Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: M.Acorn on January 05, 2009, 02:24:04 pm
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First job of the new year at 11am this morning,got there parked in driveway turned off van,custy asked me to move so he could get his car out,got back in van turned key ,nothing,van dead.So connected up my jump leads,started fine.
unpacked everything took it into the house,got to work on the red wine stains,all came out ok ;D
Set machine up,nothing happened,had just filled with 30 ltr of soloution ! flipped up machine the head of the pump had split away from the base,and was frozen solid (i know my fault for leaving it in van) had company last night so i couldn`t bring it in while they were here,as i leave it in the kitchen.After a few beers i had forgotten all about it !
Had to appologise to custy and re book her for end of week,just after she had said she wants me every 6 months,how un professional !
packed everything back up again,went to start van,dead again so had to get him out to jump me again,also had look under bonnet,and noticed earth wire had snapped off altenator,so bodged it with a cable tie to get me home.
Had 2 more booked for tue,and one on fri,Olympic had run out of pumps ,so might not be here till thurs !
Also popped out the brass plug that holds the spring in the k valve had frozen solid and bust that too !
not a good start to the year !
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Mark try running some car screen washer through pump if you have to leave on van.
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That's a real per Mark
I use a greenhouse convection heater, settings are just a few degrees above zero. Takes 2 mins to put in van and next day your screen is clear and it's warm inside. About £20
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Yeah had thought of running some anti freeze through it,but knowing me i would prob forget it was in there and try cleaning with it !
Graham @ olympic said it`s really unusual for it to go where it had gone,it`s the square block type bit that holds the pressure release valve,it`s cracked around where it screws onto the head of the pump.
It`s getting on for nearly 18 months old now,so will prob strip it and get new bushes and a head so i have a spare.
And yes going to get a parafin heater this week,so i don`t have to bring everything in every night.as i get moaned at for having it in the kitchen !
At the moment my house is not much warmer than it is outside though ! 15th centuary cottages are not very draught proof,and there is no insulation,and the bedroom wall is only 1 course of bricks thick ! nice in summer but v cold in winter,i refuse to use the leccy convector heaters,as they just eat power
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Thats a twat of a thing two happen, last year my frost watcher heater fuse blew at some point in the night and it was -4 scraped the pump which i had just rebuilt, now cover with double sleeping bag and still use heater but im going to insulate van soon as i get a min.
Rob
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Have had all those problems this year with my two machines and even my hoses split.So I was looking for a decent calor gas fire I could put in my shed.I found a supplier of a fire in my yellow pages for 95.00 plus a bottle of gas that lasts 80 hours .I put it on sat afternoon and the next day ,my portys and solutions had all defrosted without any damage.This is a fantastic heater.I wish id had it a few years ago ,but I didnt think it would be safe in my shed.Also a refill is only 20.00.If you are leaving your machine in your shed this is a really good means of protecting your gear.Steve.
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Wish i had room in the shed ! full of stuff for my rocco,although don`t think i would be able to sleep at night knowing it was there,very easy to just take down 1 of the walls to get in,if they were determined enough !
My mum just got back from Stafford and said it was -7 there didn`t even warm up during the day !
My van heater is not much cop,as water in rad does not get hot enough (need to blank off some of the radiator) can see there being probs during the day if it gets like that here !
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Mark thats bad look for the start of 2009 hope it turns round for ya pal ;D
Ricky
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My garage has a tiled floor with electric underfloor heating, to keep my bike and car and cc machines nice and warm...the wife reckons its warmer in there than in the house ;D
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Mark I'd think twice about a paraffin heater, you've got 3 potential problems...
Naked flames will cause condensation, so the inside of your van will be damp and cause other problems. Burning paraffin will lead to a thin film of soot all over everything, more potential problems. You've also got quite a significant fire risk.
It is a hell of a pain in the bum, but bringing susceptible things inside really is the best option. You can set up an electric heater in the shed/garage and do it that way - you don't have to have it pumping out on full power the whole time, just get one with a thermostat and keep it set to maintain 4 or 5 degrees.
If you can do it, running an extension to the van and having an electric heater inside it would be another option, but obviously only if it's practical/possible to park up right next to the house.
Obviously an electric heater is still a fire risk, either in the shed or van but it's far lower risk than a naked flame and doesn't lead to the other problems.
Oh what fun our lovely country's climate is!!
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p.s. i bought a heater very similar to this..
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4150729/Trail/searchtext%3ECONVECTOR+HEATER.htm
...and have it set up in the garage, running on half power and set to keep the air temperature around 4 or 5 degrees. It works great, I have my spare machines and chems all in one corner of the garage, and bring in the stuff off my van overnight and group it all around the heater. Works great for me ;)
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Cheers Jim,going to continue binging it in the house.Best for my pocket leccy wise,and the reasons you mentioned -6 out there this morn according to the wifes car :(
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Mark what a lousy start to the new year.Don't you just find that ,the pump always seems to go when you have just filled up the machine .Thing can only go on the up after that start .
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Yes 30 ltr of sol wasted + de foamer,and looking like a prat into the bargain :(
Managed to get all the red wine stains out though,the job involves 2 large nearly room size rugs and a massive sort of z shaped runner which goes all the way through their downstairs corridor,hoping i don`t shrink them when i clean,they have been made up by a carpet fitter and all the edges are sewn up,is there any possibility they will shrink a bit ?
That would top it off !
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The saga continues ! Called olympic this morning to get an update on delivery,was told it would be with me Thurs at latest,turns out Prochem have a large backlog of people wanting thease,had re booked all my customers for end of this week as i thought it would be here by then.Turns out i am looking at early next week at the earliest now,had to call my customers again and appologise for looking like a complete t#@t,and also give them £10 discount for inconvenence.AGGH
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if it is a shurflo pump phone williamson pumps you might get it on wed or thursday
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Try Altech theyre not far from you , normally do same day service on pumps, vacs etc.
Though you might be in a bit of a queue by the look of things.
Murky
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Mark
Sorry to hear all about your bad news. Why is it that bad news always seems to go in cycles and like buses 3 bits of bad news will turn up together?
The moral of the story is of course, that since we know vacuums and pumps are consumable items and will "die" periodically, the answer is always to carry spares at home. Then there is no rush go get replacements from suppliers.
Roger
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Some sensible advice form Roger. For the sake of a few hundred pounds you could have a spare vac and pump. Must be better than turning away work and losing money.
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Try Altech theyre not far from you , normally do same day service on pumps, vacs etc.
Though you might be in a bit of a queue by the look of things.
I ordered new hoses yesterday got them by 10am today.
Qas tempted to drive over if I had been desprate I would have done.
If I lived in Cambs I would have driven to Alltec and Woodbridge if required. If it is an emergency I would certainly do it.
Thats the idea of using semi local suppliers use them or loose them
Murky
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Stuff is on order now though,did try hugh crane in p boro,also csa in Cottenham, and ken booth,it`s a problem at the prochem end,they can`t meet the demand,seems like there are quite a few people in the same situation.Most of the suppliers around here don`t keep parts in stock,so just gotta sit this one out !
Going to get a new head and pop it on the pump i took out,so i have a spare.
All my customers were ok with me re booking,and just booked another for next thurs,there is light at the end of this dark tunnel
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I had the same bad start today.
Started van and got it going switched the windscreen washers on but they wouldn’t work,
I checked the fuse’s and one had blown luckily there was a spare row at the bottom changed it hey presto working.
I went back in for my lunch when I got back to the van it wouldn’t start ,No heater plug light .
I got the brother in -law to tow me to the garage .
Once there he said explain what happened so I told him just as I got to the bit about spare fuse’s it dawned on me.
, the spare that I had removed wasn’t a spare it was the heater plug fuse.
WHAT A BERK
Neil
ps whilist working at the van ,a carpet cleaner was working across the road he came out whilist I was there I asked if he was ok he said no ,my machine has frozen , a sureal day
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Yeah few of us in the same boat i think ;) glad you got yours sorted !
Mine had snapped the main earth to the altenator,there was just enough charge in bat to start it,couldn`t work out why my wipers were going so slowly,god knows how i found it as it was hidden behind a load of pipework :)..
Got my mot booked for tomorrow now,thought i may as well do all the little niggly jobs while i don`t have a running machine.Crossing everything that it goes straight through like last year,just 1 number plate light not working last time and he didn`t fail it as had none in stock,so i had better pop a new on in on the way there ;D
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If anybody is looking for Shurflo Pumps try ebay under "water fed pole" theres always loads of them and a lot cheaper than the likes of what prochem sell them for.
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Surely they won`t be upto the job of supplying high pressure hot water though ?
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They are the same pumps it dosent matter if you use hot or cold water also you get hot Water Fed Pole systems to.I have a wfp trolley system and the pump is identical to the old one in my powermax.
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Surely they are 12 volts on the poles though?
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Yeah thats what i thought
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John thats way over my head anything to do with volts ive not got a clue.I run 75m of minibore from my WFP trolley and its a shurflo 100psi pump maybe the voltage is different so i take it the pump in my powermax is more powerfull than the one in my trolley or is it because my trolley runs of a battery.
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I put a heater in my van over night but the last qc on my solution hose on the reel had frozen and for the life of me I couldn't work it out on the first job, kept changing the upholstery tool then like a rabbit punch to the back of the head I sussed it out, doh!
Shaun
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Mark
Might be worth getting a back up machine just in case :)
Hope you got it sorted,and as john kelly said try and buy a spare vac and pump and keep them in the house :)
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The battery is running a 12 volt pump. Basically the same apart from the machine ones need 230 volts.
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I get you now.
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Hi
Got to a job this morning and my sprayer wouldn't operate, had to put it next to a radiator for a full five minutes!!!
And then, to top that off my micro sponges were rock hard and I had to use a screwdriver to break them up!!
I was gutted, cost me 10 minutes ;)
Regards
Martin 8)
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Not happy ! pump still not here ,olympic said it`s a problem with Prochem supply ! so today i called prochem as a last resort,bloke i spoke to said they have at least 200 on the shelf and whoeber told me it was them was leading my up the garden path !
Angry !
Got a big commercial job coming up next week ! quote tue and they want it doing thurs,so assume they have left it a bit late,so will be quoting higer than normal to try and recouperate some ££ could backfire on me though
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Well after paying loads to get my pump here on Sat,it turned up this morning with no explanation from driver ! k valve i ordered was wrong,so had to call for another one ! although i replaced the one on my wand a few months ago,it sometimes was not shutting off,tried twisting the little plunger but still no joy ,so swapped for a new one.
Both the bolts that held the old pump in were spinning and would not come out,so had to give the plastic base some persuasion with a hammer and chisel !
so new pump is now held in place with cable ties,much better and easier to remove next time,i didn`t take any skin off either which was a miracle ;D
so back to work,pretty good week this week,but not sure how i am going to find the other £1400 for my tax,anyone else going to be paying late ?
all the money i had in my isa has gone on new turbo,new pump,new washing machine etc ,so pretty stuck