[Tom White]

My leisure battery (just over two years old, hardly used, and taken from my caravan prior to selling it) is knackered so I had to use my van battery for my first job at 7.30 am.  After it was finished I headed out and bought another leisure battery and battery charger (that's another £150!).  This battery was charged, but not fully (I suspect), however the next problem was the yellow hose that I'd connected up between my tank and pump was 'sucking in together' preventing a flow of water.

So I returned home to use some better quality hose (I had some tricoflex ordered, but Gardiner's was out-of-stock).

And my variflow does indeed live up to it's name, and varies the flow; not always when I want it too.  Normally when I've dragged 50 meters of hose around some property it then decides to just give me a trickle, but when I return to the van, switch-off-and-switch on, it works again!  I'm hoping this is something to do with a partially charged leisure battery (which is now on charge).

It had a letter "U" on the indicator.  I don't know where I've put my user instructions, so does anyone know what a letter "U" means?  It was also flashing from a number, say '5' to 'L', which I'm guessing meant 'L = low battery', but when I turned it off and pushed a plus or minus button, it gave me three bars indicating my battery was okay?  Confusing!

So, mostly battery, variflow, and hose problems today.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

But overall, very pleased; it's a lot easier and faster method of window cleaning than what I was doing before. 

[mark dew]

I have a varistream and its ok, but i occasionally get the same problem that you got. I run off just the flojet now and i find it better for me.
But i think your flow rate problems will disappear once you get the hose sorted.
It's very easy to work quickly once it's all leakproof.

I have always used gardiners stuff with the string through it (is that tricroflex) and it's good stuff.

[Dave Willis]

How can the hose suck flat? Don't understand that. Have you vented the tank?

[Blue Frog Systems]

I had the same problem when i started out. I used standard garden hose to connect the tank to pump and it sucked flat.

Varistreams can be funny if your booting them up from a half empty battery... they are ok when they have been worked down by the varistream though.

A damm good charge and some strong hose should sort it out tosh

[Tom White]

How can the hose suck flat? Don't understand that. Have you vented the tank?

The hose I used was cheap garden hose and 'sucked together' (imagine it bent) from the force of the suction from the pump, and no, I haven't vented the tank; thanks that's a great reminder to do so.

Blue Frog; I've got the brand new battery on charge with a good quality charger and I've got some good quality reinforced hose between the tank/pump/hosereel now.

I've got a really hefty day planned for tomorrow, so let's see how it goes.

[Blue Frog Systems]

Good stuff tosh... ive been wfp 2 years now and your bringing back memorys

I forgot all about my hose sucking together until you mentioned it.

[Tom White]

Cheers!

I thought I'd have more problems with hose getting tangled and caught up in stuff, but it wasn't bad at all.  I started with two easy accounts (two shops; one that needed all its signage and porch way done (£40) and a domestic (£35) with easy access, and they were lovely to do; no setting up and filling the backpack.

And then (after some messing with hose), I did a clutch of semi's and terraced (four of these I cleaned without moving the van), followed by another two - one with really awkward access - dragging hose down and around a lane; and it worked (though my backpack maybe better for these next month).

Reeling in is easy; I'm using the new Gardiner hose reels and they're a dream.

I would've worked later, but my variflow was messing with me; due to the battery I think.  I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's work, but I know this new found keeness will pass! 

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

How can the hose suck flat? Don't understand that. Have you vented the tank?

The hose I used was cheap garden hose and 'sucked together' (imagine it bent) from the force of the suction from the pump, and no, I haven't vented the tank; thanks that's a great reminder to do so.

Blue Frog; I've got the brand new battery on charge with a good quality charger and I've got some good quality reinforced hose between the tank/pump/hosereel now.

I've got a really hefty day planned for tomorrow, so let's see how it goes.

You need to vent the tank, like right now!!

TIP- In the morning of each day turn your varistream up to full for just a few seconds, then back down to your normal setting. This will help prime it & get rid of any air that has crept in overnight, especially if your pump is located higher than the water level in the tank.

[Paul Coleman]

Glad to see you've gone van mounted Tosh.  I'm surprised that you've stuck with a backpack for so long.  I find them fine for the odd few jobs with access issues but wouldn't want to use them full time. Apart from anything else, tipping from containers etc. can be unnecessarily hard work.  I didn't set my system up.  I paid for it to be done to kudos to you for sorting it yourself.  I don't have a varistream myself.  Mine works with any surplus water returning to tank.  A bit heavier on the leisure battery but I just leave one on charge and swap them over most times I fill the tank.

[Tom White]

You need to vent the tank, like right now!!

You know, on reflection, this is why I was getting buggered about.  It would start great, just like I'd expect, then after about 10 minutes it'd mess me about.  So I'd down pole, walk to the van, turn off, turn on and then it'd work again just fine for 10 minutes.

I'm guess that when I stopped working and walked back to the van, that was enough time for air to seep into the tank through the non-hermetical lid, and then it'd work again for 10 minutes - repeat!

I am a Geordie! 

[sunshine windows]

Bloody hell Tosh, that leisure battery and charger was expensive!!!

Can't remember how much my charger was but the last battery I picked up was £50.

Hope you're having fun with the new set up. 

[Tom White]

Hope you're having fun with the new set up. 

I will if it all works tomorrow.  I've a street planned - very compact - takes two of us to do in four hours work and it's all well priced work.

So I wonder if I can do this place by myself, taking into consideration that a lot of it - ground floor - will be first cleans.

As for the price of the battery and the charger, it was actually less than I posted; we bought some other stuff which bumped the price up.  I think it was nearly £100 for the battery, it's 115 APH (or something) and comes with a two-year guarantee (though reading the small print, the battery needs to be looked after) and the charger was £35 reduced from £50.

But I can imagine they bump the price of these batteries up at this time of year; it's caravan and camper van time.

[mci services]

How are your customers taking to the bottoms being done wfp, the ones that are in that is? is it like explaining wfp all over again.

[Tom White]

How are your customers taking to the bottoms being done wfp, the ones that are in that is? is it like explaining wfp all over again.

All these customers I did 100% WFP anyway; just about!  The were mostly awkward type properties with high ground floor windows at the front (on a hill).

I have two areas of bungalows; a full days work (which will be less than a days work with WFP) which may cause some problems, but I think we'll be okay with most of 'em.  A lot of window cleaners round here use WFP, and I've been doing 'tops' on all of them, and anything ground floor that's awkward.

I've got no real worries about this since those customers who I already do 100% accepted it no problems.

[AuRavelling79]

Glad it's all working out Tosh! Have you had both you and Helen working together yet?

[Tom White]

Glad it's all working out Tosh! Have you had both you and Helen working together yet?

We had a practise with our neighbours on Sunday, but she's not out working with me yet.  She looked really cack-handed and slow with the pole, but I think she 'enjoyed' it.  Speed will come with practise I hope.

She'll probably be out with me on Thursday - first time - once I've ironed out all the teething problems and have had some experience myself.  It saves arguments that way.  Whenever she has a problem she comes looking to me to do her thinking for her (which is why I try to work away from her so she can sort out her own stuff) and if I'm trying to sort out a problem of my own, it'll just lead to a punch up and hurt feelings.  So it's wise to do it the way I'm doing it and she's enjoying working in the garden.

And besides, I need another set of shurflo pump connectors to hose before I can set her system up; I didn't order them did I.  I assumed they come with the pump, but they didn't, but cleaning warehouse (not WCW) bunged me a free shurflo strainer and connector - just the one set; so hopefully my others will arrive tomorrow.

[Tom White]

Today was the first day Wor Lass would work with me, so early this morning I wired up the second pump and Cleaning Warehouse flow controller; eventually getting it to work.

We have a commercial account of about 20 or so flats just around the corner from us.  Wor Lass used the pump powered by a Variflow - which worked more-or-less with no problems, and I used the pump controlled with one of these:



I calibrated it as per the instructions and all I got was a slow flow even at full whack.  I struggled with it because I wanted Wor Lass to get some practise on the pole (phnaar phnaar), which she did and she's mightily impressed with a van mount and the SLX.  She actually seemed - for one brief moment - to get excited about the possibilities we have about working in this new way, but it passed quickly.

And at the end of the day, I sacked the Cleaning Warehouse flow controller for one of these:



It cost a tenner from our local plumbing place!

So we have two pumps, one with a variflow and the other with a tap before the pump to control the flow, and it seems to work nicely, but it hasn't been 'field tested' yet; only fannied about with outside my house. 

Y'knaa, at one point today, using the Cleaning Warehouse flow controller, I rolled out the full 100 meters of hose, tried to start work, but got only a trickle.  After walking back and forth to the van TWICE (so 500 meters - half-a-ruddy-kilometre), I eventually got enough of a flow to work!    Hopefully this won't happen again with the tap!

There were probably a few other minor traumas. 

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a trauma free day! 

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I can only speak of a "varistream" as that's what I use.

If you're using 6mm ID hose (microbore) you will probably need a high pressure cut off setting to stop the pump cutting out because of the added resistance from 100m of this hose. This will allow you to run the pump faster without the electronic controller cutting the pump off.

It takes a bit of faffing to get the controller set up to both your system & your preference of flow/pressure. It is worth it though.

[Tom White]

It takes a bit of faffing to get the controller set up to both your system & your preference of flow/pressure. It is worth it though.

Win,

I'll take that advice on board, thanks, but I'm going to stick to one varistream and one 'full belt' pump only (as Stu suggested) because they both work.  When I've caught up and made some of that 'orrible green stuff, I'll stick the other flow controller in and do some faffing, but I'm in 'flap mode' right now and just need to work; I'm also sick of faffing about right now.

Hopefully today will be a really good day.  I couldn't sleep last night, I was planning where the best place to park for us to tackle various accounts on a compact estate I clean on, and which accounts would suit Wor Lass, and how we're going to divide up the work.

How sad am I?  

[Steven Shoreditch]

How can the hose suck flat? Don't understand that. Have you vented the tank?

The hose I used was cheap garden hose and 'sucked together' (imagine it bent) from the force of the suction from the pump, and no, I haven't vented the tank; thanks that's a great reminder to do so.

Blue Frog; I've got the brand new battery on charge with a good quality charger and I've got some good quality reinforced hose between the tank/pump/hosereel now.

I've got a really hefty day planned for tomorrow, so let's see how it goes.

You need to vent the tank, like right now!!

TIP- In the morning of each day turn your varistream up to full for just a few seconds, then back down to your normal setting. This will help prime it & get rid of any air that has crept in overnight, especially if your pump is located higher than the water level in the tank.

I've never heard of that before, and therefore I'm going to say, 'Rubbish!'

You don't have to prime these pumps.  Who ever starts the day by putting the flow up and then back down again?  Is this a windup?  I know Tosh deserves it, but really... How do you know you get the dial back to where it was?