Mike Sullivan
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Posts posted by Mike Sullivan
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Unless the copper is already aged and corroded from the weather, it won't affect it much. If it is brand new copper, bleach will make a noticeable change.
If the customer has a fit from the slight discoloration, they can be polished out with Brass-O or some type of acid. Phosphoric or sulfuric acid. Don't use Muratic, it's too harsh.
Do a test spot! I have been too complacent in the past about the affects of chemicals, make sure you know what to expect before taking on this job.
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I love my Isuzu 17ft box truck with my Honda 20Hp General 2500psi 12gpm and my Honda 13hp AR 4000psi 5gpm both on hot water rigs and an ionizer filtration system running off a 500 gallon supply tank. Also equipped with a new 220 gallon tank with just 12% bleach, and its new Apple Vari-flow system dual Delavan 5.3gpm 60psi 12V roof pumps plumbed in tandem to a 200ft reel of 3/4 inch industrial garden hose. Two concrete cleaners. One 24 inch stainless steel with 3 wands & 4gpm nozzles for the big daddy and one 20 inch stainless steel with 2 wands & 2.5gpm nozzles for the 13hp.
ZZZZ....huh?? What was that?...oh I was dreaming. Don't have the money yet....grrr
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What happened with you and the PWNA Roger?
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Yes, like everyone says, get at least 5.6gpm. I have heard that the brass head on the General TS-2021 is a black market clone of General. Make sure it's not a brass head to get a true General.
I have AR pumps myself. Belt or gear driven are better because they have more torque and drive the pump at a lower RPM. Lower RPM speed like 1750 or 1450 last longer than direct drives at 3400 RPM. More torque means you can use a larger pump on the same engine compared to direct drive pumps.
If you can not afford a 18hp engine, the General TS-2021 will run on a 13hp engine at 2500 psi @ 5.6 gpm. It will clean faster than a 4000 psi @ 4 gpm. The maximum GPM high pressure pump you can put on a 13hp is the AR RKA7G20HN 2000 psi @ 7.1 gpm. Maximum GPM high pressure pump on a 18hp engine is the AR XWLA13G15N 1450 psi @13 gpm. For more info on engine/pump combinations, order a catalog from www.envirospec.com
If you go larger than 4gpm you'll definately need a supply tank. I have two machines- 5.5gpm and 5.0gpm @ 4000psi. Total of 10.5gpm. On average, even with water going into the supply tank, we can drain my 335 gallon tank in about 3 hours. If you grow enough to buy a second machine and they are more than 10.5gpm together you'll need a larger tank than what I have. 500 or 600 gallons maybe. A flatbed or box truck will be needed to carry that much weight. I've heard some washers with 500 tanks and larger having trailer axles break or come off their vehicle because of the weight.
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A hot water sand blaster at 200 degrees F. J/K.
I don't even bother with it. Too much of a hassle.
If a customer wants it off really bad, refer them a crew of Mexicans..hehe
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12,000 feet! GOOD LORD! That's huge! The gutter solutions guy said I should charge around $7-10/ft TOTAL.
That means you would charge around $80,000, is that right??????
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Yep, I've learned the hard way, when in doubt do a test spot.
I had a customer who had a deck with old weathered stain on the floor and white latex rails. I recommended stripping the floor and staining it with her color of choice and just knocking off the loose white paint with straight pressure, sand smooth after drying, and priming/painting the rails with solid white latex paint.
After she saw how good the floor looked, she says "Wow, I never dreamed it would come out this good!" I changed my mind, I want the rails stripped to the bare wood also. GRRRR....groan.
So I had to make two more trips trying to please her and did my best to strip the extremely stubborn white paint with nasty/bad for the environment toxic Methlyene Chloride. Nothing else would touch it. After going over it twice and wasting my time and money, I respectfully declined continueing on the rails. Part of my problem was the weather. I forgot to read the can of stripper, it says the temperature should be over 65 degrees to work properly. It was in the high 40's, low 50's that day! No wonder.
Even still, I bet it would have taken a hundred years to scrape, sand, pick at all the paint in the cracks and corners. There was no way. I'll never do that again, I'll insist the rails with solid paint will have to go with another coat or two of solid paint on top.
The customer would be better off replacing the wood before stripping solid latex off their rails.
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Makes sense. I see your point. It does look like the foam would not let stuff run off it like a smooth surface, it has too much traction. Thanks for the input.
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Can anyone give me a fair price to charge customers for installation?
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I did a google search and got a few others.
They all look exactly the same! Anyone know which company sells the cheapest ones?
Here is gutter solutions pricing below. What should I add for installation cost?
Gutter Solutions Contractors Price
This pricing is for 5 inch gutters only.
Ships in 30- 4 foot sections, 120 feet per box.
1 to 30 Boxes $2.65
31 to 65 $2.45
65 to truck load $2.10
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Thanks guys. I'll stick with Hondas. Russ how do you know it's made in China?
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Anyone used or heard of these 16hp blue engines lasting as long as a Honda 13hp?
A lot cheaper usually means you get what you pay for. Although because all the parts are interchangeable with Hondas, its looks good.
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38.l1313&_nkw=16+hp+engine&_sacat=See-All-Categories
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Joel, Bob has the best deals I have seen on the General 5-8gpm non-adjustable 20% High Draw injectors. I don't see the need for the adjustable injectors, they needlessly cost more. If you want a different ratio just mix your chemicals different.
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Hello everyone.
I got this e-mail the other day and was wondering if anyone has seen these or tried these new gutter polyurethane inserts.
I might try these out, any input guys?
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Congrats Mike, glad it worked. I am going to try it in the very near future. Any pointers ??? Thanks for the heads up Phil.Tom, like Phil says all you need is a high pressure "T", three couplers, and a short high pressure hose to join your machine into the T on your other machine. Run both machines into one hose to make your new monster. I haven't seen any 9.5 nozzles, so just get 9gpm and 10gpm nozzles and try them both out if you want.
One more thing. You have to hold to trigger gun when starting your machines so you will not to build up pressure in the hose.
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I did it guys.
I have combined my 5.5gpm & 5.0gpm 4000psi machines to make an insanely sick 10.5gpm 4000psi washer! It is ridiculous. Damn near knocks you down it's so strong! The force is unbelievable with a 10gpm nozzle.
I also bought a 0060 nozzle for soap application. I can draw chemical with a General 5-8gpm 20% Hi-Draw injector with this nozzle. Because I have double the flow, the chemical ratio is cut in half. I ordered a Robokim 5.6-10.8 injector to see if I can get more chemical draw out of it and three new 25 degree 3.5gpm nozzles for my concrete cleaner. Can't wait to do some flat work with this new monster setup.
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I just bought a tee with couplers to combine my 5.5gpm 4000psi and 5.0gpm 4000psi pumps.
The 10.5gpm flow is going to be sick!
Can't wait to try it out. I also had to order new 10gpm nozzles.
Richard, in your case you will need 8gpm nozzles for running two 4gpm machines together.
I haven't tried this yet but I would assume that the chemical to water ratio will be affected and you will have to increase chemical strength if you are using the same chemical injector. I do not know of any chemical injectors that are larger than the 2.3 orifice @ 5-8gpm.
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Jon, did you get that picture from UglyPeople.com? It is freaking me out.
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Chem Central here in Greensboro, NC claims that there Sodium Hypochlorite is also 15%. I believe that it is actually 12%. If you look at the fine print on Brenntag drums it says 12% and Harcros drums from Thomasville. Chem Central drums from the ones I saw, don't label the percentage at all. All three companies call there bleach Solution 15. Don't ask me why, but it's not 15%.
Your mix sounds a little weak. I mix 2.5 gallons 12% to 2.5 gallons house wash detergent (Hot water with 1 cup TSP will work also) Total mixture about 6% SH. Yours is probably around 2.5% SH.
I have not offered to clean the black artillery mold, because it is a nightmare. Luckily I've had only a couple of requests about removing them, and I simply tell them it won't come off or it will cost too much labor to hand scrap them.
Your equipment and how it is set up is also a huge factor in how well your chemicals are drawing through your injector.
What do you have? Signature or name please?
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I have read that SealRx is a silicone based product and that it petrifies the wood. What else does anyone know about this? What exactly does silicone do to the wood? Petrifies meaning it accelerates the graying process?
There is a full page ad in a local direct mailer magazine called The Grapevine Magazine here in Greensboro, NC.
It says it's "Guaranteed for 25 Years!!!"
25 Year Transferable Warranty
I do not believe it. This has got to be false advertising.
See attached file.
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I like it too. Really enhances the wood grain. The only problem with linseed oil that I know of, is that it is a natural food source for mold/algae. Making the product higher maintenance than paraffinic oil based products like ReadySeal.
Most of the time when I apply a test stain spot for customers that want to see the product before chosing the color, they go with the Cabot's Natural Clear Solution. Ready Seal light brown some say looks too red, same with WTW and too orange/red for Sikkens.
Cabot's Clears don't last very long from my experience. Fade rapidly in less than a year. I prefer WTW or Ready Seal or Sikkens.
Weird question:
Sikkens does not make a clear coat for decks, too many of my customers don't like the orangey look of the Sikkens Natural and other reddish colors most sealers have.
As an attempt to make Cabot's last longer, can Sikkens car finish clear coat work on top of two coats of Cabot's Natural Clear Solution??????????
Beth/Rod or Ken Fenner, anyone tried this? Any suggestions?
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Most of the time when I apply a test stain spot for customers that want to see the product before chosing the color, they go with the Cabot's Natural Clear Solution. Ready Seal light brown some say looks too red, same with WTW and too orange/red for Sikkens.
Cabot's Clears don't last very long from my experience. I prefer WTW or Ready Seal or Sikkens.
Weird question: Sikkens does not make a clear coat for decks, too many of my customers don't like the orangey look of the Sikkens Natural and other reddish colors most sealers have.
As an attempt to make Cabot's last longer, can Sikkens car finish clear coat work on top of two coats of Cabot's Natural Clear Solution??????????
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It's not that all painters are drunks,
it's just that all drunks think they can paint! :rotfl:
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I have never found that tsp leaves a white residue - on the sides of boxes they commonly tell you to put 1 quart of bleach and 1 cup of tsp to 3 quarts of water. I think that's just plain crazy - I have always just put 1/4 of tsp to one gallon of water then added a quart of bleach for 5 quarts total. That's been my mainstay, and where I start from when I want to tackle something. By adding 1/16 cup of tergitol to that gallon, has allowed me to cut down the bleach to one pint. And so now I have a mixture that I can put a siphon directly into a 6% bleach bottle with my added ingredients through my downstreamer which is 10:1. I was pressure washing a house, and it even knocked off the failing poly coating on the guy's front threshold!But back to your question - never noticed any residue on windows, I don't think the nonylphenol would allow it - and I haven't killed any vegetation, just rinse the vegetation before and after.
-Dan
Hey Dan, you're knowledge of chemistry is impressive. When are you going to upgrade your equipment to match your chemicals? It's painful to read you are still using a PITA, POS 5Hp 2.5 gpm machine.
What Gun do you use?
in Tools, Equipment & Basic Maintenance
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I like the YRL-50. Draws chemicals great and the Hydrolic action when you pull the trigger is smoother.