Diesel smoke removal

[PHATONE]

IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT CAN TELL ME A WAY TO GET DIESEL SMOKE OF THE SIDES OF SEMI TRAILERS WITHOUT SCRUBBING? I AM A ONE MAN OPERATION AND SPENDING 40-50 MIN. CLEANING ONE TRAILER. AT $20 A TRAILER I'LL GO BROKE. I AM USING THE TWO STEP METHOD WHICH SEEMS TO HELP BUT THE CUSTOMER IS STILL NOT HAPPY. I'M NOT TALKING LOW PH ACID EITHER, THIS IS 1-2 PH. WHEN YOU ARE IN FULL RAIN GEAR AND A FULL FACE RESPERATOR AT 80-90 DEG. IT'S RUFF GOING. BUT FOR NOW I'M DOING THE BEST THAT I CAN. ANY DETAILED ADVICE FROM YOU PRO'S WOULD MEAN ALOT.

THANKS
PHATONE

 

[Ramon]

I don't want to rile anyone up here but...
I wash trailers that are cleaned every 2-3 months. My helper can brush them in ten minutes each. As fast as I can spray soap and rinse he can brush. The thing I like the most is the chemicals do not require rainsuits, etc I use a car wash soap that melts the smoke off with a brush. Try it out I think you will find it works well.

Ramon

 

[Ethan]

Diesel soot is tough but, it can be removed with out brushing.
What you may want to look at is how your applying your chemical and what type of chemical you are using.

You can two step all day long and if your chemicals are not designed to do the job you will never see the results you are looking for.

Give me a call if you need my help. 1-888-649-6449

Ethan

 

[hotwaterwisard]

Elbow grease and a brush with truck wash soap is the only way I know to get the stuff off without using harsh chemicals.

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Hotwaterwizard@aol.com John DeRosa "If I Can't fix it no one can."

 

[Rob Blair]

Hey Ramon,

Whether you rile someone up or not, diversity and different opinons are healthy, I for one appreciate your posts on brushing on this board and others. Sometimes we brush, sometimes we use a one step soap, sometimes we even two step, though not very often. Hey what ever it takes to get them CLEAN! So........Phatone you may want to look at a third alternative.. one step soap application and yes there are some that will cut diesel exhaust. One draw back, they are not cheap! Check out your supply catalogs and try some...........Rob

 

[Craig/PowerWashUnlimited]

Ramon,

Use a high grade concentrated degreaser without diluting or at 2:1. Comes right off for us.

Craig

 

[Ramon]

For Rob and Craig,

I tried two-stepping and the soap and rinse thing for about six months. I was working alone and brushing just was not an option. I too found that to cut smoke off of trailers it took alot of $$$ for chemicals. Just curious what it costs you guys in soap and acid to do a 53' trailer. I may be doing it wrong but for me it was cheaper and easier to hire someone to do the brushing. But two-stepping is great for restoring aluminum and stainless, etc. on trucks. I also would like to find a way to do a little of both. The soap I use now is much cheaper and has a health rating of one. We stick our hands in it all day without irritation. My biggest fear is for employees or trucks parked next to each other to get sprayed with acid or a strong chemical. Maybe I just need to expirement more with it.

Ramon

 

[Rob Blair]

Hi Ramon,

Going to have to take a stab at that price because I don't just wash any 53' vans.

soap......$2.50
acid......$2.00

This is conservative and perhaps a little high......Rob

 

[Ramon]

Hey Rob,

That's about what I paid. I think it costs me about 50 cents per trailer definately less than a dollar for soap and 2 dollars for labor. If I worked alone I probably wouldn't bother brushing. It seems expensive to me to twin chem.

Ramon

 

[ameri-clean]

We use the two-step method to clean trailers. The probable difference is we put our chems on under pressure. Tried down stream and it just did not work for us. The chems we use are designed for our system, that is why they work so well. Our cost of chems is about $2 on a 53' van. It takes us 15 min. to wash one trailer. We also charge $20. Yes there are maintainence requirements when you run chems thru pump. We have to replace the check valves about every 3 months. This costs $53 for 3. Not too bad considering the speed we pick up. We rarely pick up a brush.

 

[MILLEER]

Ramon, my partner and I went to see the two-step system. We were pretty impressed. As matter of fact, we ordered one this past Tuesday. We visited two people who were working the day we were down there. At one location, we used the equipment on a semi-trailer. Very nice. Chemicals at the flick of the switch right at the gun. Water on and off as well.

We drove from the Columbus, OH area (about 9 hours one-way). In our opinion, it was well worth the trip.

If possible you should check it out.

 

[Ramon]

Mileer,

I have a guy about 20 minutes from me with one. If I ever get a day off I will take a look at it.

Ramon

 

[hotwaterwisard]

You know what I use to remove soot and diesel deposits from diesel burner parts? It works better than any cleaner I have tried. Gets the soot off right now!

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Hotwaterwizard@aol.com John DeRosa YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? I HAVE ANSWERS!

 

[Ramon]

hotwizard,

So what do you use? I am waiting on pins and needles!

Ramon

 

[hotwaterwisard]

Originally posted by Ramon:
hotwizard,

So what do you use? I am waiting on pins and needles!

Ramon

Diesel fuel. It cuts thru it because it is the same and it desolves the soot.



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Hotwaterwizard@aol.com John DeRosa YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? I HAVE ANSWERS!