New Softwash Proportioner

Nice. I have been working on this but you beat me to the punch. Go ahead and market it to landscapers (guys doing chemical applications). That was going to be my market. Good Luck.
 
ChathamPM said:
Nice. I have been working on this but you beat me to the punch. Go ahead and market it to landscapers (guys doing chemical applications). That was going to be my market. Good Luck.
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Actually, I was waiting on you to go through all the patents, lawyers and manufacturing... I waited 3.5yrs and then I just had to get it out to help everyone. I make a good living and have a really good retirement, this is not for the money. I made it for me, it worked perfectly after tweeking and constantly upgrading components. If I get all my money back I will be good...
 
taselton2 said:
Actually, I was waiting on you to go through all the patents, lawyers and manufacturing... I waited 3.5yrs and then I just had to get it out to help everyone. I make a good living and have a really good retirement, this is not for the money. I made it for me, it worked perfectly after tweeking and constantly upgrading components. If I get all my money back I will be good...
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You have something that can be used in multiple industries, you should have no problem making your money back. I could never get the portions constant and accurate, which defeated the purpose. Great work!
 
Thank you buddy, we are talking to many different manufacturers. This is something that can be used in many different industries, but was made specifically for ours.
 
I cant wait to get one. Look like a great investment to me.
 
taselton2 said:
We finally launched http://proportioner.com we are working on a few videos now to help with installation and maintenance.
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Awesome...cant wait to get mine....hope it get's here soon...will be great showing it off to my students that attend my school. Videos will be great for all thumbs people like me....lolol
 
I am selling my current NPR loaded to Ray Burke. I am building a new rig and will be doing several videos for installation, maintenance and of course applying to all surfaces at all different ratios. We will be in Houston with Doug Rucker next week demoing the proportioner.
 
ChathamPM said:
Nice. I have been working on this but you beat me to the punch. Go ahead and market it to landscapers (guys doing chemical applications). That was going to be my market. Good Luck.
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I never had any intentions to patent or market mine, but it was fun getting it working. http://www.ptstate.com/forums/showthread.php?5324-Flow-Control-Valves-For-Roof-Cleaning

Strangely, there did not seem to be a whole lot of interest in my contraption back then. I made my system work, for me, but it was "tweaky". The suction tubes length from the pump to the tanks was critical. I used clear soft tubing to go to the tanks, and used what is called a pinch valve
PV-all_with_tubing.jpg

over the top of the tubing. Very simple and cheap to do, and no leaks :) Because the valve are numbered, the chemical strength of my mixture could be varied with good accuracy. The "Trick" to this suction based system was to make sure both of the hoses primed. It was found that both valves needed to be open fully to allow both hoses to prime. If one valve was partially closed, and one was fully open, the open valve/tubing would "Hog" all the suction, and it would prime, and the other one would not. However, once BOTH of the suction tubes were primed, then I was able to restrict the pinch valves pretty much as I saw fit. And, I could simply clamp the SH Valve shut, to rinse my stuff out. Or, I could restrict the water valve, with the SH valve wide open, for a strong mixture to spray walks and driveways with, or for tile roofs. But I always wondered what chemical strength I was at, because I never added a 3rd suction hose to a soap tank, like Tim has done. That was a great idea!

I also thought about ways to improve my system, with check valves, manifolds, and vacuum gages, but here is what happened. My Men are on a salary + commission, and basically told me to "quite fooling around" with their trucks. Apple Roof Cleaning is mainly a roof cleaning company only, so our trucks carry 2 - 300 gallon pre mixed tanks, one is tile strength, and one is shingle strength. We have a valve to switch between tanks. We pull up to a job, see if it is a tile or shingle roof, and switch tanks accordingly. My Men told me "Boss, your new invention will only needlessly complicate xxxx, and slow us down" So, development stopped on this type of system, as far as I was concerned.

But, you know me, I am always thinking :) My latest idea for a variable chemical delivery system is to use dual pumps, and a dual side by side hose, kind of like the welding hose used for a torch. Here is a thread about it http://roofcleaninginstitute.org/topic/1178-a-variable-chemical-strength-softwash-system/
 
Hey Chris, I remember you talking about that many years ago. I was trying to figure out the best way to do this even then, but I never tried the pinch valves. I really wanted a way to bring fresh and as much soap as I needed for given surfaces. Finding a bulletproof basic setup to box and add to any typical system was the challenge. We can build very complex systems with multiple soap intakes, etc... The basic add a box method was what I thought would work best for everyone. I washed every house, roof and building as the owner and crew leader. I had to speed things up and cut out everything that slowed us down. I stayed up late at night working on new ideas and then tried them in the morning from complete crash and burn setups to "oh crap this may work"... Lots of research and testing flows and draw rates led to the current setup.
 
taselton2 said:
Hey Chris, I remember you talking about that many years ago. I was trying to figure out the best way to do this even then, but I never tried the pinch valves. I really wanted a way to bring fresh and as much soap as I needed for given surfaces. Finding a bulletproof basic setup to box and add to any typical system was the challenge. We can build very complex systems with multiple soap intakes, etc... The basic add a box method was what I thought would work best for everyone. I washed every house, roof and building as the owner and crew leader. I had to speed things up and cut out everything that slowed us down. I stayed up late at night working on new ideas and then tried them in the morning from complete crash and burn setups to "oh crap this may work"... Lots of research and testing flows and draw rates led to the current setup.
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You know what Tim, I think I do remember you talking about it, way back when, but I think myself and everyone else was far more interested in that cool Isuzu NPR you were building. That thing was bad ass.
Even though my employees didn't want me to "experiment with their trucks", I always thought about my "Vari Flow" system, and how I could make it more user friendly. I was getting my trucks exhaust welded one day with a Gas Torch, and finally it Hit me. I saw that dual hose from the Gas Torch, and I thought, what if one side of a chemical proof hose carried water/soap, and the other side carried the Love, and mix right before the nozzle! The system would be real simple, one pump for each side of the line, resulting in no loss of prime, and immediate change in chemical strength, no more having to watch soap, smell, or guess. Also, no more waste of chemical, when you change chemical strength, like my old system had.
I am retired from my Company now, my Son runs everything, and I get paid to sit on my ass. But, I am bored stiff, and I may want to play with the system I have in my mind.

Oh, BTW, feel free to come over to the RCIA Forum Tim, and post your system if you like at www.roofcleaninginstitute.org . Some of our guys may be interested in what you are making ?
 
I think I tried to log on and forgot password, I'll get back there today. The Isuzu build is back on, smaller version this time.
 

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taselton2 said:
I think I tried to log on and forgot password, I'll get back there today. The Isuzu build is back on, smaller version this time.
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Our new puppy is ready to get picked up from the breeder, so I will not be around much today, but if you have any password trouble, email me at ka7niq at the big Yahoo, and I will re assign you a new password that you can change, once you are in.

That new Isuzu looks Killer :)
 
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