Mike Williamson

I'm sure someone may have pointed this out already, but you get what you pay for...why is it we expect our customers to understand that concept and hire us over a lower priced "economy" contractor, but when it comes to US spending the money, we want to be that tight-fisted economy purchaser?

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, Glad tidings, or whatever works for you. You can't take the Christ out of my Christmas, so I really don't care what you call it. :)

I've never had good luck patching hoses...but as Scott says, for a backup in a pinch they should be OK. I've had freshly patched hoses blow the same day in a different spot...It's like once they get ready to go, they're going. The exception would be a newer hose that needs a patch because, say, a dump truck pinched it against a curb and kinked it, or the end came off a relatively newer hose. Hoses aren't all that expensive, I prefer to replace them as needed and keep a couple new 100' sections as spares. If I had to replace all my hoses once a year, that's only $400.00 or so, better to do that than worry about blowing your backup hose and having to reschedule a job.

I have yet to find a "waterproof" work boot that holds out the water for hours of surface cleaning, but the closest I have tried are Wolverines...They are a lot more comfortable than rubber boots, though my feet still hurt after hours of walking concrete. You can order them direct from Wolverine's website. They're the 8" model with gore-tex. You could also just order gore-tex socks from Rocky Boots, and wear regular old work boots.

Or, as we tell our customers, you get what you pay for...Why do we think it will be any different with the stuff WE buy?

We're doing them for $34.95, but that includes the house, gutters, windows (inside and out), driveway, sidewalks, curbing, landscaping stones, any vehicles are RVs they may have, all the patio furniture, pool deck, screened enclosure, decks, playground equipment, patios, and for an additional $5.00 we'll mow their grass and trim their hedges (little do THEY know that it's WINTER, and we won't really have to cut the grass or trim the hedges...a little extra PROFIT center here). The letters just went out today, can't WAIT for the calls to start rolling in!!!!!

So how's it going after 6 months?

Amen to that. Praise God!! :lgjump:

What's an F150 Screw? My parents had a similar deal. After down payment, rebates, and trade-in, they paid $0.00 for their new Dodge 2500 Laramie Deisel... What a deal!!!

I don't blame you about the 40' Coress...I have a 24', and it's about as much as I'd want to handle for more than a minute or so. Extenda-a-Wand is made in Canada, so if Espec is selling Extend-a-Wand, they're getting them from the Canadian company that makes them. Coress is also made in Canada. Does that make a difference?

Sounds like the original Extenda-Wand (the brand, not a generic extension wand). I had one, and it was a good bit heavier and harder to manage than the Coress. What size Coress do you have? I wouldn't want to use it all day, but then again, I rarely need it.

You could probably rent a lift a good bit cheaper than a 30' Coress is going to cost. I don't know of anyone who sells them, other than Steve Rowlett, and I believe he's carrying his own brand now. I'd check with Don Phelps and see if he can get you one, or point you in the right direction.

Was your machine built as a two-gun setup? From what I understand (based on the quote below) a two gun machine requires a special unloader setup so you don't get 8gpm at 7000psi through one gun when the other guy lets go of his trigger.

Extension wands can be a pain (though using the Coress is almost painless), they do come in handy when they're needed. I haven't used mine much, but the few times I have used it have more than made up for what I paid for it. I've used the cheap yellow noodle wands, and I've used the original Extenda-Wand (the red one), and hated both. The Coress puts them all to shame.

So running an 8 or 10gpm pump from one larger motor with the proper unloader going to two guns is improper? If so, why? I figure that 24hp motor is going to eat much less gas than two 18 or 20hp motors, and then I have more to repair and maintain.

I don't see how they can be better...Some say Cat is a better pump, but in talking to guys who actually repair equipment, Cat is no better and is more costly when it does break. General has one of the most durable pumps out there, and even when you DO have to repair or replace, they're not going to break you.

They both spray water. I don't think the water that the Landa sprays is worth $3k more!!! The Pressure-Pro unit looks like a very nice machine. I am looking at that exact machine right now, and should have it on the trailer in the next week or two.

Amen to that! There are a lot of guys who are now running top grade machines who started with a machine like you're talking about, or even smaller. It'll get you started. One thing I will suggest, though, is to find out by doing searches here and on the PWNA board about water reclamation. I believe it is being actively enforced in your area, and you don't want to get fined. I understand it can be very expensive. If you're doing housewashing where there is no runoff, I would think you'd be fine, but for driveways or anything else where the water is going to do anything other than soak into the ground around the house, you'll need to reclaim. You'll want to get a business license, get insurance, check into the laws in your area as far as workman's compensation, licensing, and do a lot of reading here to learn techniques, chemicals, tools, etc. You will need to buy extra pressure hose, wands, tips, and other parts.

It would absolutely be less money than buying two skids, and would take much less space. There's not a huge difference in price between a 5.6gpm 18hp skid and the 8gpm 24hp skid I'm looking at now.

I'm stumped!! About two weeks ago I started losing pressure, though the motor and pump are running just fine. Checked my water supply, and it's fine...force fed the pump with a sufficient supply and still had the problem. It was an intermittent problem, but I finally figured out the unloader (K7) was dumping about 2gpm or so back into the tank with the trigger pulled. I changed the unloader with a spare that came with the trailer. Worked fine for a while, then same problem. Ordered another, installed it yesterday, and guess what? Worked fine for a short time, then same problem. What in the world could be causing all three unloaders to partially bypass?

No, thank YOU! :lgjump:

I'll give you a call tomorrow. I saw you called earlier, but I was away from the phone and didn't check it until just a while ago. I think the way I have it rigged will be fine for a couple days, if you can get them in the mail tomorrow. Talk to you in the AM.

Ok...next issue. The unloader is now constantly cycling when the trigger isn't pulled. I did some searching and found that the bypass orifice is likely the culprit (though not sure why it is now a problem, since nothing is different on the machine except bypassing the coil/flow switch). I have jury-rigged a solution for now, but I need to get a smaller orifice (mine is a #2, I assume the next size down is a #1?). Does anyone know where I can order a couple of these? The two places I usually order parts don't carry them, and I need one rather quickly.

I've been to the air/space museum, about 17 years ago. I want to come see the new addition...can't recall the name of it, but it opened a year or two ago. They're supposed to have a Blackbird on display.

Cape Canaveral is interesting, but IMHO WAY overpriced...but I suppose if you've never been there and you're even minimally interested in our history of space exploration, it is a must.