jakeman

I use a product called roof patch from Home Depot. I like it because the gutter does not have to be dry to put it on. I always pull out the old silicone first. Hope this helps.

Yes I have had the same problem with my last 2 shurflo pumps. I think I will try soldering the wire to the pump. Has anyone else tried this?

Also RV anti freeze will not harm pets.

I have had quite a few people ask me to wash one side of their house. I used to just say no but now I will quote the one wall at 75% of the whole house wash and give them the price for the whole house. Most people get the whole house done. I would not drive too far out of my way to do a quote like this since the homeowners in cases like this are usually trying to get it done as cheap as possible.

Most commercial jobs around here won't hire you without workmans comp. Even alot of homeowners want to know you have it. I have found it to be very helpful in getting jobs and also getting a better price for those jobs. Since most part-timers around don't bother with insurance I make sure I educate all potential clients on the hazards of using an uninsured contractor. Also if you get seriously hurt on the job you will be glad you have workers comp. I only have to pay about $100 a month for it .

I've had that happen a couple times. It seems like the pressure just found a weak place in the brass a made pin holes in it. Just replace the fitting.

I bought a 5.6 gpm a few months ago after having smaller machines for the last 4 years. The difference is amazing. I would never go back to anything less than 5.6. I would love to move up to 8 gpm but then water supply would be a problem. Even doing house washes with my 5.6 I am glad I have a 500 gal. water tank because some house taps don't keep up.

I just set up my new rig. I have a 5.6gpm, 3500psi hot water Alkota with a 525 gal. water tank. My problem is that when drawing water from my tank and upstreaming soap is not getting drawn from my chem tank. When I bypass my tank and hook the water up to my machine it does draw up soap. I put a small 12 volt diaphram pump with auto shut off on my chem line and was able to draw soap but it also filled my tank with soap when I released my gun trigger. I then installed a check valve right after my tank but for some reason the water will not flow through my check valve. (no it's not on backwards.) I'm at my wits end and any suggestions would appreciated. Thank You.

When I quote a house wash I will include the siding, windows, vinyl decks and the outside of the gutters. If the customer wants other things like the inside of the gutters or concrete done I will charge extra. Lots of people try to get freebies by saying , oh while you're here could you throw in the driveway. If it is something that will only take a few minutes I will do it for good p.r. Otherwise I will explain that because what they are asking will take extra time there will be an additional charge. Hope this helps.

I've been downstreaming for about 5yrs but have recently started washing heavy equipment and upstreaming is much more effective. I don't upstream acid and I don't think that soap is that hard on my pump. Thanks for the tips though. Got my problem solved, faulty check valve.

Thanks Ron. I got all four pages. That was fast.

I also am looking for a copy of a contract that I could use on a condo job and I am also looking for a quote sheet that I could use on residential and one I could use on commercial quotes. Any help would be appreciated. Thank You. my email is acepressurewashing@telus.net or my fax # is 604-502-9976

I am just setting up a new truck and mounting a 525 gallon water tank. I am told that the outlet from the water tank should be about 1 foot higher than the inlet for my pump. Any thoughts on this?

I have a 14x71/2 enclosed box with a wooden floor. I was qouted $1100 to get it linexed. I am going to spray on a product called Hippo liner at a cost of about $250. I will put a primer on first. Has anyone out there tried this brand or any other do it yourself brand? How did it work?

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting anything so I hope I am doing it right. I've been browsing this site for a couple months and have learned alot . Thanks everyone. Ihave been doing mostly residential cold water washing for about 5yrs full time and I am upgrading from my cold water machines to a hot water unit and have recieved alot of conflicting information from different salasmen trying to sell their product. Right now I am leaning toward an Alkota 5.3 gpm, 3500psi, 600,000 btu machine with a 20 hp Kohler engine. It is a gas engine with a deisel fired burner. I will be putting it in a 14ft cube van with a 650 gallon water tank. I am planning to use it to wash heavy equipment and trucks etc... Any advice or tips would sure appreciated. Thanks. P.S. What do you guys think of a 2 gun system running off 1 machine?

Thanks Russ, I am going to call Hydrotek and ask them about this to make sure it can be done without harming or overheating the pump. Sounds like the Hydrotek is a pretty good unit and would be good for what I will be doing.

I'll check that out. Thanks for the tips.

Do your chemicals run through your pump and if so how do you stop the chem. from bypassing back to your tank?

I wouldn't be downstreaming. I would be drawing my chemicals before my water intake so that water and chemicals are both hot and high pressure. I have only seen one hot water unit and that was how his was set up. He was cleaning trucks and excavators etc...

Also the salesman said that when only using one gun the second one would still draw chemacal and bypass it back to my tank contaminating the water. he said there was no way around this and that was the main reason for not getting the 8gpm hydrotek.

The Hydrotek 8gpm 3000 psi was my first choice but the salesperson told me that a two gun system never works very good and that the maintenence would be frequent and expensive. I would still love to get it if it's a good machine. Any comments?

That's what I thought. Thanks Russ.