[P @ F]

As above , what does it actually do , i have had the 3 button , blue face controller by streamline for 3 years now and i have no clue as to what it does , i have always had it set at 99 , when the pump hits 100psi it stops and PS flashes , if i knock it back to 35 DE flashes .
I know what PS and DE are but what settinng should i be looking for ?

Rich 

[Dave Willis]

You need just enough dead end pressure to pump water up your highest pole. You don't want any more pressure than this because your connectors will struggle. In cold weather your hose stiffens up, water thickens slightly and your previous calibration from the summer months won't be enough to keep the pump running.

[Ian Sheppard]

http://www.springltd.co/node/130

Hi Rich if you look at the link above and scroll down yo point 3. This explains why we calibrate the control to a pump and system.
You may want to run the auto calibration on the control to find the right setting for your system
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kKoskb7l7c&list=UL

Part of the reason behind using a controller is to reduce strain on the pump and reduce pressure in the system to protect connectors and hose lines.

The control should DE the pump well before the pump can hit the pressure switch. A pump running close to max is drawing a lot of current, as the pump cuts out there is a high conductive load (stored energy) which arks across the pump pressure switch, this will burn the switch out.

Calibration to 35 would be to low while 99 is to high.

[P @ F]

Hi again Ian , i think we have done this before !!!!

My controller appears to be different , have done the you tube bit and i dont get the auto cal function , 0.0 comes up then it goes back to the 30 flow rate setting .
I got the controller from Varitech about 3 year ago i think ...

The way i get CAL up is to hold the up and down buttons together , i then can set it by pressing the enter button .

I have always run at 99 CAL with no probs or leaks , every time i refit the L5 i get over pressure to the point that the brass hozelocks on the reel get tight and dont allow runout of the hose without the supply hose twisting up .

Should i be looking to set CAL to the lowest figure in order to get DE or PS ?

Rich     

[colin bird]

http://www.springltd.co/node/130

Hi Rich if you look at the link above and scroll down yo point 3. This explains why we calibrate the control to a pump and system.
You may want to run the auto calibration on the control to find the right setting for your system
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kKoskb7l7c&list=UL

Part of the reason behind using a controller is to reduce strain on the pump and reduce pressure in the system to protect connectors and hose lines.

The control should DE the pump well before the pump can hit the pressure switch. A pump running close to max is drawing a lot of current, as the pump cuts out there is a high conductive load (stored energy) which arks across the pump pressure switch, this will burn the switch out.

Calibration to 35 would be to low while 99 is to high.

[Lee GLS]

Hi again Ian , i think we have done this before !!!!

My controller appears to be different , have done the you tube bit and i dont get the auto cal function , 0.0 comes up then it goes back to the 30 flow rate setting .
I got the controller from Varitech about 3 year ago i think ...

The way i get CAL up is to hold the up and down buttons together , i then can set it by pressing the enter button .

I have always run at 99 CAL with no probs or leaks , every time i refit the L5 i get over pressure to the point that the brass hozelocks on the reel get tight and dont allow runout of the hose without the supply hose twisting up .

Should i be looking to set CAL to the lowest figure in order to get DE or PS ?

Rich     

Rich, the lower the cal the sooner the DE will cut in so the pump will stop sooner than on the pressure switch.

Hold the left and right button together the when the cal number comes up push down until auto is show then push enter with the flow turned on, once the cal
Number comes up push enter again and it will save the setting. HTH

[Ian Sheppard]

Hi again Ian , i think we have done this before !!!!

My controller appears to be different , have done the you tube bit and i dont get the auto cal function , 0.0 comes up then it goes back to the 30 flow rate setting .
I got the controller from Varitech about 3 year ago i think ...

The way i get CAL up is to hold the up and down buttons together , i then can set it by pressing the enter button .

I have always run at 99 CAL with no probs or leaks , every time i refit the L5 i get over pressure to the point that the brass hozelocks on the reel get tight and dont allow runout of the hose without the supply hose twisting up .

Should i be looking to set CAL to the lowest figure in order to get DE or PS ?

Rich     

You may have an older V6 model that does not have auto cal. You do want the unit to DE the pump
I can mail you instructions to the V6 later

[P @ F]

That would be great if you could Ian , as i said before its been in the van for some years now so it prob is the V6 model , i dont throw nothing away if it does its job , it has just been as i said a problem when fitting in the L5 for the cold snap .

But just to clarify , i should be set up to DE the system before PS ing  it at whatever flow rate i desire ....... have i got that right ?

Many thanks Rich ........and i promise to buy the latest spring model that is out , as and when this V6 decides to give up the ghost .....if ever it does....

[Ian Sheppard]

Yes ideally you want the control to DE the pump rather than the pressure switch stopping the pump. I have emailed you a guide for the V6. Long may it keep working

[dannymack]

Why do you all have these controllers ? I've got a 100 psi flojet and find that the speed is nice and speedy just right for getting those dirty windows cleaned lol !!! Also faster flow work quicker and if I need to clean those vents at top of windows with a faster flow it washed them out with no probs so why slow the flow ? Don't understand. I got me fog wash on and can adjust the flow with that. Or you could have one of the adapters with the lil lever to slow the water all this digital controllers seem to be a nightmare. 👳👳👳

[P @ F]

Danny mack , my guess is that you have low TDS and you are not on a water meter ?

RICH 

[dave0123]

Nowt wrong the controllers in my eyes! not had a problem with it runs great and chargers my battery for me all for about 80 quid odd

[Ian Sheppard]

I fully accept and understand pump controls are not for everyone, we each have our own way of working. Below are some of the reasons people choose to use an Electronic pump control It is doing far more than simply changing the pump speed and water flow, A control will manage pressure in your system reduce battery draw, help you manage water, monitor battery condition among some of the features.

With a 450 litre tank it is likely you are using a pole tap to control water flow. Running the pump at full means it produces 5.2 litres of water a minute or 5.2 x 60 = 312 litres an hour. The water resource you carry is valuable and the more windows cleaned per tank the more profitable your business.

There are times that you will use the full flow, more likely most of the time it will be less in order to manage the water resource.
Running a pump at maximum generating 5.2 Ltr a minute and drawing 8 amps an hour from your battery, then restrict the water flow with a tap? and use maybe 3 ltr a minute.
With a pump running flat out pressure in the system is high placing  strain on the pump, hoses and connectors. Also the Pump is drawing high current which can lead to the pump and motor getting hot.  As above the controller will reduce these plus still give you flexibility to pump 5.2 ltr if you need it.

In My opinion a good combination is a controller plus a pole tap, The control manages the pump and system while the tap gives easy and quick stop/start of flow. The control Dead ends the pump without placing strain on the pressure switch or pump motor. Plus with the pump stopped it is not drawing any current.

There are a couple of interesting articles in the JULY WCM pages 20 - 22 and 23-35. October 2013 page 31 http://www.windowcleaningmagazine.co.uk/html/magazines.html

Also pressure in a system http://www.thehub360.com/spring-pressure-comparison.html

Ihttp://www.thehub360.com/spring-pressure-comparison.html

[P @ F]

Ian , thanks for the mail  yesterday , i went out on a 6 hour commercial today with the intention that once up to my heat setting temp i would manually cal the system , i thought this would be my best chance of getting it right .
How wrong was i ........i just could not get the right setting , i got the de to kick in every time at one point , think it was about 32 on the cal , the pump would then pulse every 5 seconds or so , surely pulling a drain from the bat at this rate would make me worse off ?

Then after a short break the hoses had cooled along with the water inside them , this i imagine would give the effect that the water was compressed more and resulted in PS being displayed due to the controller sensing a higher pressure , so you see i am no better off !

As i said in a previous post , i have always run my pumps to use the PS, my current shurflo 100psi  is 7 years old , i have another which has had 2 years in another van , i have never replaced the PS in either , luck or fluke you decide !

I am happy to keep running the PS method but need to lower the pressure within my system , only to reduce the friction on the connection from boiler to reel , this all along has been my only problem when going cold to hot when mother nature decides .

I have a 75psi shurflo in the shed , can this be used alongside my V6 for the winter months ? , i only run at 80 flow so have room to adjust to suit ?

I could adjust the ps on the 100psi but feel that "IF IT AINT BROKE , DONT FIX IT !"

Your thoughts , or anybody elses would be FANTASTICHE 

RICH         

[Lee GLS]

Rich, I think when I was setting th de on my reels with hot water I did it manually, start low with the flow running and gradually increase the cal until you can let the flow run without the de cutting in. Hot water does mess with things. The other thing would be to get the easy analogue controller others that run hot water say they are excellent because you can adjust the de a lot easier.

[Ian Sheppard]

Ian , thanks for the mail  yesterday , i went out on a 6 hour commercial today with the intention that once up to my heat setting temp i would manually cal the system , i thought this would be my best chance of getting it right .
How wrong was i ........i just could not get the right setting , i got the de to kick in every time at one point , think it was about 32 on the cal , the pump would then pulse every 5 seconds or so , surely pulling a drain from the bat at this rate would make me worse off

Then after a short break the hoses had cooled along with the water inside them , this i imagine would give the effect that the water was compressed more and resulted in PS being displayed due to the controller sensing a higher pressure , so you see i am no better off !

As i said in a previous post , i have always run my pumps to use the PS, my current shurflo 100psi  is 7 years old , i have another which has had 2 years in another van , i have never replaced the PS in either , luck or fluke you decide !

I am happy to keep running the PS method but need to lower the pressure within my system , only to reduce the friction on the connection from boiler to reel , this all along has been my only problem when going cold to hot when mother nature decides .

I have a 75psi shurflo in the shed , can this be used alongside my V6 for the winter months ? , i only run at 80 flow so have room to adjust to suit ?

I could adjust the ps on the 100psi but feel that "IF IT AINT BROKE , DONT FIX IT !"

Your thoughts , or anybody elses would be FANTASTICHE 

RICH         

Rich Hmm there are a number of factors at work here. I will try cover the questions above.

Lee is spot on when he says that hot water will have an impact on system pressure. This is due to the hose wall being softer and being able to expand faster than when the wall is cold.  So you will see a difference in how the pressure and hose line react as the wall temperature changes. This will mean the calibration level will be different depending on the temperature in the hose.

The pump pulsing when in DE is the control doing a DE test. Once the control Dead ends the pump it also need to know when flow has been restarted again. To achieve this the control will pulse the pump for a fraction of a second. While flow is stopped this will happen every few seconds. The current draw during this DE test is around 1/4 an amp or less. It is not going to significantly impact on battery life. Having the pump stopped by DE means you are drawing less current from the battery than if allowing the pump PS to do it

As the pump pressure switch cuts in you are going to be drawing close to 8 amps with Pressure up to 120PSI, Although the PS is rated to a 100PSI i have found that in some cases actual pressure can be higher system to system.
Getting the control to DE the pump even at a high calibration means the current as the pump stops is around 6.5 amps with pressure around the 90PSI mark

So the pump pulsing when in DE is what we would expect to see. As you turn the flow back on the control see,s the change and restarts your pump again, restoration of flow will be almost instant due to pressure in the system.

Calibration setting:

The higher the calibration setting the longer the control will take to DE the pump. 99 is high and this why the pump pressure switch stops the flow rather than the control going into DE. 32 may be to low.
When flow is stopped the pump will continue to try work against the restriction with a result of pressure building, the control see,s this increase in pressure and will DE the pump. as above how long will depend on the calibration setting.
The warm hose lines will mean the system pressure will change quicker than if the line was cold. Try taking the cal setting up by 10 at a time from 32.

Yes the control should work with a 75PSI rated pump, You will have to alter the calibration to suit the lower pressure pump.

Hope this is of help