[trevor povey]

Considering getting a  hot water system..always gone pure freedom for van mounts etc ..bit pricey their system ..just wondering any alternatives out there from other suppliers..cheers 

[Spruce]

Considering getting a  hot water system..always gone pure freedom for van mounts etc ..bit pricey their system ..just wondering any alternatives out there from other suppliers..cheers

They are all pricey.  If you want a comparison, then ask Ionics for a price. 😅

If you are going down that route then my advice is to go for a 2 operator system. (The reason for a 2 man system is that you can plumb the second system into the tank to bleed of any excess heat to stop the boiler switching off and then restarting. This means that you need a second pump and controller if you only have one.)

I would also only buy a system that uses a 9.1kw boiler and stay away from the cheaper diesel heaters of 5.2kw as they don't provide enough heat imho.

I see some suppliers are using Webasto's inbuilt electronic heat control and calling it summer and winter settings. This means they have done away with the mixer valve which we use to manually adjust the temperature output. It's a pity they are doing this. Ionics started doing this first, but they run their system differently.

My heater is plumbed into the diesel tank. When we use the heater, then the heater uses more diesel a day than the van does as most of our work is within a 10 mile radius of where we live.

I don't know what your leisure battery is, but if it's a lead acid leisure battery, then most suppliers recommend 2 x110 amp batteries with either a split charge relay or dc to dc charger depending on the model of your van.

Batteries best recharged every night with a smart leisure battery charger.

Do you have an electric reel?  If so, all the more reason to have twin batteries.

I also recommend you do a search on the forum on diesel heaters. There are so many posts on here over the years regarding using these heaters.

[Scottish Cleaning Service]

I went down to Cambridge and got Grippatank to speedline my van and fit 2 man 650l hotwater system. Took about 5 days all in and have electric reels. Best thing I did and its paid back many times over.

[KS Cleaning]

I went down to Cambridge and got Grippatank to speedline my van and fit 2 man 650l hotwater system. Took about 5 days all in and have electric reels. Best thing I did and its paid back many times over.

I really don’t understand, if you’ve spent good money on the best equipment for window cleaning, why you would want to waste time fixing gutters, etc etc etc?

[Scottish Cleaning Service]

I went down to Cambridge and got Grippatank to speedline my van and fit 2 man 650l hotwater system. Took about 5 days all in and have electric reels. Best thing I did and its paid back many times over.

I really don’t understand, if you’ve spent good money on the best equipment for window cleaning, why you would want to waste time fixing gutters, etc etc etc?

I'll tell you then. I'm a joiner to trade and many of my windy customers know this because I used to do work for them before my window cleaner fell from ladder and never came back. We couldn't get anyone so I decided to clean mine and the neighbours in 2018. Only had 20 customers and then covid happened and the cleaning side took off. So instead of paying tax I bought equipment because I have the fire service pension. So I would need to turn round to all my customers and say I only do windows now and make alot of money but would end up depressed.

Left house today at 8.15am and came home at noon. Trouserd £200 and had lunch and went across road and repaired 2 big pvc windows for one of my customers. I'm replacing all the pvc around all his windows but only doing 2 a month. Varity is the way forward in window cleaning because it has one big advantage, customers want to hold on to you. If they cancel then I cancel doing any more work for them and they know it because a customer near me cancelled and then text me to put up their Christmas lights. I texted back saying I only do work for my window cleaning customers so she needed to get someone else.

Its not really about money, its about holding on to good customers. My father was a multi millionaire but he was a horrible person. I never inherited any of it when he died but all my life I have worked even when in school as I have his work ethic in my dna. I'm at the stage if I like someone I will provide my service, if I don't like them I tell them I'm too busy.

Once a customer knows what you can do then they wait till you clean their windows and say "while you are here" can you have a look at this. This week it was a cistern that kept running. I said I will be back in the area tomorrow and after my windows I will come back and fit a new flow valve and it will cost you £50. It was a tenner for the new valve and I fitted it in an hour, One very happy customer as I saved her a few bob and the main point is, she trusts me and sees me every month. The last time she got a plumber who changed a rad for her, she woke up in the morning and her hall was flooded.

Hope you understand now, the reason I like fixing things and the money is a bonus. In life you need money to make money. I spent £6k on a gas course but it was not for me because the windows took off but it comes in handy now and then.

One bit of advice I would give everyone, spend money on training courses because it pays back in spadefuls. Money always goes to knowledge, the more you know about anything the more money will come in because it always has. 😉

[dazmond]

Considering getting a  hot water system..always gone pure freedom for van mounts etc ..bit pricey their system ..just wondering any alternatives out there from other suppliers..cheers

Mine was £4.5k from grippatank nearly 7 years ago now(9kw webasto).It's been very reliable and used every working day.

I would only get one fitted in a brand new van that your planning on keeping for 15 years or so. It's not something you want to be switching out every few years IMO due to the fuel tank integration and holes drilled into the floor for air inlet and exhaust

[dazmond]

I think PF use a separate diesel tank that you'll have to top up using a jerry can which is not ideal. Always better to have it integrated into your existing fuel tank 👍

[Spruce]

I think PF use a separate diesel tank that you'll have to top up using a jerry can which is not ideal. Always better to have it integrated into your existing fuel tank 👍

I thought it was a 20 litre Jerry can.

These heaters use around 1.25 litres of diesel an hour according to the manufacturer's specs.
If you are working for 6 hours a day with heat, then that Jerry can will only not quite last 3 days. Not sure if I want to go to the garage every 3 days for diesel.

The other issue with a Jerry can is that it has not fuel gauge to let you know how much fuel is left.

[Scottish Cleaning Service]

I would like to go on a Webasto engineer course so I could service my own and a nice little side line helping other windies.