rick77

I hate to mention another forum on this forum but I need some help from anybody who knows how to contact the administrators of the Pressure Washing Institute Forum. I lost my password and can't log in on the *** forum. They have a link for retrieving password and username but they don't answer the email or send the forgotten password or username. They also have a "Contact Us" button but it brings up a 404 Error message. I've tried multiple times to get through and have contacted one of the moderators but have have heard nothing. I'm not sure if the *** administrators are aware of the problems with their website or not. If anyone has any contact info please send me a private message or email me at richard@nctv.com Thanks!

Thanks Chris! Yesterday Ron's assistant sent me the info I needed and Ron himself sent a couple of follow up emails to make sure everything was taken care of. I also heard from the moderator I had contacted via email.

I'm looking at buying an 8gpm cold water machine from Pressure Tek. It has a 20 hp Honda engine with an 8gpm (belt drive) general pump rated at 3,000 psi. I've read that the 20 hp Honda doesn't really produce 3,000 psi with the 8gpm pump but I'm ok with that as long as I get a true 8gpm. But will this machine work well with my Whisper Wash Classic for residential concrete? Hot water is not my concern in this particular post. I will get a hot box or maybe even a complete hot water skid later on down the road if I choose to go the hot water route. The Pressure Pro 8gpm cold water machine sells for $2,999.00 which seems to be a really good price. Any thoughts or feedback on this machine? If this machine is not very compatible with my Whisper Wash Classic I can just continue to use my 4gpm 4,000 psi belt drive machine for resi concrete as it does a great job without damaging the concrete and use the 8gpm machine for vertical structures. I do mostly residential power washing but occasionally commercial buildings that are are already my window cleaning customers. Thanks for any and all feedback.

Hey Micah, yeah man!! I've been using the new 8 gpm machine for several weeks now. The large residential I did today took 3 hours but used to take 6 hours with my 4 gpm machine. 8 gpm is awesome! Great to hear from you. Hope all is well!

Speaking of application, how did you apply the F9? Truck brush on extension pole? Pump spray bottle? By the way, great results!

I need bands for a 225 gallon leg tank. All the sites I've visited online want $100.00 to 150.00 for shipping alone. That's way more than the straps cost. Who sells the bands for a reasonable price as well as reasonable shipping cost? Thanks!

Tank Depot wants $179.55 for shipping those metal bands that weigh 25 lbs. I can't find an online source for tank bands that has reasonably priced shipping. I don't mind paying for shipping, but $180.00 to ship a 25 lb item? That's just not reasonable to me. I'll probably just make my own tank bands out of conduit and save a couple of hundred bucks or more. But I do appreciate your input Jim. Thanks!

E. Attack, please do send a diagram of how to make the tank bands. I made some before (for a 35 gallon leg tank) by using a pipe bender to bend conduit pipe into the round shape of the tank. But I actually never used them on my 35 gallon tank. Just used motor cycle straps. On my new 225 gallon leg tank I want the metal bands whether store bought or home made. My email is richard@nctv.com Thanks!

For those of you who have your trailer painted black, which do you prefer........gloss, semi-gloss, or flat black paint? I sprayed a little semi gloss on part of one of my trailers and it looks really glossy. I'm thinking about flat black paint instead of gloss. What do you use?

That trailer looks brand new! Good work!

I think I'll stay with the semi gloss black paint. And it'll probably end up being flat black after a few years anyway.

Yeah, a little shine was what I was shooting for with the semi-gloss but it kinda looked super glosssy when I did a test spot on my trailer. But maybe that's because the shiny spot is surrounded by the old ugly oxidized paint on the rest of the trailer. My trailer is too ugly to post picks of right now. LOL I'm just gonna spray some black paint on the rails and tongue for right now since it's the busy season. Maybe come Winter I can strip the trailer down and do a really nice paint job on it. I may even paint it blue since that's my company color.

Thanks for the replies with great info guys. I read on another forum that you can put an elbo just before the swivel connection on the Whisper Wash Classic and it will help a good bit in keeping the surface cleaner from lifting too much when using an 8gpm machine. The Pressure Pro 8gpm does sound like a great resi machine. I've been using a 5x10 single axle trailer for about 5 years but just got a 12x6 tandem axle trailer and a 275 gallon water tank so I'm all set for the Pressure Pro 8gpm machine. Can't wait to get the 8gpm unit and get it set up.

How many gallons do the square tote tanks (that are 4'x4' width x 3' tall) hold? Thanks!

Thanks for the info! I belive the shark cage surrounding the tank is 4X4 width wise but the actual tank is probably 3.5 X 3.5 width wise which by the above formula would be 274.89 gallons. So I guess I've got the 275 gallon tote tank.

I've used the X-Jet M5 exclusively ever since I started power washing houses. The M5 is great but hauling the chem bucket sucks so I've decided to switch to downstreaming. I bought a new belt driven Honda 13 4GPM 4000 psi from Bob at Pressure Tek back in May and have just ordered four nozzles for downstreaming that Bob helped me choose for my gear. I use 200' of high pressure hose so I can leave my machine on the trailer. I feel that with Bob's help and from reading this forum I've got the equipment that I need for my particular work load but I've got to find a good house wash mix for downstreaming. With the X-Jet M5 I used 10 oz. of Simple Cherry, 3 gallons of 6% bleach, a shot of Dawn, and water in a 5 gallon bucket. On houses around here that mix was quick and sick. Now that I'm switching to downstreaming I'm thinking I'm gonna need to beef up my mix a bit. 12.5 % SH is not readily available here in town. I'd have to drive about 50 miles to get it and it's pretty expensive compared to the low prices I've read about here on the forum. I see that many of you will use 2 gallons of 12.5 SH along with Simple Cherry per 5 gallons of mix so I'm assuming I'm going to need to use 4 gallons of 6% to match that in my mix. I guess I'll find out when my downstreaming nozzles get here just how well this mix with 6% SH will work. Do any of you downstream using 6% bleach? How many gallons per 5'ver?

I got me one of those 5 gallon enclosed pails that are made for the X-Jet. There's a cheap hose clamp on the end that goes over the hose barb on the pail but it (the clamp) was broken right out of the box. There is no clamp on the end that goes over the hose barb on the X-Jet itself. This stands to reason 'cause you couldn't change proportioners if there was a clamp on the hose right at the X-Jet. It seems like the chem feed hose could easily be pulled off of the X-Jet with the slightest tug and chems could spill all over the yard. Do you guys use clamps at all on the X-Jet hose barb and on the enclosed pail hose barb? Some say don't worry about using the proportioners. If you don't use the proportioners then a hose clamp could be used on the X-Jet end of the chem feed hose. Any advice or suggestions? Thanks! Richard Crocker Ultra Clear Window Cleaning Greenwood, SC

Since I started this thread way back when I have switched to downstreaming and really never use the X-Jet. I keep it on hand for just in case but haven't needed it since probably Spring 2009. Still good advice though for those that use the X-Jet.

One of my customers called today to ask what I could tell her about a product called "Wet & Forget". She said it's a product that you can spray on moldy & mildewy surfaces and just leave it there and it supposedly does a great job. I told her I had never heard of the product but that I would ask about it on the power washing forum. I'm scheduled to power wash her house in a couple of weeks but I think she's interested in the Wet & Forget product for in between power washing services. Anybody know anything about this product?

Both downstreaming and X-Jetting are efficient methods for house washing. If they weren't both efficient methods there would'nt be all of the debates of one vs. the other. It's simply a matter of preference. Personally, I find dragging a soap bucket or soap cart around a house and dealing with the extra (soap) hose to be a bummer. I've used both methods and prefer the downstreaming method by far.

I've yet to bust a hose while downstreaming. I did buy an extra 100' grey non marking hose this year in case a hose does go bad but it hasn't happened so far. If you didn't have to move your soap bucket and 50' soap hose 2 or 3 times ( or more likely 10 to 15 times while x-jetting) you may not need extra guys on your crew(s). To quote fellow power washer by the name of Bobby Weir, "I don't work for that hose, that hose works for me". My point is that my 200' of hose has worked for me with no problem whatsoever even though chemicals run through it. I'd rather the hose work for me instead of me working for the hose by me dragging a soap bucket around at the end of the gun. I didn't realize just how unnecessarily hard I was working (dragging soap bucket around) back when I X-Jetted. When I switched to downstreaming I saw the light. LOL!! If one of my hoses craps out on me due to downstreaming so be it. That hose will have served me so very well and saved hundreds of hours of lifting and toting a soap bucket and hose (or dealing with a soap cart). And when that hose goes bad my back is still good. I can easily buy a new hose but I've only got one back.

The same here. Most of my accounts can be done with 200' of hose. Occasionally I'll add a 50' section of hose for extra long reach. I still get great chem draw (via my fixed General injector) with 250' of hose. That's a great idea to place a downstream injector 200' before the gun when you add a 100' section of hose for a total of 300' reach. Just be extra careful not to turn the chem bucket over in somebody's lawn as you pull the hose.

I use a full brim white hard hat that I bought at Lowe's. It's waterproof so soap/bleach doesn't go through and wet my head. It has also helped me avoid many a headache when I've bumped my head into the ladders or other items on my trailer. I actually searched for a long time for a good hat and never found anything that I liked that was bleach proof. The full brim hardhat is here to stay for me. Cheap too! I think around $15.00 @ Lowe's The white one will match any uniform too.

Thanks Big Mike! I'll send my customer a copy of it.

The other thread is titled "Spray & Forget" but I think they are referring to the same product. Not much info in that thread though. Two days ago I emailed the company that makes "Wet & Forget" and asked them to send me an MSDS but I haven't heard from them yet. They did have a link to the MSDS on their website but it didn't work. I don't plan to use the product myself. From what I've read here so far it looks like it would be expensive and a long time before any results could be seen whether they be good or bad. Maybe I'll print out this thread and give it to my customer so she can decide for herself whether or not the product is something she wants to use.