Douglas Hicks

I think most people would be annoyed by the start, the screaming. the content may have gotten better, I did not get past the screaming. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc An old fart

About 1/2 of them

NIce job. Are you going to install a catwalk so you can reach everything? Odd how you accumulate stuff to fill all available space. I like the idea of a fire extinguisher. Just a suggestion, toss the POS Kidde and get a real extinguisher, and a larger size.

When my girlfriend and I took our CCW class, the instructor, a Deputy Sheriff told us to think very seriously about killing someone. He said if you were 100% sure you could kill someone, you could carry. If there was any doubt, do not carry and do not ever pull a gun on someone if there was any doubt. We both gave very serious thought to the consequences of using a gun. Your vehicle and tools are replacable, your life and the life of others is not replacable. On the job, I still favor the can of SH aimed at the eyes and face. Keep spraying until he is down, then beat the snot out of the *******. Keep some chemical in reserve should he have friends around.

A weapon can be whatever is handy. An employee asked me once what we would do if someone came into the resturant wher we were working & asked for money. I replied we would be nice and pleasant and do exactly as told to do, right up to the point of endangering ourselves or others. We would help load up the money in the till, carry out all of the candy bars, give them the keys to the van, anything to not get hurt. All the while working on a description to give to the cops and always looking for a weapon if needed. I was asked if I carried, and told him that was not a question to be asked in Eastern Oregon. I told him he might find something in the closet in the van, but by the time "something" was retreived was retrieved, it would be too late. I said we were already armed with our wit, tools, pressure washer wand and more importantly, the Sodium Hydroxide. He asked if the SH would hurt someone and if I would feel bad about squirting someone. I said if I was worried enough to use SH for defense, I would not worry about anyone besides myself. I did feel the need one night to call the cops in Walla Walla, I had cops in the parking lot in 3 minutes. End of problem. I have written down the dispatch phone number a coulple of times. In Oregon, your driver's lisence is cross-referenced to your carry permit. When you get pulled over, the cop knows if you have permit and are to hand the cop your driver's lisence and permit together. Soem cops get real nervous if you have a permit, I would be more concerned about someone who does not have a permit. In Oregon, you have to attend a class, get fingerprinted and have a LEDs run before getting a permit. Teh permit costs $50.00. David, can you give us another view on this subject?

Another lovely poem in an effort to bring culture and class to the pressure washing industry. IF MY BODY WERE A CAR If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. Iv"e got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull, but that's not the worst of it. My headlights are out off focus and it's expecially hard to see things up close. My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather. My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins. It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. Myfuel rate burns ineffeciently. But here's the worst of it--- Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter........either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires!

Cavitation is caused by air in the pump, whether a piston pump like our pressure washers, or a vane pump like on a fire truck. Air can be sucked in the inlet side by a leaky hose. I use 3/4 inch rubber heater hose because it is more forgiving to crushing by my trash cans. But if you use clear hose, you might be able to see the bubbles. Try replacing the intake hose, using good gear drive hose clamps. You might have an air leak at the fittings. I had an occasion where I had no outlet pressure. I called an un-named source in Texas. He told me what I just told you, I knew he was just blowing me off. After 2 hours of tighting clamps, filling the system w/air and generally just wasting time, I replaced the hose. Of course Larry was right. The hose was the problem. When a pump cavitates, the air bubbles can ruin a pump quickly. The water cools the packing and ceramic pistons. Air allows the heat to build to a temperature that destroys the packing and pistons. The ceramic pistions can develop very small cracks that expand when hot, allowing the water to leak. I have not had much sucess rebuilding pumps. Now I just keep a spare pump on hand. You may be able to find a rebuilt pump from that guy in Texas, or the Wizard. I have tried other brands, but find the General TS 2021 works for me. Does water leak from the mating joint between the valve head and the crankcase? Or does the water leak from the bottom of the crankcase. This may be an indication of the pistons leaking.

Ken and Dan I thought your comments were really funny. Where shall we send the flowers?

We had a neighbor down the road who kept getting gas stolen out of his tractor. He added some stove oil to the gas. He kept adding stove oil until the kid down on the next farm found his car did not run. Cured that problem. Have you thought about asking a fuel dealer for some off-road deisel additive? The dye would show up in any of his fuel tanks. I like the idea of useing machine shop floor sweepings.

I have a Little Giant, cost $425.00 from Amazon.com. I really like it, except when I have to move it, or extend it. It is heavy and cumbersome. But it is very stable, even extended fully. The real reason I bought it was a ladder rack for my Sprinter was $1400.00. The Little Giant fits inside, against a storage bin.

Instead of a sure flow pump part, could you use a adjustable solenoid like those used to open and close doors on rods? Those also have a remote control available. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Ray was the lube man at a Chevy garage where I was Parts Mgr. Ray knew his trade and did not take anything off anybody. Doc Sarazin just bought a new motor home and was having Ray undercoating the coach. Doc was also pointing out all of the spots Ray missed and all the spots Doc did not think were coated properly. Ray reached the boiling point, and as Doc pointed out one more spot, Ray turned, asked "Where?" Too bad Ray forgot to release the trigger and undercoated Doc's suit. Really odd, Ray did not usually make mistakes like that. Ray was left in peace after that.

As you drive down the street, you look at the exhaust fans on the resturants, you might be

Insurance costs are also based upon the amount of business you are doing. As you total income goes up, so does you insurance bill. Every year, I estimate my total gross sales. At the end of the year I receive a sellf audit form. I then report what my actual sales were. Of course my sales are always more than I estimated. A couple of months later, I get the bill for my increase in revenue. And if you think you can save some money by dealing in cash, remember that if you have a claim the insurance company will ask for a copy of the sales invoice. No invoice, no insurance coverage. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Do a search on the boards for opinions of E-Spec. I still remember the line of crap they gave me when I did use their lousy service. Never, never, never again. After 15 years, I still will not call them. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Reminds me a story told by Ray, the guy who undercoated cars in a Chevy dealership I worked at. The customer was really picky, stood there w/the car on the rack while Ray did the undercoat. Ray was a very even tempered person.The customer kept pointing out what was missed, getting in the way. Several times Ray nicely asked him to move. Finally Ray had enough. The next time the customer walked in front of Ray, pointing to a missed spot, Ray turned to the customer and asked "Where?" Too bad Ray forgot to let go of the trigger first. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

I have had 2 Pressure washers, a horizontal and a vertical. My machines had a baffle plate that came loose. The baffle plate was to direct the flame around the coils. Sometimes the plate was where it was supposed to be, and sometimes it was not where it was supposed to be. When it was in the wrong place, the flame did not burn clean, and lots of smoke and soot were product, very litttle heat. After putting the plate back in position and some welding, I was back in business. My helper did mention the verticle burner has lots of nasty black soot. He took it the the car wash. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Florin, the last time I talked to the CCB, I was told that to pressure wash real property (building, fences and other improvements to real property) you needed to be licenced as a contractor, have insurance, a bond and have workers' comp if you have employees. I was also told they were going to remove pressure washers from the CCB requirments. I was not given a time for the change. The theory is that if you are required to have a CCB #, & perform work w/o a CCB # you face possible fines of up to $1,000 per job or per day you work w/o a CCB #. I have turned in people working w/o a CCB #. Would like to know how many fines the CCB has issued? Of the 12 people I turned in, some of them multiple times, 1 person was fined $1,000 for working w/o the magic number. That complaint took almost a year to investigate. I had to send follow-up letters 3 or 4 times befor an investigator, Rich Rambo, was assigned to the case. He followed up because he had been a contractor in La Grande, and had lost jobs to the low-ballers who were not lisenced. Those complaints I made were complete w/ listed times, locations, and evidence of non-lisenced contractors. I also listed contact names and phone numbers of the businesses where the violations took place. The evidence was the labels on the hoods and the tags on the fire suppression systems. Most of the time, they will not even acknowledge the receipt of the letter or e-mail. When the CCB sent out a newletter to let us know about the fine job they were doin, and how they were protecting the citizens, the citations listed were mostly from the wet side of the State. The purported reason for a contractor lisence is to protect the general public. As the CCB does not follow up on those who are not licensed, the real reason must be to generate revenue for the State of Oregon. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc CCB 78491

I started my business part-time while employed at a Chevy dealership. Then I got a call to go to work as a full-time firefighter. Changes happened in City Management and my full time job went away. I drew my unemployment, took on jobs I should not have done, made very small profits, but learned lots. In a couple of years I was making more than I did as a firefighter, with a lot more job satisfaction. Now, I am so used to working for myself, I cannot see working for anyone else. A potentially devastating change worked out great for me. In Oregon, I could make all the sales calls I wanted, but had to keep my income below a certain level. I made calls one week, scheduled work for the following week. This kept me within the guidlines set up by the State Umemployment Division. You can make this work for you! Go for it and never look back! Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Larry, do you use the 3YB47 for the Sodium Hydroxide? I did call & talked to Guy Garner and will be doing business w/them. Thank you for the tip. Next time I am on the wet side of Oregon, I owe you lunch. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Celeste, did they ask to be an "addiional named insured"? We work for some national companies who have requested that extra cost coverage. I bill them and they pay for the extra coverage. most of those national companies do not pay promptly, nor do they pay a decent scale. They are also only interested in cheap, cheap, cheap. They have no loyalty to you, only them selves. Commercial Services Inc and National Fire do pay promptly. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

And is the fan shaft broken? Is it plastic? Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Oregon law requires a permit to carry concealed. One of the requirements is to be fingerprinted and have your name run through LEDs. We also had to take an NRA gun saftey class. Any gun shop in the area should be able to help you contact NRA for the time and place of a class. Why do want a gun? Is it for personal protection? Have you thought about if you can shoot someone? Carrying a weapon requires some serious thought. The .380 is a good choice for concealed carry. The .357 is more than I want to carry, or even aim. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

SCBA and SCUBA tanks need to be pressure tested every 3 or 5 years. Those that fill breathing tanks will not fill them unless the tank is in current pressure test dates. Testers will not test SCUBA tanks unless the user has a current certification. These are US-DOT regulations. A new tank is about $600.00. Used tanks are available, but will probalbly need a pressure test. What will you use for a regulator and the adaptor from tank to regulatror? A N tank is about $200.00 and a refill about $20 to $25.00. The regulator and hose will be about $165.00. N tanks are available on a rental basis. The last price I saw was about $5.00 per month. A CO2 beverage tank is about $ 175 and the regulator is about $85.00. refills about $30.00 to $70.00. The CO2 may freeze under hi volumn flows. I use N, but then we use N for fire extinguisher recharges. Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc

Don't you have an accountant or CPA? Douglas Hicks General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc