Christopher

Hello Everyone, I cut off the bad spot a few inches lower than where the hole was with a chop saw and used one of the hose repair kits from Gates. It was easy to do and in a short time I had the hose back in service. I used it earlier tonight and worked great. I will have to get some more repair kits so when it happens again I will be up and running faster. The chop saw was easier than using an angle grinder. A friend has a circular saw with a metal blade that works great for him when he repairs his hoses. Now when the other repair kits get here, I can repair my original hose and then use it as an extension or spare.

Hello Bforbis, Do you regulate your pressure with different tips or just back off the pressure with a ball valve or adjust the unloader? I have heard that these tiles cannot take a lot of pressure and was wondering how much if anyone knows they can take? I have been called before to do tile floors but am afraid of too much pressure but I could do it with a wand but I would rather do it with a surface cleaner and some chems. Thanks.

I had my new rig hose last just over 2 years but when it blew a hole, I did not have the spare with me and when I finally changed it, I used it for about 30 minutes and there is a hole in it. I bought it on sale and will not mention the company but it is brand new and will never buy anything from that company again. I feel like I got scammed with the shipping rates. I know if I call and complain I will be wasting my time and getting more angry with them. I will just cut off the bad piece and put a new end on it and with the other hose, I will put a new end on it and use it as an extension when needed. I have a few friends that say they get about 2 years out of their hoses. Hope this helps.

Hello Everyone, I have a customer that has a lot of either worm or bug coccoons all over their home. I have run into this before and the Housewash mix does not help get these off the house. The house is stucco so you cannot use too much pressure. The last time I removed some of these, it took a lot of pressure and I still did not get them all off of the building. Does anyone have any ideas or solutions? Thanks for any help.

Thanks for the info everyone, I did not get the job but will make a lot of notes for the next job that I get that has these coccoons on it.

Thanks Everyone, I will give it a try.

The Steel Eagle 24" is a good choice. I would not recommend The Big Guy unless you have a bigger machine like 7-10 gpm. It will work but it needs more gallons per minute to go faster even with the same pressure. The Wheel units are great but if you start doing a lot of jobs with obstacles like posts, equipment, etc.... A hover type like the Whisper Wash Classic 19" is great. I actually use it more than my Steel Eagle 24" depending on what kind of job it is. When your machine gets here and you have made some money with it, order a set of spray bars because when not if you hit something that you did not see, it will bend them or bust out the spray nozzle and the machine will not work at all. It has happened to several of us out here. You need to figure out how you want your equipment plumbed for speed and efficiency. I have a 3/8" Plug on the end of my hose, 3/8" Coupler on the inlet of my Gun, 1/4" plug on the outlet of the gun, and on the lances, surface cleaners, extendawands I have 1/4" couplers. I do this so I can use the gun like a ball valve so I can switch from different tools without having to slow down and turn off the machine to switch from the lance to surface cleaner or lance to extendawand or lance to dual-lance. You will need to order couplers, plugs, and most important----O-Rings. Keep these on hand at all times. I personally know of 2 people that had to shut down a job and wait until morning or until Monday morning till the local shop opened to get a 15 cent O-Ring. Keep a lot of these with you at all times so you do not end up looking like these guys. Check around and get acquainted with the parts stores both locally and online. I can personally recommend Pressure Tek, Water Cannon, Easy Clean Systems, and Steve Rowlett. All these people have experience and give excellent service along with opinions based on experience. Hope this helps.

Yes it is them. Some are small and some are large. Light brown, Dark brown and brownish-yellow. I tried the house wash mix and it did not make it any easier to get them off. Hot water did not help any more. There has to be something that will not take the paint off the building. I will get some brushes and use my extension poles. I guess I will try your method, wash first then go back and use a brush. Thanks.

You have to check around and get signed up as a contractor to the supply houses in your area. I paid about $68.00 for a case of 25. There are other options out there like on a painter's supply website I found a throw away suit (not tyvek) for about $1.60 each but they looked like they might tear easy. If you have a Grainger, Wilson, Drago, or McMaster-Carr in your area, go in and talk to them and set up an account so you get a discount. You do not know until you try. Even if you paid $4.00 each it is cheaper than going to the laundromat and paying $4.00 or more to wash and then dry your dirty, oily clothes that get stained and you do not want to wear them in public or to give estimates so you use them on the dirty jobs when other's are not around and then there is your time to stay there and wash and then dry them. What is your time worth? When I clean greasy heavy equipment, I will usually wear the tyvek coveralls and then throw them away when I am done. It is a business expense and will help save your vehicle fabric.

Hello Don and Russ, Where did you locate the dlimonene? I cannot find it here locally and have been searching all over. Please post or pm me the suppliers. Thanks.

Thanks Everyone for your help. I was told that bleach will not take care of disinfecting of the surfaces. I was told that you need something a lot stronger. Anyone heard of stronger chemicals for disinfecting? I want to do a good job because the building will be rented out and I do not want anyone getting sick if I did not clean it good enough. Thanks.

Thanks for the info. If I get the job I will look into the respirators and disposable tyvek coveralls and hats. I will spray down everything so I do not make any "poo dust" when working. I just need to find out the best thing for sanitizing like either bleach, lysol, oxygenated bleach, etc... The building is about 150'x150' and I will clean the walls, floor, support beams, water sprinkler piping, etc.... I need to find something that is good and affordable. Thanks for any help.

See my post for "Flat Surface Cleaner". I go into some detail. Hope it helps.

I have gone down the same road but with a bigger machine and had to purchase different surface cleaners to find the fastest one. I would get the 16" for your machine. I use the Whisper Wash Classic 19" with my 5.6gpm 3000psi hot water machine. Their support is great and the parts are inexpensive. I tried out the bigger surface cleaners and found out that for my machine 24" and smaller is the best but the hover type has a lot of advantages over the castor or wheel machines. I can stand in one spot and move the surface cleaner side to side or in and out where my Steel Eagle 24" I have to work it to get into tight places and it will not get up against the wall until you have a big area so you can get on the left or right side of the machine. The Hove type will hug the wall on all 4 sides and will maneuver around obstacles like poles, equipment and benches. I do some tire stores every 90 days and with my Whisper Wash Classic I cut about 30 minutes off each location because of the advantages of hovering. There are some disadvantages like trying to keep it in a straight line for large areas but for what I have done so far the advantages have been great. Check out Whisper Wash http://www.whisperwash.com/ and see what you like. I am not affiliated with them at all but really like their product.

Thanks Mike, I am going to set up something similar and try it out. Is your roller pump the cast iron, or the better quality pumps? I am going to set up a pressure relief valve so when I am not spraying it will bypass to the tank. Are you using the "Phelps Wand" out of pvc or regular wand? Thanks for the help and info.

I am wondering if there is a place that sells a 36" or 48" water broom for use with pressure washers so you can clean a wider path like when rinsing roofs. Does anybody know of a site that sells these? Thanks.

Hello Mike, When you were rinsing this house did the roller pump put out enough pressure to rinse good or did it need more pressure? I am wondering if I just got a bigger orifice nozzle for my 5.6gpm 3000psi machine so I could rinse roofs better and reduce my pressure so the water is not atomized so much and more is directed onto the surface at reduced pressure. I was thinking on a size 12 or larger but do not know what size that the water would start coming out at a flow that would be worthless. Anybody try this before? This way it would be safe to rinse asphalt shingles without worrying about blasting off the granules. Any comments? Thanks.

Hello Mike, Did you use the Roller pump to apply chems and rinse or just rinse? What kind of gpm and pressure do you think you have with it? I was thinking of the same thing for rinsing large concrete areas that take forever with a pressure washer. Do you have any pics? Do you run it at idle or did you get the gear reducer to rev up the engine? Thanks.

I bought one last year and it is great. It is the best investment I have made yet. I will definately purchase another when the need arises. The Hotsy rep and mechanics know this machine like the back of their hand. I would highly recommend Hotsy.

This is an interesting idea. For tall buildings, you could just pull the unit up from the top of the building or if there were pulleys at the top you could pull it up from on the ground. How would you keep it going straight up? It could be like a water broom but with 4 wheels and wider. Is this what you are talking about or am I off on a tangent? If this were possible, you would not need manlifts but you would have the problem with windows. Great idea.

Hello James and Shane, Check if there is a Valley Solvent in your area. They have the 10 or 12% Chlorine. Down here it is $2.00 per gallon. Maybe they are up there where you are, if so give them a call. They sell bulk so you can bring your drum, or large tank or they will put it into drums and there is a drum deposit. If no Valley Solvent then call the other solvent companies, Someone should have it there at a good price. Hope this helps.

James and Mike, The conversation about the house roof and how many gallons of chlorine it would take....What is the most common dilution you use? 70% chlorine and 30% water for a roof like you were talking about? I know it takes time and experience but I am new to the roof cleaning and would like to find the best way to get the dilution needed for a roof. I was thinking of getting some spray bottles and making up different dilutions at the site and trying each and the one that works..use that ratio or the next stronger chlorine amount to do the job. What do you think? What would be a better way? I know in time I will be able to eyeball it and get close but we all start somewhere. Thanks.

Hello, I have a 325 gallon tank on my trailer. I have come up on all kinds of scenarios with the water pressure from homes and businesses. I have had some that it has taken hours to fill my tank and others that do it in 30 minutes. I have had some that will keep up with my machine and others that I will have to idle the machine for the tank to catch up so I do not run out of water. I would think that at least 200 gallons would be good for your machine. My machine puts out 5.6gpm and 3000psi and it will empty the tank in about 45 minutes without any water going in. I always have at least 100 gallons in it when I pull up to the job so I can get started sooner. I have friends that have 100 gallon tanks and wish they had bigger tanks because most of the time they have to slow down to let the tank fill up. A lot of homes have good water pressure but when they have small lines it slows the volume down quite a bit. I use 3/4" hose to fill the tank so there is never a restriction on my part. I also have a shutoff valve at the top of my tank where the water goes in so I can block it there instead of going to the house to block it unless I am already there. Another benefit of a bigger tank is from far away you can see the level where if you have a smaller tank you might not be able to see the level of water and could risk running your pump dry if not constantly watching the water tank. Next year I will be getting a 500 gallon tank and possibly a newer trailer with stronger axles. In my garage I can only fit a 14' trailer so I cannot get a longer one but I can get one with stronger axles and fit the bigger tank and still keep all my stuff on it. Hope this helps.

Some other ideas maybe you have not considered. Electric companies and sign companies have crane trucks with buckets and tall bucket trucks that might make a deal with you for a daily rate. A lot of times their trucks are just sitting until the big jobs come up and also the sign companies that install signs and billboards have lifts that sit quite a bit until needed. I have made deals before but the jobs fell through so I know it is possible. I opened an account with a rental company and the rates fell by more than half for lift rentals. Just make sure that you have a harness with lanyard for fall protection. I have been up in 80' and 100' manlifts before and it is not that bad, only when it gets windy or when you decide to look down but you will not be up that high, just boomed out. Hope this helps.

Hello Everyone, Before I take my generator to the shop I thought maybe someone here has had the same problem and could help me. My generator will not stay on for more than 5 or 10 minutes and then shuts off. I can re- start it and the same thing on and on. The spark plug is ok, I checked the fuel tank for trash or something blocking the fuel and it is ok, I changed the fuel filter and it did not look bad either. The Generator is a Coleman 10hp 5000 watt. The motor is a Briggs. Thanks for any help.