[jay moley]

I use a high flow as I find it speeds up my rinsing and so overall I work faster.

Yesterday after 4 hours work the flow went right down. Couldn't rinse properly.

I checked for air gaps in connections but no joy. Could it be the controller? A red light was flashing which I haven't seen before. I have the old style dile style controller.

What are the possible causes and what are the fixes?

Thanks

[Simon Trapani]

I would guess your battery voltage is dropping off after a few hours. Probably needs replacing. A lot of people don’t know how to look after their battery properly.

[windowswashed]

Fit a smart battery to battery charger to avoid running your battery down during prolonged use, helps keep your battery at it's maximum charge so kinder on your battery in the long term.

[jay moley]

I'm connected to my van battery.

[Simon Trapani]

That’s your problem then. Fit a seperate high ampage  leisure battery. Bench charge it every night (easier in situ). Maybe fit a battery to battery charger or scr depending on the age of your vehicle to help keep you topped up in between bench charges.

[Scottish Cleaning Service]

How old is your system battery? Do you have one or two system batteries?

[Simon Trapani]

He doesn’t have a system battery. He’s running it off the van battery he said.

[windowswashed]

He doesn’t have a system battery. He’s running it off the van battery he said.

Run your pump too long on van starter battery and you'll end up with a flat battery and will need a jump  start, madness killing a perfectly good battery.

[simon w]

Temperatures have dropped a bit, might be your controller needs calibrating , pump tricked into thinking it's on a low flow. To check if this is the issue, disconnect half inch hose from hose reel and just run/return water back to tank directly from half inch hose, leave running for a few minutes going through all the flow rates/settings then return it back to where you want the flow, connect back to hose reel and see if pump is running correct speed. 

[Spruce]

I'm not an advocate of running the pump off the van's starter battery.

We tried it with 3 different vans, and the starter battery was flat in 4 days. We later replaced van number 3's battery and tried it again. Same result.

I need to recharge my van's starter battery every couple of weeks. Our neighbour down the road has the same van except 2 years younger. He's a plumber, and he needs to do the same.

Temperatures have dropped a bit, might be your controller needs calibrating , pump tricked into thinking it's on a low flow. To check if this is the issue, disconnect half inch hose from hose reel and just run/return water back to tank directly from half inch hose, leave running for a few minutes going through all the flow rates/settings then return it back to where you want the flow, connect back to hose reel and see if pump is running correct speed. 

He could just try and run the engine when the pump slows down and see if that rectifies the situation. I concur with others that it sounds like a battery state of charge issue, either flat or needs replacing. The other thought could be a faulty connection. A faulty connection can heat up with resistance and restrict current flow. The fuse holder is a prime suspect.

The other question is; is the tank venting?

[jay moley]

I dont think it's the van battery issue as Im only 5 mins between jobs and I have a back up pump that I switched to yesterday and it was fine. Could it just be a knackered controller?

[Scottish Cleaning Service]

That's the first time I have heard of running a system from the van's battery. Surly this would be the quickest way to burn out the battery unless you charged it after every session. Everyday a school day and another way to run a van system but as Spruce says :- Run the van and rev it up and get someone to hold the pole. If it works fine then the battery is near flat and needs replacing. I found this out when I failed to charge my batteries and needed two new ones.

[Simon Trapani]

I dont think it's the van battery issue as Im only 5 mins between jobs and I have a back up pump that I switched to yesterday and it was fine. Could it just be a knackered controller?

How you come to that conclusion? That  says to me you’ve identified it as a pump issue.

I still wouldn’t run off the van battery though.
Too many window cleaners try to cut corners on things in general imo. Battery being one of them. Insurance is another - see other thread🤣

[Scottish Cleaning Service]

Many windies move on to wfp from Trad and think you need no money to start up. You either save up and get a system fitted or you build your own. Once you go down the build your own system then you need the money to buy new equipment. Some try and buy second hand and it usually ends in breakdowns, frustration and lost output. Best thing is to save up and get a system fitted then you are good to go from the beginning. fwiw

[Simon Trapani]

Many windies move on to wfp from Trad and think you need no money to start up. You either save up and get a system fitted or you build your own. Once you go down the build your own system then you need the money to buy new equipment. Some try and buy second hand and it usually ends in breakdowns, frustration and lost output. Best thing is to save up and get a system fitted then you are good to go from the beginning. fwiw

You don’t need to tell me. I’ve been cleaning  windows full time for 32 years, 18 on a ladder. Not a lot I haven’t seen. Personally I’d rather build my own system. That way I know exactly how it works & where every wire & hose goes. Saying that, I’m always still learning. This forum alone is an eye opener!

[Scottish Cleaning Service]

You don’t need to tell me. I’ve been cleaning  windows full time for 32 years, 18 on a ladder. Not a lot I haven’t seen. Personally I’d rather build my own system. That way I know exactly how it works & where every wire & hose goes. Saying that, I’m always still learning. This forum alone is an eye opener!

Aye, okay if one has knowledge of what it consists of. I didn't have a clue and didn't know anyone who did. After Grippa fitted it I began to understand how it all fits together even the RO system.

[jay moley]

I dont think it's the van battery issue as Im only 5 mins between jobs and I have a back up pump that I switched to yesterday and it was fine. Could it just be a knackered controller?

How you come to that conclusion? That  says to me you’ve identified it as a pump issue.

I still wouldn’t run off the van battery though.
Too many window cleaners try to cut corners on things in general imo. Battery being one of them. Insurance is another - see other thread🤣

Fitted two new pumps when I bought and fitted out my new van four months ago.

[windowswashed]

It doesn't matter what you use to pull juice from a battery, if it ain't charging at the same time it's obvious it's getting depleted. Need to charge it in between to keep it topped up  via B2B charger, alternator or solar.

[windowswashed]

I started wfp in 2001 and only one other person was using it near me, it was a fast learning curve making plenty of mistakes but there wasn't the help around to find stuff out so had to learn from the ground up building my own systems.

It was very hard back then trying to sell wfp to customers when they all wanted shiners going up ladders, soon learnt how to sell myself and the benefits. So easy for start ups now going on the internet.

[Slacky]

You don’t need to tell me. I’ve been cleaning  windows full time for 32 years, 18 on a ladder. Not a lot I haven’t seen. Personally I’d rather build my own system. That way I know exactly how it works & where every wire & hose goes. Saying that, I’m always still learning. This forum alone is an eye opener!

Aye, okay if one has knowledge of what it consists of. I didn't have a clue and didn't know anyone who did. After Grippa fitted it I began to understand how it all fits together even the RO system.

How long have you cleaned windows traditionally?