[jonboywalton75]

I've always worked without a controller but i was getting fed up with pressure switches burning out.
Other than protecting the PS what other benefits will i see.
And any tips on using the spring controller I've just bought from GPS

[Simon Trapani]

It’ll use less amps out of your battery making the battery last longer.

[֍Winp®oClean֍]

It will keep your chosen flow rate consistent regardless of the height of your pole. You will also have total and precise control of the pressure too.
As Simon said, you will use far less battery power. I run all day direct from the van battery and always have done.

[M & C Window Cleaning]

If you are having problems with burning out pressure switches and don’t want to use a controller or prefer to work with a simple PWM controller that doesn’t have the CAL feature, you can wire in a 40 amp auto relay to feed power to the pump instead.
Just done this for my daughter’s trolley and it cost me all of £12 for the controller and 100x68x50mm box to put it in, and £4 for the relay and Fuse holder.
After I did this for my first trolley I’ve used it for nearly three years with no issues. I was burning through micro switches at a silly rate prior to that.

The principal is that you separate the pressure switch from the motor circuit and use it instead to power the relay which only uses milliamps instead of the several amps it takes to power the pump. You then route the power to the pump through the other side of the relay which can easily handle the pump load.

If anyone’s interested I’ll re-post the wiring diagram I originally used plus  a couple of additions showing where I fitted connectors (I used Wago connectors as they are reusable)

[jonboywalton75]

I like a high flow and the first thing I have noticed is that i cant get as good a flow as before with the setting on 99

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Not sure if it's the same with all controllers but I've had five and regularly use three and they've all been the same. I first noticed this when testing one years back and recently noticed it again when setting up my daughter's trolley.

[dazmond]

I like a high flow and the first thing I have noticed is that i cant get as good a flow as before with the setting on 99

how old is your pump?i had my controller set on 50 today and it was easily high enough,really good strong flow!it was gushing out of the jets!...i normally have it on 40-45 and its still good for splashing and dashing......

[֍Winp®oClean֍]

I like a high flow and the first thing I have noticed is that i cant get as good a flow as before with the setting on 99

Are you sure the pump isn't cutting out due to pressure value being set too low?

[jonboywalton75]

I like a high flow and the first thing I have noticed is that i cant get as good a flow as before with the setting on 99

Are you sure the pump isn't cutting out due to pressure value being set too low?

The pump isn't cutting out, its a steady flow

[jonboywalton75]

I like a high flow and the first thing I have noticed is that i cant get as good a flow as before with the setting on 99

how old is your pump?i had my controller set on 50 today and it was easily high enough,really good strong flow!it was gushing out of the jets!...i normally have it on 40-45 and its still good for splashing and dashing......

Its a new pump
Does the cal value change the flow?

[dazmond]

I like a high flow and the first thing I have noticed is that i cant get as good a flow as before with the setting on 99

how old is your pump?i had my controller set on 50 today and it was easily high enough,really good strong flow!it was gushing out of the jets!...i normally have it on 40-45 and its still good for splashing and dashing......

Its a new pump
Does the cal value change the flow?

i have my CAL on 25 but i use hot water so this is fine for me....id set your CAL higher mate......this will have an effect on your flow for sure....

[Stoots]

It`ll save your battery and wear on your pump.

I dont like them really ive always used no controller, you get a much better flow without and a nice jet wash effect letting the pressure build up.

But when i started working 2 man i had to get some as i was destroying batterys.

[Dave Willis]

Analogue version is so much easier to use 

[Ian Sheppard]

I like a high flow and the first thing I have noticed is that i cant get as good a flow as before with the setting on 99

Are you sure the pump isn't cutting out due to pressure value being set too low?

The pump isn't cutting out, its a steady flow


[/quote}

The calibration value allows the pump to know when to switch the pump as the pole valve is closed, The higher the calibration value the longer it will take the controller to stop the pump ( Dead end) however even at a high calibration this would still be well before the pump pressure switch activates. Cal value does not have a direct impact on pressure during open flow.  When your calibrating the controller to your system a suggestion is to run Cal at the flow rate your going to use the most. The controler can be calibrated at any flow rate ( We just use 30 in the guide to give a common start point)

Pressure in the system is generated by the pump, Hoses and Brush jets. Please see the following link http://springltd.co/blog/84/flow-resistance-and-volume

Water volume at the brush head may appear to be different, But Im guessing the pump is a 5.2 LPM. The litre per minute rate is measured at the pump outlet with no restriction, Once a hose is connected to the outlet we introduce a restriction because the hose has a finite capacity  in the amount of water it can carry. Once the hose reaches this capacity it does not matter how much more the pump tries to push in flow volume will not be increased. This is because the hose wall resistance creates a restriction  to a point where water velocity increases But the flow volume and pressure both fall. Turning the flow rate back a little can counter intuitively improve water volume and pressure because there is less resistance from the hose

A suggestion would be to measure the flow rate at the brush and  you will likely find little difference in volume at the brush with the flow rate set to around 65 - 80 and 99. This will be due to the hose reaching its maximum capacity at 65-80 give or take a bit.

Other benefits of a controller beyond protecting the pressure switch, would be that the pump runs cooler so less load on the motor. This is achieved because the controller returns any unused current back to the battery rather than this unused current heating the pump. Current draw of the pump will be lower even run hard amp draw will be 2 -3 amps less than with no controller.

The controller has Over current protection so if the pump suddenly draws high current due to a wire fault it will shut the pump down rather than the short heating to a point where cables are red hot. The controller also carries out an electrical test on the circuit and in the event of a fault condition will shut down the pump. The controller has a volt meter to monitor the battery. The volt meter can be a useful diagnostic tool. 

[Dave Willis]

 “Turning the flow rate back a little can counter intuitively improve water volume and pressure because there is less resistance from the hose”

Interesting that, because I thought it was just me. There’s an optimum position and it’s not flat out, not with microbore anyway.

[jonboywalton75]

I like a high flow and the first thing I have noticed is that i cant get as good a flow as before with the setting on 99

Are you sure the pump isn't cutting out due to pressure value being set too low?

The pump isn't cutting out, its a steady flow


[/quote}

The calibration value allows the pump to know when to switch the pump as the pole valve is closed, The higher the calibration value the longer it will take the controller to stop the pump ( Dead end) however even at a high calibration this would still be well before the pump pressure switch activates. Cal value does not have a direct impact on pressure during open flow.  When your calibrating the controller to your system a suggestion is to run Cal at the flow rate your going to use the most. The controler can be calibrated at any flow rate ( We just use 30 in the guide to give a common start point)

Pressure in the system is generated by the pump, Hoses and Brush jets. Please see the following link http://springltd.co/blog/84/flow-resistance-and-volume

Water volume at the brush head may appear to be different, But Im guessing the pump is a 5.2 LPM. The litre per minute rate is measured at the pump outlet with no restriction, Once a hose is connected to the outlet we introduce a restriction because the hose has a finite capacity  in the amount of water it can carry. Once the hose reaches this capacity it does not matter how much more the pump tries to push in flow volume will not be increased. This is because the hose wall resistance creates a restriction  to a point where water velocity increases But the flow volume and pressure both fall. Turning the flow rate back a little can counter intuitively improve water volume and pressure because there is less resistance from the hose

A suggestion would be to measure the flow rate at the brush and  you will likely find little difference in volume at the brush with the flow rate set to around 65 - 80 and 99. This will be due to the hose reaching its maximum capacity at 65-80 give or take a bit.

Other benefits of a controller beyond protecting the pressure switch, would be that the pump runs cooler so less load on the motor. This is achieved because the controller returns any unused current back to the battery rather than this unused current heating the pump. Current draw of the pump will be lower even run hard amp draw will be 2 -3 amps less than with no controller.

The controller has Over current protection so if the pump suddenly draws high current due to a wire fault it will shut the pump down rather than the short heating to a point where cables are red hot. The controller also carries out an electrical test on the circuit and in the event of a fault condition will shut down the pump. The controller has a volt meter to monitor the battery. The volt meter can be a useful diagnostic tool.

Thanks for the reply Ian
I'll try your suggestions
Cheers

[jonboywalton75]

Set my cal to 70, now flow is top notch

[dazmond]

Set my cal to 70, now flow is top notch

glad its working fine for you now jon......

[jonboywalton75]

Yeah beginning to realise i should have used a controller all these past years.
Anyway, how are you doing Daz?

[Stoots]

I didnt use a controller for years, I bought some about a year ago but I always used them on cal 99 and flow 99. Any less and it seemed pointless as the flow wasnt great.

Anyway It must have been the setup in my van that was causing a poor flow, either pumps were past it or they were too high because I got a new pump at the weekend and installed the controller in my truck and it was much better.

Yesterday I used the settings for pretty much the first time ever, mainly because I was running out of water having a smaller tank. The cal function I found particularly useful because turning it down there was no pressure washer effect on opening the univalve. I managed to make my 500l tank last all day, im convinced I would have run out using my normal full whack approach. Also I got back with my batt voltage reading 12.5v. Usually the battery is down in the 11s or even 10s after a hard day with no controller. Probably why I went through 1 or 2 battery's a year. I'll be sticking with a controller form now on.