PLD

5 to 25 mix? I typically run 5gal to 15gal for a 2000+ house. On that 1500sq.ft'er I would use right at 10 gallons. Anyway, please check my math for me. 12% * 5 NaHCl to 15 mixture = 4% 4% * 2:1 (XJet no proportioner) = 1.33% on the wall. Sound right? If so, you are having good success with 0.8% to the wall?

I've been using the heck of of that unit (belt drive) for over a year now. Not a single problem. In fact, it's rolling out this morning to start a 165 unit apartment complex.

Can anyone comment about using parts from a home center in your high pressure loop? There was a previous thread about a HD ball valve exploding, but I'm not talking about valves and T's and such. Just simple parts like pipe nipples, reducers, etc. I ask because I needed a tip socket for a gun of mine. The only socket I had was female, as was the gun. So I purchased a 1" long 1/4 NPT brass nipple and used it to mate the socket to the gun. I haven't tested it yet, and I'm a little leary as a failure would be awfully close to my chest and face. Interestingly, the brass nipples had no rating but the identical steel ones were listed at 150psi?!? That has to be wrong. If the steel is rated at 150, the brass must have a burst pressure of about 50psi.... Philip

Well, since the CC company gets a hefty fee ($25-35) from the merchant for every chargeback (successfully disputed or not), I suspect that they will gladly show you as much mercy as you would like them to. In 5 years, I am probably 1:20 for successfully disputing chargebacks despite all manner of good documentation. Even with good documentation, they can always claim "not as advertised/promised" and get a chargeback.

I believe it's a flowpro. But you are dead on. One pully arrangement for 11gpm, another half that size (on the pump) for 22gpm. The spec sheet dictates the HP required to move that much water. I just thought that HP related to the conversation a little better that RPM.

I'm envious. Can you please tell me a bit about your equipment and process? I've got a 27" hydrotek (4gpm cold) with two 1503 tips and I'm running about 600-750sq.ft. an hour. My process: - x-jet 12% onto the surface (4% at the surf). - switch to surf cleaner and clean 2 passes - 1 up/down, 1 left/right - rinse dirt/grime surface.

I think there may be a misconception. We are not talking about housewash nor omitting the gutters during a housewash. Obviously, you wash the gutters right along with the soffets and fascia. The discussion about cleaning the gutters is in regards to applying degreaser to the gutters as a seperate step to remove the baked on tar streaks. I feel the same way. However... And Ryan will probably disagree since his niche is full service/premium cleaning. But in my expereince the bulk of the resi business here in S. Atlanta just wants cheap. $145-165 for a 2200sq. two story is typical for 75% closure rate. And $1/lin.ft will drop you down to about 25% quickly. And at these prices, you just can't do a good job on the house and add in the time/chem cost to degrease/de-tar the gutters as well. So, I clean the house for one price and offer special treatment for the gutters as an upsell option. I wish it were different... I get all excited when I hear the rates some of you up north are getting.

This is a problem I have been dealing with. White T's look terrible after 2-3 uses and never come clean. Anything with color (including jeans) look like a tie-dye shirt after the same period (and get lots of holes). I quote in kahkis and a knit, but I always show up looking like a homeless guy to work. Suggestions?

I have one that is rated 11gpm/110psi @ 1.5hp and 22gpm/110psi @ 3hp.

For me the extra weight at the butt of the gun becomes tedious after awhile. I believe it is actually be the extra pull generated by the longer torque arm post trigger, but either way it makes it feel like I'm using 3/4in hose. I actually get a bit annoyed at my swivel at times and wish it was practical to hose directly into the gun. I thought I liked my valve for switching between a gun and a surf cleaner until I took it off. On a long day I now actually prefer cutting off the pump. I have since put a 1/4" socket directly into the gun (had one 12" after) and hence this thread. I only had F sockets and bought a 1/4" nipple from HD.

The commonly told period is 90 days. But as a merchant I can tell that the CC's companies are quick to tell us 12 months. And I have had chargebacks well after 90 days...

I agree, it is not morally right to take advantage of the less fortunate. However, but I do make exceptions for the patently absurd. Buying the Brooklyn Bridge, Eiffel Tower, time machines, and yes... Haunted Plush Toys. I also see it as very different if you are in the home of an elderly person where your mere presence may be intimidating, your sales pitch pressured (in their opinion), etc. It's a whole different animal to post an item publically where people bid from home (zero pressure), have an opportunity to discuss and research the item, and (this is important) make it clear that there are no guarantees that the item received will in fact be haunted. Not neccesssarily. There are MANY things that people believe in that I personally think are crap, but these things bring them peace and joy. People pray to all manner of gods, spirits, and objects. People get relief from placebo's in a medical test. I personally find professional wrestling to be a complete waste of time. But there are many people who want to believe and are willing to pay to experience the event. Bottom line, if you promise X and never intend to deliver that is clearly fraud. However, if you simply offer "This is my experience and YMMV. No guarantees. Bid what you think it is worth." IMHO, it's a different animal.

Yep. Search this forum for a link to a nozzle size chart. Here's a good thread on the subject. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1937&page=1&highlight=nozzle+size+chart FWIW, one of my favorites is a 40100 tip.

Ditto. Turned a hobby into a good living and then into a pariah. Shame really, as I once loved it and made tons of money...

I've read all the threads about plumbing, and I still have a few questions about the best way to proceed. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. That said here are my particulars: I just added a 275gal tote tank to my trailer. I do primarily residential, and have never needed it before. I wouldn't have bought it at all, but I have a big apt complex coming up and I'll need it for about 1000ft of vinyl fencing. I may not need it again, but here's to hoping for more big jobs! My fill line is 1.5" PVC with an air gap. I plan to fill off a hydrant (w/ meter & permit) but I made a 1.5 ->GHT adapter so I can attach a hose and fill that way also. My draw line is a 5/8 hose plumbed directly from the tank into the pump inlet. The pump side has a quick connects so I can remove it and hook the supply directly into the pump. My trailer is single axle 3000#. I am thinking that I want to load that tank as little as possible to lengthen trailer life. I do not forsee any need for upstreaming in the near future. Now for the questions: - Should I "T" the supply into the feed line between the tank and pump, or "T" into the 1.5" fill tube. - Should I take the unloader output into the fill tube or into a seperate port into the tank? Why? - If the supply is presenting 8gpm, and I'm using only 4gpm, my tank will fill up rapidly. I don't want to waste that much water or load the trailer up unnecessarily. Suggestions? I'm thinking a check valve between the supply and the tank. Should I also place a ball valve in parallel so I can backfill the tank if I need to? - Many check valves are spring loaded and have a minimum opening pressure. Will the combination of pump suction and tank static pressure overcome this? Is there a specific check valve that I need?

Yea, now that I have my cert I can add plumbing as I like. I may do that, but there is a $2500 fine if you get caught filling w/o a gap. Based on what I have heard here, people tend to call the authorities when the see a contractor drawing from a hydrant. I will need hydrant feed as I am doing an 175 unit apt/townhouse complex with seperate meters for each unit. Unit "9a" might get a little ticked off if they find out I washed 27 units on their nickel. And I don't feel like unhooking and re-hooking 175 times. So... I bid it to the mgmt company as we provide water. I estimate 25-30k gallons total. ~$100 worth of water. My thought was to try and anticipate objections/questions that the mgmt company might have. As for the tank: I have never needed one before, but there is about 1000ft of entrance signage and fencing included with no water available.

They don't care unless you want to draw from a fire hydrant. If you do, you need a portable meter and an certification sticker on your tank. An "air gap" means that the water must fall through the air (unpiped) for at least 2x the pipe diameter before entering the tank. It makes absolutely sure that nothing from your system can ever be drawn back into the supply line.

Personally, I think it's brilliant. He created a supply and the demand for it. If people want to believe in haunted plush toys and are willing to part with their cash to get one, so be it. Not much more ridiculous than paying a few hundred for a Furby, or trekking across Canada to buy your girlfriend a "Maple" beanie (for $200) FWIW, a time machine sold on ebay a few months ago. 6k IIRC. Looked like a toaster and some meters glued together. Had a very nice engraved plate identifying it as being created in 2149. Philip

13hp 3500/4 cold machine w/ belt drive. The tank output is about 6" below pump input. Yes. I was just tring to think ahead about any problems others may have faced. For example: Piping the unloader output into 1.5" fill tube defeats the purpose of the air gap. Anyone had any issues obtaining local mobile tank permits because of an incorrectly piped unloader output? I would very much like that, but Clayton Co requires all water pass through an air gap filler. Can't do that with a float valve. Ryan, have you run into this down here? Yes. I was thinking that I would "T" the supply line into the line between the tank and the pump. The check valve would permit the pump to draw from the tank if supply volume fell below usage. The ball valve in parallel with the check valve would allow me to bypass the check and push excess supply into the tank. Like this: Good thought. Choke the supply to match usage. Gotta get a new trailer for that....

Computer network engineer. 15 yrs.

I did post that last year some time. Oh boy what a panic it was. If it helps anyone, I noticed the water tasted metalic when I drank from the hose early on. I would have thought it would have reacted in the wash mix bucket but it didn't. Philip

Ditto, but I have had a few complaints about it. Some people spend $300 as a package no problem, while others balk at a-la-carte. Just friday, I quoted the works to a customer (who asked for it) and when we were discussing the estimate she said "All that is seperate?!?" I feel pretty good that I would have nailed that with the same one-stop-shop price. I changed strategy and negotiated as much as I could she was already beyond "No". Oddly, the dealbreaker was a $12.00 tile patio... Philip

Been there, done that. At first I was petrified to see the white vinyl turn rust brown all over. Scrubbing, etc did nothing. At the time, I didn't know about the oxalic but I dusted off the old chemistry neurons and figured that if a base took it out of solution a caustic outta put it back in solution. 5 gal of OXA later, all was well except for some badly tarnished brass. I do believe it is more complicated than just the water. Non of the masonite turned and neither did the very shady vinyl side of the house. Philip PowerHouse Pressure Washing Fayetteville, Ga.

Guys, I did a really stupid thing today and lived to tell about it. I share here, so the same thing may not happen to others. I had finished a nice job in an excllent time. The homeowner was pleased and I was packing up when dumba** struck fast and hard. When finished, I always flush all my lines and my xjet hose, etc. Normally, I do this with my HP hose after everything has been shut down and the gun has been disconnected and lines decompressed. For some reason today (for just a millisecond) I equated X-jet with low pressure and placed my x-jet chem line to the tip of the x-jet and pulled the trigger (pump off). The static pressure cut lose, ripped the chem line from my hand, and ripped the flesh from 4 of my finger tips. (picture a 3rd degree burn with charred flesh gone). Fortunately, there was minimal injection and it was little more than a flesh wound. Aside from some very sore fingers and a few days of bandages and neosporin, I will be fine. For those who would (correctly) label me a dumba**, don't be so quick to be self-righteous lest you suffer a similar fate. I have a degree in physics, and and a great deal of experience with energetic materials in my experimental rocketry background. I am (and was) completely aware of the potential energy involved. I was in a hurry, and expediency overcame intelligence and common sense for a mere 3 seconds. And I got hurt. I knew the instant I felt pain exactly what my error was. Take this to heart, and don't let it happen to you. Philip P.S. I'm going to cross post this to the other major BBS's so as many people as possible get a chance to read it.

I had almost forgotten about this until I ran across the pic again this weekend. I've posted it at the URL below if you are interested. It's not gross unless you get really bothered by skined knees and the like. Philip http://www.OdorDestroyer.com X-Jet vs. hand injury pic at: http://www.odordestroyer.com/content/***/index.html