[Deangsi]

when you get a large roand and havge to have 2 people working of a 400 litre tank you learn to turn the flow down also id like to say it gets to a certain point where it doesnt matter weather its full speed or half i clean same speed whatever full flow just makes a big spray of mess and the water on the floor twice as much not necessary at all in my opinion. and i have tried everything when it comes to wfp now

[jarvy]

i have found that when i only had a 200gpd ro i was running my controller at about 30 on the display,now i can make pure water quicker i am running between 60-70 now,because it doesnt take 24hrs to fill a tank!
Find im working quicker and better now i dont worry about how much water i use!

[PurefectWindowCleaning]

I remember when I first put my system together, I had no controller and garden hose pipe. After cleaning 1 house and using 250 litres I knew controllers were a must  

Now, we have 6mm hose and controller on about a quarter, windows get perfectly clean and water lasts all day  

Thats not because you've got a controller thats because you've not got 1/2" pipe.

A 1/2" hose-pipe will use 4 times the amount of water than a 6mm pipe.

Fully aware of that.

Not that I have tried, but a flow controller along with 1/2" pipe, surely would have an effect, as opposed to just the pipe?

What I was trying to say i that in general, having controller and 6mm.

[gary999]

personally  i think its a good idea to learn to wfp with as little
water as possible for many reasons...one being in extreme cold circumstances
it reduces amount you leave behind

i use a reasonably high flow on really filthy first cleans but on
maintenance cleans i use a lower flow but my speed of cleaning is
no slower in fact on quite a few maintenance clean i barely rinse at
all.

a flow controller is a good way of learning how best to utilise
your water,its all about having confidence in what you are doing
using a high flow  mentally gives you the confidence to literally
fly round but the amount of water being used isnt necesarily needed
and you can be just as quick using less

[James archell]

In extreme cold a slower flow increases the risk of the water stopping altogether.

[gary999]

In extreme cold a slower flow increases the risk of the water stopping altogether.

i have never had that happen..im not talking about a trickle coming out
anyway, i learnt early on how to use areduced flow in cold circumstances
as in many customers were not happy about me putting
salt down to compensate for excess water lying about.

using a high flow naturally gives someone the confidence to clean quickly
but you dont necessarily need to use all that water to clean the window
so you arenot getting best use out of your resources.it all boils down
to confidence in what you are doing and not necessarily flow rate

[CleanClear]

I find if when rinsing there is more bouncing off the window than running down it then its to high. There is a happy medium between to fast and to slow if you can take the time to find it. Also on older wooden windows i'm not too keen on it sending bits of varnish and flaking paint running down the window !!
 Whilst i'm on has anyone any experience with these..............

(Mod note:  link deleted; it mucked up the forum layout; if you want to use long links use tiny url (google for it)).

if that link don;t work its ebay
160968153035
Item number:


I like the liquid logic /spring controllers, and the old varistream ones. Not had much luck with the new varistream ones. The ebay ones above work out at £48 delivered?

[rosskesava]

I've used flow controllers in the past.

Now I don't bother and life is much easier.

For some jobs and in some circumstances when I need to regulate the flow, I use a voltage regulator which costs under £20. Most of the time though it's set on full voltage.

My view is that a flow controllers are made by companies to just make money by coming up with spurious reasons why you need one and they make something very simple more complicated.

Have you ever read of anyone on this forum having a problem by not using a flow controller?

On the other hand, how many postings get posted regularly about members having a problem who use a flow controller?

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I've used flow controllers in the past.

Now I don't bother and life is much easier.

For some jobs and in some circumstances when I need to regulate the flow, I use a voltage regulator which costs under £20. Most of the time though it's set on full voltage.

My view is that a flow controllers are made by companies to just make money by coming up with spurious reasons why you need one and they make something very simple more complicated.

Have you ever read of anyone on this forum having a problem by not using a flow controller?

On the other hand, how many postings get posted regularly about members having a problem who use a flow controller?

I stand by my statement in reply No-2.

[SunShineCleaning]

WFPing for 8 years and used all methods, backpack, trolly, and van mount.
Ive had 1000L, 500L, 350L and 125L tanks.

IMO the higher the flow the quicker you work the more you earn.

The slowest is using a backpack with a trickle.  The fastest is with 500-1000L.
I earnt more with a fast flow.

I now have 350L and with a few other tweeks I am as fast as with 500L.

A flow controller is not worth having if you have room for a BIG tank.

If earning £150 with a backpack you will turn over £200 with a higher flow.

Why wouldn't you want an extra £50 per day?

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

There isn't even an argument over flow rate here! Yes, there is an "optimum" flow rate but any more than this & you're just wasting water.

For me, flow rate is one of the least reasons for using a controller.

Anyone who has never used one & "thinks" they are just fine as they are- well, that's just what I used to think before I changed over to a controller about 5 years ago.

It does make me wonder sometimes how some people manage to chew bubble gum & walk at the same time!

[Alex Gardiner]

My view is that a flow controllers are made by companies to just make money by coming up with spurious reasons why you need one and they make something very simple more complicated.

That is an interesting thought. A little history here is useful, the firm that now makes most of the flow controllers for the WFP market originally did not even know about this industry and so was not looking at a way of making money from them. They were approached by a window cleaner (not myself) who wanted to save water and also battery power. They have worked on from here - their aim is still to make products that have real benefits - yes they make money from these but generally every new product they release is 'window cleaner led' not their own ideas.

Personally speaking most of my WFP life has been spent with no controllers at all. I have always liked a good flow rate and as such used a powerful duplex pump which could easily power either 1 or 2 reels of 100m of Microbore hose. When only using one reel I never found the need to turn the flow down as I find more water is better.

We started selling controllers in our supply firm about 4 years ago purely because clients were asking for them. I only started using them myself about 2 years ago and my main reason was to help conserve battery power. I was finding that two powerful pumps running off the same battery on a split charger system would kill the battery after about 12 months. I have found since adding controllers that although I still have the setting fairly high at about 75 it puts a lot less strain on the battery and my latest battery is 2 years old is still going strong - for me this was a definite improvement and more important than exact flow rate control of the water. In reality though I have also noticed that the van tank does stay fuller for longer which if needed would mean that I could work for longer each day.

I would still say that if you are able to carry plenty of water with you and have no battery life concerns then a controller is not needed as long as you use a pump with a robust pressure switch such as the Flojet pumps.

[AuRavelling79]

There isn't even an argument over flow rate here! Yes, there is an "optimum" flow rate but any more than this & you're just wasting water.

For me, flow rate is one of the least reasons for using a controller.

Anyone who has never used one & "thinks" they are just fine as they are- well, that's just what I used to think before I changed over to a controller about 5 years ago.

It does make me wonder sometimes how some people manage to chew bubble gum & walk at the same time!

Just because you assert yourself three or four times saying the same thing doesn't make it so. But hey, you carry on. 

[Window Washers]

I've not used one yet but 400L lasts me a day with a bit left over, and battery is ok. Not sure if I work fast or not as I've never watched anyone do it (mostly trad wc in Barnsley). Seems to me if you have a very high flow then what's the point of a controller?

because there is a cross over point where your just wasting water, how ever fast you work , this is where the controller comes in and makes the water saving
Also shuts pump down so saves battery and keeps pump cooler as it shuts down when you shut water off at pole

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

There isn't even an argument over flow rate here! Yes, there is an "optimum" flow rate but any more than this & you're just wasting water.

For me, flow rate is one of the least reasons for using a controller.

Anyone who has never used one & "thinks" they are just fine as they are- well, that's just what I used to think before I changed over to a controller about 5 years ago.

It does make me wonder sometimes how some people manage to chew bubble gum & walk at the same time!

Just because you assert yourself three or four times saying the same thing doesn't make it so. But hey, you carry on. 

I take it you haven't fathomed the bubble gum trick yet then Gold?

[DG Cleaning]

There isn't even an argument over flow rate here! Yes, there is an "optimum" flow rate but any more than this & you're just wasting water.

For me, flow rate is one of the least reasons for using a controller.

Anyone who has never used one & "thinks" they are just fine as they are- well, that's just what I used to think before I changed over to a controller about 5 years ago.

It does make me wonder sometimes how some people manage to chew bubble gum & walk at the same time!

What's the optimum flow rate?

[gary999]

There isn't even an argument over flow rate here! Yes, there is an "optimum" flow rate but any more than this & you're just wasting water.

For me, flow rate is one of the least reasons for using a controller.

Anyone who has never used one & "thinks" they are just fine as they are- well, that's just what I used to think before I changed over to a controller about 5 years ago.

It does make me wonder sometimes how some people manage to chew bubble gum & walk at the same time!

What's the optimum flow rate?

enough to clean a window

like i said before how quick you work doesnt necessarily have anything
to do with having a high flow rate it only takes so much water toclean a window
depending on circumstances.

first cleans i use a higher flow rate to move the crud quicker
maintenance cleans a lower flow rate...but my speed of work is exactly the same

[DG Cleaning]

It makes me work faster, I'm so tight that if I could save 10p i'd run all day

[[GQC] Tim]

Having a higher flow doesn't make a window any cleaner or make you clean them quicker.

James, that is not correct. Higher flow does make you quicker, but it's the operator, that needs to be quicker. We are in the business of getting dissolved solids down the glass as fast as possible. Faster flow means that you can potentially work faster. You can disagree with it, but when you get to a certain speed level, you will understand. There is a limit to it obviously, but you still need a high flow.

I've never had problems with my controller! Battery saving for me, as I work off the van battery at all times. I can set shut off pressure and flow quickly. Set it and forget it.

[Pete Thompson]

I think this comes down to personal preference tbh.

I use a flow controller because I don't like to have too much flow, because to me that's simply a waste of water.  The one I use (and I'm sure they all probably do this) automatically compensates for the extra power needed when the pole is up high, which is handy.  It means that no matter how high the pole, the flow rate will always be the same.

I'm a little bit suprised to hear that some folk don't use them, I thought everyone did.  Mine's an old-style analogue one (with a little knob to turn up the flow).  I can't imagine using the pump on full power all of the time!  The splashback must leave you soaking!

(Hilarious! It changed the word "knob" to "numpty"!)