Anyone run 2 guns on their unit?

[ALL-BRITE]

I have a 3500psi 5.5 gpm hot water Elite skid unit.
I want to put a tee in the discharge hose to hookup 2 guns one for my extention and one for my 6ft lance (lower) level gun. Question is will the ocassional use of both guns bother my hotwater unit? Also I know that the pressure will drop in 1/2 as well as my cleaning units per gun. I just thought that with 2 guns that I might be able to keep a second guy busy. So what do you think ? Thanks Tim

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Tim Highfield
ALL-BRITE POWERWASHING

 

[Clean County]

I think if you do this your pressure will stay the same but your gpm wil cut in half if each gun is on. So you will have 3500psi at 2.75gpm if each gun is in use. There is more to this and the WIZ can give you a much more detail answer. -JOHN-

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[Mark]

Hello Tim,

I have advised several customers on this matter, and suggested it would not be effective.

2 out of about 20-50 of these customers asked me to set their units up for 2 gun operation anyhow. They both have added second machines now as they realized that anything under 5 GPM @ 3000 PSI is too slow for most contract cleaner applications.

If you decide to go this route ( 2 guns) be sure you have a thermostat on your unit, as when you are running 1- gun only with a lower flow your temperature will soar!

Mark

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Call or e-mail me if I can be of assistance!
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[This message has been edited by Mark (edited April 21, 2001).]

 

[jschessler]

Dude is better if you upgrade to a 10gpm and 3000 psi machine that way your cleaning units stay at 15000.

They can make these machines into dual gun as long as you keep the flow the same at each gun. What i mean is you don't use dual lances since you want to keep the flow of 5gpm at each gun otherwise if you want to use one gun you can put a size 10 nozzle on one lance and increase you cleaning units to 30000.

On disadvantage to this is not practical for hood cleaning with a dual gun system.


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[Dave Olson]

Hi Tim,

Be sure you have pressure and temperature gauges on your machine.

Our main pump is currently running at 9 gpm up to 3000 psi. We run two 4.5 tips on a regular basis. When both guns are on we set the thermostat on our boiler to an acceptable temperature. When one gun is shut off for very long the temperature will increase about 20-30 degrees over set point.

This means that each gun is running at about 4 gpm. We have tried putting smaller tips in (to reduce flow, so we could run 3 guns) and the productivity really went down.

With your machine at 5.5 gpm, when running two guns, each gun will probably be too low a flow to have very much production.

When we do fleets, we run two 6504 tips at about 2200 psi cold. When doing heavy equipment (coal mine) we run two 4.5 rotary tips at 3000 psi @ 200+ degrees.

New boiler is doing good (980,000 Btu Whitco)

Dave Olson

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Tidy Powerwash Service, Inc. P.O. Box 781, Catlin, Illinois 61817 Phone 217-427-5557, Fax 217-427-2632 We are a commercial cleaning contractor serving East-Central Illinois and West Central Indiana since 1984. http://www.tps-inc.com/preswash.htm

 

[oguard]

Using one large unit is somewhat of a false economy. It usually costs the same as two smaller units but without several potential headaches. You may gain a more compact package but it may also be more difficult to get your weight and balance correct for safe vehicle operations.

It is easier to run one or two guns with two machines; also it is simpler to reduce flow on a smaller unit without running into excessive heating problems. Smaller pumps use less costly more readily available repair kits.

Smaller engines/motors are less costly to maintain and replace.

Smaller coils are less likely to require seperate (COSTLY) inspections if an area views either the volume or BTU as a boiler.

If you lose one large unit you are out of luck; two smaller ones give you limp home capability.

Guns, wands, hoses, unloaders are all lower cost with smaller machines as well.

Fuel and water supply are important to either system; the two units being much more flexible and forgiving.

I agree that flow is the King, Queen and Court Jester of cleaning. Invest your money wisely and you will always be two of the three; which two is up to you.

Work with a local professional pressure washer dealer to make sure you know ALL of the potential costs. Down time does not make you money.

Cheers<u>Text</u>

 

[Mike Taylor]

<FONT COLOR="Blue">I personally would get another setup. I have one machine that does 5.5gpm@3000 and another that is 8.5gpm @2500.....with the 8.5 I run circles around the smaller, So you will definitely be losing time by splitting from one machine. In the long run it pays to have a second setup, as others have said downtime is the enemy. </FONT c>

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Always Under Pressure Inc Mike Taylor Pompano Beach Fla USA
"Oh Lord Its Hard To Be Humble When You Are ME.....lol "