Sprayers

[Mike 64]

Besides the "Big 2" (X-jet & Shur-flo) what else can be used for applying Roof Cleaner to a roof from say a ladder against the house? I guess it would have to spray 10-12 feet or so? Is there another srpayer out there to be looked at that someone can reccomend? Thanks

Mike

[PressurePros 248]

Why reinvent the wheel? The Shurflo does what you are seeking and as its a low pressure sprayer, its safer to use from a ladder. On top of that it can be ordered with the proper chemically resistant seals and valves. Final point.. its pretty cheap for what it does.

[Mike 64]

Why reinvent the wheel? The Shurflo does what you are seeking and as its a low pressure sprayer, its safer to use from a ladder. On top of that it can be ordered with the proper chemically resistant seals and valves. Final point.. its pretty cheap for what it does.

Well to be honest, the only Shur-flo I saw was just the pump, it looked like you had to build yuour own sprayer to go with it. I'm not that knowledgeable in doing that so I was wondering what else was out there.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

If you would like some info on how to put one together and save yourself some money, Most here could help.

There is alot to these things but we are here to help.

I my self am a tinkerer and love to take things apart, fix them and put them back together...when I have the time that is...yep,yep,yep!!!!

Rod~

[PressurePros 248]

ah, I see what you are getting at, Mike. Check out envirospec, they sell ready to run setups.

[RyanH 14]

When I started out I used a 2 gallon backpack sprayer from Northern Tool (Home Depot, Lowes sell them as well). They come with the wands and such, but were a pain to have to refill 15 times on every roof, and every time up/down the ladder increases the risk of falling. ShurFlos are very nice because the amount of moving parts exposed to the chemicals is limited, so replacement of worn parts is easy. As for the attachments, those have to be purchased separately but can be bought from hardware stores or garden centers.

[Mike 64]

Found a 12 volt - 16 gallon - 60 max PSI - Shurflo diaphragm 1.8 GPM pump Sprayer package with 14 ft of hose & adjustable tip for $129.99 brand new. I was thinking about using this for cleaning roofs. Opinons?

[squirtgun 122]

Mike,

16 gallons will not be big enough,nor the hose long enough and the wand will not allow for the coverage you will be looking for to do a timely job.

This is IMO the basics for a shurflo roof cleaning set up.200ft-3/8" braided line.shurflo pump 1.8-3.0 gpm which ever you prefer they both will do the job.30-35 gallon drum or tank a Phelps wand(do a search for this item)and a deep cycle battery.Mount the tank or drum on your trailer along with the shurflo and battery.200 ft of hose should reach most roof.Mix you chlorine in your drum or tank at the strength you desire.

I am rebuilding our set up so I have no pics right now of how this all should look,but I promise it is very simple.

[Henry B. 4]

Why not just use a 25 gallon tank mounted on wheels with a 100' hose dropping into it and use an m5 xjet connected to your rig.

Will it draw from that much line or not?

If not, what about a downstreamer dropped into a container on your rig holding pool bleach? That should give you a strong enough chemical application. If not, hook up two downstreamers to it and drop both hoses into the tank.

If necessary, Use mildly diluted pool bleach in the tank an just shoot it on from a ladder placed in the middle of the roof.

It may take a little playing around with using the downstreamers but once you figure out the chemical ratio it should work great with a lot less work and dragging stuff around. As a matter of fact, they sell double downstreamers so you can use one with soap and the other with another chemical. No muss and no fuss and only one hose to run.

The double downstreamer thing is what I've been using but I don't do too many roofs. I've got to 45 gallon tanks mounted on the back of my rig.

When I do roofs, I just use an xjet to shoot chems on the roof then rinse.

[squirtgun 122]

The Xjet won't draw the proper ratio through that much line.I suppose downstreaming would work,but I prefer not to run chems through my hoses.The downside to the Xjet is your are applying water continually and it further dilutes your chlorine mix.

The shurflo set up mentioned above is the simplest I have seen and least expensive way to get a roof clean.I'm not trying to revolutionize the roof cleaning industry,this method works for a lot of guys I know so that is why I recommend it.It has worked for us in a modified form.

This isn't a hard process and if anyone needs further info talk with Oneness or BigPete,they both use this set up and they do more roofs in a month than most do in a year.

[Henry B. 4]

I know the bleach will corrode the brass QD's pretty quickly but I don't think it would do much if any damage to the hose. Expecially when your going to rinse it out when rinsing the roof with water. Does anyone have any info about bleach damaging hoses? After all, bleach comes in thin plastic containers.

[PressurePros 248]

Last week I mounted a 25 gallon tank on the top of my bucket truck. Espec sells a tank that is predrilled to mount a Shurflo. I ran lines through the roof to a backup battery mounted inside the vehicle which is attached to the charging system for the lift. 200 feet of 1/2" line with a 3.6 gpm pump. Flow shutoff valve mounted at the end of the line. Mechanical switch at the battery to shutoff juice when not in use. No more priming problems when attached to the X-Jet and an excellent sprayer for roofs or deck chems. I used it yesterday and it cut major time from my house wash. Drawbacks: Its more involved cleaning out a 25 gallon tank than it is rinsing 5 gal buckets. Also, I have to use a ladder to get the chems into my tank. All in all though, completely worthwhile.

As an interesting aside, the customer was a contractor. He looks at the rig with all the various hoses, pumps etc and comments "I told my wife there was more to this than just renting a pressure washer from Home Depot"

[Russ Johnson 141]

Henry, you have 2 injectors in the same line and both draw? I figured the orifice in the second one would create too much back pressure for the first to work. I've never tried to set one up like that. General Pump makes an injector that will draw 20%.

I don't think the bleach will hurt the rubber lining of the hose, but you still have exposed steel at each end that would suffer the wrath of bleach.

[squirtgun 122]

DUH -

I bet none of the guys that clean 30 roofs a month with a shurflo set up never thought about using downstreamers.I'm sure they would rather pull a heavy pressure hose up on a ladder to the roof edge,rather than a clear braided line that weighs a whole lot less.I bet they would rather spend the extra money for fuel running their machine versus using a battery.

I hope they don't feel to stupid for making the job as simple and effective as possible.I know I certainly am feeling foolish for doing roof the way we have.

[PressurePros 248]

I have to agree with Scott on this one. Unless you are talking about spraying the chems with an X-Jet from the ground (which so far, of the twenty or so roofs I have done, I have not been able to do once) Lugging a high pressure hose up a ladder is not only dangerous its not neccessary.

[Mike 64]

16 gallons will not be big enough.

200ft-3/8" braided line.shurflo pump 1.8-3.0 gpm which ever you prefer they both will do the job.

200 ft of hose should reach most roof.Mix you chlorine in your drum or tank at the strength you desire.

is a 60 psi 1.8 gpm pump strong enough to go through 200 ft of line and not lose pressure? probably a dumb question but I dont want to skimp on the pump.

[squirtgun 122]

Mike,

A 1.8 gpm at 60 psi will be more than enough if you can swing the extra cost get the 3 gpm and later on buy a 1.8 gpm as a back up.You'll need to start the pump before you get on the roof and allow it time to prime.Then once you are on the roof bleed the air in the line.

Remember you will need someone on the ground wetting plants or you will have to prewet and rinse well when you are done.My wife and I work together so she is the ground crew(the ground person works harder than the chemc applier)but it can be done by one person.You can buy a $5 fire nozzle at Walmart and rinse with a garden hose from the ground on 1 story houses.I have taken the garden hose up on the roof and rinsed from the peak(It's still not as heavy as a pressure hose).

[CCPC 26]

I have used the x-jet to do roofs and I must say it does not hold a candle to a shurflo setup. My setup is about the same as what Scott described. I have a 3gpm shurflo which is mounted on my trailer and attached to a trolling marine battery. I have 200' of 3/8" polybraid chem tubing rolled up on a cheap plastic hose reel which you can buy at walmart for 15 bucks. I don't use the connections on the real I just leave a pigtail which I have a stainless steal QC ready to connect to my pump. I use pvc wands with ball valves fitted on the ends and QC on both ends (one for the connection to the hose and one for attaching tips). I use a regualr black chem tip for the majority of my applications.

I pull from a 100g tank that I specificly use for roof application. I use 10.5% pool chlorine usually dilluted to about 5%. I would never be able to get away with 30g tank. Many of the houses I do are 3,000 to 4,000sq ft and I can easily go through 60 to 70g. of mix on an especialy bad roof.