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Scott Stone

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Posts posted by Scott Stone

  2. Posted · Report reply

    The burner has mass, and the coil is heavy steel. It acts as a heat sink, and the more mass there is, the longer it is going to transfer the heat to the water. One thing you might try to reduce this problem is to descale your coil. It will make it run much more efficiently, and reduce the heat sink effect. Other then that, it is what it is. Just remember to let it cool down a bit after you turn off your heater.

  6. Posted · Report reply

    For the record, I was on the ***** transition team and was going to head up the environmental committee. After an "interesting" discussion, and some things I did not agree with, I resigned the ***** board. At the time, there was an effort made to make it look like I had family issues, which could not be further from the truth. Then a solid effort was made to discredit my name, because I would not do anything. Of course, when I asked for an assignment, I was told that they did not want to

    Overburden" me.

    Then, about a year and a half ago, I was asked to join the PWNA, and at the time, a specific request was made that I serve on the environmental committee. The first round of suggested environmental recommendations was done without my knowledge. I always thought that if you were asked to serve on a committee, it was because they wanted your expertise. I was evidently wrong, because a complete set of BMP's were developped, that were supposedly not going to be shopped around, but were going to be presented to government organizations. I don't know how the not shopping and presenting to government organizations works. It does not make sense to me.

    I say all that trying to establish that I have a bit of experience with the environmental areas of this industry, and will also mention that I developped the hazardous materials disposal program, from scratch, for the largest electric utility in Arizona, with something like 3,000,000 customers.

    As I look at the efforts to develop industry standard BMP's, I am looking at it as a fools errand. Here is the reason why, and I will use an illustration. If I were going to sell pants, I could not manufacture just one pair of pants, and have it fit every need. There would be people bigger, smaller, some would want shorts, because that is more comfortable in their neighborhood, others would not want to wear jeans, because they prefer slacks. There are a lot of different things that can influence those pants, and the purpose that needs to be filled.

    With the environmental BMP's it is very similar. You have flat work, you have Parking garages, there are fleets, decks, kitchen hoods, and every other type of washing that can be imagined, and we, as entrepreneurs are an imaginative bunch. Then we could throw in some other parameters, we have coastal environments, we have deserts with dry wells, there are locations with large areas that are covered in grass on site, there are other areas that are solid asphalt and concrete. There are so many different types and needs of recovery situations, it borders on the ridiculous. There is ABSOLUTELY no way to regulate ever situation, with one standard set of BMP's, unless full recovery is advocated.

    The problem with full recovery is another complete, and perfect bag of worms. Where is it going to be disposed of? Who is going to transport it? where is the chain of custody, after it leaves the property? Is it really the best and most effective method of waste water recovery?

    I do not see how it can be done, and I have looked at a variety of ways and means to see if it could be accomplished. I am not sure that it could be done if it just applied to the Phoenix area, with the large variety of washing that happens here, and all of the different regulatory agencies involved, many of them that have no clue that there might even be an issue.

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I would actually be good with allowing an opt out. My kids don't take advanage of federally funded lunches or breakfasts, so I would opt out.

    WIC is a foreign concept to me, so I opt out.

    Unemployment is supposed to be paid by employers, so I would opt out of the FUTA taxes.

    Social Security is a big bugaboo for me. I am pretty certain that with the income I have, I could invest the 15% of income turned over to the federal government with a far better return then what they deem is necessary at my retirement. What is more, I am certain that leaving it to my kids is more important to me then losing it.

    The problem with opting out of social programs is that the people that pay for them are not the people that use them. In fact, it is quite the contrary. I am not one that is typically in favor of a lot of social programs, because I firmly believe in taking care of myself, and my family. It is one of my prime responsibilities in life. I think so much more and better things could be done with those funds on a local level. Or even a personal level.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    May 20, 2011

    From Eric Clark, President of PWNA

    I want to announce to the power washing community that Mike Hilborn has resigned as Executive Director of the PWNA. His resignation is in response to a post that he made Monday, May 16th. Within 12 hours of his post, Mike recognized his very poor judgment and had the post taken down first thing Tuesday morning, replacing it with an apology. Tuesday evening Mike called me and communicated his great remorse and submitted his resignation. He took full responsibility for his actions and said that his actions were his own and that they reflected poorly on the PWNA, thus requiring he resign as Executive Director.

    Unfortunately, in the letter I received, and that Tony received, he said he was going to seek board approval. If he did, it colors the PWNA very poorly, and since there appears to be a trend of the PWNA non entirely forthcoming on what is happening, or what they are up to, it causes a few of us to wonder exactly what the truth is in this regard. It is even more obvious to those of us that know that he did not remove the letter until after the admin of this site read him the riot act for being so stupid. It is really shocking to me that someone could exhibit such poor judgement, except, I guess I have been known to exhibit the same poor judgement, from time to time

    The PWNA does not, and cannot condone this type of action. This episode is an embarrassment to our organization, and to every Power Wash Contract Cleaner; the negative behavior between fellow contractors needs to stop. This type of action reflects negatively upon the entire Power Wash Industry and gives our customers the perception that Power Washing Contract Cleaners are uneducated and not Professionals similar to Plumbers, Auto Mechanics, Painters, or other Trades.

    This paragraph could not have been written any more poorly, as evidenced by Dougs understanding of it. It could be intentional, but I doubt it. From my experience, professionalism is determined on a personal interaction with customers. I can assure you that my customers consider me a professional and are ready, and trusting enough to contact me for my professional opinion on many subjects, from cleaning requirements, to how to handle business matters. The mantle of professionalism that some people put on others, only extends as far as their experience with a contractor goes. Some people will consider someone unprofessional if they disagree with them. In my opinion, a professional will disagree if there is something incorrect, explain why it is incorrect, and work to help that person or organization to correct the areas where they are mistaken.

    Negativity breeds negativity, and nobody wins; every contract cleaner loses status as a Professional Contractor every time this type of action happens in public. Our Public Perception will largely now be determined by how this industry acts as a whole on the Internet, and particularly on the Industry Bulletin Boards. Every time you make a Negative Post you lower the Public Status of the Entire Power Wash Industry, and confirm that we are not Professionals! Our Profession will be treated exactly how we act as a whole.

    Though you are perfectly correct that negativity breeds negativity, I also think that people being willing and open to share ideas breeds success. I think that, even though you will find negativity on all of the boards, it is often subject to interpretation. People never like to see their ox get gored. It is just the nature of mankind. Unfortunately, the members of the PWNA BOD seem to look negatively on anyone that participates on a board. They look negatively on a board when someone quits and stops posting, and claims it is because of the attitude of the board. Realistically, on some boards, those that quit, have been barraged by negative people, not on the boards, but on the phone, and through personal contact because someone has an agenda to promote their own "professionalism". I have been in this industry long enough, and have maintained a high enough profile that many people know who I am. Very few have met me. I have had people come to me and beg me to work with them on a project, and when I refused, because I really hate going in on projects with people, I have been painted as unprofessional, or worse. I adopt that same attitude with the boards. It can get kind of rough, but it will help you grow. I have never seen anyone grow without having come from an experience that was less then perfect.

    I don't know about Beth, but I suspect she is the same as I am on ***. I don't have the time, or the desire to monitor every post. Sometimes I am tired, because I have been out working. That being the case, I depend on the moderators and the individual members, to report a post if it is inappropriate. If a post offends you, and you do not report it, you are at fault, too. It is simple enough really. That little triangle on the left bottom of every post not only puts a notice in the admin and moderator section, but sends out an immediate email to the admins and mods of the boards.

    Mike Hilborn has been a major part of the PWNA and has taken us to greater heights by volunteering his personal time and money to attend many contractor events, creating and teaching Certification courses, assembling trade shows, and many other great pieces of our organization. His Emotions overcame his Better Judgment temporarily resulting in the loss of a key leader in our industry. I feel it’s a shame.

    Wow, he was busy. I am curious how long someone is able to lack better judgement, and be somewhat absolved. Did he show the poor judgement when he came to Phoenix? Was it when he searched out one of Ron's facilities, and had to trespass to look over the fence? I have been to Ron's yard, and know that it would take a very concerted effort to see how many rigs he has in the yard. There are two fences, one 10 foot, with open gates showing the property line, the other 11 foot separated by about 50 feet that someone would have to traverse to try and see his rigs. I can also assure that Ron is fully into the shell game, and hiding his assets, because he does not want to have someone peering into his personal life, without permission.

    T=Calibri]Again, the PWNA does not condone this type of behavior. [/font][/size]

    I feel there is a lesson to be learned by everyone involved; act accordingly to how you want to be perceived, are we Professionals or Not?

    Thank you,

    Eric Clark

    PWNA President

    I see this last sentence as a deliberate slam by the PWNA, and the BOD. In all reality, this is a profession filled by guys that are doing their best to make their way, and be financially successful. We all do it, varying degrees of success. As I stated earlier, me professionalism is not determined by my customers by what I post on these boards, though I do feel a sense of propriety is necessary when posting. My professionalism is determined by the service I provide my customers, the service I provide, and my knwoledge of the industry and business in general. It is amazing how far that gets me.

    If anyone would like to see the original, unedited letter, they are still free to email me at the-washer@msn.com, and I can forward it to you. I have had a few people ask for it, and everyone was apalled by the bredth, scope and tone of the letter. I actually find it difficult to believe that no one on the BOD, or associated with the PWNA in an leadership capacity, knew about it. It is not the type of thing someone does under the radar, though I bet Mike is enjoying the view under the bus.

  17. Posted · Edited by Scott Stone
    Edited due to further information clarifying lies and misstatements.     · Report reply

    Mike,

    I reviewed your letter, and since I am in the same market as Ron I found your letter, and research comedic at best. I am shocked and amazed that you would take the time to do the research you did on Ron, and to come up with nothing. I have personally ran into about 5 of Ron's Rigs at various times, and been run off the road by at least two, as they raced from job to job.

    That you claim Ty from Az Power wash pros claims he is one of the larger companies in the valley is pretty funny, too. He is smarter then that, just from what I have seen him post. I can think of about a dozen companies in the Metro Phoenix area that would dwarf Ty's, and he would have to be pretty naive to believe that. Then again, there are those that claim that I have never cleaned parking garages. What can I say? I have the contracts to prove it, but you can bet your bottom dollar I am not showing anyone who I have contracts with. In fact, you can be assured that in the future, unless you are a customer, I am no longer going to give people my certificates of insurance. This includes the PWNA.

    If that is not enough, I have had lunch with about 8 different salesman that Ron has. Ask anyone that came to the Phoenix roundtable a few years ago. I think there were six there, just for lunch. I have also been in his office where I observed 4 office girls doing billing, etc.

    A few more things that you might want to know. The address on Ray Rd, well, those are his extra rigs. Many of his emloyees have take home rigs, or else, they have other yards in the area they take them to. There are at least three others that you did not mention.

    Finally, maybe Ron does not do $3.5 million in sales, who cares, with 6 rigs that you observed, you at least know he has a viable operation. With the money he spends, and has spent in developing the round tables, and with the personal money he has spent supplying prizes, like TV's, Ipads, Computers, etc. I am certain that there has to be some money somewhere that he is operating off of.

    So, now, since you came to town, I assume that since you did not call, or contact me, that you inspected my little operation that is based out of my home. I am certain that you will find it was in a nice neighborhood, and that I had decent vehicles in the driveway. I will admit that the driveway was a little dirty, and that you were, no doubt, disappointed. Rest assured that just because I keep one trailer at my home, for when I need to do something quick, I do have other equipment and trucks. My oldest truck is an '04, my newest is an '08, and EVERYTHING is paid for.

    I am really confused why it is any business of yours, or why you felt the need to investigate a member of the PWNA, on any level. Your concern should be solely to collect their membership fee, and work to better the industry. Not personal profiteering, as it is starting to appear is happening, in my opinion, with the training classes that no doubt are over the horizon. If you were truly concerned about the contractors in the industry, you would make the effort to reach out to the maximum number of contractors you could, and respond to their questions, rather then running back to the board to make sure the responses are the politically correct answers that they desire.

    As for posting the letter, in my heart, I want you to post the letter. I think the responses would be interesting, at a minimum, and really entertaining, in reality. Unfortunately, I am not going to encourage you to post the letter because it will open you up to a libel suit, and Ron, who you apparently want to paint as not having a prosperous business, will likely feel the need to contact his attorney, to see how he feels about what your investigation revealed to you.

    Rest assured, I would not trust you to do any market research for me, because on this one, you absolutely failed.

    Scott Stone

    A Mind for Detail INC. Cleaning up Arizona. 480-834-3434

    AZ ROC 251811

    This is a copy of an email that I sent to Mike before I knew he had made this letter public.

  19. Posted · Report reply

    PWNA Power Washers of North America 162

    Mike,

    I just reviewed multiple posts on ***, and did not see any personal attacks. I find it offensive that the PWNA would take the position that there were personal attacks on you, or anyone from the PWNA. I find it particularly curious, since you have the ability to moderate any posts that are personal attacks. The only reason that no one else moderated them is because the moderators on *** were specifically told to NOT moderate any PWNA posts, because you had full responsibility for them.

    The way I see it is that there is a personal vendetta by members of the Board of the PWNA against ***, and more particularly Ron **********. A position that I find, at the least, curious, coming from a small organization that purports to represent such a large industry.

  23. Posted · Report reply

    In my opinion, for durability, I would run a larger line to just before the machine, then use the 3/4" line going into the head. Most of my machines I have set up with a piece of 2 inch pVC from the tank to about 6 inches from the head, and then use a 3/4" hose to go into the head. I have had excellent luck this way. I also include a filter before the hose that goes to the head. It works great, and I always have enough water. I have machines that used as small as a 3/8" hose going to a 5 gpm, pump. That was the factory setup, and it was disastrous.

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