Float tank (or is it?)

[Tim UK 14]

H ieveryone, been a while since I posted on here, and I wanted to double check my knowledge on something.

I use what I call a 'float tank' for my pw - it's a waste bin, that we call a 'wheelie bin'.

Having seen the tanks you guys seem to carry on your trailers, I was wondering if they are the smae thing - a float tank?

If so, do you generally carry some water to your destination for work and keep it topped up when working? Presumeably the volume wouldn't be enough for the average job?

And thirdly, what size are these tanks you use?

Many thanks,

Tim

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Yes, the tanks that you see on trailers over here are usually "float tanks" Everyone has their own preference as to how much water they keep in the tank, but I like them to be full at all times, as i have many stops that do not have water and it makes it easier to haul rather than go looking around onsite.

I have two 230 gallon tanks that are both plumbed to the pump.

[Keth 15]

Tim,

Typically a float tank means that is has a valve on the input which will shut the incoming water off if the tank fills up. Not sure if you could put one on a wheelie bin though I imagine anything is possible. I am kinda surprised that they don't sell poly tanks in the UK. Is there a reason why you guys use the wheelie bins? Poly tanks here typically have baffles in them to buffer the shifting of water when braking and turning.

Typical tanks on most rigs I see in this area are in the 225 gallon (851 liter) size with just a few of the big commercial cleaners having tanks up to 600 gallons.

[Tim UK 14]

Thanks Both,

We use wheelie bins here becasue, um, I don't know, I just found that was what a few guys here did, so I did the same! Mind you, I don't have my pw fixed on a skid, it's on wheels so I can get to places, so take the wheelie bin with me. Yes, it has a filling valve fitted to stop flow in.

Obviously it only takes 360 litres, but I know some here use a float tank much smaller, perhaps only 100litres. As long as we have a float tank of some kind it doesn't seem to matter.

I am guessing now, but I suppose if the pw machine is fixed to a trailer, and you therefore may as well fiz a flaot tank to that as well, then you can make it a big one. But even 250 gallons (c. 800l) isn't going to last long, you will have to fill from a tap (faucet) somehow. So why not just have a small float tank you lot? Instaed of 250 gallons, why don't you hav, say, 50 gallons?

I expcect poly tanks are available here. In my case, I need to keep my trailer small so that I can hide it away when not in use, so the float tanks needs to be small to accommodate the other kit.

I rely on moving my pw and tank around off the trailer, and so have a short-ish length of pressure hose.

Any observatiosn welcome. I am planning on going for a fixed/skid mount and tank soonish, but need to keep size of trailer down.

Tim

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

A Float Tank on my unit serves the purpose of allowing the pump to draw at its own rate instead of being pressure fed by a supply line from a house or other hose bib.

It is 3 gallons and has a float valve in it to shut off the water supply when full. It is also a buffer for those house supplies that do not meet the minimum gpm flow the pump needs to operate without cavitating from insufficient flow.

The other larger capacity units are more commonly referred to as supply tanks which include a float valve. Some have 2 tanks, one which serves as a sediment tank which is filtered before feeding the main supply tank for reuse in the pw'er. These setups are used by those who reclaim their wash water and have some pretty impressive filtration systems including deionizers and water softeners. The uses can vary but most have these extensive filtration systems for use during auto washing and detailing as it allows them the benefit of water that doesn't leave spots on the vehicle.

Rod!~

[Tim UK 14]

Right, I see, so the upshot is that unless you re into valeting vehilces where you might want dionized water, there isn't much need for a large tank, like those 250 gallons ones?

Rod, you just have a small three gallon tank that helps prevent cavitation, I understand that. So when nIget get to putting a trailer together, I need only really put a tank on board, feeding the pressure washer, that is sufficient to feed the washer. All the time this tank would be fed via a ballcock/valve to ensure it does not overflow into the trailer.

Think I got it now.

[Washaway 64]

Tim,

One Tough Pressure answered your question. The reason why we use such large tanks is because not everywhere we go has an available spigot to draw water from.

I have 2x200G tanks on my trailer and they are both plumbed to the pump. In fact I can segregate the two tanks with a simply ball valve if needed.

Let's say for example that you've got a small 15 minute driveway to do. Water is available but when you have 4 or 5 stops to make in a day it goes a lot faster if you only draw water from 2 or 3 stops as opposed to all of them. A lot less work with hoses.

Commercial jobs are probably the worst for this. Some plazas have very few spigots available in the front. Let's say that you are cleaning a store front, which is a small job, but the nearest spigot is a good 100ft away. That's a pain in the butt to haul a garden hose to and from.

My advice to you is have a couple of reels on your rig when you mount everything permanently. One for your inlet hose...the one to use for drawing water. Another for your pressure hose. Preferable have this one be electrical so that you don't have to bother with elbow grease. Then affix 300ft (100m) of pressure hose to it and you should be just fine.

Have a couple of 50ft sections available in the truck incase you run into 'short hose' issues.

ps: the real reason why we use larger tanks is b/c EVERYTHING is bigger on this side of the pond! :)

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Tim,

My guess, from seeing your PW is that it is about 4gpm. As long as you have a water spigot available why not just connect the water supply hose directly to your machine? Most residences have 5-7 gallon a minute ouput. It would free up a lot of room on your trailer for a hose reel or more hose in a figure 8. With 200-250 ft of pressure hose you can leave your machine on your trailer the majority of time. Just my 02.

[Keth 15]

The tank serves a few purposes but let's take one example. If I have a 5GPM machine and the house supplies only 3 GPM I am net negative 2 GPM so, assuming someone was washing the whole time my 250 gallon tank would last 125 minutes before I had to take a break to let the house inlet catch up. If I had a 50 gallon tank I would get 25 minutes before I had to pause and let it catch up. Just a matter of how often you want to stop I guess.

If you are confident that the locations you do always have a GPM outlet rating higher than what your machine can put out then you don't even need a tank theoretically. The few times I have been in the UK the hotels I stayed at had terrible water pressure. That may have just been a local issue and you may have plenty of water at the faucet where you live and work.

[John T 744]

Its good to have a water tank set-up somewhere on your trailer for a few reasons. For one like others are saying, if you dont have enough GPM coming out of a water spicket at a house you can draw the water from your tank and have the house water hose hooked into the tank. Also have it hooked into a float valve so the water shuts off automatically so the tank doesnt over fill and leave water all over your trailer etc. Another reason to have a nice size water tank on your trailer is in case there are places that you powerwash that DONT have any water hookups..like doing some commercial work like I do.

Lastly you can have your powerwasher unloader set-up that when you aren't squeezing the trigger on the wand the unloader will go into bypass and shoot the water back into the tank so you can leave your powerwasher ideling for a long time without worrying about the pump over heating. This is a must if you have employees because they will not care like the way you do about your equipment and they will leave your powerwasher ideling for long lenghts of time and this will ruin the packings in the pump.

So having a water tank has many many advantages over not having one.

[Ron Musgraves 240]

Bottom line is using a float tank 225 gallons save you time and wear & tear on your pump. DO you need one?????NO

Do I recommend you have one????? YES

• Tanks for me give me the peace of mind my techs; are not running my pumps without water. Is this full proof? NO
  
• It’s also a debris collector not allowing large object to clog protective filters before pump.
  
• If you have a tank you can use a Y-Strainer to collect dirt that can be flush in about 1 minute every nite to avoid restriction. Giving your pump longer life and helping to keep primary protection safe and debris free.
  
• It able you to clean small areas. My techs. Can roll to a front doorway of a restaurant and usually clean that area without hooking up.(time savings of rolling out feed hose.)
  
• Every machine should have a flow tank, either a 225 or a three gallon. Its just a safety measure for your pump. It also enables you to work a little faster under restricted water jobs.
  • Bypass is another huge protection factor as John mentioned above.

NOTE: Use no collapsible hose between the tank and pump. So many people don’t. That’s a biggie.

[Tim UK 14]

Your answers have been a real help to me. I know for a fact that the water pressure here cannot keep up with my machine, which is only rated at 3.5 gallons, so I know I need a tank. I can't risk cavitation in the pump, so cannot rely on faucet pressure alone.

I have searched UK web sites for those round poly tanks you have, with no luck. I do have a suitable tank, but it's flat. I don't think this matters.

What may matter is that I will mount my pw machine on the trailer on a skid, and this will mean that its inlet could easily be higher than the outlet from the float. I wonder if the machine will not worry about this, and simply suck the water out? Anyone know?

Tim