[M & C Window Cleaning]

I know there are a few of you out there with home made Trolleys.  I'd be interested to know what size batteries you use to  power them. Obviously it's going to  be 12 volts, but what capacity are you using.
The reason I'm asking is the weight issue. Most professional trolleys seem to favour a 26AH battery weighing 8kg. I was wondering if a 12AH or even a 7AH would power a Sureflo pump all day as the the weight saving would be considerable, especially with the 7AH at only a quarter of the weight of the 26AH.

[jk999]

I use a 12volt 20 amp can get roughly a day n half to two full days running 100 psi sureflow pump

[wazzz]

I use 7ah battery.  It won't last a long day but I carry a spare in the car.  It's quick to change over as I use good connectors ( golf trolley ones , not sure of name ) .  More are left on charger at home so always ready to go . At £15 a time from tool station you can get a few .

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Hi wazzz, what pump are you using with that battery?

[wazzz]

I have 3 different sureflows , 2 at 100 psi and 1 at 60 psi , also have a vyair pump at 100psi i think . I swop and change my equipment around alot . I have not noticed any difference in power  used for any pump .  I run mine at about 70% speed ( home made controller , see tosh link )  in real word use for me a newish battery will last  MY day ( doing less as i age ) . Some of my bats are 4 years old so dont last as long but are good as back ups.  Its so easy and quick to chang over that i just dont worry .

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Thanks wazzz, that was what I was hoping for. Mind you I've been nocking my 26ah batteries out in about 12 months. When they go they die quickly. I now buy a new one at about 11 months so I have it on standby.
I run with my controller at 60-70% also so hopefully that'll work for me too.
Just got to do a mod to my trolley now so I can change the battery without removing the wheel.
Thanks for your help.

[Dougaldum]

I know there are a few of you out there with home made Trolleys.  I'd be interested to know what size batteries you use to  power them. Obviously it's going to  be 12 volts, but what capacity are you using.
The reason I'm asking is the weight issue. Most professional trolleys seem to favour a 26AH battery weighing 8kg. I was wondering if a 12AH or even a 7AH would power a Sureflo pump all day as the the weight saving would be considerable, especially with the 7AH at only a quarter of the weight of the 26AH.

you get what you pay for
I will never by  cheap batteries
 Golf lithium battery is best  Half the weight  5000 charges  but a bit pricey £160  well last 10 years

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Hi Doug, that could be a better option for me as it would not require any modification to my trolley. Should drop straight in and wouldn't need swapping out during the day from what I can see. Bit pricey but I would have expected that and I don't mind. Can you charge them with regular chargers like say the CTek or do the have to be charged with dedicated chargers?

[dazmond]

i just use a backpack,fold away trolley and bungee strap for the few jobs a need a trolley on.perfect set up to complement a van mount.cost me about £150 all in.i charge the battery every week or so.i use a gardiners v2 which holds 19L but i think the v3 holds 22L.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

i just use a backpack,fold away trolley and bungee strap for the few jobs a need a trolley on.perfect set up to complement a van mount.cost me about £150 all in.i charge the battery every week or so.i use a gardiners v2 which holds 19L but i think the v3 holds 22L.

I cut my wfp teeth on a loaned backpack and folding trolley so I would never knock it.  I totally get why they are a brilliant bit of kit for someone with a van mounted system for those odd awkward access jobs.
However, that combo would be hard to get on with in a lot of areas I work. Many of the pavements are not in good repair and a solid tyred small wheeled trolley is very uncomfortable to operate, so I need something compact but robust. The Freedom trolley fits the bill nicely except for the weight. The trolley itself is very heavy (25kg) the same as a barrel a water. A large part of that is the battery at about one third the total weight of the trolley. I am looking for a way to reduce the overall weight. I've put pneumatic tyres on my trolley because the solid tyres it came with were so heavy and the pneumatic ones make it much more comfortable on the hands when pushing/pulling the trolley on rough pavements. However, the most significant weight reduction seems to be achievable by reducing the size of the battery as the one fitted as standard will give two to three days work on one charge and for me it's not necessary as my trolley goes on charge every night. It weighs 8.3kg (18.29lbs)
I know there are guys that use backpacks all day on one charge so I know it should be achievable.
It seems to me that I should change the battery for a smaller one. If a 7ah one will do the trick it only weighs 1.9kg(4.2lbs)
I know there is a hefty price difference but the 16ah Golf lithium one only weighs 2.2kg (4.8lbs)
Both of these would give a significant saving in weight. So I'm going to have a little play

[Dougaldum]

Hi Doug, that could be a better option for me as it would not require any modification to my trolley. Should drop straight in and wouldn't need swapping out during the day from what I can see. Bit pricey but I would have expected that and I don't mind. Can you charge them with regular chargers like say the CTek or do the have to be charged with dedicated chargers?

  yes you get a charger with it but I've put it on another charger a trickle charger and it works so yes you can use other charges only trickle ones

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Thanks for the info Doug. Much appreciated

[dazmond]

i just use a backpack,fold away trolley and bungee strap for the few jobs a need a trolley on.perfect set up to complement a van mount.cost me about £150 all in.i charge the battery every week or so.i use a gardiners v2 which holds 19L but i think the v3 holds 22L.

I cut my wfp teeth on a loaned backpack and folding trolley so I would never knock it.  I totally get why they are a brilliant bit of kit for someone with a van mounted system for those odd awkward access jobs.
However, that combo would be hard to get on with in a lot of areas I work. Many of the pavements are not in good repair and a solid tyred small wheeled trolley is very uncomfortable to operate, so I need something compact but robust. The Freedom trolley fits the bill nicely except for the weight. The trolley itself is very heavy (25kg) the same as a barrel a water. A large part of that is the battery at about one third the total weight of the trolley. I am looking for a way to reduce the overall weight. I've put pneumatic tyres on my trolley because the solid tyres it came with were so heavy and the pneumatic ones make it much more comfortable on the hands when pushing/pulling the trolley on rough pavements. However, the most significant weight reduction seems to be achievable by reducing the size of the battery as the one fitted as standard will give two to three days work on one charge and for me it's not necessary as my trolley goes on charge every night. It weighs 8.3kg (18.29lbs)
I know there are guys that use backpacks all day on one charge so I know it should be achievable.
It seems to me that I should change the battery for a smaller one. If a 7ah one will do the trick it only weighs 1.9kg(4.2lbs)
I know there is a hefty price difference but the 16ah Golf lithium one only weighs 2.2kg (4.8lbs)
Both of these would give a significant saving in weight. So I'm going to have a little play

i had a 50L pure freedom trolley mate!and used it for a year before buying a tank!so i know how heavy they can be.a backpack on a little foldaway trolley is the cheapest and lightest way of working with a trolley IMO.

wouldnt it be easier mate just to get a tank and 100m of microbore?it speeded me up dramatically after a few months and no lugging a heavy trolley about/no filling up barrels and generally less faff and hard work.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Hi Dazmond. I've given it some serious thought but the problem is the way my round is layed out. Massive problems with parking is only one issue. I'd be using the trolley more than the van and reel. I have a friend with work very similar to mine who has found exactly the same thing. He started with a trolley, moved to a van mounted system. He stuck it for a couple of years but ended up going back to a trolley as it was more flexible and he could work quicker.
In my case,once my trolley is out of the vehicle it stays out for extended periods. I actually enjoy working with it very much. I'm just looking at ways to make the actual trolley a lot lighter. It weighs as much as a full barrel of water which seems rediculous to me. Why it needs a battery that lasts three days I don't understand as it adds more than 6kgs (14lbs) to the weight of the trolley. Also, if most of us don't use a sureflo on full flow, why fit such a big pump when a good backpack pump would do and would give a days work from a 7ah battery that is 75% lighter than the 26ah one. Design it to be swapped out easily without removing a wheel etc so if it dies on you during the day you can just pop another one on.
There may be very good reasons why some like it this way, but a lighter option would be most welcome to many I'm sure. It would significantly reduce the risk of back injury getting it in and out of a vehicle for one thing. It would also be a lot cheaper to produce surely.