Project Power Washer

J

JIM M

New member
HI EVERYONE

I just came across a HOTSY skid mount hot p/w.It is about
ten years old,and needs a coil,but everything else is fine.The
unit was in storage and was not winterized and the coil burst,
due to freezing,it has been in storage about three years.It
has a 11hp honda,with a hawk pump,2kw generator,and
am not sure on the burner,I did not check.I can buy it for
$200.I figured at that price I could not go wrong.I plan on
using it as a back-up unit I have two other hot water p/w's
that are in great shape,an all american premier with a
20hp vanguard and a northeast with a 20hp honda.I have
never bought a coil before,and heard that they can be expensive
($500-$1000),the model is a hotsy 954.I was wondering if
anyone wanted to sell one they were not going to use(coil)
or know where I can get a good deal on a new one.

THANKS!
JIM.M:confused: :confused: :confused:
 
I dont know where you can buy one, my buddy did the same thing and it was 700.00 after it was all done. coil, labor and misc. parts... so you are right on for price..


Matt
 
HI MATT

Thanks for the reply.I just found out my friend has a friend
who is a HOTSY dealer and I called him and he will get
me one for his cost which is half of retail.It is going to be
about $300 ,and I am going to install it myself.I figure all
said and done if I am into it for between $500-$600,it is
not too bad as a backup gas powered hot p/wer.The funny
part is I have not even started my p/w business yet and
I AM BUYING BACK UP MACHINES!!I am a nut for equipment.I
have a ford cube van,three hot skid units,eight wands four
hose reels,two water tanks,and lots of misc. stuff .I also have
two tractor trailers full of restaurant equipment(over$100k)
and still haven't opened my next place yet(had two before),
and I don't want to forget about the three food concession
trailers(two waymaticsand a yankee schooner)and three
motor homes to pull them,never used any of those yet either!!
I also have carpet and upholstery equipment,and am picking
up a complete chimney cleaning system next week! Please
don't think I am bragging about all this stuff,I am not.I busted
my butt to buy this stuff.I am just a security nut and like to
have a few things to fall back on.I do plan I starting the p/wing
this spring,along with the concession trailers.I am sure I will
get a few offhand responses about this post,but those that are
go getters know where I am coming from,and those who pretend to be,well you know the saying!!Well gotta go just heard about
some air duct cleaning........................................
BEST WISHES!!
JIM M
 
send me some money!!! LOL

Matt
 
I'd like to know how you will operate concession stands and do power washing at the same time. Being a cash business, the concession stands will require your presence, otherwise they'll be coming up short alot.
 
Jim M,
You have an interesting way of thinking as far as being ready to start a business. I myself also being an equipment buff(I own 5 powerwashers and I work by myself at most times) but all the equipment I have to start a business is just for Powerwashing.

What I don't understand is if you have the capabilities of starting multiple businesses how will you be able to donate the time it takes to get a business off the ground when you have so many things for multiple businesses??

I can see if one of the businesses became successful that one would look to start another business at this point. What I don't understand is how one can justify buying so many different items which seem to be pretty expensive and have no relation to one another.

I am not saying that what your doing is wrong but what if you don't end up using most of the equipment you have then the resale value would be much less then what you paid for it in the first place which means losing money.

Care to elaborate a little more. Like I said I find your thought process on this interesting but I don't understand it for the life of me.:confused: :confused:
 
I guess I think like CleanCountry. I do most of the work myself, and tend not spend capital until I know I can pay for it with increased business, etc (case in point, I purchased my last machine 2 years ago and paid for it with a $3500 commercial job - the machine showed up the day before I started the work).

I dabble in a couple of other things, but my formula for business has always been to apply laser like focus on the core business. This has probably caused me to not broaden my business as fast as I should have, and to not buy trucks, etc. as soon as I should.
 
HI
I know all the equipment I spoke about seems ridiculous,but let me explain a little.I always thought the corporate world was
for me when I was younger,but quickly found out that under-
neath that shiny exterior was a lot of insecurity,pressure,
backstabbing, ruthless competition among co-workers, thinly
veiled as phony friendliness.while your whole career was at the
mercy of some insecure veteran of that world.don't get me
wrong,I am a very competitive person,but I like to be a
genuine, nice person.I left that world for a great union job
with my father,working at a big rail /pier shipping operation
in N.J.,no pressure,great security,great money(my father
just retired at 57 with a $4200 a month protected pension
after 32years).But ,after a few years,the monotony gets to
you and the only thing you have to look forward to was retiring,
or the guy ahead of you retiring so you can move up in
seniority and get more overtime and a better shift,I really
did not see a future there for me.I kinda backed into a route
delivery business for a bar and restaurant equipment and
supply company and bought a small 16' truck and left my
job with my father.I made pretty good money,and met
a lot of great people,I had about 125 customers on my
route,from multi million dollar country clubs and upscale
restaurants to strip clubs and mom and pop deli's.I made a lot
of good friends and learned a lot about happiness in life.I
noticed that the head chef always had the sous chef nipping
at his heels for his job,The owner or manager breathing
down their back,and really did not cook,mainly ran the
kitchen.I noticed that a lot of owners of big expensive
restaurants,many times were bad payers paying late or with
post dated checks,because thay had a huge overhead and
a huge lifestyle to match(it's funny when a guy pulls up in $100k
mercedes and gives you a two week post dated check for
$250?).I noticed that the strip club owners always had tons
of cash and usually paid you out of their pocket,(usually
named vinnie,tony,nunzio ,but great payers!)All in all
I thought life was good,that I would do this for the rest of my life.
Long story short,company sold to bigger company,independent
route guys got shafted (new company hadcompany trucks and
would love me to work for them for $11 hr,a far cry away from
the $90k,I was making ) I told them to go pound salt.that
division folded within a year of them putting company route
drivers on.I ended up opening two restaurants(not at the same time)I sold them both at a profit,the second one for five times
what I had invested,and over ten times what I paid for it.I started
buying and selling restaurant equipment.I still do this now,there
is always a restaurant opening somewhere and always one
going out of business.restaurant equipment is my stock market,
you have to know what to buy,but it is not hard to at least
triple to ten times your investment.I buy a lot more than I
sell,it does not go bad ,really does not get outdated,and with ebay,there is a world wide market at you r fingertips.I have
always been interested in powerwashing,because of the
diversity of markets to pursue and the mobility .I really got
interested when I met a guy who just did flat work at night for two big chains,and lived a nice lifestyle.I started buying equipment about a year ago,but have not had the time to start.
I also got interested in concession trailers a few years ago
when I met a guy with a few trailers ,he busted his butt for
four months,and took the rest of the year off.He works mainly
big fairs and festivals.He makes a lot more than many doctors
and never finished high school and lives a nice life,and being
a cash business is nice also,no chasing past due accounts.I
started buying trailers two years ago and now have three.I did
not mention that I also work for someone about 70 hours a
week running his construction demolition transportation business
(two trucks)and I have six trucks from another company that
work under me and I get a percentage.Wow can you tell I
am originally from nj ,I don't shut up!I,m 38 years old and my
fiance' is 39 and comes with a built in crew three kids 17,17,(twins) and a 22 yearold son,who is like a best friend.I plan
on starting this next chapter in my life this spring.Everything
is paid for,I don't own a dime on anything.I plan on doing
hood work,and fleetwashing(have some fleets lined up already)
I plan on putting two of the trailers in two different high traffic
locations,that I am in negotiations with right now ,and using the one trailer for state fairs and festivals in the northeast.I know
it sounds like too much but I have other family members who
I trust to help out.Well it might not be laser focus,bit I think I have
most of the bases covered.sorry for the "war and peace "length
post but It was the only way to even remotely explain my
strange world.If none of this works out(but it will!)I will just sit
back and go to plan B ,sell on ebay fulltime!!!!!!

TAKE CARE
JIM.M
 
Thanks for sharing that, Jim...........you certainly have alot of things going on. The restaurant equipment thing sounds pretty cool. Certainly easier then pressure washing. After doing all of the things you do, (some being not as physically demanding) I dont really think you're going to like washing............but only time will tell that.
 
HI MIKE
Thanks for the reply.I can understand where your coming from.
I left out a few things in that post(tried to keep it short! lol).I
have done mostly physically demanding work my whole life.I
have actually washed many trucks in all kind of weather,from
over 100 degrees to 0 degrees,dump trucks,walking floors
full of mud and reefers inside and out.I have also done a few
restaurant hoods.My second restaurant I bought was formerly
a chinese restaurant with a 20' hood with about an inch of
grease,actually the whole kitchen was like that!I gutted the
whole place down to the walls,and rebuilt it mostly myself
(except where I needed licensed contractors) I actually
called a hood cleaner to clean it ,after I cleaned it ,just to
get the sticker! He sent five guys! honest! most of them smelled
like alcohol and they left it a mess,water under the cooking
appliances,one fell off the ladder in the kitchen(didn't get hurt)
and the shakiest one almost fell off the roof! I did
not tell them I already cleaned it,and it was clean.I figured
if I was paying $300 to get the sticker for the fire inspector
I would let them do their thing.I actually bought DELCO's
vent-hood cleaning tape (great content,very poor production quality,atleast the tape I got) and plan on getting certified
when I can get the time.I am sorry about the long posts,but
this is just me.I read this board all the time(and a few others)
but rarely post.I like to learn from experienced professionals,and
I think this board is exceptional.
TAKE CARE!
JIM M.
 
Jim M, I think I may have run one or two of those strip joints at one time. I am from Phila. but currently living in Ohio. Two things, a friend of mine is opening a restaurant out here in the Cleveland area, too far for you to sell to? If not, I will give you his name and number and maybe you two can do biz. Second, I have been in restaurant/strip club management for years before I started my PW biz, if you ever need a good manager or GM, give me a hollar, I am sure you will be happy.
 
That is funny I also know a x-strip club owner from ohio, that is also a pw

he owned his in west virgina... Is there a connection with p.w. and strip clubs...hum


Matt
 
HI

Thanks for the offer! My strip club days are long over .I actually
was going to buy one with a partner(almost impossible to
open up a new one,most towns will fight you tooth and nail!).
I researched a few that were for sale and it's like anything else,
high risk ,high return.The ones that made great moneywere
astronomically priced,and the ones that did not were not
worth the price,that business has it's own type of headaches.
(I actually dated two dancers years ago,and almost moved to brazil,with one,but thats a whole other story!lol).I appreciate
you telling me about your friend opening a new restaurant,but
I really don't sell much one on one .I really rather
sell things on EBAY.I really just prefer the whole concept,put
it up,and let a bunch of people just bid away!! It's not perfect
you have to answer alot of emails(over 250!on a dually truck I
just sold,and had two non-paying bidders the first two times,you
get alot of people who think ebay is a video game,then disappear
when it is time to pay!).I plan on opening another restaurant down
the road,but not here in pa.We plan on moving out west in the future.We were moving to colorado about three years ago,
but got sidetracked here in pa(bought a restaurant,never opened).I love to flyfish(when I have the time,which is never!)
and plan on moving in the next few years.Can you tell I am
from JERSEY,get me talking and I don't shut up!!
TAKE CARE!
JIM M.:D :D :D
 
Jim,
Sounds to me like you should set up a corporation (if you have not already) and have subsidiaries under it for different businesses. Of course finding a lead person for various ones (the food for example) would be a challenge as pointed out before.

When you start appearing on a route with a food truck people will expect you to return. But power washing will get in the way of that. Routing and timing are important when you drive a vehicle with food.... I learned that as a teenager driving an ice cream truck.

In any case, good luck to you!

Beth
 
HI BETH

Thanks for the corporation info,thats what we plan on doing.
I understand what you are talking about with the route truck,I
owned a california style(cook inside)truck a few years ago
but ended up selling it,and never used it.The trailers I have
are carnival style,food concession trailers,two are waymatics
(they have a great website www.waymatic.com)and the other
is a yankee schooner.The trailers are the kind you see at state fairs and festivals that open up on all sides and have the big
marquee signs,with the flashing lights all around the top.I
am currently working on two permanent spots for two of them,and the third I plan on using for fairs and festivals.The
one spot is in a resort/theme park,and the other is in a
big outdoor market,that draws around 10k people a day on
the weekends.I actually sold that food truck to a vendor at
that market who alsc owned a deli,he ended up selling the
deli and put a nice trailer at that market and averages around
$3k a weekend ($6k memorial day weekend!)weather permiting.
I realize,I make everything sound easy"I'm going to this and
going to do that,and then I am going to spin gold from aluminum
cans!!!"I understand that nothing is as easy as it seems,and
there will always be a new crisis on the horizon,but always
starting something new(or planning to) is my personal rush,
it is what keeps me pumped about life.I have read many of your
posts,and find you very intelligent and articulate and even
when you are verbally attacked by some ,I think are threatened
by your professionalism and willingness to help others ,you
always respond with class.Good luck to you and Ron!
TAKE CARE
JIM M
 
HI everyone

I was wondering why when I type in a post or reply,it is
fine when I type it and review it ,but when it comes up on
the board the sentences are all broken up on different
lines.I am not really as computer literate as I would like
to be,can anyone tell me how I can remedy this.
THANKS!
JIM M.
 
What you are experiencing could be from using the "Enter" key to end a line or sentence. Let your sentences wrap and only use "Enter" if you want to start a new line or create a space.

If that doesn't work, I'm not sure I have an answer.

Regards,
 
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