[Andyt79]

Evening all,
I'm sure this topic has been done to the death : I've used the search fuction but there are so many thopics with the letters WFP in I could read for days.
I started out a couple of months ago and i'm pleased to say business is going well and i'm picking up customers at the rate of 3-5 a week. Trouble is I'm having to turn down work down as I can't work above the first floor with my ladders and some of the properties I've visited haven't got an area sufficient enough to pitch my ladder,so I've come to the conclusion that I need a waterfed pole setup.
Now I live in a flat so storage and space are limited, I need a WFP setup that I would use occasionally on high reach properties. I also have a small budget and would prefer a diy setup.

Do any of you knowledgeable lads and lasses have any links to a setup like this or can you provide a list of equipment needed as I'm a complete novice in this area

All the best
Andy

[andyjm1]

Living in a flat can be a real problem, because you need somewhere to make and store your water.

It sounds like you're doing ok at the moment anyway. I'd chat to other window cleaners and maybe pass any work you can't do onto one of them. They might return the favour, or even give you a few quid for it.

Good luck. 

[Richard Neal]

Maybe get a back pack and produce water into 25ltre containers as you need them, if you dont need much and your in a soft or hard water area this would work.

[Andyt79]

Thanks gents,
I know living in a flat isn't ideal but it is on the ground floor so that is one plus. I had thought about the back pack setup as the work have had to turn down would more than pay for this in the long run, I did a rough price up at £45 a month as they're two, big similar sized houses. I could clean the ground and first floors using trad but they want all the windows doing and as I said previously I can't get the right angle/height for ladders to do the second floor.

Ideally I'd like a WFP setup that could be increased in size as at some point I'd like to move out of the flat or get a lockup to store my euipment in and purify water.

Cheers

[Tom White]

A back pack, and a small DI bottle.  You can even produce water on site if they have an outside tap.

[Andyt79]

Cheers Tosh,
Could you point me in the direction of a decent back pack? Also I've read that Gardiners poles the best on the market, would you suggest going for the best quality pole from the start? Or maybe going down the Harris route?

[Tom White]

If it's only for occasional use, go cheap.  Get a WCW backpack from the window cleaning warehouse, buy the smallest DI bottle you can, and yes, I'd recommend a Harris pole; £15.

You can always upgrade if you want a better one.  I've got a SLX, but I still use my Harris for certain jobs.

A kit list (from the top of me head would be)

DI bottle
Bag of resin
WCW backpack
Harris pole
Pole hose
Brush
Gooseneck (joins the brush head to the pole)
Small trolley
2 x 25 litre barells
Connector for backpack to pole hose (phone Window Cleaning Warehouse and ask what's needed)
TDS Meter
Harris pole (you'll have to work out how best to attach the gooseneck to the pole; there's a few different ways).

I reckon the lot will be around £250 (ish).

Am I missing anything anyone?

[Richard Neal]

Sounds about right Tosh

Remember as well if you go ahead with this you will pick up more work as you can then take it on without worrying about it, where abouts are you?

[Tom White]

Some garden hose, about two meters and three hoselock connections; to add to the list.

[Andyt79]

Thanks again guys I started out thinking I would clean trad only but this seriously limits the work I can do especially if I'm to venture into the commercial market.

I'm based in Canterbury, Kent.

[dazmond]

would a harris pole reach second floor windows though?if not then a harris pole would be a waste of time.a 27ft CLX would be better.can reach all second floor windows then!


dazmond

[Andyt79]

Good point Dazmond, i already have a Harris pole that i use a mop and squeegee on for some awkward windows. Excuse the ignorance but is a clx pole made by Gardiners?

[Wc Solutions]

Cheers Tosh,
Could you point me in the direction of a decent back pack? Also I've read that Gardiners poles the best on the market, would you suggest going for the best quality pole from the start? Or maybe going down the Harris route?

havent read all the posts

but

back pack esr16 from john hewitts site £130 inc vat n del i think

its the same bit of kit as the window cleaning warehouse (v2) but cheaper

[Tom White]

Good point Dazmond, i already have a Harris pole that i use a mop and squeegee on for some awkward windows. Excuse the ignorance but is a clx pole made by Gardiners?

Yes; it's a good pole.  I've got one.

[Erithwc]

as you wont be using it much what about a back pack harris pole and buying the water from a local window cleaner saves making water yourself

[Andyt79]

Thanks for the tip about the backpack on the John Hewitt site, I'd been on the phone earlier to the wcw and they're out of stock of the v2 backpack anyway. I think I've decided to go for the gardiners clx 27 as I think Harris only make poles that reach 16ft? I may be wrong.. Plus I've got a decent pole that will last and I'm sure I'll go for a van mounted system at some point in the future.

Does anyone rate streamline trolleys? As saw a complete wfp setup for £499.

[Wc Solutions]

Thanks for the tip about the backpack on the John Hewitt site, I'd been on the phone earlier to the wcw and they're out of stock of the v2 backpack anyway. I think I've decided to go for the gardiners clx 27 as I think Harris only make poles that reach 16ft? I may be wrong.. Plus I've got a decent pole that will last and I'm sure I'll go for a van mounted system at some point in the future.

Does anyone rate streamline trolleys? As saw a complete wfp setup for £499.

start at a backpack mate - if its only for occasional use that is!

you could wfp the tops and trad the bottoms? - that way its eases the customers into the change.

with one fill of a esr16 - you could do 3 norm size houses on tops only mate

[Andyt79]

Right a backpack it is then  I did think about buying water erithwc but not sure how much people would charge? I think I'll just buy a small DI vessel to start with.

Another question, is it true that it takes more than on clean to get windows up to standard using wfp? Or is that just a myth I heard?

[Wc Solutions]

Right a backpack it is then  I did think about buying water erithwc but not sure how much people would charge? I think I'll just buy a small DI vessel to start with.

Another question, is it true that it takes more than on clean to get windows up to standard using wfp? Or is that just a myth I heard?

back pack isnt a bad choice mate - it will still come in handy when you move onto a van mount but a trolley can sometimes become a dust collector in the garage once moved onto van mount.

if di only - then i would get an 11ltr di and tulsion resin - daqua are very good and so are purefreedom and of course a tds meter.

mate maybe you could have half a day with a local wfp cleaner, sure someone on here can help.

first cleans can go soooooo very wrong IF not done right.

main reason is no matter how well you try and remove all the dirt from around the frames by hand the water and brush will always find more that you just simply couldnt see by hand and it could dry on the glass.

at times if i come across a very dirty first clean - i would just plug my pole n hose into customers outside tap - to give the frames a really good wash to remove all the crap out of the frames, then back over wfp.

you will be shocked to see how much crap comes out of the frames even if you have been trad on them for a while

[Andyt79]

Cheers WC Solutions

I think I'd prefer to go out with someone experienced in wfp before I ddo my first cleans as I wouldn't want to make a fool of myself! When you say cleaning the frames by hand do you mean giving the a scrub with the brush? As I won't physically be able to reach the third floor frames by hand unless I leant out of each window. I guess this is where getting some experience comes in handy as you can't even see the finished article on some windows.