After watching one of your videos, I decided to try a different chemical application approach to one of our better jobs today. We use a garden hose nozzle to apply at about 6 gpm for siding. We screw an adapter to the end of it that reduces it to a 1/4" S/S quick connect for roof cleaning. We put a 25/12 in it and flow just over 3 gpms with good pressure and a nice pattern. I decided to go with it today for siding since we were cleaning multiple single story houses. We were using between 30-40 gal of solution for each house on average in the past. Single story aprox 1700sqft hip roof  brick homes, mainly appling to doors, windows, shutters, gutters, soffit, etc... Today we averaged 20gal of solution per unit. Some have screened porches, some painted patios. We cleaned 14 single family homes and 2 doubles with exactly 320gal of mix at about a 7% solution with plenty of surfactant. Roughly 22gal of bleach for 16 homes or 18 units. Some gutters and patios needed a second bump, but I was blown away at how well it coated and how little was wasted. 

                    I had no idea how much I was wasting until I watched you applying that house with a fan tip. Cone vs fan, we were just painting it on today. We had several homes with chimneys and some with gable ends, we just un screwed the Q/C and reached them with ease. I thought I had it all figured out , but you have my wheels turning again. I use a 110v booster pump system because it reaches higher gpms and pressures than 12v, but seeing how well it cleaned today with the reduced flow I may go back to a 12 volt application system. I needed the high gpms before since I was using it to rinse with also, I use a seperate high gpm rinse pump now.

        

-- Edited by taselton2 on Thursday 9th of June 2011 10:58:30 PM

-- Edited by taselton2 on Thursday 9th of June 2011 10:59:40 PM

     This is the nozzle I was referring to and the adapter as well. This nozzle was what we used when we ran a one man system. Soap, then rinse by turning pump intake valve. It was easier to just use the same nozzle for both. I'm going to build one of AC's nozzles and try it soon. This is just what we always used from the begining. They last a lot longer than you might think. They run about $5-6 and can be found at most hardware stores.

 

Nice, we use the exact same "witches hat" sprayer from HD with an on/off valve. I have been known to turn around on jobs when we realize we lost the last one etc..

Most of the time, on a house wash we use 50/50 applied with a 2520 and rinsed with either the witches hat from the garden hose or if we have to we will fire up the pw.

Then we will put the 2520 on the end of a 10 foot extension, or a 0060 in the pw and hose it off.

Our garden hose is 5/8 good year plyo and with the witch hat tip it flows perfect.  We use one long stretch of 1/2 spiralight for our air pump.  When we do not need the pressure washer for gutter clean out or the pool screen room it is a very fast and light to move with combo.

For spraying roofs, we use a pvc ball valve w/qc.

I used to use only the good year industrial high flow garden hoses for spraying chems. They are sold at HD.

We liked how you could easily turn the end and adjust the pattern.  They are set up for 6-8 gallons p/min I think.  The problem with them is they are very fragile at the neck where you turn to adjust the pattern and will always break. 

Not that a ball valve is much stronger, they seem to last longer, and cost next to nothing.  Lube the qc at the end of the day and it seems to always be there the next day not ruining your day.  I'm not much of a equipment guy, I just want the stuff to work with little to no maintenance or turning of the wrench.

 

Tom

 

 

taselton2 wrote:

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We only use our pressure washer for really bad concrete, then we treat it after. Basically to remove top layer and pre-wet runoff areas. We use a 36" surface cleaner, I haven't used it for anything other than concrete in years. Softwash application pump and high flow rinse pump is all we use. The rinse pump was added to speed up the rinsing process. One man applying and one rinsing/wetting down. Rinse man (me) can really move when flowing 13gpm (15gpm@pump). Apply with 3-4gpm and rinse with 13gpm, that works for us.

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 The one bad thing about rinse pumps and air pumps and such is the fact they USUALLY use a gas engine. One of the big factors I used when selling against pressure washers was the fact that yall used gas engines. I would happily make the point that anything that used a gas engine and a pump could be construed as pressure washing.

AC

I just can not justify hauling around all of the water weight all day to feed those pumps.  When I can throw a 2520 or a 2509 in after soaping down the pool cage.It kills the gas pump and you need a tugboat to haul it around.  I'm already spending 30-50 a day with my small set-up-(two 165 tanks and a 100).

Today we did a bunch of cages, no roofs.  All we do is I run in with the air pump and load her up and then he comes in and rinses it down quickly.  A 2509 on my 5.5 3500 is what we use for the gutter between the roof and the pool cage.  That stuff is nasty and can be a real pain to get out. 

Then a 2520 rinses the cage fast.  The whole process is like 45mins on a typical fl cage. Pull up BONE dry/apply chems while tank fills/rinse and roll up.  Time it to have half of a tank when you drive to the next cage, drive home dry. I have a good friend in the biz that employed a 17gpm pump for a while.  I worked many projects with him and understand how great flow is.  He rinsed the back of this building for us where we could not safely bring in a lift. The pw couldn't reach the top, but his pump 17gpm at 300psi smoked it.  IDK any other way that we could have cleaned it without the reach of high flow.

 

 

 

The reason we use the diaphram pump is because it can flow at rates that far exceed pressure washers and its not a pressure washer. We want our customers to know that this is a softwashing system and not a pressure washing system. The garden hose nozzles assure them that there is no way we are going to damage anything with psi. I pressure washed houses for 10 years, softwashing is the way to go for us.

-- Edited by taselton2 on Wednesday 22nd of June 2011 07:11:07 PM

I just convince customers in the fact that all pressure washing can be destructive and anything with a gas engine is a destructive pressure washer.

AC

if you want to experiment with some different nozzles , go to your local irrigation supplier and get a rainbird shrub adaptor , its 3/4 or 1/2 inch fpt , there is an assortment of different spray head nozzle patterns and flow rates , they have a varriable arc nozzle (VAN) capable of 18 feet wide spray and its adjustable from 0 to 360 degrees . It even has its own strainer and they are only a dollar or 2 . I have used them on many occasions for different applications . You do have to keep pressure around 60 psi . I used them out of necessity , I broke my wand and my irrigation service truck was close so i called my service tec and told him to come to my location and I made up a wand out of my irrigation supplies .