Clean It Up
UK General Cleaning Forum => General Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: drive surgeon on June 11, 2008, 06:56:47 pm
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hey guys hope your ok, been cleaning a block paved drive sloping to the road, i used whirlaway all over it which took an hour, 200 sq metres, then i went round with the turbo nozzle to remove the tough weeds, but should i have used the fan spray first to clear all the sludge out the way first? so the i had a clear view of what was left in joints? i seem to take 3 stages, stage 1 is whirlaway, the stage 2 is turbo nozzle, then stage 3 is fan spray to push all the sludge away to bottom . then i brush all sludge together to let water run out and then shovel it all into bit builders bucket and take away, ball ache!! :( then i go round all thw job spraying any splashes off etc, just wondered if there is an easier way of doing things? when cleaning on a sloped drive do you guys start from top or bottom? i hate it all going in the road as i spend 30 mins trying to clean the road after so no one complains, im jiggered today, need sleep!!! :'(
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I bought a few decorators sheets then roll them up long ways then wet them use them as a dam or helps to keep sludge in the place you want it to be
Hope that helps ,Also have ajustable nozzel from fan to gentle spray helps when washing down and you get in aspot where you no your going to spray s--t every where you can just turn it down
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cheers yes i have an adjustable fan spray for washing down .
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isnt this fiddly tho? i have enough equipment in my small van already? and the vacuum would be dead heave when full?
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I always head for grass or soil border,if there is none i use fsc then use turbo nozzle but work down toward road in straight line from side to side stopping when sludge builds up and shovelling it into big bucket .by the time your at the end of the drive theres not much mud left.I then clean it off with the turbo nozzle or fan,sometimes drop the pressure a bit.I have found if i keep turbo nozzle at tight angle to floor the mud doesn`t fly too far ahead of you so you can get a nice neat pile.I had a nightmare job today,garden had balastrade right along it that was covered in white flakey paint,every time i went near it flakes of paint were blowing everywere.
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I just use fsc, top to bottom in lines down the drive, that way most of the muck stays on the drive (as apposed to going accross the drive) in long lines at the edge of where the fsc was.
then i just get the brush if there is lots of muck and sweep it to one side at the bottom to drain, after that rinse and spot with adjustable lance.
I dont really suffer from the prob your talking about, but i find a quick brush at the bottom of the road and rinse is usually enough.
I do believe in general its faster to use the brush and rinse than just the lance to rinse down.
steve
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been using the shovel method for years! ???
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I just use the turbo nozzle top to bottom ( don't bother with fsc no more ) when I get about two feet from bottom I shovel all the sludge up then finish cleaning the drive after this I sweep the road then swill everything down and upto now custy has always been happy ( I did a job today and custy asked if he could have some cards to hand out to people he knew he was that impressed ).
Oh and by the way I usually use the garden waste bin( collected in my small builders bucket ) for the rubbish as nobody has objected yet.
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was was the block paving like because i did 100sq metres takes me a couple of hours. finish is always excellent though.
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karygate did you use a fsc or just turbo all over?, the turbo takes it all out where fsc doesnt so you have to go all over taking bits out afterwards.
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your right mav,i did block paved entry and patio with turbo nozzle only and am thinking of just using fsc for flags in future,although i do reckon you get a more even clean with fsc over top of block,ihad to go over a few green stripes when block had dried,these wouldn`t have been left if i had swooped over it with fsc,i might just fligh across it with fsc then blitz it with turbo,i have just had another turbo delivered as i`d hate to lose the one i have,brilliant.dan
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i used a turbo nozzle. only use fsc on flags now but turbo nozzle still seems faster
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i did a tennis court today which was coloured tarmac, green and red, tried the fsc but had to switch to turbo nozzle as it was not shifting the moss, took me 10 hours to do whole court, im nearly dead, and i under charged. it was a killer.
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I dont understand my fsc ripps it ,Its that powerfull the back wheels are always of the floor with the force of the water.
turbo is good but not as quick or as easy, Me thinks that there is some wrong nozzels or somthing ,flow rate to pressure .
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I agree Rob.
If your fsc isn't getting everything out, then there must be some mismatch between pump and nozzles or some blockage somewhere.
Also, I can't understand why so many people use turbo nozzle so much, dirt must fly everywhere!
I only ever use turbo nozzle on tarmac, use fsc and adjustable lance on block and paved areas. Cuts down on clean up time and seems to me to be a little less barbaric then going hell for leather with the turbo.
Just my opinion and not meant in any way to be a criticism of those who do use the turbo.
Andy
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I think I need to have my set-up looked at,make sure my fsc is set up right
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same here mate, i have a powertech 250 machine form tech clean which is 13hp combined with a whirlaway 20inch stainless steel, its ok on flags but not on blockpaving or tennis court, maybe i need to lower the spraybar or something???? just would not clean the tennis court at all. ???
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I got my whole kit off merrill fox and i`ve had it checked by Pirtec,no way is fsc anywere near as powerful as a turbo nozzle in my opinion,i`ve added better nozzles to fsc and it stiil leaves grass and moss behind,i only make a real mess when i`m jammed in corners or against walls with turbo,i`ve mastered mud direction in 3 months,ha ha
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where is pertec dandandan? might need mine checking.
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Pirtec,there a national franchise who deal in jcb and high pressure machinery,hydrolics repairs etc,they have vans everywere ,mostly sky blue mercedes with pictures all over them,great company
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do they look at your equipment and check it all to see if its running at full pressure, did they check your whirlaway and stuff, how much do they charge, what did they do?
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Sorry chaps, but there is definately something wrong with your pump/fsc setup.
Pirtek know absolutely nothing about pressure washers and their settings, the right nozzles etc... they make hoses very well but do not clean stuff like you and I.
If you want a professional to check it over then go to someone who make/mends/services pressure washers, not someone who makes hoses.
Andy
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Pirtec supplied and fitted my hose to reel on van,re-fitted all my connectors,checked the pressure on my machine,changed the nozzles on my fsc,tightened and checked all my fittings and are available 24hrs to mend hydraulic pipes etc on heavy duty machinery so they do more than supply hose,i reckon theres 2 people on this site who reckon an fsc is more powerful than a turbo nozzle.I admit i`m green to this job but i`m giving my opinion on whats happened up to now.
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In my humble experience, and this is just my opinion, which can be likened to an ar$ehole in that everyone has one :) i'd say the following. Having started out with a turbo nozzle, it did do the job fine, how-ever it was messy, time consuming and used alot more water, which has to go somewhere and again if the drainage on a job is poor takes more time.
I bought a mosmatic flat surface cleaner and the difference is like chalk and cheese. I'd liken it to painting a wall with a brush or a roller, the brush will cover the wall (eventually), but takes time to get the paint even and uses more paint, the roller covers smoothly, easily and uses less paint.
There is no doubt the turbo nozzle is the more powerful as the water is coming out of 1 hole as opposed to 2 on the fsc, but with the fsc's jet being applied closer to the ground the difference is usually negated and a smoother cleaner finish given in much quicker time with less water.
I think it's important to find what woks best for you and stick with it, how-ever I can't help wonder if there is a problem with a setup where the user finds it easier to clean for example brick paving with only a turbo nozzle and ignore the fsc.
Again this is only in my humble experience, but I genuinely believe a properly set-up fsc/pressure washer/turbo nozzle combination is considerably more effective and efficient than a turbo nozzle alone. Imagine facing 500 square metres of paving with a turbo nozzle :-[
I'm no expert on how to set up the fsc nozzles etc., perhaps someone else can advise on this, but a properly working set-up is irreplaceable.
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DavyP has hit the nail on the head.
No-one has claimed that the fsc is more powerful than the turbo, just that its purpose is to clean the kind of surfaces that some are using a turbo for and if setup correctly, then will do the job better than any other tool that is not designed for that purpose.
Regarding the Pirtek guy you dealt with... you were obviously lucky that he personally knew a bit about pumps. Of the three times I have had to call Pirtek out, three times the guys who came out have asked me 'what is it' when seeing my pressure pump!!!
It is obviously not their company policy to service pressure washers.
If you put a pressure gauge in line on your kit, then that will show you what pressure you are kicking out, that would be the first thing I would do.
I just think that life is being made difficult for you guys and having your system tweaked would save you a lot of time and effort.
Andy
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i think im gonna get my set up checked, or try lowering the spray bar in my whiraway.
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You may be right mate,i went to the pirtec workshop you see and there were 3 lads and the boss,they couldn`t do enough for me,he did check my pressure etc but i will try lowering the bar like you say,fsc is brilliant on flags and smooth concrete etc,like i say i`ve already changed the nozzles and checked they are facing the right way with the nozzle hole running level with the bar so lowering the bar it is.Let you know how i get on.
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You may be right mate,i went to the pirtec workshop you see and there were 3 lads and the boss,they couldn`t do enough for me,he did check my pressure etc but i will try lowering the bar like you say,fsc is brilliant on flags and smooth concrete etc,like i say i`ve already changed the nozzles and checked they are facing the right way with the nozzle hole running level with the bar so lowering the bar it is.Let you know how i get on.
Dan,
The only way you can be sure fsc is working at it's full potential (for your pump) is to fit a gauge on the line and monitor the pressure.
As for "better Nozzles" you can't get any more presuure from the machine you have than it can produce, thats why the nozzles are/should be specific to your pump flow rate and the pressure
IE my 250bar 15lpm needs 2x 020 nozzles in fsc to get around 220bar on gauge (gauge on a t is 10% out) and 040 nozzle on the lance
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When i said better nozzles i meant different sizes to the ones i had on,i just didn`t have the sizes in my head,i think it was you who recommended i did,i got the pressure checked and it was ok ,i`m gonna try lowering machine bar,keep trying to get time to get it sorted but too busy,will have big clean up and check the lot in the winter,thanks anyway,dan
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Are you really going to wait until the winter to put this right?
It would take a couple of hours to check and remedy and would save you a fortune in lost time when done.
Of course, it is entirely up to your when you do it, but the sooner the better would be my opinion.
Hope it works.
Andy
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The pressure was checked when i had new connectors on pipes and it was ok so i will lower the bar on fsc but i don`t want to risk damaging anything while i`m busy,might go back to pirtec,i`m enjoying using turbo nozzle and not that arsed about fsc unless doing flags,do you find with fsc you cant direct dirty water that well and it runs down drives into road leaving big brown stains that you have to clean at the end,i prefer now to use turbo and direct all the crap onto borders or onto grass,just can`t see the point in doing the job twice when turbo does it first time,turbo,spray off , rinse down job done.
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Dananddan i did a block paved area that parks 60 cars in four hrs it hadnt been done in ten years and i re sanded in that time just rolled my decorators sheets up and made a dam at bottom of drive water runs to drain and the solids are trapped by the rolled up sheets, theres no way i could do a area that big with a turbo in four hours .
Whats the make and spec of your m/c .
I dont think the bar on a wirlaway should be more than one inch from the floor.
rob