Jump to content

Aplus

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    1,426

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Posts posted by Aplus

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Ron,

    Your information is not accurate. Honda does indeed make a oil drain plug valve kit, part # 15558-ZJ1-010AH. See attached photo.

    However, it is a 90 degree fitting, and the engine must be lifted up to install it.

    Honda also makes a remote oil filter kit, which is also handy to make maintenance easier.

    Rob,

    I've never use D-Limonene so I can't say for sure it will kill mold, but my gut feeling is that it will not.

    Also, when you mount that vertical burner, make certain you allow plenty of clearance around it to prevent a fire.

    Myself, I don't think I'd like having all that equipment mounted in a van because there are just too many fumes. I know my trailer gets stinky enough as it is after it's been closed a couple days, especially after refueling. No matter how much you try, a few dribbles of fuel always seem to evade the fuel tanks. That is why you should NEVER refuel a hot rig.

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Rob,

    Before you mount that skid in your van, install an oil drain hose kit, because the drain plug for the Honda is on the side, which will be hard to get at when it's in the van.

    It is a nice looking setup, but maybe a little overkill, because actually, the rig is going to be out of the weather, and won't rust anyway. But if it puts you in a comfort zone, that's what matters.

    I've got several machines that are old and in and out of the weather and they never rust. I attribute that to the powder coat paint used, which is super durable.

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I use nitrile gloves all the time. They hold up well against all of the chems I typically use.

    The latex disposable gloves, on the other hand, disintegrate almost immediately when exposed to solvents.

    I get a lot of my supplies from Direct Safety. They have a very wide selection of most anything you need, and things you didn't know you needed until you saw it there. Check them out at www.directsafety.com

    Beth has a great price on the nitrile gloves, even better than DS. I think if there was enough demand for popular supplies she doesn't carry, she would look into adding the items.

    Would you Beth?

  8. Posted · Report reply

    That's just the way Ron spells it....ok..spelling error at greatest.

    We all know exactly what Ron is talking about, regardless of how he spell's it.

    If I called any of my chemical suppliers and ordered a 5 gallon pail of limonlene house wash, they will know what I want.

    We should be glad Ron contributes so much information to this board, regardless of his spelling errors. Most all can walk away a little more knowledgeable after reading his posts.

    My .02

  9. Posted · Report reply

    I have two separate rigs, one for cold water, and one for hot water.

    I have found no need to use hot water for housewashing. It burns the grass, and doesn't seem to make any difference for removing typical crud found on residential houses.

    Now for most commerical work where grease or oily film is typical, and for concrete cleaning, hot water is superior.

    Everybody has their own preference I guess.

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Rob,

    You mention being one of the top quality contractors in St. Louis. How are you going to maintain that status, as well as uphold your warranty policy when you do the low-medium-high quality work on decks you've mentioned before?

    I suspect your low and medium quality jobs are going to prematurely fail, so you'll need to get some new contracts for them that state there is no warranty.

    If you know you're work is in the top of the field, why risk ruining your reputation doing sub standard work just to make a few dollars for the present?

    Referals make up around 1/3 of my work, which I'm sure I wouldn't get if I did someone a "budget" deal, and it failed within a year.

  12. Posted · Report reply

    Here in MI, I don't see anybody reclaiming. Not one advertisement for it either.

    Maybe it's different for fleetwashing, but not the case for gas stations, buildings, etc.

    It may not be right, but I'm just reporting what I've seen.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Paul,

    I agree that insurance and advertising costs have to be figured in when starting up a business, however, I'm not sure you need to have that total amount available up front.

    Somewhere along the line, your revenue stream is going to have to start covering most of your ongoing expenses.

    Advertising, for example, is an expense that can go up or down after determining what works, and what does not.

    I guess everybody has different ways of looking at things. Probably the most important thing is to have extra living expense $$ tucked away to get you thru the difficult times.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Rob,

    You're mixing startup costs with operating costs. You don't figure in your annual costs for chems/stains, adv costs, insurance etc... for a start-up. Those are paid for as you go along, out of your revenues.

    It's good you're gathering data, and thinking about numbers, and building your strategies. Just make sure you use the data correctly.

    Interpreting and portraying data incorrectly can make it look like.........

    Notice it's Thick Sliced.

  22. Posted · Report reply

    James,

    How much lubricant can there be? I've washed gutters yearly, for several years, and the black streaks still come back. Pauls' theory is more sound.

    Gav,

    I do gutters the same way you describe.... use a pump up for single story, and a 10" truck brush on an extension pole for uppers.

    Very fast, a typical 50 foot run is done in about 5-6 minutes.

    I've never used the Gutter Shock, but my gut feeling is that it will perform similar to Gutter Zap. Since the two are similarly priced, it might make sense to buy the one that allows for the cheapest shipping. The shipping distance on commercial carrier is a factor in the price, so look at which one is closest to you.

    I've added a little HD-80 to boost my mix on occasion, with satisfactory results.

  23. Posted · Report reply

    What causes the black streaks on the gutters? It's an oil based run-off from asphalt shingles.?

    Paul, that's what I always thought too. However, there seems to also be a theory about moving water building up a static charge on the gutter which attracts dirt, etc. Any thoughts on this?

    I've never really bought into that theory. I don't really know 100% for sure what causes the stains, but I know I can remove them. As you mention, degreasers or similar products are what works to remove the stains.

    Also, you make a good case for looking at the Allbright, it is certainly priced right.

    I'm still not going to xjet gutter cleaner, but it will save a good amount of $$ on each house wash.

  24. Posted · Report reply

    John,

    You are mentioning a point that has intrigued me for some time.

    If you mix HD80 at 16oz per gallon, it will not completely dissolve in the water....you will have white undissolved residue on the bottom of your pail. You will be xjetting the solution, as well as splattering white residue out the tip.

    The way I see it, there is no way to xjet HD80 at full strength.

    This may be fine for cases where a weaker mix will do the job, but not when a higher concentration is required. Even if you mix the HD80 at 10oz per gallon,(which I think you can) you still can't get a full strength mix at the output.

    Maybe Morgan can share his wisdom on this.

×