[P @ F]

My sums don’t add up here , you say 3 services in 10 years.
Grippa say service every year or the warranty goes out the window ?

[deeege]

i used to smoke and drink and take illegal drugs for over 15 years malc...God knows how much i spent!rough estimates are £80k-£100k....and i always ended up feeling a lot worse after briefly feeling better,i also missed lots of days at work from being hungover so you could add a few grand extra on top of them figures in lost earnings......

You only spent £100k over 15 years on drugs, Cigs and alcohol Daz? That’s only £7k a year. I’ve had single sessions that cost more than that. Disappointed in you Daz, thought you used to be hardcore the way you bang on about your addictions ‘back in the day’! 😂😂

[Perfect Windows]

Of those who have immersions in their vans, have any of you 'fessed up to your insurers? Not just that you have hot water but also the way you heat it?  I'd be interested to hear of your experiences.

Vin

I have. I have always been honest with them declaring any mods. They have asked me to replace the cables regularly?
Whether they would be as honest as I have if needed, I doubt it
Tony

Good to hear it. Wasn't sure if they'd say "no chance".

About a year after I started, I asked my broker to check I was covered to carry a petrol generator (for a gutter vac). They phoned the insurers who, I kid you not, told the broker they were cancelling my insurance from midnight.  My broker pointed out it was just an enquiry and they said they didn't care, my cover was over.  In the manner of 'dump and replace with tw'o, my broker sorted me out a cheaper deal immediately.

So, I would never, ever take it on trust that an insurer would do something normal.

Vin

[Arnold Palmer]

Of those who have immersions in their vans, have any of you 'fessed up to your insurers? Not just that you have hot water but also the way you heat it?  I'd be interested to hear of your experiences.

Vin

I have. I have always been honest with them declaring any mods. They have asked me to replace the cables regularly?
Whether they would be as honest as I have if needed, I doubt it
Tony

Good to hear it. Wasn't sure if they'd say "no chance".

About a year after I started, I asked my broker to check I was covered to carry a petrol generator (for a gutter vac). They phoned the insurers who, I kid you not, told the broker they were cancelling my insurance from midnight.  My broker pointed out it was just an enquiry and they said they didn't care, my cover was over.  In the manner of 'dump and replace with tw'o, my broker sorted me out a cheaper deal immediately.

So, I would never, ever take it on trust that an insurer would do something normal.

Vin

True

Also, Never ever EVER trust an insurance broker. Especially one that has just charged you a second fee for organising your insurance.

[Perfect Windows]

That would only be the case if its totally miss wired in the first place and only then if someone hasn't got a cut out fuse ox which again is very unlikely.
But I can see your point.

I agree - wired correctly and with an RCD and a temperature cut-out it shouldn't fail catastrophically. But I'm also aware of the numbskull questions people have asked about fitting them so I suspect some might not be perfectly well fitted.

And if something does go wrong, all the insurer has to say is "You're running vehicle with an extra risk without telling us.  We would have charged you £100 extra if you'd told us so you were fiddling your premium. We're not paying out".  Even if you were able to sort it out in the end you'd go through a world of pain dealing with it. And a long time without payout.

So I was just interested to hear if anyone had mentioned it and what the response was.

Vin

[Perfect Windows]

True

Also, Never ever EVER trust an insurance broker. Especially one that has just charged you a second fee for organising your insurance.

Indeed. I ended up paying less, so I really didn't care in the end.

Vin

[dazmond]

i used to smoke and drink and take illegal drugs for over 15 years malc...God knows how much i spent!rough estimates are £80k-£100k....and i always ended up feeling a lot worse after briefly feeling better,i also missed lots of days at work from being hungover so you could add a few grand extra on top of them figures in lost earnings......

You only spent £100k over 15 years on drugs, Cigs and alcohol Daz? That’s only £7k a year. I’ve had single sessions that cost more than that. Disappointed in you Daz, thought you used to be hardcore the way you bang on about your addictions ‘back in the day’! 😂😂

probably a lot more than that but.........my memories are a little hazy! .....

[dazmond]

My sums don’t add up here , you say 3 services in 10 years.
Grippa say service every year or the warranty goes out the window ?

pure freedom told me they dont need servicing every year(they are webasto specialists).they can go on for years without a service!i will get the burner replaced and batteries etc in a couple of years but no need at present.....mines nearly a year old now...

nigel ran his for 10 YEARS on the same burner!

grippa warranty is only 3 years anyway.....

both grippa and pure freedom told me to run my diesel heater all day every day with minimum shut down cycles and thats exactly how i run mine,...i keep it running between jobs and even at lunchtime usually......

[G & M]

How much weight does one of these diesel heaters add to your van?

[Michael Peterson]

Right I may be wrong here , but I was always under the impression if it runs on diesel service it every year or it will knack

[Dry Clean]

Daz said:

over the course of 10 years a brand new professionally fitted diesel heater in a new van that you plan to keep for 10 years will cost you around £27 a week(including initial costs and say 3 services in that time plus diesel costs(£80 a month for 10 months each year)so around £14k...

if you earn (say £50k a year),thats £500k in 10 years is £14k acceptable to have hot water every working day for 10 years?

I gave your comment a "like" - but for arguments sake let's say that hot lets you go on average 20% faster and earns you 10K more than you would have otherwise done. (Figure plucked out of my derriere  )

So now that's £100K EXTRA over ten years for 14K investment.

Still looks good.

I'm in my 50s and if I put my mind to it I can clean a four bed detached property in around 10mins using cold water and an xtreme medium mixed brush, (my customers are my judge of quality )  I can understand an immersion for the winter temps and supple hoses but Dazmond's hot system makes absolutely no financial sense what so ever.
I would say £14k wont come close over 10 years, remember if selling the van it all has to be removed, but even at that
£1400 worth of work a year that you need to clean just to stand still certainly has nothing to do with making life easier.

[cleaniac]

Daz said:

over the course of 10 years a brand new professionally fitted diesel heater in a new van that you plan to keep for 10 years will cost you around £27 a week(including initial costs and say 3 services in that time plus diesel costs(£80 a month for 10 months each year)so around £14k...

if you earn (say £50k a year),thats £500k in 10 years is £14k acceptable to have hot water every working day for 10 years?

I gave your comment a "like" - but for arguments sake let's say that hot lets you go on average 20% faster and earns you 10K more than you would have otherwise done. (Figure plucked out of my derriere  )

So now that's £100K EXTRA over ten years for 14K investment.

Still looks good.

I'm in my 50s and if I put my mind to it I can clean a four bed detached property in around 10mins using cold water and an xtreme medium mixed brush, (my customers are my judge of quality )  I can understand an immersion for the winter temps and supple hoses but Dazmond's hot system makes absolutely no financial sense what so ever.
I would say £14k wont come close over 10 years, remember if selling the van it all has to be removed, but even at that
£1400 worth of work a year that you need to clean just to stand still certainly has nothing to do with making life easier.

I agree to a certain extent.

Having installed a c****y gas boiler for hot water, I cleaned a small glass conservatory roof yesterday afternoon that was last cleaned 6 years ago  (a job that i hate, really really hate) and normally it would take me around 2-3 hours. Well i was surprised how well hot water cleans conservatory roofs , the job was done in 45 mins..i felt guilty TBH but it was cleaned so well there really was no point staying longer. Whacked up the temp to 65, and all the green muck, moss stains, and general crud just melted away.

I haven't noticed a huge difference in cleaning power with normal windows though, its about the same as cold in my opinion pehaps the vertical position of the window doesnt allow the hot water to 'work' the surface like a conservatory roof? I dont know..
 

[dazmond]

Daz said:

over the course of 10 years a brand new professionally fitted diesel heater in a new van that you plan to keep for 10 years will cost you around £27 a week(including initial costs and say 3 services in that time plus diesel costs(£80 a month for 10 months each year)so around £14k...

if you earn (say £50k a year),thats £500k in 10 years is £14k acceptable to have hot water every working day for 10 years?

I gave your comment a "like" - but for arguments sake let's say that hot lets you go on average 20% faster and earns you 10K more than you would have otherwise done. (Figure plucked out of my derriere  )

So now that's £100K EXTRA over ten years for 14K investment.

Still looks good.

I'm in my 50s and if I put my mind to it I can clean a four bed detached property in around 10mins using cold water and an xtreme medium mixed brush, (my customers are my judge of quality )  I can understand an immersion for the winter temps and supple hoses but Dazmond's hot system makes absolutely no financial sense what so ever.
I would say £14k wont come close over 10 years, remember if selling the van it all has to be removed, but even at that
£1400 worth of work a year that you need to clean just to stand still certainly has nothing to do with making life easier.

I agree to a certain extent.

Having installed a c****y gas boiler for hot water, I cleaned a small glass conservatory roof yesterday afternoon that was last cleaned 6 years ago  (a job that i hate, really really hate) and normally it would take me around 2-3 hours. Well i was surprised how well hot water cleans conservatory roofs , the job was done in 45 mins..i felt guilty TBH but it was cleaned so well there really was no point staying longer. Whacked up the temp to 65, and all the green muck, moss stains, and general crud just melted away.

I haven't noticed a huge difference in cleaning power with normal windows though, its about the same as cold in my opinion pehaps the vertical position of the window doesnt allow the hot water to 'work' the surface like a conservatory roof? I dont know..

you ve only been using hot water for 5 mins....what about the longer frequency cleans(8-12 weekly) and first cleans you do?you ll notice theyll be easier to clean for sure with hot water....

[Dry Clean]

Exactly, it would be foolish to say that hot water doesn't clean better but this will only be a benefit when better is needed, when I tested hot I wasn't really getting or doing any work that needed it.

[zesty]

My opinion is hot water is nice, it’s easier to work with. But it makes no more money than cold.

There is no way I clean more windows with hot water than cold, it’s more of a luxury than a money maker.

It’s the exact same thing with my electric hose reel, it makes me no more money, i still do the same rounds as I did without one, it’s just easier, and that really is the only benefit, easier work.

[dazmond]

if you can afford it why not buy(and have installed)a diesel heater to make your working life easier?if your earning well out of window cleaning £1400 a year to have a low hassle, safe way of heating water every day and frost protection to boot is not too expensive,i bet my diesel costs are still lower than some of you guys WITHOUT  a diesel heater!as i do very little mileage(less than 4000 miles a year),i have very low tap tds(029!) and i earn over £40k a year.it wont be long before i hit the £50k mark i reckon over the next few years.......

ive experimented with various DIY hot systems over the years and its not for me anymore.....

[cleaniac]

if you can afford it why not buy(and have installed)a diesel heater to make your working life easier?if your earning well out of window cleaning £1400 a year to have a low hassle, safe way of heating water every day and frost protection to boot is not too expensive,i bet my diesel costs are still lower than some of you guys WITHOUT  a diesel heater!as i do very little mileage(less than 4000 miles a year),i have very low tap tds(029!) and i earn over £40k a year.it wont be long before i hit the £50k mark i reckon over the next few years.......

ive experimented with various DIY hot systems over the years and its not for me anymore.....

Daz you might want to consider going LTD status. Sole trader earning near 50k a year its not worth it with the amount of tax you will be paying..assuming of course you are declaring your income. 

[dazmond]

How much weight does one of these diesel heaters add to your van?

not sure but i cant see it being heavier than the 50L trolley i used to have in the back of my old van!

[P @ F]

When you use the recirculation loop on the grippa is it purely to keep hot in the hoses or does it raise the tank  water by a significant amount .
 

[dazmond]

if you can afford it why not buy(and have installed)a diesel heater to make your working life easier?if your earning well out of window cleaning £1400 a year to have a low hassle, safe way of heating water every day and frost protection to boot is not too expensive,i bet my diesel costs are still lower than some of you guys WITHOUT  a diesel heater!as i do very little mileage(less than 4000 miles a year),i have very low tap tds(029!) and i earn over £40k a year.it wont be long before i hit the £50k mark i reckon over the next few years.......

ive experimented with various DIY hot systems over the years and its not for me anymore.....

Daz you might want to consider going LTD status. Sole trader earning near 50k a year its not worth it with the amount of tax you will be paying..assuming of course you are declaring your income. 

cheers mate..ill look into it when im nearly there......another 2 years i reckon with a few price rises and a few better priced jobs....