Thanks Paul Very helpful, what van just off the top of you head are in that category?
Who did you get you system off and would you recommend them?
I'm going to be starting like you said with domestic and small commercial once I get going. Is there any point looking into buying a round, are there pit fall to avoid?
what kind of budget do you think is need to get a good start, I know this is a bit of an open end question, but you know in certain business you have a minimum and an average.
again thanks for the help!
Which van? Hmm.
I Have a Renault Trafic (2.9 tonne). These are the same as the Vivaro and Primastar. Most of these vans are 2.7 tonne but are available in 2.9 tonne if you look around. If you go for one of these, go for later than 55/06 plate as there were gearbox issues until then. These vans can be expensive to repair and there have been question marks over reliability. They drive smoothly but that's only OK if you have a reliable one. I will probably keep mine now till I scrap it. It's an 03 plate on its second box. Now done 95k miles.
Some like the Transits. Never had one myself. There is a 2.8 tonne version. Check the payload though as I think they have heavier bodies than Trafic/Vivaro/Primastar - leaving less carrying weight.
In this class of Van, the Toyota Hiace and VW Transporter are usually considered the top dogs for reliability. Good second hand ones aren't always easy to find though.
If you are OK with a smaller, 400 - 500 litre tank, you will be able to get a smaller van. If you get the smaller tank, I suggest an electronic flow controller to keep water usage down a bit. Others on here can tell you more than I about the lighter vans.
Startup cost for the type of work you intend to do?
Yes, a piece of string can become a piece of elastic
.
I'll have a stab at it anyway.
A fairly decent, second hand van - £5k - £6k (perhaps more if you go for a larger one).
Having a water tank with pump, battery and a reasonable RO +DI - maybe £2.5k fitted. Alternatively, maybe £1.8k and get a holding tank with the RO on that instead (allow for cost of an extra tank if you do this). If you get a static tank, bear in mind that you may not be able to fit a standard IBC through some entrances so you will need to pay more for a taller, narrow tank. A new, narrow tank may set you back £300 if you have to buy new but a second hand standard IBC might be had for £50 - £70 delivered if you get lucky.
There are a lot of what ifs. If you have the RO in the van, you will probably need a faster, more expensive one as you can only filter when you don't need the van. If you are filling a holding tank, a 300 gpd would probably be enough for a one man operation. Without looking up prices, maybe a 40" RO for £300 or a 300 GPD for maybe a ton (not looked these up in ages.
A sturdy metal hosereel with 100m of decent microbore (non kink, lay flat, with thick core so it doesn't pinhole - perhaps £130.
A decent pole. I suppose it has to be Gardiners
. I suggest SLX 30ft with a base end cap for the second largest section. It can be used as an all day pole at 25ft. 30ft is a little chunky - but good if you get some higher work or where ground falls away. Also, a couple of brushes to go with the SLX (maybe £450?). If you want to reduce this, go for the CLX. Cheaper, slightly heavier, and a bit bendier). There are other OK poles out there too. I've tried many of them (though not all) and the Gardiner range are the best I've used so far. You may even want an out and out fibre glass pole too as a spare. Probably better to keep fibre glass to under 18ft. Much cheaper than carbon but heavier.
Waterproofing the van floor. There are things like speedliner. Installation companies will usually do this for you. Probably better to have a split charge relay fitted too. This will charge the leisure battery in the back while you drive. If you don't do much driving, you will need to manually charge this at times.
You can save money by doing the work yourself. There is much good advice about this on here and on other forums (not allowed to post links to them). Personally, I would always have the bare tank professionally fitted even if I did the other work.
For price, I believe that Pure Freedom in Grimsby are very competitive. I've heard good reports of them. My own system was fitted by a company called Omnipole in south London. They are more expensive than Pure Freedom but I got a very good deal from them because I was doing some part-exing and the deal was not a straightforward one. They are also the best company I have come across (on a par with Gardiners) for customer support. Also, they are prepared to look flexibly at situations that are non standard. Ionics are probably the most expensive but if appearance is important to you then they look nice. Also, unlike most other suppliers, their systems are crash tested (to 30 MPH). I think Brodex (Southport) are a bit cheaper than Ionics but I have heard that their customer support can be inconsistent.
You would probably want a backpack (with a carry handle
). This could be about £110 but is very useful for places that are hard for hoses to get to.
So - cost?
You can do it for under £10k with a reasonable van without doing much yourself. You can do it a heck of a lot cheaper too if you're prepared to put things together yourself and use cheaper heavier poles. If you want, you can get a brand new van and system from Ionics and fork out maybe £25k. At the other end, you can do it with a cheap pole, some containers spread around your car, and a backpack.
You can start up with anything from about £800 to £25k. It depends on how much convenience you want, how much heavy lifting, and whether you would be OK returning home during the day to refill containers and whether you will be happy avoiding larger jobs. In the scenario further up the post, I've just presented something that is the middle ground. You can take from it or add to it as you wish.
Remember though. These systems need to be maintained so there will be ongoing cost of resin and various filters.
Poll
