Custom Set Up Done

[Guest rfitz]

Well after much planning, and work this past weekend with Bob from

Pressuretek we got all the componets installed in my van, although I have a ton more equipment, I also have a ton of more available space,

on the upper left pic it is the back of the van looking in, the upper right is the individual chem control for housewashing etc.. so I wont have to mix bleach and soap together, they will be mixed as they are drawing thru the lines,

the bottom left pic is looking in the side door as well as my sureflow setup,

reel for it, tanks, battery, heater etc.. and the lower right pic is showing my aluminimum water tank, chlorine tank, etc,, and I still have to make a frame for the top of my aluminum water tank, so I can store all my tools, powder chems, etc.. when I fired this 8 G.P.M. up and tested it with a 0040 tip, which is what I use to wash houses with, I had no idea, I would get 60 ft high stream, the most I got from my other unit was 30 ft maybe.. this thing is super powerful.. I hope this gives other folks ideas on how to set up equip. in tight area's.... I washed a 2800 sq ft 2 story today with it, It took just under 30 minutes, with my 5 GPM unit, it was over 2 hours, I cant wait to see how much time it saves me on decks... it should be even more time saving because of the sure-flow unit as opposed to a pump up...

[Guest rfitz]

I guess the pic of everything is too big, so I will try and post each pic individually

[Guest rfitz]

Here is a pic of sureflow, etc..

[Guest rfitz]

Here is pic of water tank,chlorine etc..

[Jon 533]

Rfitz, is there a divider between the van and driver/passenger compartment?

If not I would suggest making one and seal it so you don't get any wiff of chemicals or worst.

Jon

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Set up looks good. I would suggest adding a vent, and a 12 volt electric fan to keep it ventilated. The fan would run as an exhaust at all times when you are driving, and You could add a timer so that it runs for an hour or so after you get out of the van for the day.

Besides the headaches, it sure is not good for your health to breathe even the slightest traces on a regular basis.

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

Looks great!!

Andy

[Guest rfitz]

Thanks Guys, yes I will vent this and I am putting that insulation board up against the cage, so the fumes etc.. dont kill me, plus my heater and A/C wont have to work as hard, it will just have to heat and cool the front cab of the van... But I will try and keep that front as air tight as possible, at least with the exhaust from the engine we cut a hole in the floor and ran an extension from the exhaust down and out, so it is pointing at the ground so the noise is also muffled, and all the fumes arent coming into the van

[Aplus 525]

Rob,

Remember to intake the fresh air from down low, and rid the exhaust high.

There are trailer vent kits that employ two kinds of vents. There is a crank out flap style that mounts down low, in a side wall. When the vehicle is moving, the flap is outside which scoops air inwards.

A couple crank up, rv style roof vents will keep the air moving nicely.

This way, when you're cruising, fresh air will be circulating.

I think you're going to find out how bad the fumes and odors are real quickly, especially once it gets really hot out.

A buddy of mine is a plumber, and he told me that he got rid of his van for a pickup with a cap because of odors and the noise his supplies made in the back of the van. He's always got lots of pipes and plenty of adhesives, solvents, flux, and all kinds of stuff that smell onboard.

The fumes get really strong in my trailers when they're closed up, no matter how neat I am with storage and handling of chems. Engines and fuel systems are vented, and allow fumes to escape when the engines are shut off. When I open my doors after being closed overnight, it smells like a refinery inside.

You may need to install a metal partition wall between the cab and rear area and provide active ventilation.

[Aplus 525]

Oh, and I almost forgot.......the heat from the burner in operation is so intense that I expect the inside of your van will get super hot. Won't be fun to drive home after running your burner for a couple hours....:arg:

[beyoungsr 14]

Rfritz,

Sounds like a heck of a setup.

Wow being able to spray six stories high with a 40 degree tip is amazing.

I hope the water/chem tank is galvenized and not aluminum. Bleach will eat up the aluminum. How many gallons of H20 does the tank hold? Does it have baffles?

Can you explain how the chems blend inline?

Where is the diesel tank for the burner?

Any chance on seeing some larger pics?

How much did the equipment end up costing?

Is this a two gun machine?

[Guest rfitz]

The first one the chems blend inline with a downstreamer wide open,

then as you see in the pics the duel chem line draw set up, each has their own tank and line, so I can adjust the soap and bleach according to each house, building, etc.. individually, one house might need alot more bleach than soap, and vice versa,

THe water tank is aluminum, so as to never rust, and lightweight and yes it is baffled, overflowed and floated,

THe chlorine tank is a custom built rectangular 20 gallon thick plastic, as bad as chlorine is, it cant touch plastic..

The tank for the burner is next to the sureflow set up, it is a 5 gallon container, I filled my other unit last april with 16 gallons and still had 1/2 left in it when I sold it in November,, I dont use much heat, but it's nice option to have if needed.. and for now this is a one gun set up, but could handle 2

I will try and make the pics larger, but this site cant handle real big pics,

As far as cost, this unit was made specifically for my van, everyone's system and vehicle will be different, you may want to talk to Bob at pressuretek about your set up etc..

[Mike Cappa 14]

I won't make any comments on the set up, but... Rob, I think you know I have a van as well. I WILL NOT let any chems sit in my van overnight or will not bring them with me if I don't need them. No matter what you do, you will smell the fumes. I don't carry chlorine but just the diesel fuel alone last month gave me headaches and made me dizzy when driving over a half an hour away. Please be very careful with your chems in the truck. If you can, remove them daily and get a very good venting system for your van. Your health depends on it.

[Mike Cappa 14]

forgot, I have a question for you. I don't want to post it here. give me a call.

440-653-3570 or email me your number and I will call you.

Mike

[R. Williamson 14]

Rob's van does have a divider between the cab and the back. He is going to install Owens Corning insulation and sound deading board and then you caulk around it. This will compleetly seal the back from the front. This setup did turn out nice.

Thanks Rob for letting me design your new setup.

Robert

[Mike Cappa 14]

actually it wont. even on box trucks where the cab is divided by the box, you will still smell the fumes. Proper ventilation is the only sure fire way to be safe, actually, a seperate cab or trailer is really the only sure fire way, lol.

[Brian Keating 14]

The van looks great. Just curious as to why you chose to put it in a van rather than an enclosed trailer. I would think you would have a lot more room in a trailer. Once you get all of your equipment in the van it's going to be a very tight squeeze. I know you primarily do house washes and decks but what about extension pools and a surface cleaner? Add in a couple 5 gal. pails and you will be unloading the van at every house to get at your equipment. Just my $.02.

[Mike Cappa 14]

Brian, I agree 100%!! I have switched to an extended van a short while ago, I wish I never would have. This thing is starting to be a real pain in the you know what. I am going to get a box truck soon. The van is just too small for me. The biggest problem is my surface cleaner is such a pain to dis assemble then re assemble at each job. Doing that all the time is really wearing out the threads so I don't want to keep doing it. I got the van for speed, but it has actually slowed me down.

[John T 744]

I also at one time had an extended van set-up. For commercial work I think the Van Set-up is ideal especially if you go into cities where parking is always a pain.

I can't tell you how many times I had a problem trying to park my Truck and trailer set-up while doing commercial work.

[Guest rfitz]

The Van works great, I have tons of room NOW... I can put a bad boy 30" surface cleaner in there no problem, all my ext. wands, brushes etc.. are on top with my ladders, I only take my surface cleaner on jobs when I need it,

so that wont be in there but maybe 1/4 the time, and remember, I never have to get into the van, the way I have it set up now, but to reel up my sure flow if I am doing decks, wood etc.. I just bought a F-150 and will be getting a camper shell for it, and that will be my estimating, and staining/painting vehicle, no longer will I EVER use the same vehicle that I wash with that I stain with, no matter how careful you are, you still get stain on everything,

Box trucks are TOO big, cant park them, use too much gas, same with a trailer, I dont want the pain of trying to park that thing, back it up etc.. if you are efficient, you cant easily get by with a full size van, and I even have a monster rig in there, I and I still have over 1/2 of my van still left for storage

I guess it's all what you want for a set up, plus if I get 3-6 guys out there washing for me, I can duplicate my set up in a Van, real easy, and they wont have near the problems as with a box truck trailer etc.. CDL license etc..

Oh yeah, I forgot, there wont be any more 5 gal pails in my truck, I have custom tanks mounted for every chem I use, I might throw one empty pail in there, if for whatever reason I would need one, but I dont see that I would

I only use 1 soap for everything, houses, gutters, etc.. and I can make that weaker or stronger with my chem dials... that is why I went custom, NO MORE 5 gal pails all over the place, that drove me crazy, I like being more organized than that, this system is similar to the janitorial closets you see in hospitals, schools, etc.. where they have all their chems metered and coming off injectors, they use the same chems everyday, as we do, and I like how that is a very efficient, and productive system, just keep in mind, once you have your system for cleaning, the rest is just going thru the motions

[Mark Williamson 14]

I have to say a box truck is the way to go. I will get some pictures out soon. I have 4 hose reels, 2 surface cleaners,water tank,a generator, air compressor,2 20 gal chemical tanks, 3, ladders, airless sprayer ,2 55 gal drums for soaps, toolbox, and washer and still have room to get around in.

There is nothing I hate more then not being able to get what I want with out moving 10 things to get it.

After I get done a job a will not leave untill every thing is back to it's spot. This way I'm ready for the next job with no hassles.

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

Hey guys....I had a trailer...hated it. Hard to back up. I now have a box truck (12 foot box) and guess what.....I'm going back to a van. I have found over the years that the bigger the truck the more crap you dont need seems to find its way in your truck. Gas mileage is ok with my dodge...i get 13mpg....but repairs...very expensive. I've taken down many a basketball hoop and phone wires over the years. Once I backed into the drive with no problem....did the job and by the time I was ready to leave it was warmer and the wires sort of drooped and bingo...they had no phones for a while.

Bottom line is knowing what is enough I guess. When I had a 300 gallon water tank I wished I had more...now I have a 500 gallon and sometimes thats not enough. And filling a bigger tank takes longer so where's the savings in time?

I'm planning on going back to a van...another maxi van. Easier to work on...easier to find someone who can lift it up....cheaper parts. Couple months ago I bought new rear tires (which by the way thats a once a year thing) and it took them 3 hours to get them on because on the box trucks the rims slide over the axles and tend to rust. They are really hard to break loose.....and because of that most box trucks dont even come with a spare...have to call a tire man.

Ventilation? Try caps......if you ever look at a Sparkle Wash truck they have containers with the lines going into a hose barb on the tank. True with a box truck I dont have to worry about fumes...but I cant heat the box while I'm driving either. There are pros and cons with any way you choose to run your business. And as far as people seeing your equipment and being impressed.....in Cleveland if they are impressed it's because they plan on stealing it...lol.

Bottom line...whatever works best for you is the best way to go.

Andy

[James 625]

The only thing I have to say about this is safety to the driver. I have a trailer and a 350 Ford Van . I will not carry bleach inside if I don't have to or any other major chem. If you do this day after day the fumes and minor spillls add up. Know matter how great of a design your chem's should be seperate from your air you breathe !!

Block off the cab from the back . you've gone this far. next spring you won't remember .. Due to Brain Farts ......