a very short high amp output to start your engine they are not well suited to long periods of current draw.
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I think we’re all lucky on this forum to have Ian Sheppard from Spring drop in with his expertise from time to time.
Thank you Ian.
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I use a high flow as I find it speeds up my rinsing and so overall I work faster.
Yesterday after 4 hours work the flow went right down. Couldn't rinse properly.
I checked for air gaps in connections but no joy. Could it be the controller? A red light was flashing which I haven't seen before. I have the old style dile style controller.
What are the possible causes and what are the fixes?
Thanks
I am guessing you have a V11 Analogue http://springltd.co/assets/uploads/content/manuals/V11_A.pdf
The RED LED is the pump pressure switch activating due to high pressure in the system. What is possibly happening is that high pressure is causing the pump pressure switch to open and close ( this is cycling the pump on and off. The V11A does not cause the pressure switch to activate It is just reporting what is happening. The pressure switch can activate if
1. A blockage in hoses,brush jets. Pump pre filter
2. Twisted or kinked hoses
3. Running very high flow and cal rate ( Pressure switch activates instead of DE)
4. Loose/damaged wiring connections including fuse/fuse holder
5. Low battery volts
Check hoses and connectors are ok and no blockages. Also check wiring for any damage or corroded connectors. also check fuse and fuse holder.
Low battery voltage can also cause an issue after 4 hours use the battery might be low. A pump needs 9V minimum to run. As others have commented having a separate battery for the system is useful.
The Van battery will need approx 10 minutes of engine running in order for the alternator to recharge it after each engine start.
Vehicle batteries are designed to give a very short high amp output to start your engine they are not well suited to long periods of current draw.
Certainly agree with recharging time after starting the van. The thing is that most of us with compact rounds don't drive longer than 10 minutes to recharge that starter battery.
As I've said before, I need to put my van battery on charge every couple of weeks.
Last week I started to notice the central locking wasn't working properly and then the glow plug coil light started flashing with a warning on the screen to check glowplugs. When I checked the starter battery voltage is was down at 12.2 v. I fully recharged the van's battery over the weekend and no more issues. BTW, I replaced the battery about a year ago. The original battery was fitted at the Fiat factory when the van was built. It had the factory's sticker and date on it. It was 11 years old.
The alternator is charging fine and my b2b has been switched off this past week.
There is no way I could run my pump off of the van's starter battery.
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There's an easy way to find out if it's the battery for the OP....just start the van and see if the flow gets better....
I've always had at least one separate leisure battery to run my system
I currently have 2 x numax 105ah batteries in tandem wired up to my van battery with a b to b charger. I also bench charge them every night because they need to be tip top when running a diesel heater,pump and electric reel for 6 or 7 hours a day.
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Temperature as well, even running 99 on the controllers when the temps drops i can notice a reduced flow over summer temps.
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Temperature as well, even running 99 on the controllers when the temps drops i can notice a reduced flow over summer temps.
This is another advantage of using hot water...no drop in flow during the winter months 👍
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Temperature as well, even running 99 on the controllers when the temps drops i can notice a reduced flow over summer temps.
Morning Soots. The lower temperatures o have an impact on how quickly hoses expand. As temps fall the hose wall is stiffer and slower to expand than it would be in summer. This means the hose ID can be slightly smaller and flow can be reduced. Another common effect as temps fall and impact on the hose is that the pump will have to work a little harder to generate similar flow. Some may find that the pumps starts to DE unexpectedly with the pole valve open. the answer is calibration value will need to increase a little to allow for this. As an example if Cal is usually 45 it might have to increase to 50. Running auto cal will resolve this in most instances