Tronman

Does anyone else see that there is more to the name than just the name... Died Rich.

I want to create a chem pump system that I can leave in the truck, take a wand up a ladder and onto the roof, walk the roof from front to back with out moving the chem or pump. I found a $250 water pump that will pump 140'. If I plug it inot a chem tank and then tap the other end down to a 1/4 or 1/2 inch double braided tubing with a wand on the end I should be able to do it. ShurFlo has a 150psi pump that will get 115' for $169. Other than the utility dolly set-up with everything on it and different wand set-ups, what rigs do you guy's/gal's have set up for spraying 100% solution undiluted onto a roof so you are nto moving your pump, chem and ladder every 20 min..

What size PSI are you using to get to the roof of a two story home? Are you using a wand extension?

What PSI pumps is everyone using to get to the peak of the roof of a two story home? (60, 100, 150,...) Given you are on a ladder at the gutter and spraying towards the roof top.

What equipment would you buy for your first year if you started your business al over again? Budget - $6,000.

To get the last 15 years back - that would be nice... I spent so much time traveling away from my family working 24/7 with laptops, cell phones, faxes, E-Mails, and playing games like trying to see if I could remember what my hotel room number was that night without looking at the key. If I would have started this business 15 years ago ... Oh well all that counts is that I get to ride bikes to school with my daughter each day and if I'm not at a job I can meet her when she gets out of school. I know I will never get this time again, so I'm making the most of it now. This is a great business. Thanks for your advice. All advice and information is always welcome. My focus now seems to be heading toward no pressure roof cleaning and commercial applications.

What type of pumps are you using to get your 200'? PSI - GPM- I spoke with shurflo and they stated I needed a 150psi pump. If the line is primed on the ground do you need a strong pump to deliver 200' away?

When you can't do for yourself what you once did, and you are too proud to ask for a favor, It's nice to know that someone is trying to walk around in your shoes and understand your needs. Too many people are thinking only of how thier own lives are going. It's great to see someone who truely feels others needs. I am sure they will be proud of you and what you have done. Great Job!!

I used it on car engine cleaning. It worked better than Sam's degreaser, about the same as a citrus degreaser, not nearly as good as Gunk engine cleaner, but it did loosen up the baked in oil under the hood. I sprayed it and then wiped it to break it up then PW it and it rinsed clean. It works well on gutter streaks also.

Well... I have two 4GPM 3400 PW machines. Three ladders An airless paint sprayer Heater on a rig with the PW 195 gal potable water tank on the rig Ford F150 truck - 2001 used 35,000 miles on it - Carmax 15 years of first level to top business Mgmt. (usually in the largest accounts in Texas) - Restarants, Janitorial, Storage, & Commercial oil system installation in restaurants. So far I have done residential concrete, roof cleaning, siding -homes with and without wheels, airplane hangers, car engines and commercial building exterior glass and siding. Advertising - Bandit signs, SuperCoups, fliers, car magnet signs & referrals. Have not tried Yellow pages, HOA's, Chambers or Home shows - YET. I recently PW'd a NAPA auto parking lot for free (praying for chain) to test products on grease & oil. I tested with a cold water system 4GPM (Purple Power, Gunk powder, Drive-up, Krud Kutter, Castrol Super Clean, Big Boss degreaser - Janitorial supply.) All were sprayed on and let dwell for 5-10 min then PW - Only the Gunk powder was deck brushed. I was really looking for a commercial application for drive through restaurants. Nothing removed all of the grease - Drive-up was aout the best. The next test was to try Sodium Hydroxide, TSP, and a new product - Algarid (works great on roofs with no pressure - just rinse - no acids) - not combined. I will post pics of the test later. If anyone sees anything wrong with the test proceedure as told, let me know.

I saw the 60-70% and immediately thought of 68% calcium Hypochlorite. I found that it does not work so great. The advantage would be to have a stable powder that you could keep on hand in large quantity until you needed it. For some reason, regardless of the strength it does not match Sodium Hypochlorite.

Please explain how you came by 68% chlorine. Is this powder shock?

I suspect that once you use products like CitriClean or Emulsifier Plus, you'd ask yourself why you ever fooled around with home brews. Where can you purchase Citriclean & Emulsifier Plus?

Always interested in good stuff. Please send to my E-Mail address. If there are any forms you need just ask. Minuteman@ix.netcom.com

I have to clean a white metal building with small mold spots. Can I use a truck wash, Windex, or store bought 6% Clorox through an x-jet? It is 2900 sq ft of siding 12 feet tall. Worst-case scenario is that I have to scrub up 12 feet. Best-case scenario is I can touch-free spray wash the gray mold spots off.

I purchased some Fleetwash notouch truck wash from Ramteq. I will add a couple of quarts of bleach to that in a 5 gal bucket. I bought a rotating brush on an 8 foot wand with a trigger handle. If anyone has any better ideas - please let me know. I start on it at 8am. Thanks

I just returned my Briggs and Stratton to Sears due to a broken frame (4.5 mo. old), so I am starting off from scratch again except fo rmy M5 X-Jet. I need some feedback on what to buy. If you were going after 1-2 story home roofs, siding and concrete as well as commercial buildings what type of equipment would you start with. I really only want to spend about $7,000 on a trailer and a good heated system with a large water tank. ANy other recomendations for add-ons is appreciated (like compressor, shuflo, generator, etc) I will also be buying a van to haul it all with. I have quotes from Northern and Silver Eagle Mfg. for some rigs. I have a lot of advertising hitting tomorrow so I need to act rather quickly. Thanks in advance.

Nice rig! What did it set you back to make that?

I was using a garden type pump up sprayer but it is not applying the chem in the quantity I need. It just spits out chem in a mist and the best I can do is get the roof to look wet. I am sure that these no-touch roof cleaning techniques (shurflo, x-jet, etc) are putting chem out in a much larger quantity and that is how the roofs are flowing clean. How much chem should be put on a 10x10 roof area? - 1 gal, 1/2 gal?

WHat proportions of chlorine to water.1:5? Then 1/2 pint of Blue coral? Do you X-Jet that 12% on to get a lower concentration, or do you use a shureflo or pump sprayer to get 12% on the siding?

I am getting a 4GPM, 3400PSI, 11HP cold water Briggs and Stratten for $800. So far I have looked at Delco, American Eagle, Ramteq, Northern, and E-Bay. I know what it should look like but I don't know if the brands they are putting together are the best. Each one says that thier stuff is th ebest and they can all give great examples. It's like visiting 5 different denominational churches to decide which one is the best. In the end any one will probably do, and there will be some custom tailoring after the fact. They each will probably get you to the finish line. And, since I have not decided on oen type of work exclusively it is really hard to buy the right equipment. It's like saying you want a gun that will kill both elephants and squirls. You could wind up getting stepped on by the ticked off elephant or be taking home a few squirrel hairs for dinner.

I have a two story home with vinyl siding. He wants the following done: Driveway - 1000 sq ft Side walk - 279 sq ft Front porch - 48 sq ft Wood deck - 648 sq ft concrete patio - 144 sq ft Vinyl siding - ~2371 sq ft siding has green mold on it. He said he has a guy that will do it for $150. I think he is either bluffing, or crazy. If he does not take my bid I will tell him to let the other guy do his damage and call me later to fix what he did. I planned on using my new M5 with 12% pool chlorine, dawn and cascade. What would you bid on this? Do you agree with the chem?

Regardless whether I get the job or not, each one of these is an experience in pricing, production, equipment and chemicals. I have been spending about 4 hours a day just reading posts from four different boards. I usually cut and paste onto word docs titled Roofs, Siding, Decks, Concrete, Chemcials, Equipment, etc. This helps to organize my information. I am currently compliling dilution rates for different types of equipment like X-Jet, ShurFLo, 2.5-8GPM, etc. Thanks for all the info and help. I actually just returned my Briggs and Stratton for a full refund at Sears due to a broken frame. I am shopping for more equipment. I'll start another thread about what recomendations you guys have for equipment given a budget of $7,000.

Thanks for all the great feedback... If you want to see bad feedback read CODY on PWN - same thread. He did have a very good and lengthy post on why people should never ask about pricing. If there is a soap box, someone is going to get on it and preach... I think pricing information, although relative to geography is one of the biggest benifits to these forums. Everyone needs a guide. Otherwise all the newbies would lowball you out of everything, deliver poor quality workmanship, and make it harder on everyone. This is the only legal means of stabilizing the pricing and quliaty of work in this industry. See, what did I say about that soap box thing...

This is another back portion More pics on ***.