[Carl2009]

Had a situation a couple of times last week -

I set up and start to clean, flow set to usual level. I find that the flow suddenly decreases to a trickle and then starts up again before slowing down once more as pump cuts in and out. I checked all connections as the controller was showing a dead end - no blockages or kinks. Anyway I upped the sensitivity of the flow controller and it seemed to cure it. I've not had this problem in the last 5 years.

Some months ago I was getting the "PS" rather than "DE" notification when I closed the flow valve, so I did re-calibrate down (to around 30-ish, from 50) to make it less sensitive. Had no problems thereafter, till just now.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had this sort of issue? Any idea what it could be? Incidentally, it's a Pure Freedom branded "Flowmaster".

***Modified. FAO Ian Sheppard. Hi Ian - do you know of my controller can be auto calibrated as in your You Tube vid. It looks very similar but is obviously 5 years old now. ***

[Don Kee]

They dont become 'de calibrated' but the calibration setting would be different at varying times of year.
The colder it gets the thicker the water so the cal setting would be higher, and the other way around for warmer/hotter weather.

Quite impressed you didnt have to change the cal in 5 years to be honest, although ive never seen the flowmaster...
If its the same as liquid logic (that ian makes) press and hold the two outer buttons of the 3 unttil cal cones up. Scroll all the way down and you'll see 'AUT' then press enter.
If you get 'AUT' its means you csn auto cal.
(Thats how it is on mine anyway.

Hope this helps

[gary mcd]

Had the same problem myself  last week, also a pure freedom flowmaster.

 Unlike yourself having to calibrate down, I've recalibrated up from 42 to 50 and it's been working fine since.

No idea what makes it do this, but it would be good to know what causes this to happen.

[Ian Sheppard]

Hi Carl

Yes Don has pretty much hit the nail on the head.

5 year old controller still going, always good to hear. air temperature can effect the water in effect the colder ot gets the slower the water moves. As a result the pump has to work harder to generate the pressure, Hose lines also expand slower.

This may mean that the control will need recalibration to a higher setting.

Also check your battery ensure it is holding a charge, as the battery gets low on voltage the pump can struggle to get enough current to run properly.

[Carl2009]

Cheers lads.

Ian, battery is pretty new and holds a charge really well. Can I auto calibrate this type of controller?

[Ian Sheppard]

Is it a digital unit and is it a V6 or V9 variant of the control? The label with the variant and serial number will either be on the back of side of the box

[Carl2009]

Yep, is digital. Will have a look for which voltage it is. Which one can be auto calibrated?

[colin bird]

Hi mate had the same problem last winter pure freedom told me to re caliber ate pump due to in winter water gets heavier before it freezes don't know where you are in uk but I did increase calibration and it worked when weather got warmer I reduced calibration, I think I'm correct in saying calibration up increases pressure down reduces pressure,flow rate is flow and not pressure,hopefully I'm giving you correct info but  can only go on what I've been told.

Regards colin

[gavinb]

I had the same problem last week first job of the day wouldnt pump so had to recalibrate and job was a good en .

[dai]

They dont become 'de calibrated' but the calibration setting would be different at varying times of year.
The colder it gets the thicker the water so the cal setting would be higher, and the other way around for warmer/hotter weather.

Quite impressed you didnt have to change the cal in 5 years to be honest, although ive never seen the flowmaster...
If its the same as liquid logic (that ian makes) press and hold the two outer buttons of the 3 unttil cal cones up. Scroll all the way down and you'll see 'AUT' then press enter.
If you get 'AUT' its means you csn auto cal.
(Thats how it is on mine anyway.

Hope this helps

Spot on Don, that's exactly what happens.

[Carl2009]

Can't see any details on the controllers so tried to calibrate as per the video. No luck i'm afraid - must be an older model.

Cheers anyway.

[Nathanael Jones]

Gotta say,.. i much prefered the very old analouge controllers that used the pressure  switch instead of dead end detection - (Not the new "Analouge" ones which are just a dial connected to a digi board!),.. there was none of this messing around & they did the job just fine!

[Ian Sheppard]

Can't see any details on the controllers so tried to calibrate as per the video. No luck i'm afraid - must be an older model.

Cheers anyway.

Carl righto that confirms you have a V6 digi controller these do have a manual calibration, but not the Auto cal as shown on the video, Auto cal appeared on the V9 and onward units.

send me your email address and I can send you the relevant quick start guide.

[Carl2009]

Hi Ian

carl@nice-clean-windows.co.uk

Cheers!

[Ian Sheppard]

Gotta say,.. i much prefered the very old analouge controllers that used the pressure  switch instead of dead end detection - (Not the new "Analouge" ones which are just a dial connected to a digi board!),.. there was none of this messing around & they did the job just fine!

Around 2005 we were approached by a local cleaning company in the South East to address these problems. They recognised that if the speed of the pump could be controlled there were many benefits:

    Less wear and tear on the pump
    Extended life of the pump motor
    Less current drawn from the battery means the charge lasts longer
    Reduced pump speed means less water is used
    Less water used per job means more jobs from the same tank

The first pump controller was named in house as the V1 it was an analogue controller which turned the pump on or off and regulated the speed of the pump. There was an immediate effect in that the cleaner was now using less water and was able to cover more work per tank added to this pump reliability improved as it was no longer running flat out. Downtime was reduced and connectors and fittings lasted longer.

The early analogue relied on the pressure switch to stop the pump when flow was stopped, This meant that the system built up very high pressure: http://www.thehub360.com/spring-pressure-comparison.html

As the pressure switch cuts out the pump is operating at maximum, working as hard as it possibly can and therefore drawing maximum current from the battery. As the switch opens it is under great strain. The high current and the fact that the pump is an inductive load (with stored energy) means that the pressure switch contacts are likely to arc and eventually they will fail.

So as in any development solving one issue showed different issues. As such The next development brought a control which did not rely on the pump pressure switch to stop the pump when the water flow stopped. Having the control manage the pump stopping meant there was no longer stored energy arcing across the pressure switch contacts. Referred to as Dead End (DE) the control stops the pump when the water flow is stopped. The pump is no longer under full load when it stops this has an advantage as less energy is drawn from the battery. Also as the controller stops the pump well before the pump pressure switch would have done, we have reduced the strain on the pump motor as it is no longer working against a restriction.

The V3 analogue control came into being with a dial to control the speed of the pump and a second switch on the side to adjust DE calibration.

Ever since the V3 we made a decision to design the control to operate with a pressure switch. If for any reason the control did not stop the pump the pressure switch would. all be it at much lower pressure than if no pump regulator was used.