Problems with delavans?

I've had a couple Delevans for about 1.5yrs now, and they've been far better than Shurflo IMO. We run Naoh, citric, bleach, and borate through them. And believe me, they are NOT well maintained at all. Guys might rinse them if I am lucky.
 
I use a sureflow right now for just about all my applications. Had pretty good luck with them so far but I'm gonna try a delevan the next time I start having issues. I always rinse 3-5gals of water through them at the end of the day but still only seem to get 7-8 months out of one.
 
Only time I've ever had a problem was when I mounted one in a box. Too much heat with nowhere to go.

The box setup looks nice but for me isn't practical.
 
NEWHEIGHTS said:
Only time I've ever had a problem was when I mounted one in a box. Too much heat with nowhere to go.

The box setup looks nice but for me isn't practical.
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Great Tip John, it has a over heating issue in enclosed spaces. Thats good to know.

Thanks
 
Jon Fife said:
I've had a couple Delevans for about 1.5yrs now, and they've been far better than Shurflo IMO. We run Naoh, citric, bleach, and borate through them. And believe me, they are NOT well maintained at all. Guys might rinse them if I am lucky.
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Be careful with S Hydroxide Jon ?
They have Viton, not so good for S Hydroxide.
A better material for a dual purpose pump would be EDPM instead of Viton.
EDPM has a B rating for both hypochlorite AND Hydroxide
Viton is A rated for chlorine, but C or D for Hydroxide :)
 
Kory said:
What I am saying is that as long as the chem stays in the line from the tank threw the pump and to the hose with no air getting in there you will not have problems.

I do not clean as many roofs a year as others on this board I clean maybe 50-60 a year. My set up is a 100 gallon tank with a exit on the side at the bottom, a ball valve is there along with a hose barb. A 3/4 inch Inside diamater hose carries my mix to the Delvan 5gpm pump a barb sends it threw 3/8 hose to the wand. I never detach the hoses it stays on my trailer with chems in the line at all times. If I do detach the lines and leave the pump without any chems in it and the air gets in it then I have problems. On my old trailer I went a year and a half on a shurflo no problems. Last season I used a delvan I needed more room on the trailer so I pulled the roof cleaning rig off. I rinsed the pump with ten gallons of water. went to use it a couple months later and it locked up. Its when the air & chems get together in the pump its bad news.
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I use a delevan to pump SH from my drum to my 100gl tank, and empty the line every time, because it goes in my toolbox for storage and I dont want SH all over everything. Iv been using it for about 6 months to pump, and never had a problem. hmm, maybe I've been lucky so far.
 
Russ Spence said:
In retrospect I would recomend no other 12v pump , The Delavan is a great tool , I may have gone through a few due to my lack of rinsing but the money I have made with the spends well , I would continue to buy them even if I had to buy 1 a month
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I agree, the thing runs like a champ everytime. I use the bandit now, but when it broke down, it took me about 5 minutes to hook the delevan up, and it stepped right in with no issues. I would recommend them to anyone.
 
I have used both.

We clean several roofs a day here in Tampa Florida.

I used Flo Jets and Delevans and found the FJ seems to last longer.
Think they even pump better.

Cleaning two to three sometimes four roofs a day you learn real quick what
works and what does not.

Why in the world would you not rinse out your pump? That is retarded to run shc
and whatever through a pump and not rinse it and expect it to not clog or corrode?

If you can't train your help to rinse a pump when they are done then....????
 
the problem is definately the strainer.. I have had borax sit over night and collect in the leg of the tanks, and a hour into running all of a sudden you lose pressure and pull out your draw line to find the mesh filter completly covered in borax.. The filters are maybe $5? I could see the pumps crapping out as soon as you get borax and tsp loged in there.. Same as a carb, gas goes through a filter so sediment and other crud stays out..
 
ksroofs said:
the problem is definately the strainer.. I have had borax sit over night and collect in the leg of the tanks, and a hour into running all of a sudden you lose pressure and pull out your draw line to find the mesh filter completly covered in borax.. The filters are maybe $5? I could see the pumps crapping out as soon as you get borax and tsp loged in there.. Same as a carb, gas goes through a filter so sediment and other crud stays out..
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And this is the main reason why I dont run any powdered soap/cleaners etc... in any of my tanks. Liquid surfactants only. Ive read way too many nightmare stories from guys who use powdered anything. It's just not worth the hassle.
 
Ive had major issues last year. Its always tough to say exactly what causes it because there are a few factors on what can create problems. I rewired all trucks with fine strand wire and added the accumulator. I'm back to enjoying these pumps. Always have another pump wired up and ready to roll on each truck. Worse phone call is a dead pump an hour away from the shop. Yes Art, I got the heat shield also.
 
Bought two fatboy's....one took a crap the third time it was used. The second one ran for well over 100 uses, and I abused it. I left it out in the rain, left it on (accidentally) for hours running dry (more than once). That second one was like trying to kill the Terminator. It crapped out last fall.
 
If you want a good strainer , go to your local irrigation distributor and pick up a strainer for drip irrigation . They are plastic , and hold up well , and fast to clean .
 
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