This is mainly for house washing. I've only done one roof so far. Anyway, I've got a 50 gallon buffer tank (that holds about 42 gallons b/c float valve). It feeds by pressure washer and my proportioner. I'm keeping my helper working behind me rinsing. We're using a Y on the homeowners water to feed the buffer tank and the garden hose. Sometimes it's great but I've had a few houses with really poor water pressure. At the end of the job, I switch the proportioner to water and help rinse, but we're struggling to keep up until then.
Another washer showed me a transfer pump from Tractor Supply that boosts the pressure some, but I'm wondering what other ways there might be. I could probably rig up my second pump (double pump system), but I'm kinda keeping it on deck if the main pump lays down. Plus I would need another reel and hose. I could also use the pressure washer, but since i'm selling "soft wash/no pressure washers used" I'd rather not.
Here's that Tractor Supply pump:
John Aloisio said
May 17, 2016
Bryan,
water is always an issue in our business. If you are using a y on bad water pressure homes, that is only making matters worse. The booster pump you showed is nice but you need to be careful if someone has a well water. That is usually when the water pressure is at its worst. If you try to pull more than the wells own pump can, you can burn out the customers well pump. Your best option is to bring more water with you. If you can fit a tote or another 100 gallon tank, just have the full for more added buffering. it sucks, but it is an issue that we all deal with.
Diamond Roof Cleaning said
May 17, 2016
Don't be afraid of the pressure washer. When using the right tips it's just as soft as the booster pump. We rinse with our washer because it's faster than the booster and it does a better job. We also carry 225 gallons of water and we hardly ever run out.
Jeff Wible said
May 17, 2016
Yea,.what Mike said. You need a larger supply of water to begin with,.using a small buffer tank is ok if you do work that has city water,.but when you get to a house with well water,.things can get dicey. I rarely use someones well water,..I will if I know it's good and plenty of it,...but many times well water in my region is hard and will not leave windows as nice as they could be,.and even really bad sometimes. And running a customer out of water isn't good for business. And a disservice to the customer. If a customer is even questioning their water supply,.I simply adjust the cost to allow for multiple loads of water if necessary. I carry 300 gallons,..and fortunately,. I rarely have to chase water,..(Depends on what I'm getting into along with a house wash,..like decks,.concrete,.etc...) every now and then though I do,..and I will. I get my water from a local authority and fill up in about 10 minutes.
Rinsing is just as integral part of the wash job as the soaping. Can't be peckering around with rinsing,.especially when you get into a house that has alot of debris coming out from everywhere.
Using a pressure washer isn't going to lose you business,..if you lose business it's due to the operator. Like Mike said,..,..use your tools,..Using a PW,..especially higher GPM machine,.and you'll be soaping and rinsing houses with one hose. And all with low pressure soap nozzles. You can even get a remote control and turn your soap on and off and have your helper brushing gutters and such. Shouldn't take two people to soap and rinse. That is your job. The second man should be "detailing"
Soft washing is fine,..but a PW is the most versatile tool you own. You need to realize that soft washing can be way more PSI than these 12V or booster pumps. Soft washing for me is a soaping nozzle out of an 8 GPM washer,..and I soap and rinse at around 600-800 PSI. And that's a lot of rinsing power from 8 GPM. I can run about 40 PSI I'd guess through a range of 3000 PSI. You'll never have that versatility with a 12V or booster.
I never get asked if I use the soft washing method ,.I get asked about washing their house,..and they have little idea on how it's done. I explain my service so they know what they're getting,.. Let your actions speak for themselves,.because 99% of customers aren't as in tune with the service as you may think. They just want their house washed.
*Don't back yourself into a corner with terminology
Jeff
-- Edited by Jeff Wible on Tuesday 17th of May 2016 06:59:15 AM
DirtyRoofcom said
May 17, 2016
I have 2 of those pumps- they are not the best but well worth the money
Jeff Wible said
May 17, 2016
TSF-2021 is an awesome booster pump.
Jeff
Bryan P said
May 17, 2016
Jeff Wible wrote:
TSF-2021 is an awesome booster pump.
Jeff
I just googled that. Haha. Mine is an Udor. You just rinse with your soap tip on your wand?
Jeff Wible said
May 18, 2016
Yes Bryan,..the soap tip either fan pattern or zero degree,.whatever I need. I rarely use a wand,.I just use a "gang" of 7 nozzles in various PSI and patterns. Looking at the engine in your picture,..you must have a decent amount of GPM? The more GPM the better. If you decide to use your washer for rinsing,.you may as well get yourself a soap injector and downstream you soap and rinse with the same hose,..you'll never use the 12V or a booster pump again for house washing. Not sure what you know about down streaming,..so instead of explaining it I will wait and see what questions you may have. If you do decide to DS,..a remote will be a part of your tools.
Jeff
Bryan P said
May 18, 2016
Jeff Wible wrote:
Yes Bryan,..the soap tip either fan pattern or zero degree,.whatever I need. I rarely use a wand,.I just use a "gang" of 7 nozzles in various PSI and patterns. Looking at the engine in your picture,..you must have a decent amount of GPM? The more GPM the better. If you decide to use your washer for rinsing,.you may as well get yourself a soap injector and downstream you soap and rinse with the same hose,..you'll never use the 12V or a booster pump again for house washing. Not sure what you know about down streaming,..so instead of explaining it I will wait and see what questions you may have. If you do decide to DS,..a remote will be a part of your tools.
Jeff
Yeah, I just got a soap injector so I do have that as an option. Need a few more things. It's a 5.5gpm 4000 psi washer.
Bryan P said
Sep 6, 2016
Ok, Jeff. I had the perfect couple of jobs where I could try downstreaming. It worked. I'm not sure I LOVE it, but it worked. I think my struggle is that it covers so fast I'm not as focused on every area like I am with the 12 volt...so there was a lot of going back and detailing which was okay since I washed the house so fast. The other thing is that I had lots more weep hole runs (muddy drips on vinyl siding) than I usually do with lower pressure. I had 8 or 9 on the house vs. the 1 or 2 I usually have.
I liked that I didn't have to get the ladder for the higher sections and it cleaned really well, especially on the gutters. And it went really fast. Gonna keep that in my back pocket for when I need it. We're probably gonna start rinsing with the pressure washer on most jobs anyway. House water pressure is really unpredictable.
The other job was a new brick house that I was hired to clean post-construction. Lots of mud and gunk. Wanted to use EBC so downstreaming just made sense on that one.
Andy Hinson said
Sep 6, 2016
I went through 2 brand new water booster pumps in 2 months on my skid. I used that pump to clean a roof
Jeff Wible said
Sep 7, 2016
Bryan,..keep working on getting comfortable with downstreaming,.there isn't any reason you can't cover just as thoroughly as with your dedicated pump. Keep working with it and get you a remote tied in,.and you'l never look back to any other method for house washing.
Jeff
Maverick Contracting said
Sep 7, 2016
Get a big pink elephant for your ground guy Heard they work for PEANUTS!
-- Edited by Maverick Contracting on Wednesday 7th of September 2016 05:38:46 PM
This is mainly for house washing. I've only done one roof so far. Anyway, I've got a 50 gallon buffer tank (that holds about 42 gallons b/c float valve). It feeds by pressure washer and my proportioner. I'm keeping my helper working behind me rinsing. We're using a Y on the homeowners water to feed the buffer tank and the garden hose. Sometimes it's great but I've had a few houses with really poor water pressure. At the end of the job, I switch the proportioner to water and help rinse, but we're struggling to keep up until then.
Another washer showed me a transfer pump from Tractor Supply that boosts the pressure some, but I'm wondering what other ways there might be. I could probably rig up my second pump (double pump system), but I'm kinda keeping it on deck if the main pump lays down. Plus I would need another reel and hose. I could also use the pressure washer, but since i'm selling "soft wash/no pressure washers used" I'd rather not.
Here's that Tractor Supply pump:
Bryan,
water is always an issue in our business. If you are using a y on bad water pressure homes, that is only making matters worse. The booster pump you showed is nice but you need to be careful if someone has a well water. That is usually when the water pressure is at its worst. If you try to pull more than the wells own pump can, you can burn out the customers well pump. Your best option is to bring more water with you. If you can fit a tote or another 100 gallon tank, just have the full for more added buffering. it sucks, but it is an issue that we all deal with.
Yea,.what Mike said. You need a larger supply of water to begin with,.using a small buffer tank is ok if you do work that has city water,.but when you get to a house with well water,.things can get dicey. I rarely use someones well water,..I will if I know it's good and plenty of it,...but many times well water in my region is hard and will not leave windows as nice as they could be,.and even really bad sometimes. And running a customer out of water isn't good for business. And a disservice to the customer. If a customer is even questioning their water supply,.I simply adjust the cost to allow for multiple loads of water if necessary. I carry 300 gallons,..and fortunately,. I rarely have to chase water,..(Depends on what I'm getting into along with a house wash,..like decks,.concrete,.etc...) every now and then though I do,..and I will. I get my water from a local authority and fill up in about 10 minutes.
Rinsing is just as integral part of the wash job as the soaping. Can't be peckering around with rinsing,.especially when you get into a house that has alot of debris coming out from everywhere.
Using a pressure washer isn't going to lose you business,..if you lose business it's due to the operator. Like Mike said,..,..use your tools,..Using a PW,..especially higher GPM machine,.and you'll be soaping and rinsing houses with one hose. And all with low pressure soap nozzles. You can even get a remote control and turn your soap on and off and have your helper brushing gutters and such. Shouldn't take two people to soap and rinse. That is your job. The second man should be "detailing"
Soft washing is fine,..but a PW is the most versatile tool you own. You need to realize that soft washing can be way more PSI than these 12V or booster pumps. Soft washing for me is a soaping nozzle out of an 8 GPM washer,..and I soap and rinse at around 600-800 PSI. And that's a lot of rinsing power from 8 GPM. I can run about 40 PSI I'd guess through a range of 3000 PSI. You'll never have that versatility with a 12V or booster.
I never get asked if I use the soft washing method ,.I get asked about washing their house,..and they have little idea on how it's done. I explain my service so they know what they're getting,.. Let your actions speak for themselves,.because 99% of customers aren't as in tune with the service as you may think. They just want their house washed.
*Don't back yourself into a corner with terminology
Jeff
-- Edited by Jeff Wible on Tuesday 17th of May 2016 06:59:15 AM
Jeff
I just googled that. Haha. Mine is an Udor. You just rinse with your soap tip on your wand?
Jeff
Yeah, I just got a soap injector so I do have that as an option. Need a few more things. It's a 5.5gpm 4000 psi washer.
I liked that I didn't have to get the ladder for the higher sections and it cleaned really well, especially on the gutters. And it went really fast. Gonna keep that in my back pocket for when I need it. We're probably gonna start rinsing with the pressure washer on most jobs anyway. House water pressure is really unpredictable.
The other job was a new brick house that I was hired to clean post-construction. Lots of mud and gunk. Wanted to use EBC so downstreaming just made sense on that one.
Jeff
Get a big pink elephant for your ground guy
Heard they work for PEANUTS!
-- Edited by Maverick Contracting on Wednesday 7th of September 2016 05:38:46 PM