Mike Williamson

I'm using 3/4" pipe. I didn't have anything but a picture to go from, and I had plenty of 3/4" pipe and fittings. I imagine you could use 1/2"...It would be lighter.

I don't think this would hold up all that well to the chlorine. On the PVC guns, the only parts that will corrode and need replacing are the QCs on each end. Dale: I forgot to include in my parts list the pvc ball valve for shutting off the flow! That would help, eh? :)

What strength is the chlorine you're using? I use 10.5%, and Xjet it straight without proportioners. That gives me roughly 3% hitting the roof, which works well. Sometimes I have to re-coat an area before rinsing, but not always. Usually, I'll coat the entire roof, then re-coat any areas that are still showing brown streaks.

On mine, I used about 3' of pipe, with a male pipe thread fitting on one end. I screwed a female 3/8" QC to this. This is where the hose connects. On the other end, I put a 90 degree elbow, and another female pipe thread fitting. To this, I attached a 1/4" female QC. That's where the tip goes. I have a pic somewhere....I'll see if I can find it.

I can do the same home in about the same time, maybe a little less, depending on the severity of the roof. I'm just wondering if a lower gpm, higher psi pump might work better pushing chems through 200' of hose. Have you checked your output at the end of your hose to see what gpm you're getting? Yes, I was talking about applying chems standing on the ground. I was wondering if you can shoot chems that far with the pump you have. When I have time, I'm messing around with my flojet setup, but still don't get adequate gpms through the hose. Around 1gpm, if that, and that's on the ground. I haven't checked to see what I'm getting at the peak of a typical single story roof. If I could get the results I"m looking for by going with a pump like yours, I'd do it.

Rick: What kind of flow are you getting at the end of 200'? Are you getting enough pressure to apply from the ground?

I charge more if the roof is fairly complicated, because it just takes longer to get chems on all surfaces, and to rinse. That applies if I am working from the ground or from the roof.

It depends on the roof. If I don't have to get on the roof at all, the pitch doesn't make a difference...In fact, the steeper it is, the easier it is to rinse. If I have to get up on the roof to reach the peak, or to clean it off of debris, etc, the pitch definitely plays a part. What do you mean by the top of a castle?

I have had requests to do the eaves/fascia several times, and I just tell them it will be the same price to do the entire house as to do what they're requesting. On the flip-side, I had a customer last week who couldn't understand why the eaves,fascia, and gutters weren't included in the roofwash pricing, since they were attached to the roof!

Could you have two pumps inline, and achieve a higher gpm and psi? I have a 4.5gpm pump and only get 1gpm, maybe, on the roof through 200' of hose. If I were to add, say, another 3.0 gpm pump, would that increase the gpm I'm getting at the end of the hose on the roof?

I can't lose 100psi per 100'! I'm only running 40psi to begin with! But I get what you're saying.

Not impressed with the output through 200' of 3/8" polybraided hose...I'm getting around 1gpm...On the other hand, others I've talked to who use this much hose say to expect a good bit of volume loss. Not having using any other 12v pumps, I can't really say if the flojet works as well, better, or worse. I still have to do some tweaking to the system when I have time...I need a larger tank and am also re-plumbing it to make it easier to flush with water.

I won't just do the eaves, for the reason you found out...I wind up washing a good portion of the house anyway.

Its all about the money. Hell, if that supplier can market to homeowners rather than contractors, he'd probably make a lot more money. I'm not too worried about it. There are do-it-yourselfers, and there are those who hire it done. All this is doing is making it easier for the do-it-yourselfer. Most of them wouldn't hire you or I with or without the Xjet or gutterzap. I'm not crazy about the idea, but I really don't see it as affecting my bottom line. I do have a hell of a lot more respect for suppliers who respect our industry than I do for those who don't. That's one reason I use Gutter Shock rather than Gutter Zap, and ReadySeal rather than their product. I've heard the Xjet is selling at either Lowes or Home Depot...was it one of those stores where you saw these products?

That's it! I can understand with commercial work it might not hurt to have something in place to make sure the decision maker is happy with the work you're doing. I do about 90% residential, and the homeowner is always happy. Like you said, they pay the bills.

My quality assurance is to make sure I do a damned good job. It's working so far.

I've used both, and I've found I have to scrub a bit more with GZ than with the GS.

Your friend is crazy! They'd be replacing every single one of them after every flight...which they don't. They're re-useable. They're also damned expensive, and not made of graphite. Here's something I pulled off the web, and a link to a CNN article that ran shortly after the Columbia was lost: Here is a CNN article (Feb. 3, 2003) about the space shuttle tiles. It indicates that the tiles are made of a silica fiber compound, a material derived from common sand. The fibers are mixed with deionized water and other chemicals and poured into a plastic mold, where excess liquid is squeezed out. They are then baked in the nation's largest microwave, in Sunnyvale, California, and fused in a 2,350 degree oven. This short NASA note written in 1997 indicates that their value is between $1000 and $4000, although they are not for sale. A materials chemistry article states that "the tiles consist of fine glass fibers organized in an open cellular pattern, so that tiny spaces account for 95% of their volume". Through his contacts with NASA, Harry Nelson, Director of the John Deere Planetarium from 1968 to 1988, acquired a couple of space shuttle tiles. The photo above shows one of them. It measures 15 x 15 x 6.5 cm. Its mass is 266 g so its density is 0.18 g/cm3. The following paragraphs are from a book called "The Space Shuttle Operator's Manual" published in 1982 (ISBN 0-345-30321-0). The black areas on the Orbiter are covered with blocks or tiles of varying size and thickness. These are called "high-temperature reusable surface insulation", or HRSI tiles. HRSI tiles protect areas where temperatures are between 650°C (1200°F) and 1275°C (2300°F). On Columbia, white tiles cover the forward fuselage, outer wing areas, pods, and the stabilizer. Called "low-temperature reusable surface insulation", or LRSI, these tiles are used where temperatures are between 370°C (700°F) and 650°C (1200°F). Columbia's cargo-bay doors, fuselage sides, upper wing surfaces, and aft areas of the OMS pods are covered with a Nomex felt material. These areas remain below 370°C (700°F) during flight. Altogether, nearly 32,000 HRSI and LRSI tiles cover Columbia. No two tiles are alike and each must be installed by hand. Both types of tiles are made from extremely pure (99.5%) sand. The sand is crushed into very small silica fibers and added to a ceramic binder. This mixture is fired to produce the blocks. They are machined to the proper size and shape, then the black or white coating is applied to their outer surfaces. The coating is made from a high-strength refractory glass. An aluminum structure like that of the Orbiter flexes and bends slightly in flight. The TPS (thermal protection system) tiles covering the vehicle must be very close together. On the underside, the largest allowable gap between tiles is only 0.065" (1.6 mm). These glass-covered silica tiles are rather brittle and cannot flex or bend without breaking. To let the structure flex while keeping the TPS rigid, Nomex felt pads are sandwiched between the tiles and the structure. This way, the structure can move without moving the tiles. The pads and the tiles are attached with a thin layer of a room temperature vulcanizing silicon adhesive.

The only reason I can see to be bonded is if you're doing any work inside a home/business, like cleaning or doing windows. I do windows, but I'm never in the home without the homeowner being at home. I'm not bonded, and have never had anyone ask about it.

I use GutterShock to get results like that.

Classic: What are you using in your housewash mix?

I sent you an email about pricing.

I imagine there's a reason for it...I can't see why they'd go to the expense of engineering such a rig if it wasn't needed. Imagine how much crap gets on those tiles by the time it gets back from a mission.

I keep both in my trailer in the original containers they came in. No problems to date. The Oxalic you can store already mixed...the percarb you can't.

With a 5.2gpm machine, you should be running very close to 2:1..which means you should empty that bucket in just a hair over two minutes. If you're emptying it in 1 minute, have you checked to verify that you are in fact putting out 5.2 gpm? I'd love to figure out how to get a 1:1 ratio on 5gpm....THAT'd be awesome.