Buying more equipment

C

Chris Tharpe

New member
I am about to buy another skid, surface cleaners and etc.

I currently have one 8gpm Pressure Pro skid.

I am wondering if I will regret getting a 5.5 instead of an 8gpm machine. I can go either way but to save 1,000 at this time I would rather get the 5.5. What I do not want to happen is in the near future regretting getting the 5.5gpm instead of the 8 due to speed of cleaning.

Will the 5.5 run a big guy sufficiently or would a 24" be better?
 
I suggest you consider a 10 gpm machine! You will like it better than your 8 gpm unit!

As everyone else said you will be sorry if you get the 5.5! You will be better served if you wait until you can get the larger machine.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I will hopefully have this order processed by friday and may have everything on the way by to me before BAMA. I just picked up 19 new accounts on 15 day service (papers being signed tomorrow) that will net 6100 monthly. I waived the initial cleaning if they went with the 15day on all 19. but with that being said I need to be capable of doing 2-3 per night getting started and initial cleanings
 
mobilewashpros said:
Thanks for the input everyone. I will hopefully have this order processed by friday and may have everything on the way by to me before BAMA. I just picked up 19 new accounts on 15 day service (papers being signed tomorrow) that will net 6100 monthly. I waived the initial cleaning if they went with the 15day on all 19. but with that being said I need to be capable of doing 2-3 per night getting started and initial cleanings
Click to expand...

Wow nice job! Did those all come from the same PM?
 
+1 as well. There have been MANY times I would have regretted running 8 gpm machines. (Like yesterday) One machine will run fine on most hose bibs but two or more can be difficult. Alot of places here have trouble supplying 2 - 5.5 gpm machines even with a buffer tank, we started working with 325 gallons in a 525 gallon tank (thought that would be enough buffer) NOTTTTTT! Within less than 4 hours we were slap out of water (with a hose connected to a hose bib) with only 2 - 5.5 gpm machines running.

Also there are many times on resturaunts, shopping centers and gas stations that we cant hook to a major supply of water only a simple hose bib as well and I dont like to run around with tons of water all the time, its just not safe even though we do our best to make it safe with dual axle brakes and heavier trailers ect... With 8 gpm the down time would over ride the amount of time saved.

Just my .02 cents
 
I like the idea of the 8 vs 5.5, if you run a high quality adjustable trapped pressure unloader and gauge (and a pump head safety relief) you could change the nozzles on the 8 so you can obtain 5.5 output. You may have higher maintenance on the unloader but you would have 8gpm when you want it.

Another other option would be dual pumps one driver, one high volume boiler. Possibly 2 5.5gpm pumps on a 38Hp Kohler (11 gpms :eek: )

Dave, you must love your 10gpm, whats you max psi at 10gpm?

Another option would be 2 13Hp non-brand name engines with 2 4.5gpm pumps joined and one high yield boiler (maybe 3/4" coil 280-300ft). (The only reason I suggested non-brand name is because of cost)

Congrats on the new contracts.

Russ, would you prefer to have more water supply on your trailer? Just curious!
 
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Thats a really good point Russ, I planned on running 2 different supply hose reels on the trailer and carrying about 300ft of extra 5/8 hose if needed. Most of the accounts we service keep up well with the 8gpm machine and a 4gpm machine sometimes still filling the buffer tank. I plan on changing out the tank and trailer in a couple of months to a 550 gallon and a longer trailer. 14ft is a bit too short and were running out of room especially with 2 more surface cleaners being on it
 
I tried to get out as many restrictions that I could and run 175' of 3/4" supply hose, I will be adding about 50' or 75' more so the hose reel is full.

There is a big difference in how fast that tank fills compared to the other hose reel (Rapid Reel), there is a small restriction in their swivel.

It was a great reel but now I am trying another brand and I already had it on another trailer so I am trying it out and so far it is real nice!

The swivel that comes on the the Hannay Electric reel looks just like the Super Swivel and it has the 1/2" inlet and outlet.





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We run General TSF2221's on both our trucks. This pump is rated for 10.2 gpm @ 3000 psi running at 1700 rpm.

When we run into water supply problems we can use smaller tips. A #5 or 6 instead of a #8 or 10. When doing fleets we run two wands. We have 1000 gallon tanks and still take on water everywhere we can.

Just the other night a 2 man crew did 5 stops (drive-thrus, sidewalks, dumpster areas) in 8-1/2 hours and drove 85 miles.
 
This has worked for me. Most all centers have multiple water hookups, including tapping backflows. I run 300' water hose per machine - one length, 3/4". I can hook two hoses at once, the machines have 50 gal tanks each and I almost never have trouble with two 8+ machines. One machine is mobile so it can move seperately. I think its worth it to have more flow. I do think you need 3/4" and an oversize diaghram-style float and an oversize swivel and oversize fittings - the restrictions do make a difference on some jobs. I have run many years with no swivel on the reel - A oversize cam-lock is on or off when you want to turn the reel - no swivel, no leaks, no restriction.
 
810f250 said:
Russ, would you prefer to have more water supply on your trailer? Just curious!
Click to expand...

I have thought about it but dont really need anymore than 525, plus I would have to upgrade axles again so m answer would be no, the largest tank I would probably want to carry would be a 750 but I will stick with the 525's for now.

The next option I am going to look at is a special order hose reel with a 1 in center pipe, right now we use summits that only have a half inch so it restricts the flow. I want to use a 30 in wide so I can run 500 foot of 3/4
 
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