[stevenpaulmatthews]

Big Jobbies....what would you like to know mate?

sswc yes any hot water system....i was just stating which system we have sorry......

the lowest temp we have worked was last january was -6, after the water had cooled down in the hoses after running along the ground the temp in -6 was 43 degrees

on monday this week we were doing a 3 story block of apartments and even though we were using hot water on the botton pane froze up while drying off.......but dried completely clear..once it had defrosted

im not really sure what i can tell you that you probably not heard already.....if anyone in north wales wants to come and work a day on hot with us then feel free.....you then will be convinced


after switching to hot our finish time everyday has gone from 17:00hrs to 16:00hrs with taking an hour for lunch where as we used to take half hour

drying times have been cut by 2 thirds easily, and first time cleans are a doddle

i can do a gutter facia a sofit clean on a 3 bed semi in 25 to 30 min which means we were able to bring the price right down from around £60 to £25 which has resulted in us pickin up around 5 or 6 every week

[mci services]

Big Jobbies....what would you like to know mate?

sswc yes any hot water system....i was just stating which system we have sorry......

the lowest temp we have worked was last january was -6, after the water had cooled down in the hoses after running along the ground the temp in -6 was 43 degrees

on monday this week we were doing a 3 story block of apartments and even though we were using hot water on the botton pane froze up while drying off.......but dried completely clear..once it had defrosted

im not really sure what i can tell you that you probably not heard already.....if anyone in north wales wants to come and work a day on hot with us then feel free.....you then will be convinced


after switching to hot our finish time everyday has gone from 17:00hrs to 16:00hrs with taking an hour for lunch where as we used to take half hour

drying times have been cut by 2 thirds easily, and first time cleans are a doddle

i can do a gutter facia a sofit clean on a 3 bed semi in 25 to 30 min which means we were able to bring the price right down from around £60 to £25 which has resulted in us pickin up around 5 or 6 every week

thats a good post thanks

[RCS]

It was -7 at 7:30 this morning when I started, my 'Thermopure' was switched on and I cleaned with no problems the windows and frames of the contracts that I was working on. Two traditional window cleaners came over to discuss how crap they were doing, especially the way their soap had frozen instantly on the glass. They were saying that they would have to go back over them, when the day got warmer, but it didn't !!!!
I am so happy with the hot water system, I was in a foot of snow with the cables stretched to its 300 ft limit, yet not once did the pipes freeze, nor did my jets get blocked !!! 8 hours of work done, NO problems !!! didn't work two days this week, not because of the below zero climate, but because of the hazardous road conditions, that's all, invest in the hot water system will save your pocket in the long run !!!

[RCS]

Also to add, not going on !!! I tried working with my cold water pure freedom trolley on a contract for easier access and 5 windows instantly froze !!! I went back unravelled my reel, then turned the hot water system on, cleaned like a dream and defrosted the frozen water that i previously cleaned...So, hot water does in fact make all the bloody difference... like one of these posts just said, come out with them for a day and see the difference for yourself !!!! really easy to criticise, just put your money were your mouth is chaps !!!

[mci services]

Also to add, not going on !!! I tried working with my cold water pure freedom trolley on a contract for easier access and 5 windows instantly froze !!! I went back unravelled my reel, then turned the hot water system on, cleaned like a dream and defrosted the frozen water that i previously cleaned...So, hot water does in fact make all the bloody difference... like one of these posts just said, come out with them for a day and see the difference for yourself !!!! really easy to criticise, just put your money were your mouth is chaps !!!

thanks again, I really wanted to hear from guys using them at extreme temps like you mention, it is ok for guys to say yes worked through the cold spell but that could mean from -2 till+1 and that I can do already. but you have confirmed that -7 is possible so that will do for me, ta

[P @ F]

Im getting one shortly , the only thing that puts me off is this thermal shock business , what i would like to hear is ........ what temp your water leaves the brush at and how many windows have you broken if any in the length of time of having the system ... this is the go or no go Q for me at the moment .

Rich 

[RCS]

cleaned all day today, by far the coldest day -7 this morning, and NOT one window cracked or broken...so that's to testify that it works in the most extreme conditions !!! I am not saying that some windows might crack because of the heat, but I have been informed by the thermopure team at ionics that if there was a crack, that it would be a seal that wasn't fitted correctly and because of that the double glazing seal unit would expand to cracking point? wether or not this is the answer, i have cleaned with hot water on single glazed windows for over six months now, and still have not had one cracked on me yet!!! Hope this answers your question, I can only give you what I have experienced buddy!All the best!

[stevenpaulmatthews]

We have only cracked 1 window in nearly 3 yrs of operating thermopure

but i and my father believed at the very time that there must have been a crack or flaw in the glass, which was basically 99% confermed when my fathers mate a window fitter replaced the unit there was know way that we could have caused such a crack if there was not a problem prior to us comencing window cleaning with hot water

[trevor perry]

i have hot and yes you can work without hose and pole freezing but the water when on floor does freeze and in my opinion is highly irresponsible to go on about the safety of WFP compared with ladder and then cause a major slip hazzard by freezing water left on pavements, i have already contacted the FWC about this issue and the claims ionics make about working in sub zero conditions i am waiting for their response but will also be contacting the HSE about the issue.

[Nathanael Jones]

I have a hot system & have worked in -5 (last winter) without problems. I always salt heavily before I start work, as like Trevor says, the slip hazards we could cause should not be underestimated.

This year so far the hot system is working fine in the cold,... BUT the roads round here just aren't safe to drive on. So hot helps,.. but if the council don't hurry up & pull their finger out & start gritting the estates & side roads, I'll be sat at home next week too.

[Jack Wallace]

i have hot and yes you can work without hose and pole freezing but the water when on floor does freeze and in my opinion is highly irresponsible to go on about the safety of WFP compared with ladder and then cause a major slip hazzard by freezing water left on pavements, i have already contacted the FWC about this issue and the claims ionics make about working in sub zero conditions i am waiting for their response but will also be contacting the HSE about the issue.

In the health and safety gone mad society we now all live in are you seriously going to give them something else to ban?
Our job is made hard enough with all the red tape we have now, why would anyone feel the need to make it worse?
I can see it in all the papers now. “Window cleaners banned from working in sub zero temperatures”
Oh well just another nail in the industries coffin. Brought about by one of our own. 

[Mike #1]

what temp is the water thourgh the hot water systems just orderd a fish tank heater for storage tank , will be transfering  tocontainers for trolley system 

[trevor perry]

i have hot and yes you can work without hose and pole freezing but the water when on floor does freeze and in my opinion is highly irresponsible to go on about the safety of WFP compared with ladder and then cause a major slip hazzard by freezing water left on pavements, i have already contacted the FWC about this issue and the claims ionics make about working in sub zero conditions i am waiting for their response but will also be contacting the HSE about the issue.

In the health and safety gone mad society we now all live in are you seriously going to give them something else to ban?
Our job is made hard enough with all the red tape we have now, why would anyone feel the need to make it worse?
I can see it in all the papers now. “Window cleaners banned from working in sub zero temperatures”
Oh well just another nail in the industries coffin. Brought about by one of our own. 

i can see where your coming from and fully understand your view ,when ones on here go on about ladder dangers it winds me up as i used ladders perfectly safely for years and do think the legislation on their use has gone way to far but the way i see it if i was to use a ladder then more than likely i would know the dangers of using it and it would be myself i was likely to injure. using WFP in these temps it would be some unsuspecting passer by who would be injured someone who was unaware of the danger i caused i know others may see this totally different but thats my view.

[Jack Wallace]

i have hot and yes you can work without hose and pole freezing but the water when on floor does freeze and in my opinion is highly irresponsible to go on about the safety of WFP compared with ladder and then cause a major slip hazzard by freezing water left on pavements, i have already contacted the FWC about this issue and the claims ionics make about working in sub zero conditions i am waiting for their response but will also be contacting the HSE about the issue.

In the health and safety gone mad society we now all live in are you seriously going to give them something else to ban?
Our job is made hard enough with all the red tape we have now, why would anyone feel the need to make it worse?
I can see it in all the papers now. “Window cleaners banned from working in sub zero temperatures”
Oh well just another nail in the industries coffin. Brought about by one of our own. 

i can see where your coming from and fully understand your view ,when ones on here go on about ladder dangers it winds me up as i used ladders perfectly safely for years and do think the legislation on their use has gone way to far but the way i see it if i was to use a ladder then more than likely i would know the dangers of using it and it would be myself i was likely to injure. using WFP in these temps it would be some unsuspecting passer by who would be injured someone who was unaware of the danger i caused i know others may see this totally different but thats my view.

The frustrating thing here Trevor is that I agree with you, however once the HSE get their teeth into something they don’t let go. You are dealing with office dwellers that have to justify their job so anything that will keep them busy, they jump on.

I hate the way this country has gone, I wish we could bring back the age of common sense but sadly we can’t. I don’t think we should add to the paperwork and give them something else to ban. Sure wfp in minus conditions could potentially create a hazard, but so can wet snow re freezing, a broken downpipe, a leaky tap........... The list is endless. Don’t give them any more ammo to fire at us.
Trad guys hate the “working at height directive” let’s not have a “working in ice directive” for wfp guys.

[Clive McDonald]

You are not allowed to use wfp below minus two- it's in the 2005 directive.

[Steven Shoreditch]

Like a newspaper gives a to55.

[trevor perry]

Like a newspaper gives a to55.

i take it this is to a reply i deleted, the reason i deleted was slumpbuster pointed out it was already in directive not to use WFP in temps below -2 so maybe the newspapers wouldnt be interested but the HSE deffinately would.

[Jack Wallace]

Like a newspaper gives a to55.

i take it this is to a reply i deleted, the reason i deleted was slumpbuster pointed out it was already in directive not to use WFP in temps below -2 so maybe the newspapers wouldnt be interested but the HSE deffinately would.

In answer to both of those points....... I first heard about the working at height directive when I read an article in my local newspaper, that is what got me looking for alternatives so just because you have not seen anything published does not mean it hasn’t been.
The other point.... yes the HSE would love to hear about something like this, after all that’s what they are all about, stopping people doing things which may (or may not) course a hazard. They have the “let’s stop it just in case” mentality.

[Clive McDonald]

I was joking but jack gave me the idea, just to state as fact that it had already been addressed- it hasn't.Sorry, i've probably started another urban myth now.

The 2005 directive was about working at heights- it didn't encompass us, we'd probably fall foul of any suitable risk assesment though.

Sorry.(before my comment starts being widely quoted as fact which it sisn't)