Barry M

It's been raining here since last Thursday and highs are in the 50's, if I did have any deck jobs lined up I would be using WTW. Last spring I did my first deck with WTW and it rained in the middle of sealing, it turned out fine and best of all I got paid. I'm thinking about building an arc, maybe I'll seal it with WTW.

Hello Don, Yes I'm using 3/8" chem hose, but I wasn't aware of the adjustment screw. Thank you very much.

I agree with Don, this pump is very dependable as long as you rinse after each use and lube with a silicone lubricant. I've done 25,000 sq ft of roofs in 3 days with no problems so far. I have to say I'm also amazed at the fact that an average sized marine battery will run my shurflo pretty much continuous for 10 hours and still show a charge at the end of the day. Don, I do notice that with the 6510 tip my pump does kick off and on, but chems don't stop flowing. What other tips do you recommend that might stop this from happening and causing premature failure?

So how do you prevent this from happening? Where do you dispose of or store stain cans, tarps, and saturated rags?

I started wearing one while doing roofs, 6% on a hot day is just too strong of smell. Other than that it's just hard for me too put one on all the time, most chems don't seem too bad compared to what I used to put into my body.

I did two deck last year for a guy (my first two decks). One is in full sun and the other has a huge tree growing in the middle of it. They were both pretty water damaged and really thirsty when it came to sealing them. This spring we both agreed they needed a light wash and a maintenance coat. I did them both for free, because I told him he should get two years out of them, not one. He is a valued customer, and gives me a lot of work so I feel like I did what I had to do. I am still new in the biz and I want to establish an honest and caring idenity. Well I must of been typing while you posted last Jarrod so I'm going to edit my post, it sounds like my customer and the customer you described are completely different. In your situation I would charge her, she's sounds like an opportunist.

Okay, I guess that's what I expected to hear thanks Mike. Do you think the cheaper Whirl-a-way is a good unit to start out with, for the price? What I'm looking for is a dependable spinner for under $500 that will run efficient with a 4gpm unit.

Can I butt in here and ask a question guys? I run a 4gpm cold unit and I'm looking to get a surface cleaner. Why is the price so different between the Whirl-a-way 20" hover ($395) and the Wisper Wash Classic hover 19" ($695)? These prices are from Higher Power Supplies. Thanks.

I thought you meant "pretty gay", what's the problem.

Way to go Don, I admire your patients and persistence. You were right about the before and after pics on PC's, I've had a much better return on my latest mailing, thanks.

0020 to a 0050 tip to shoot chems far. Call Bob from Pressure Tek and tell him what gpm you run and he will set you up he knows his stuff.

Yes, for now I use the 3 page carbonless proposal forms from Staples or Office Max. I run them through my printer and print my logo at the top of them.

I look at the job, measure up, and figure out how long I think it will take me, hopefully all while the homeowner is standing right there so I can start building that all important relationship. I then go to the truck for a few minutes and punch some numbers on the calculator and write the estimate on the spot. It's been my experience that people hate to wait for things, they want an answer and they want it now. Normally my wife will call my cell when a call comes in, I will stop what I'm doing and call them back and setup an estimate for that evening or next morning. I then do the estimate on the spot, I can't tell you how many times people have verbally expressed their graditude for getting back with them and doing the estimate so quickly. I did a good sized house two weeks ago, the homeowner said he called another PW company besides me, but by the time they called him back he had already accepted and signed my proposal.

I was told that they are made by the same company and that the make up is pretty much the same, only that PH is cheaper. I've only used GS so I can't share any experience. I was actually thinking about trying the cheaper PH. Great question and nice research, keep it up.

As I've stated in past posts I'm a hardcore xjet user when doing houses. But I've had a few problems with reaching 2 story and especially 3 story peaks in the wind, and I also get sick of dragging a chem hose and bucket around the house. Also with all these xjet vs downstream posts lately, hey I got curious. First off I want to thank Dan Stapleton here on the board for a very educational phone call. Dan told me the in and outs of downstreaming and helped me with what to buy and how to get started. Dan is new to the boards but has been in the biz over 10 years and has alot to offer. Thanks Dan. My new chem injector and tips arrived today so I went and did this single story home to try it out.

Sounds like a good problem to have.

What do you mean bleeding through the brick? If it's irrigation rust on the brick, yes oxalic will take it off, I've done it with good results.

Bingo! It's an objection called "the stall" and what they are asking for is more time, but that's really NOT the objection. Prospects use the stall objection for one of two reasons: either they really do not feel comfortable with what they've seen so far, or there's some hidden condition that they haven't told you about. Like maybe your price is too high or they lack the authority to act. I find that my prospects biggest objection, especially on deck estimates, is the price, whether or not they actually say it's the price or they say "I need to think about it". The best way to deal with this common objection is to bring it up yourself, I know it sounds crazy but it works. If you bring up the objection it's yours, you own it and it's always easier to answer your own objection than someone else's. If the prospect raises the objection, then they own it, and they'll feel a psychological responsibility to defend it. This is what Ken is doing in his mock phone conversation, he is bringing up the price objection right away and like he said if the prospect is still interested then he has climbed a huge hurdle and helped push them over the hump.

Call Steve Rowlett, he has them. 1-800-357-6295

3500psi 4gpm cold water.

Looks good Don, I know that's a good feeling when you finally finish a job like that, and look at all the knowledge you gained. Did you still come out good on the job, not counting the cost of the new airless?

Gosh, I didn't mean to start another one of "these" threads. I know there will always be two sides to it and that there will be hardcore xjetters and hardcore downstreamers when it comes to doing houses, but I'm an open minded person and I wanted to learn both ways. I don't bash one or the other, both ways work and always will. What really got me curious about downstreaming houses is that most of the veterens do it, they started out doing it, tried the xjet for houses, and most of them are going back to downstreaming, so I asked myself why? I wanted to see for myself. Well I am pretty confident, once I get my tips figured out and practice on a couple more houses, that downstreaming is faster and more efficent for most house washes than xjetting. Don't knock one or the other until you've tried it both ways.

Not yet, I've been busy and just haven't looked into it enough yet,but I saved your PM with the link you provided me. Thanks again and I probably will soon, I need to protect my arse.

I mixed 4 gallons of 12% and 1 gallon of citracleen, and I still have over 4 gallons of mix left over. I need to figure out the ratios for adding my wet wax and hanger. I also need to purchase some different tips for wetting windows and plants, I love to fan out my xjet for doing this and I even tried to do it but it kept draw chems and the same time. What tip would be good for wetting things down with not much force, but wouldn't draw chems? My machine is 4gpm. Though the xjet is a valuable tool and can't be replaced, I'm convinced it's not a do all tool, and a little overkill on houses. Due to today's results I will continue to experiment with the downstreamer, thanks to all that helped.

I have to admit it felt very weird not dragging around my chem hose and bucket, but it was nice to not have my hoses getting tangled. One of the complaints of xjetting is over applying (wasting) chems. You can see this house had a considerable amout of mold and mildew on it so I was very anxious to see if downstreaming less chem would still work. I must say I was impressed with the results and was even more impressed that on this single story home I used less than a gallon of housewash mix. I love the 030 tip for shooting chems easily as far as the xjet but with more control, but it really wasn't necessary on this house. This house took me an hour which is what it would of took me with the xjet.