experimental roof wand

[CCPC 26]

This is one of my inventions I came up with while tinkering this afternoon. It's a pvc wand, but with two nozzles instead of one. While cleaning roofs, I apply my chems with a Shurflo, and one thing that has always bugged me was having to reapply to areas that I just covered because of quick drying and because of the algea quickly absorbing the first coat of chem. With this, I hope to coat the roof much faster, while still avoiding a lot of run off and wasted chem. Those of you who clean a lot of roofs know what I'm talking about when you try applying to much chem to a given area, the chem seem to almost roll right of the surface of the algae, I believe my dual nozzle design will help prevent this from happening. While experimenting with it this afternoon, I'm also convinced it will allow me to apply my chem to the roof in much less time.

I equiped the business end with a QCto aid in flushing out the pump, chem line and wand when finished, Also to allow adjustments to the angle(when necessary), and for the option to attach my regular single tip nozzles.

I'm going to try it out tommorow on a roof I will be cleaning, so will see.

[Don Phelps 85]

I've done that one before too, but it seemed a little hard on the elbow due to the added weight. Kind've like tennis elbow.

I've got more coming for those who do larger roofs and need more range at low psi.

Good luck!

[squirtgun 122]

......:lgwave:

[Don Phelps 85]

This is the first pics I have seen of a dual tip roof wand but,I do know someone who has been working with what I believe is a similar design for about 6 months or so.Haven't heard if they are still using it or if it increased their productivity.

Do tell!

:lgwave:

[squirtgun 122]

Do tell!

:lgwave:

You're the man.

[Don Phelps 85]

Lance,

You can reduce the fittings and plumbing at the tips and it's still heavier than it needs to be.

Keep up the good work though!

[CCPC 26]

The plumbing on the end is definitely inefficient, but that was mainly due to not having the most efficient PVC parts on hand when I started putting it together. As for being heavy, awkward, or bulky, not in the least. I played around with it for quite awhile, and it's very easy to use and maneuver. Heavier?? were talking PVC and nylon fittings. Aren't you the one that was saying in a past post how lugging around a ball valve (much heavier) on the end of your high pressure hose all day was no big deal? Hmmm.

[seymore 90]

Lance, what's up with the squirel on your avatar is he a pet?

[CCPC 26]

Lance, what's up with the squirel on your avatar is he a pet?

That's Douglas, he's my buddy. I adopted him after the hurricanes a couple of years ago. His tree got blown down, then he lost his momma and brothers, then he almost got eaten by neighbors cat, then was put in my yard (without my knowledge) to sit and starve for over a week before I found him. He's a true survivor.

[seymore 90]

That's Douglas, he's my buddy. I adopted him after the hurricanes a couple of years ago. His tree got blown down, then he lost his momma and brothers, then he almost got eaten by neighbors cat, then was put in my yard (without my knowledge) to sit and starve for over a week before I found him. He's a true survivor.

That's cool Lance cause you don't see to many tame squirels as pets.Does he stay in the house?

That is a cool wand you made up there....I'm not a roof guy i'll stick with my decks on the ground thank you very much..:D

[Don Phelps 85]

The plumbing on the end is definitly ineffecient, but that was mainly due to not having the most effecient pvc parts on hand when I started putting it together. As for being heavy, akward, or bulky, not in the least. I played around with it for quite awhile, and it's very easy to use and manuaver. Heavier?? were talking pvc and nylon fittings. Aren't you the one that was saying in a past post how lugging around a ball valve (much heavier) on the end of your high pressure hose all day was no big deal? Hmmm.

I'm not looking for an arguement here.....Simply stating what my experiences have been.

With regard to the ball valve, it was on a pressure hose......Let's be clear and not twist it for your own benefit.

But by the way, I'm tired of you following up some of my posts with your negative and resentful comments. I simply try to better what we do with better equipment. If you like it....great! If not, get busy.......My work speaks for itself and it will always be open to public ridicule, but we'll continue to do what we do and reap the rewards of our hard work.

"Cowboy Up" and pick up the phone tomorrow so we can work this out. If not, I'll assume you'll continue to show your envy/jealousy.

I'm tired of people calling, emailing, and pm'ing me to mention your negative nonsense that follows up some of my posts.

The next commercial project we do will be an open door for you. I'll pay for your traveling/lodge expenses to and from Orlando if you're willing to do what we do and do it in a timely manner (which means within an hour of what we do).

Let me know..........:)

[PLD 14]

Don,

Having not built a Phelps wand for roofs, but having several other "piping" type devices for other stuff, do you not think that aluminum would be a more ergonomic (albiet shorter lived) material? You can get obscene lengths and a tubing bender eliminates the need for heavy fittings.

If life span is a major issue, you could trade alum for titanum and get light and corr resistant.

One last comment/question: I agree that a 12ft wand would be a backbreaker to work with for any length of time at 90^ from your body. Why not toss a shoulder strap on it and hang 2ft of pipe and a counter weight out behind you? The net to your shoulder would only be about 5-8 lbs and all the load would be vertical so your back wouldn't even know it was there. Much like those perpendicular counterweighted cranes used to build high rises.

Philip

[CCPC 26]

I'm not looking for an argument here.....Simply stating what my experiences have been.

With regard to the ball valve, it was on a pressure hose......Let's be clear and not twist it for your own benefit.

But by the way, I'm tired of you following up some of my posts with your negative and resentful comments. I simply try to better what we do with better equipment. If you like it....great! If not, get busy.......My work speaks for itself and it will always be open to public ridicule, but we'll continue to do what we do and reap the rewards of our hard work.

"Cowboy Up" and pick up the phone tomorrow so we can work this out. If not, I'll assume you'll continue to show your envy/jealousy.

I'm tired of people calling, emailing, and pm'ing me to mention your negative nonsense that follows up some of my posts.

The next commercial project we do will be an open door for you. I'll pay for your traveling/lodge expenses to and from Orlando if you're willing to do what we do and do it in a timely manner (which means within an hour of what we do).

Let me know..........:)

Resentful comments to your posts?? Not sure what you mean there. I scrutinize and make comments on all posts with the same judgments without prejudice to the poster. Just voicing my ideas and thoughts, I thought that was what this forum was all about.

Envy and Jealousy?? of what?? I do what I do, you do what you do. That's silly and I'm surprised you would even suggest it.

just out of curiosity, I'm wondering what all these posts are that I've so negatively followed up your posts on. The only one I can think of is the Tarp thread, but that was just me being the funny guy that I am, and there was no seriousness intended. Where are all the others?

Look, I've got nothing against you. I'm not sure where you conjured up these ideas and if I came across that way, it was not intentional. I do feel that you can tend to be a little condescending when speaking of others ideas in regards to roof cleaning, which doesn't bother me much either, it's just your way. So lets just get on with our lives a play like grown ups. What say?

[CCPC 26]

That's cool Lance cause you don't see to many tame squirels as pets.Does he stay in the house?

That is a cool wand you made up there....I'm not a roof guy i'll stick with my decks on the ground thank you very much..:D

Yeah, he's a house boy. I built him a large terrarium, but he hangs out with me in evening most of the time. The best way to describe him is like having a miniature dog. he wrestles, responds, and comes when called, plays chase and is more loyal then any other animal I've ever had. When I come home, he's at the edge of the enclosure waiting for me to play with him. Squirrels are very intelligent animals, you wouldn't know it when observing them in their natural habitat, but it's actually quite impressive, what they can do.

[seymore 90]

That is too cool i would just be afaid he would try to steal all my nuts...:D

Take care of the little fellow and keep the cats away from him..:cool:

[CCPC 26]

Funny you should say that, because I also have a cat of which is deathly afraid of him. Believe it or not, the squirrel will actually chase the cat away while nipping at him when the cat invades his space, but my cat is an exception to the rule in the way of cats becuase he's somewhat of a sissy.

[CCPC 26]

I tried my experimental wand today, and I must say I was rather impressed. Coverage was faster, and went on very even with less run off then usual. In a lot of ways it was easier to maneuver than my regular wand. All in all, I think it will work out real well for the way that I clean roofs (i.e. walking them, and applying at close range). Actually I think this would work even better, and be even more useful, with a higher gpm shurflo. I've always shy ed away from the high gpm shurflo's because all they seem to do was create more run off without much help in the way of application speed, but I think I'm going to try this, or something similar with a 3-4 gpm pump, but which kind I'm not sure.

[big mike 14]

Lance,

I like the wand, but the squirrel??? I guess I have issues with squirrels. There's another forum to vent about the furry creatures so I won't hold your squirrel love against you. How big is your Shurflo and what size tips do you have on that contraption? By the way, your avitar FREAKS ME OUT!!

[Mountain View 14]

Great!! Now my daughters want a pet squirrel!! If they didn't dig up my plant pots to bury acorns, I wouldn't mind them.

[mikew 14]

I had no idea that squirrels were tame enough to be pets!

Mike

[CCPC 26]

I just wanted to throw out a few things about squirrels just so as there's no confusion. Squirrels (at least Grey Squirrels) can be extremely loyal and loving pets, but in general they don't make very good pets. The are wild animals, and with that, their behavior can be a little unpredictable. Douglas has only bitten me twice, once while trying to bath him, and the other when I had the scent of another squirrel on my hands, but this is somewhat of a rare exception for one to be this predictable.

The other major problems with keeping a squirrel as a pet, is they usually tend to take real well to one person (usually the person that spent the most time with them when they were a baby), but tend to be very intolerant to anyone else. Unfortunately, this is the case with Douglas, I'm his best buddy, and he loves me to death, but my finance and her daughter can't handle him because he will attach and bite them. lastly, if you're willing to deal with all the other issues, squirrels require a lot of room and a lot of attention.

This can be difficult in home if your squirrel decides to be the kind that doesn't like anyone, but yourself. You will have to to be willing to find the time to give him the attention he will always want (squirrels are very social animals they may only like you and no one else, but they will always want to come out and play, and they can get very depressed when you don't give them this).

A very large cage/terrarium will be a necessity. I built Douglas a 6' X 6' enclosure and he still makes it look like a shoe box the way he flies around in it.

One more thing, you can't tame a grown squirrel from out of the wild. Douglas was found as a baby, and was hand fed which is the only way one will ever possibly be tame enough to keep as a pet.

To sum up for most people and families, a squirrel would not make a good pet.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I'm going to try it out tommorow on a roof I will be cleaning, so will see.

That's funny, I had the same idea last week. Haven't tried it out, but likely will. My concern wasn't so much having to recoat, but just being able to get a larger area covered. With the roller pump setup, I will definitely try something different from what I'm doing now (a bootleg copy of a phelps wand)

[Mike Williamson 198]

I tried my experimental wand today, and I must say I was rather impressed. Coverage was faster, and went on very even with less run off then usual. In a lot of ways it was easier to maneuver than my regular wand. All in all, I think it will work out real well for the way that I clean roofs (i.e. walking them, and applying at close range). Actually I think this would work even better, and be even more useful, with a higher gpm shurflo. I've always shy ed away from the high gpm shurflo's because all they seem to do was create more run off without much help in the way of application speed, but I think I'm going to try this, or something similar with a 3-4 gpm pump, but which kind I'm not sure.

If you're looking to go as high as 4gpm, why not think about a roller or diaphragm pump? I'm in the process of putting together a roller pump setup that I'll be putting to use on Tuesday. I'll let you know how it works out, but I expect it will do very well.

I needed it rather quickly, so I wound up getting a skid unit at Tractor supply, and have been working today tearing it down and re-mounting it (and modifying some of the connections) on a smaller skid plate. It came with a tank which I don't need, and the skid frame was way too large. I have to get a couple more fittings tomorrow and then I should be up and running at 6gpm at 300psi. Can't wait to see what it can do! I realize the runoff will be more than with a shurflo, but I think with experience I can learn to limit that.

[Don Phelps 85]

These are basically like the pvc wands we've used in the past, just using larger tips and a 3/8" Q/C rather than a 1/4".

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3945&d=1144506152

1/2" hose is recommended with the gas-powered diaphragm pumps, hence the larger 3/8" fitting.

[CCPC 26]

If you're looking to go as high as 4gpm, why not think about a roller or diaphragm pump? I'm in the process of putting together a roller pump setup that I'll be putting to use on Tuesday. I'll let you know how it works out, but I expect it will do very well.

I needed it rather quickly, so I wound up getting a skid unit at Tractor supply, and have been working today tearing it down and re-mounting it (and modifying some of the connections) on a smaller skid plate. It came with a tank which I don't need, and the skid frame was way too large. I have to get a couple more fittings tomorrow and then I should be up and running at 6gpm at 300psi. Can't wait to see what it can do! I realize the runoff will be more than with a shurflo, but I think with experience I can learn to limit that.

I've been giving it a lot of thought, about the roller pump that is. unfortunately, until I get around to setting up a new rig, which I've been pondering on for months, I just don't have the room. I currently use a 10' trailer and it's about as loaded as it can get. What I'm really interested in is finding better methods for rinsing. I spend much more time rinsing the roof and landscape then applying the chems. I would really like to set up a trailer with a high flow roller pump, maybe 15gpm, and cut my rinsing time in half.

When you get a chance, post some pic's of your new roller pump set up.