upgrading equipment

[ghouchu]

i'm ready to replace my 3500 psi, 4gpm, 13 hp honda engine, cold water devilbiss pressure washer. at present, my work is exclusively residential and i don't anticipate pursuing commercial work, but i'd certainly take any opportunity that fell into my lap if i had the necessary equipment.

here's my problem. i would love to have at least 5 gpm's and hot water, but i don't want to pull a trailer and i must periodically be able to remove all my equipment out of the back of the truck i use(which is only part mine). so, i want/need a set-up on wheels that is light enough for me (working alone) to get in and out of the truck on a ramp. i wouldn't have to move it often(assuming i could run it from the bed of the truck without vibrating the bolts loose), and i don't mind hard work. but, near as i can tell, anything with 5 gpm and hot water runs over 500 pounds, and i'm a 45 year old former desk jockey.

first, does anybody see any way for me to get 5 gpm and hot water on a set-up i could get into and out of the truck?

second, if i have to choose between 5 gpm and hot water, what would any of ya'll recommend?

i want the higher gpm because 4 is not enough to do a very efficient job rinsing the dirt and soap from cleaned areas. i have to spend way too much time rinsing.

i want the hot water for 2 reasons. first, the driveways here in b'ham, al can grow stuff that's impervious to chlorine, sodium hydroxide, and every other chemical i've tried. the only way to get it clean with cold water is to blast away the surface of the driveway itself--i think i'd have better luck with hot water. second, demand for cleaning mildew off of eaves is strong by early april, but it takes a lot of time and a lot of clorox when it's 50 degrees outside. in fact, i've told several people to wait until 80 - 90 degree weather hit, because i'd be able to do a much more thorough job in half the time. (and yes, i've tried running 12% clorine thru an x-jet at full drawing capacity and have still had to get on some spots 3 and 4 times, keeping the bleach hitting it for up to 3 minutes a time). again, i assume i'd have better luck with hot water.

i know this is all a matter of personal taste and opinion, but i value your opinions. i've read through the old threads and am familiar with the debate between the hot water fans versus the cold water and chemical devotees. but i'm still at a loss about what to do and so, once again, i'm turning to the experts to bail me out of yet another dilemma.

thanks

richard

 

[ron]

ron p

first thing you need to think about is what if the house your doing the washing at has a water source thats lower then 5 gpm? You will burn out your pump without your own water or a large tank. You might be able to use a plastic 55 gal. drum as a float tank.
Second thing, needing to move a 600lb skid unit on and off a truck.
They have wheel kits and motorcycle straps.
Then you build a platform, made up of 4x4's , 2x4's,and plywood.
measure the hight of the LOADED pick up truck and make your STAND that height.
Then use a piece of alum. plate between the truck bed and the stand.
This way your rolling it off the truck to the platform.
When you go to reload it the truck will be higher[how much higher will depend on your suspension]
The aluminum plate needs a piece on the bottom so it forms a T so it wont slide off.
You may need a comealong to get it back on the truck.


.......................................wash unit
Platform_______T------------------------truck............your building a small loading dock.
................... alum.
....................... T
...................... plate
hope ive helped.
PS put a wheel stop[2x4] on the back of the platform.

 

[ron]

ron p

do some internet research on POLYQUATS as a chem for the alge.
you should buy the proper FLO-JET pump [12 volt] and battery,handcart,hose,wand,ect... and use that to spray the 12% with no delution.

 

[Roger]

ghouchu,

You can run a skid unit in the bed of a pickup without vibrating the bolts loose, just double nut the bolts or use self locking nuts. I had my Tuff hot water unit mounted in the bed of my truck for about 5 months but quickly found that it wasnt the way I wanted to go for several reasons.

1. The unit I have weighs around 600lbs, plus had several hundred pounds of misc equipment (hoses, wands, surface cleaner, chem tank, chemicals, etc). Not only did it take up all the room in the bed of my truck, hauling all that weight around all the time was eating me up on gas. Not to mention the wear and tear on the truck.

2. Be careful of how the exhaust is setup on the unit and where you mount the unit in relation to the bed walls. I mounted my unit cross ways(centered) in the bed as far forward as I could to make room for all the other stuff. The engine exhaust exited the side of the unit toward the side if the bed. It was about 18 inches from the bed wall. It started scorching the paint on the inside of the bed and anything within 2 ft of where the exhaust deflected off the bed wall got real hot. Melted down a 5 gal bucket once, it almost caught fire, so had to mount a metal plate to deflect the exhaust up. So keep that in mind.

3. Being mounted inside the bed limits the accessibility to the unit for maintenence. I had a battery go bad and the way mine was mounted it took 2 1/2 hours to change it because I had to unbolt the unit and slide it back to get the battery out then remount the unit again.

4. Not having the ability to carry my own water supply was a drawback for me.

About the only thing I liked about having it in on my truck was that it was easier getting around in. Pulling a trailer isn't bad, once you get use to it. Just don't get caught at the end of a long dead end street with no way to turn around unless your good at backing a trailer or like trying to turn a loaded trailer around by hand.


A couple of other suggestions for getting the unit on/off of the truck would be to build a steal A-frame wider than your truck and use a hoist or comealong to lift the unit then drive out from under it or buy(or rent) a roll around engine hoist that is big enough to lift it on/off the truck. Ron's platform sounds do-able as well.

Just my 2 cents.....
Hope this helps.

 

[john orr]

Richard,

Based on what you've written, I don't believe that you need to upgrade. I too clean mostly residential, but I can honestly say that the hot water won't make THAT much of a difference on the driveways. On driveways with stubborn stains (mold or leaf) I power wash with the surface cleaner then rinse with bleach. Let it sit while you do the house and then rinse the drive before you leave. It WILL be clean.

There are a few instances where hot water has been needed - drive-thru's and building entrances with gum. I bought a converted Landa machine from my local dealer for about $700. It still weighs a ton, but I only bring it when I know I'll need it. I use a trailer, but if I HAD to get it in and out of my truck on a regular basis, I would look at using an engine hoist.

I wash houses every day - year 'round - and the outside temp does not make a difference. (Except to the operator!) I have tried washing with hot water and find no difference, other than an increase in cost and complexity. I think you need to let the bleach dwell for more than 3 minutes. I use regular bleach in my mix at about 15:1 and it works fine - in all temps.

My next machine will either be the $1200 Honda/Cat from Lowes or the $1600 extended run/Honda/Cat/belt drive/electric start unit from Northern Tool. You might try renting a hot water unit and trying it out before you decide.

Bottom Line: If it makes me faster and better, I use it. Hot water doesn't...most of the time.

 

[ghouchu]

thanks guys. you've each given me things to think about.

john, i didn't make myself clear. i gave the eaves 15+ minutes of dwell time(w/ dawn added to the bleach to provide greater cling), the three minutes i mentioned was how long i was hitting the eaves with a stream of fresh bleach. you're right that routine application of bleach will get most mildew without further effort, but i must be dealing with a particularly tenacious variety from time to time--either that or there was something about the surface that made the mildew uncommonly tough to remove. there have been three houses--brick, with wood eaves, if it might matter--where i'd hit an area with bleach,wait 15 minutes and hit it again, and again, and again, and and it still didn't look like i'd gotten it all.

i've also encountered some type of fungus on driveways that i've poured straight 12% on, kept it wet with 12% for over an hour, and still couldn't get it off with my turbo on a 3500 psi machine. same results using everything else in my chemical arsenal, including hd-80, degreaser, and 2 kinds of deck wash. i have concluded it must be a close relative of artillary fungus.

at the time i did those houses i had not yet discovered quats, so i may have been dealing with spores, which i understand generally survive even a thorough bleaching.

i've encountered the same type problems with areas under oak trees--i can lighten them up but can't seem to get those areas completely clean. of course, i've just assumed hot water would help, without any real basis other than the notion that hot water cleans better than cold water.

any hot water users out there with an opinion on the value of hot water in residential applications--both for getting tough stains and for faster cleaning of pavement surfaces?

what about the relative benefit of higher gpm's, even if it means adding a water tank to my equipment?

thanks again for your thoughts, and i will certainly appreciate anything further anyone can add.

richard

 

[johnisimpson]

thoughts on the bleach

Richard,

One thought on the bleach not working would be that it could have possibly been old or severely weakened by sunlight if it had been sitting exposed for a while. I believe either of these things can weaken bleach, if anyone knows differently I'd love to be informed.

John

 

[Mark]

Something to think about:

Here is a picture of a hot water heater we offer, we recently took a customers 13 HP Honda and direct drive pump and mounted it on one of these hot water skids.