[Chris - CBWC]

I don't suppose there's a Window Cleaning Best Flow Rate guide out there?

I can almost get 1L per minute with pump at 65, and if maximum is 100 I'm not going to be getting 7L a minute at all!  This is with the pole horizontal at waste height.

I have a E-Chen EC-RV-05L water pump - http://www.e-chen.com.cn/En_ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=441

[jonboywalton75]

I use a Vyair 5.4ltr per min pump on full,  no controller.
the pressure switches only last about 12 months but heho they are only a tenner to replace
I take two car batteries with me fully charged each day.
I recycle my batteries every 4 or 5 months and pay a tenner each time at the scrappies
I work like lightning,  so am easily able to compete with the local two man per van setups,  or backpack users locally.
My round is solid,  rarely any complaints so have I hit perfection?
Not yet,  getting a bigger van and a 500 or 650 Ltr tank later this year,  which will streamline my business even further.
Motto:-
STOP MESSIN ABOUT AND GET THE FLOW UP

[dd]

I am trying out 3mm jets tomorrow just to see how they perform

Surely it will be like rinsing with a watering can your flow rate will need to be right up in order for the water to flow at the right rate for a good rinse .

1mm jets all the way high pressure rinse works faster i currently have my flow controller  set at 30 using cold water , then its at 23 in the warmer weather . Mike

I use 3mm jets. Much better IMO, allows me to work with a decent flow rate which I find quicker. Smaller jets give too much splashback.

[Clever Forum Name]

I couldnt get the flow to work today with 3mm jets.

I ended up with flat out pump on my controller and yes it looked like a watering can effect.

TBH i was cleaning quicker and rinsing quicker, but it wasnt for me.

I would be interested now in have 4 x 1mm jets or 3 x 2mm jets.

So off to the drawing board again

[Ian Sheppard]

I don't suppose there's a Window Cleaning Best Flow Rate guide out there?

I can almost get 1L per minute with pump at 65, and if maximum is 100 I'm not going to be getting 7L a minute at all!  This is with the pole horizontal at waste height.

I have a E-Chen EC-RV-05L water pump - http://www.e-chen.com.cn/En_ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=441

7 ltr per min is the maximum pumping capacity with no restriction as soon as hose, connectors jets ect are added the ltr per min rate will fall a little.
The flow rate shown on the control is not an exact indication of Ltr per min, It is a guide set on 65 Your pump is running just over 50% capacity however the amount of water at the brush will be effected by restrictions and gravity.
to get an accurate Ltr per min rate time how long it take to fill a one litre jug at various floe rates. I suspect you are getting more than 1 ltr per min at 65.
Air in the system and blocked pre filters will reduce the actual flow to the brush head. As my other post Battery condition and cable condition will also have an impact on flow, If the battery is a bit low or the cables are damaged the pump can struggle for power, Also worth checking the fuse and fuse holder connections.

[SeanK]

Don't understand why people think a higher flow rate makes you quicker most if not all of the dirt
is removed in the scrub.
My speed is in how quickly I can scrub the dirt from the glass, which comes down to a good brush and
not a high flow rate.
Your could spend all day rinsing a window and not cover all of it.
Since starting I have cut my flow rate in half and doubled my speed.
I'm now dash with less splash.

[Mike #1]

Using 1mm jets does not create splash back at the correct setting just like other size jets , The water from my jets reaches about 3ft from the brush . Which gives me a really good flow rate without worrying about water usage so much

Using a 400ltr tank i have about 100ltrs left in tank after a full days work . Mike

[Chris - CBWC]

Thanks guys - I'm brand new to WFP (7 years trad) so I'm learning from scratch about the various components in the WFP system, and the optimum settings for them all.

Everything is brand new.  I'm just conscious that the higher the cal and flow rate, the quicker my pump will burn out, and I don't think that's something I can replace myself.

Think my jets are 2mm.  The standard Gardiner ones that come with the brushes anyway.  Practicing on my door today it looked good (rinsing took aaaaaaaaaages hence the slight obsession with flow rates!), the small kitchen windows not so much, but it seems the sill brushes are a little soft and I'll need a flocked brush to get the hard dirt off - presumably this is recommended for the first time I clean all the houses on my round anyway?

[mikeyfaerosyth]

Any brush will clean the window.

Your pump should last years,think there made to run flat out if needed.

[mikeyfaerosyth]

Just clean windows mate,no point in imagining problems,be positive and and it will be fine.

[Tom White]

Any brush will clean the window.

Your pump should last years,think there made to run flat out if needed.

A neighbour of mine does something clever with ships and their fresh water systems and knows all about industrial scale ROs and diaphragm pumps (like the shurflo).

He tells me they're designed to be worked hard.

[Tom White]

Everything is brand new.  I'm just conscious that the higher the cal and flow rate, the quicker my pump will burn out, and I don't think that's something I can replace myself.

All you need to do is attach a new pump in exactly the same way your old pump is set up.  Take a photo of it with your phone, remove the old one, insert the new one and connect it up.  Use the phone picture as a reference if you need.

It's not difficult.

[Mike #1]

Thanks guys - I'm brand new to WFP (7 years trad) so I'm learning from scratch about the various components in the WFP system, and the optimum settings for them all.

Everything is brand new.  I'm just conscious that the higher the cal and flow rate, the quicker my pump will burn out, and I don't think that's something I can replace myself.

Think my jets are 2mm.  The standard Gardiner ones that come with the brushes anyway.  Practicing on my door today it looked good (rinsing took aaaaaaaaaages hence the slight obsession with flow rates!), the small kitchen windows not so much, but it seems the sill brushes are a little soft and I'll need a flocked brush to get the hard dirt off - presumably this is recommended for the first time I clean all the houses on my round anyway?

Just out off interest how high is your CAL , Now every set up can be different but my CAL is 27 and my flow rate is set at 30 , Typically your CAL should always be lower than your flow rate , Someone correct me if i am wrong . Mike

[Mike #1]

My understanding is that pressure at the brush head in any system is governed by the the various components...

Smaller bore pipework, smaller jet nozzles etc. will give an increase in pressure.

Flow rate is a personal thing, In an ideal you are aiming to use the minimum amount of water required for each job This may in some case be on 1LTR a a min or higher. Generally a higher flow rate during the rinse will give a better finish.

The ability to alter the flow rate can be useful. But as the above comment to a point the flow rate is governed by the restrictions you place in the system, these restrictions also increase the velocity of the water creating the fine a jet that bounces.

Getting the balance is a matter of trial and error, Your system does give you the ability to control the pump and pressure created.

This article may help http://www.springltd.co/node/137
Also have a look at windowcleaningmagazine.co.uk as it contains a number of good articles written by guys in the industry

Nice article Ian a good read i do agree with some points raised , For instance when their is that  tiny black grit on glass after stormy weather it can take 2-3 passes over the glass with my 1mm jets to ensure this is rinsed off .

A larger jet with a higher flow of water may mean i only have to pass over glass once , But this is not every house so for me i will always stick with 1mm pencil jets and me new  Xtreme flocked hybrid brush . Mike

[Jonny 87]

I couldnt get the flow to work today with 3mm jets.

I ended up with flat out pump on my controller and yes it looked like a watering can effect.

TBH i was cleaning quicker and rinsing quicker, but it wasnt for me.

I would be interested now in have 4 x 1mm jets or 3 x 2mm jets.

So off to the drawing board again

4 1mm jets sounds like a good idea!

Especially now that the gardiners brushes have four pre drilled holes.

Think I know what I'll be doing over the weekend. 

[Spruce]

I am trying out 3mm jets tomorrow just to see how they perform

and how did you find them yesterday?

[Clever Forum Name]

I am trying out 3mm jets tomorrow just to see how they perform

and how did you find them yesterday?

I couldnt get the flow to work today with 3mm jets.

I ended up with flat out pump on my controller and yes it looked like a watering can effect.

TBH i was cleaning quicker and rinsing quicker, but it wasnt for me.

I would be interested now in have 4 x 1mm jets or 3 x 2mm jets.

So off to the drawing board again

[Clever Forum Name]

I couldnt get the flow to work today with 3mm jets.

I ended up with flat out pump on my controller and yes it looked like a watering can effect.

TBH i was cleaning quicker and rinsing quicker, but it wasnt for me.

I would be interested now in have 4 x 1mm jets or 3 x 2mm jets.

So off to the drawing board again

4 1mm jets sounds like a good idea!

Especially now that the gardiners brushes have four pre drilled holes.

Think I know what I'll be doing over the weekend. 

I have tried 1mm jets and wasnt keen on them. But four would be the same as 2x 2mm technically. I think 3 x 2mm jets will be the winner tho. As with 1mm i think splash back will be more.

[Spruce]

This is a perfectly timed thread for me as this morning I went and WFPd my first windows - my own haha, although I'm in a downstairs flat and found cleaning the door a bit of a bugger - top half fine, middle bit pole at 90 degrees, bottom and sill pole is nearly upside down, I don't think this is right but I don't want to trad the downstairs anymore!

Anyway I set the flow rate to 35 to start with and it did seem a little slow but I'm just having a cuppa and some lunch to see what the results are like before going out to a couple of good customers to use as guinea pigs and will do theirs on a 40 rate I think.

This is the way we clean the lower half of the door - brush head down, base up. It just seems a little awkward until you get used to it.

We always raise the door hand automatically to pull the door into the seal, but we sometimes still get leaks, mainly because the escape holes in the lower door channel are blocked with dirt.

There are a couple of doors we do only by hand. One of them is an old wooden front door without a lower weatherboard moulding.
We also find that when water leaks past the door seal into the lower drip channel, it drains out onto the sill you have just washed. We usually do doors first, then all the windows. We dry the doors but leave the windows wet and wipe the door and lower window cills with a cloth just before we leave.

[Spruce]

I don't suppose there's a Window Cleaning Best Flow Rate guide out there?

I can almost get 1L per minute with pump at 65, and if maximum is 100 I'm not going to be getting 7L a minute at all!  This is with the pole horizontal at waste height.

I have a E-Chen EC-RV-05L water pump - http://www.e-chen.com.cn/En_ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=441

You will never get 7 LPM as your pump is only rated at 5 LPM. The rating of a pump is down without the restriction of any hose attached. Putting the water through 100 meters of coiled hose will reduce that output dramatically, as will the temperature of the water.

I found the best flow rate was 1.5 litres a minute for optimal water saving, but time was wasted rinsing each window. I like a high flow as rinsing is much quicker, but I tend to waste water during the washing/scrubbing phase.

It was once reasoned that if it takes you a litre of water to wash a window, then working with a flow of 1 LPM will take you 1 minute to clean it. If you turned your flow up to 2 LPM then it would take you 30 secs to clean that window. This makes a lot of sense to me. But if you extend that line of reasoning to 7 LPM then it will take you less than 9 secs to clean that window, which I don't think is feasibly possible to clean it properly.

The other thing is that I don't think its possible to push 7 LPM of water through 2 x 2 mm jets using our water pressures, but that's based on pure conjecture on my part. If you could then the jets of water would be uncontrollable with spray bringing dirt down from everywhere above where you have cleaned.