[windowwashers]

As I said go to Pirtek. I think you will find that microbore/ minibore are invented terms as these hoses were/are all air hoses as are the fittings.

What is the website address for them Tony ??

[Alex Gardiner]

As I said go to Pirtek. I think you will find that microbore/ minibore are invented terms as these hoses were/are all air hoses as are the fittings.

Microbore and minibore are as you say new terms.  We believe that we were the first to coin the phrase microbore when we introduced it into WFP work over 5 years ago.  I think that minibore was first used as a WFP term about 18 months ago by Cleantech.  For whatever reasons these two terms seem to have stuck and seem to fairly accurately describe the products within the world of WFP.  As to the hose being airline hose - whilst some suppliers do sell 'off the shelf' airline hose as microbore, we personally have it manufactured to our exact specifications which is quite a bit tougher than airline hose. 

We found that the stresses and strains and the punishment that window cleaners give it, very quickly destroys ordinary airline hose.  Pirtek will supply many of the fittings and very similar hose but it will not be specifically designed for window cleaning.

[windowwashers]

As I said go to Pirtek. I think you will find that microbore/ minibore are invented terms as these hoses were/are all air hoses as are the fittings.

Microbore and minibore are as you say new terms.  We believe that we were the first to coin the phrase microbore when we introduced it into WFP work over 5 years ago.  I think that minibore was first used as a WFP term about 18 months ago by Cleantech.  For whatever reasons these two terms seem to have stick and seem to fairly accurately describe the products within the world of WFP.  As to the hose being airline hose - whilst some suppliers do sell 'off the shelf' airline hose as microbore, we personally have it manufactured to our exact specifications which is quite a bit tougher than airline hose. 

We found that the stresses and strains and the punishment that window cleaners give it, very quickly destroys ordinary airline hose.  Pirtek will supply many of the fittings and very similar hose but it will not be specifically designed for window cleaning.

what are the old terms for it ?

[Alex Gardiner]

There were no old terms for these hoses within the world of Water Fed Poles. Before we started using microbore, the majority of people just used standard reinforced 1/2 inch hose.  I came up with the idea that first of all I didn't need the flow rate of 1/2 inch hose and secondly I could get a lot more on my hose reel (50 metres just wasn't enough) and it would be a lot lighter to carry. 

I rang up a hose manufacturing company who supplied me with an initial batch of hose to my specification.  After that time, I realized that a very similar hose existed as airline hose which is usually referred to as 1/4 inch reinforced hose.  Having trialled standard airline hose we found that the failure rate was anywhere from 1 week to 1 year whereas our own specification hose (microbore) lasts much longer.  Our very first reel is still going after nearly 6 years.

[Village Gleam]

I put a post up asking about hose for hot use. My minibore is very stretchy when hot, and one reel had to be changed because it leaked. I think that hot it will be more prone to tear on brick work etc.

Of the replies the best seemed to be persevere with minibore. One user had been 18mths without problem.
Do you have any views on hoses for hot systems Alex.

[Alex Gardiner]

I put a post up asking about hose for hot use. My minibore is very stretchy when hot, and one reel had to be changed because it leaked. I think that hot it will be more prone to tear on brick work etc.

Of the replies the best seemed to be persevere with minibore. One user had been 18mths without problem.
Do you have any views on hoses for hot systems Alex.

We have not specifically tested any of our products with a hot water system. From my experience with various hoses I would imagine that a decent microbore hose (not airline hose) would probably be the most resilient to the effects of hot water. For the sake of £50 it may be worth a try.

[Wayne Thomas]

I put a post up asking about hose for hot use. My minibore is very stretchy when hot, and one reel had to be changed because it leaked. I think that hot it will be more prone to tear on brick work etc.

Of the replies the best seemed to be persevere with minibore. One user had been 18mths without problem.
Do you have any views on hoses for hot systems Alex.

We have not specifically tested any of our products with a hot water system. From my experience with various hoses I would imagine that a decent microbore hose (not airline hose) would probably be the most resilient to the effects of hot water. For the sake of £50 it may be worth a try.

Alex, I telephoned Ionics as they are selling thermo hose for thermopure use.  I was interested in buying 100metres but they only sell it as half inch hose which IMO is far to heavy for everyday use with WFP.

How difficult would it be to contact your supplier of minibore hose and ask if they could manufacture a tripple layer of minibore (still 8mm or even possibly 10mm internally) which would prevent heat loss with possibly a thin layer of reflective film sandwiched between the inner and outer layers of hose? Even if it cost twice the price to manufacture but kept most of the heat in the hose I would happily pay twice the price.

[Alex Gardiner]

I put a post up asking about hose for hot use. My minibore is very stretchy when hot, and one reel had to be changed because it leaked. I think that hot it will be more prone to tear on brick work etc.

Of the replies the best seemed to be persevere with minibore. One user had been 18mths without problem.
Do you have any views on hoses for hot systems Alex.

We have not specifically tested any of our products with a hot water system. From my experience with various hoses I would imagine that a decent microbore hose (not airline hose) would probably be the most resilient to the effects of hot water. For the sake of £50 it may be worth a try.

Alex, I telephoned Ionics as they are selling thermo hose for thermopure use.  I was interested in buying 100metres but they only sell it as half inch hose which IMO is far to heavy for everyday use with WFP.

How difficult would it be to contact your supplier of minibore hose and ask if they could manufacture a tripple layer of minibore (still 8mm or even possibly 10mm internally) which would prevent heat loss with possibly a thin layer of reflective film sandwiched between the inner and outer layers of hose? Even if it cost twice the price to manufacture but kept most of the heat in the hose I would happily pay twice the price.

Hi Wayne

I will discuss this with our manufacturer as this could be a very useful product.  He may well have some experience with hot water hose in other applications.

[Wayne Thomas]

Thank-you Alex

[Village Gleam]

Alex I would buy that product, Wayne described very well what is reqiured. This would be a winner.
IMO, and I know hardly any one agrees including you, but purified water hot delivery window washing will become the norm. There are lots of strategic reasons for this and an inevitablity, one of these is  that it is idiot proof. Even I can't do a bad job.

added
ps. had an explosion today, a little tip, don't put a hoselock end stop connector on the hot out- so nearly idiot proof. Blew a hole clean through the half inch connection hose to reel.

[Village Gleam]

See Above, just so you know i'm not always perfect.

[Village Gleam]

On the connections Luke- you can fix them.

They usually stop working because they are dirty- put it in HOT[color=Red][/color] soapy water, click it in and out untill it frees up,

[Wayne Thomas]

had an explosion today, a little tip, don't put a hoselock end stop connector on the hot out- so nearly idiot proof. Blew a hole clean through the half inch connection hose to reel.

I blew a massive hole in some hose I was using which was connected up to a zodi gas heater a few years back. The water was over 90 degrees Celsius (excessively hot by any standards), because the hose I had fitted was only guaranteed up to 80degrees. It made one hell of a loud bang and blew the hose into tiny little pieces That was because I was using it directly to the pole and the waterflow had been turned off for quite a while whilst the heater was still lit and heating the water. Now I always use it to heat the WFP tank in vehicle instead unless I'm doing a new clean on a large property and simply don't bother turning it off until I've finished the job.

[Wayne Thomas]

My Gas heater goes straight to the reel via an ordinary  hoselock hose pipe. And as you say this occured when i had turned the tap to pole off and finished, but the varistream was still cycling and the on demand boiler was still lit.

Is this something I can expect often? It was quite a loud bang.

When you have your gas heater on, the water you are heating has to keep moving through the heating element either by flowing through your hosereel to your WFP or back to your WFP tank. If it is going to your WFP and you decide to shut off your flow of water on your pole but there is no means for the water to continue flowing back into your tank then obviously you will blow more hoses or worse damage the heating element. On a serious note it could be fatal and very dangerous so you need to make sure that your hot water can run back into your tank whilst the heater is on once you've decided to turn off the flow of water at your WFP

[Village Gleam]

How? Any pictures? Or type of valve I need to fit?

[Dean Aspects]

That hot water system looks good where do you get the parts from and how easy is it to fit and what else do you need thats not in the pic?
Sorry lots of questions but i dont want to waste money needlessly

Dean

[Wayne Thomas]

As your gas heater is situated in your van do you have a flue fitted for the necessary gasses to escape or is that a DIY you did yourself? You need to be aware of the potential danger of using gas heaters if you are not familiar with the proper installation of them. You also need to display the relevant hazard warning diamond on the outside of your van.

I use to use a 'Zodi' gas heater but it was always lit outside the van in the open air away from the van.

I now use a twin coil 75 litre calorifier tank with a built in 2kw immersion heater which retains the heat from my engine via the radiator. The heat stored in that is recycled through my WFP tank and can be indirectly or directly run to my hosereel also.

The week after next, I am having a hot water unit professionally installed by Omnipole up in London which uses a diesel heater which gives me the added advantage of being able to pre-heat my WFP tank whilst driving to work which you can't do with a gas heater.  So in a couple of weeks time I'll give you my verdict on Omnipole's diesel heater if you or anybody else is interested

[Dean Aspects]

  where did the pics go 

Dean

[cherubs cleaning]

wintecs

[Alex Gardiner]

I put a post up asking about hose for hot use. My minibore is very stretchy when hot, and one reel had to be changed because it leaked. I think that hot it will be more prone to tear on brick work etc.

Of the replies the best seemed to be persevere with minibore. One user had been 18mths without problem.
Do you have any views on hoses for hot systems Alex.

We have not specifically tested any of our products with a hot water system. From my experience with various hoses I would imagine that a decent microbore hose (not airline hose) would probably be the most resilient to the effects of hot water. For the sake of £50 it may be worth a try.

Alex, I telephoned Ionics as they are selling thermo hose for thermopure use.  I was interested in buying 100metres but they only sell it as half inch hose which IMO is far to heavy for everyday use with WFP.

How difficult would it be to contact your supplier of minibore hose and ask if they could manufacture a tripple layer of minibore (still 8mm or even possibly 10mm internally) which would prevent heat loss with possibly a thin layer of reflective film sandwiched between the inner and outer layers of hose? Even if it cost twice the price to manufacture but kept most of the heat in the hose I would happily pay twice the price.

Hi Wayne & Mr Solubility

We think we have a solution for you.  The smallest we can get it manufactured in is 10mm id.  It is triple layer with 'exotic' heat-retaining double inner layer.  We are working on a price for this.  It would be guaranteed to cope with a constant 80 degree water temperature.  Does this sound interesting to you Guys?