Catch 22 On Sprayer Set Up..?

[Guest rfitz]

I have a sprayer set up in my van to apply strippers, cleaners, briteners etc..

I have 250 ft of hose, on a reel, and a 2 way valve on my sure-flow...

Problem being is when I switch from stripper to britener, I have to purge the lines, otherwise the one will neutralize the other, and to purge 250 ft of hose is wasting alot of chem...? it takes 5 gallons to purge it, anyone out here have this problem before..? I am considering throwing this on a hand cart, with about 50 ft of hose and just using 1 line, ...?

THX

[RyanH 14]

A couple ways of doing this, both involving recovery of the chemical.

You can either disconnect the hose from the valve and allow the chemical to drain (siphon action) into a 5 gallon bucket so that you may reuse the chemical later.

If you know the volumetric flowrate at which your pump can move the chemical, and you know the total volume of the hose (you said 5 gallons), then you can approximate how long it will take to push the amount of chemical in the hose out. Flip the 2-way switch, start pumping your britener and push your stripper out. You will get some neutralization at the mixing point in the hose, but a majority of your stripper will be recoverable in this way. For example, if your pump is moving at 1 gal per minute, and the total volume of your hose is 5 gallons, switch your valve and pump the britener for around 4 minutes, 45 seconds and allow the stripper that is coming out of the hose to empty into a bucket. At 4 min, 45 seconds, take the hose out of the bucket and let it run into a 1 gallon jug for about 30 seconds (this will be junk to throw away). You should see a distinct change between stripper and britener exiting the hose (assuming they are different colors). Once the britener starts to come out, you are ready to begin applying the britener.

To recover the usable britener in the hose, either do the first method I proposed above (which is not the best, but is doable), or run water through the hose via the same reasoning as method #2.

You could do the flip just before you are finished wih the stripping so that the 5 gallons remaining in the hose is used as part of your job, and with the experience you have you will probably know exactly when you have only a few minutes of application left, but if you miscalculate or judge it will have you walking back to your valve once too many times.

Ryan H.

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

Rob..

I saw the setup when Bob built it....use a small air compressor to blow out the lines.

Andy

[Guest rfitz]

Thanks Guys for your help, I was wondering if say after applying stripper,

I ran clear water thru the same line, colored with food coloring, after the colored fresh water came out the wand, then I would know the whole system

was flushed, then use the same line and drop it in my britener (oxalic acid)

then, when I see no more fresh colored water, I would know I am spraying the oxalic, and while flushing both lines like this, I could just spray the orig. chem back into the drum until I saw the colored water, therefore not wasting any chem.. confusing, but a possibilty...?

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

Rob...just time how long it takes for the first chemical to come through.....use that time when switching

Andy

[CCHSNC 14]

simple.. get another pump and hose and be done with it. One for each.

[Paul B. 523]

1 gallon = 231 cu. in.

Area of a circle = Pi x radius squared

3/8" ID hose area would be: 3.1415 <Pi> x (.1875 x .1875) <radius squared> = .110 sq. in.

.110 sq. in. x 12" <1 ft> = 1.32 cu. in <or 1.32 cu. in. of volume per foot of 3/8" ID hose>.

250 ft hose x 1.32 cu. in. = 330 cu. in. of volume

330 cu. in divided by 231 cu. in. (or 1 gallon volume) = 1.43 gallons of volume

To make a long story short, 250ft of 3/8" ID hose will hold about 1.43 gallons of water.

At 5 gpm flow, it takes about 17 seconds to clear 250 ft of hose

Food coloring should work for what you want to accomplish.

There are acid dyes and flavor additives that are also available for chemicals.

[paul-uk 500]

use a xjet with a bucket for your britener......timers...food coloring.....waste chem...????

[CompletelyClean 14]

use a xjet with a bucket for your britener......timers...food coloring.....waste chem...????

X-Jet the brightener! Brilliant! How does this affect the dilution ratio? I currently use pre-packaged bags of powder (they look like bags of cocaine). I put one bag in 5 gallons of HOT water to dissolve the crystals so I don't have to rinse. Should I continue to use the same ratio?

[Firedkm 14]

Bryan,

If you are going to use the xjet its 4lbs in a five gal bucket. MAKE sure you use your respirator. The fumes from the spray will gag you and its harmful too. Make sure people are not near you either including any employees if you have any.

[CompletelyClean 14]

Bryan,

If you are going to use the xjet its 4lbs in a five gal bucket. MAKE sure you use your respirator. The fumes from the spray will gag you and its harmful too. Make sure people are not near you either including any employees if you have any.

Thanks Dale.

Also, I use the citric acid for brightening, as opposed to oxalic. I know it takes a wee bit longer to brighten but I feel it adds a few years to my lifespan over the ox. I will definitely use the safety gear, though.