Good informative post spongebob.
For everyone having problems with the Fogwash, there is no such thing as a pilotlight on these things. Like Roy said, if the heater cuts out, it's very likely it's the sensor on top of the machine that senses a build up of exhaust gases. If this gets to dangerous levels it shuts off the boiler. You need to press the little button on the top to get the heater to fire back up.
For one reel you can have the water regulator around the minimum, with higher flow or two poles, you need to turn that up a bit so it doesn't cut out on full flow. Best to lay out all of the hose, turn pump on, and see what's happening. If it cuts out almost immediately you need to fiddle around with the water regulator. If it cuts out after some time, it's most likely because the exhaust gases are not exiting properly.
Also, yes it does take some time to get it through the hose, I believe (need to do more testing) that the winter setting, even on low gas setting cuts down this time quite a lot. What's recommended is to either put the hosereel hose back in the tank to heat some of the water in the tank up. Like you said it can freeze in bad weather before the water heats up in the reel. I think what I will do is just leave the reel in the van before I start on the first job, with a male rectus fitting plugged in, and just letting the water come out for a bit first.