[Pole2pole]

Hi lads. Another day another headache  I used me hosereel for the first time today. 100psi shurflo pump, varistream 2, 100 meters of microbore. Switch it on and it comes out like a dream  for about 5 seconds  So i turned it off,whacked the varistream up to about 1 o clock...great  for about 5 more seconds    where it turned to a trickle again. Same thing happened at 3 o clock. So in time honoured fashion, i packed it all up and got good ol faithful backpack out. What am i doing wrong guys??? Is it something to do with that lil blue dial in the varistream box? What setting should it be on for the setup that i have???
Cheers for any advice, Dino

[NWH]

What are you doing using it on 1 o`clock and 3 o`clock on the dial for?that`s far to much flow for cleaning window`s,try turning it up slowly from 6 o`clock up to the desired setting.If you use it at to higher flow rate with microbore it will need adjusting on the blue dial,it performs much better with 8mm minibore i`ve turned the blue dial 2 notches anti clockwise from factory setting,the pump shuts off after about 5 seconds.If you need to turn the flow right up you will need to adjust the blue dial accordingly,otherwise it will keep turning on and off.

[Alex Gardiner]

Try removing the varistream!

[NWH]

Thank`s for arranging that section for me Alex,i`ll ring Kirsty tomorrow.Don`t forget to put that prototype brush in with it LOL.

[Pole2pole]

I'll try that alex thanks. It worked fine with a small pole the other day come to think of it. Maybe it's a kink in the hose. I'll go and have a play before it gets dark. 

[Pole2pole]

I've just tried(bypassing the 100m microbore,and using the short pole) and i'm only really starting to get a decent flow at 1 o clock............Is this a blue dial issue anyone???  :

[Pole2pole]

anyone??? 

[NWH]

Can you try using it with a different hose with a bigger diameter,and how old is the pump.

[Moderator David@stives]

if you are using 100 m of microbore then you need 3 0'clock + . I use mine on full wack and it gives me just less than 2 litres a min.

Hope this helps

[NWH]

I use 100mtrs of minibore and use mine on 10.30-11.00,i use a shurflo 100psi and find if turned up any higher it`s to much.

[Moderator David@stives]

nwh

What flow rate do you get on that setting ?

I also use 100psi Sureflo and 10-30  -   11-00 would give me about 1 litre a min which isnt enough for me

[Pole2pole]

Hi Dave. How ya doin? Don't see ya much nowdays. I reckon 3 o clock would do it mate. I'm just so used to havin it on 10-11 on the trolley but i guess she has to work much harder with a hosereel. I've just taken 8-10 meters off of the microbore. Mainly cos it kept snagging as i think it was just a bit too much for the hosereel. Maybe it'll improve performance too a little bit. I'll find out in the morrow 

[NWH]

It`s the minibore which has made all the difference Dave,at that setting i said i get enough water at the brushhead for 1st cleans even,i would never dream of using it on your kind of setting it would be far to much water.To give you an example,as the water jets out the brush the water dips 18"-2ft from the brushhead,that`s more than enough for me.

[Pole2pole]

The pumps coming up to a couple of years old NWH.........Never given me any probs though to be honest. I nicked it off my now,laying on the scrapheap trolley  

[dai]

A small diameter hose and loads of coils on the reel will increase back pressure. The water can't get away as fast as the pump is pushing it. When this back pressure builds up, it's the same as you stopping the flow at the brush head. The pump will stop. As some of the water comes out of your jets, the amount of back pressure drops, and the pump turns on again.
Your varistream is your pressure switch when fitted correctly, so you have to adjust the small blue dial. The higher you turn it up, the greater the pressure has to be before your pump will switch off. Take care with this, or you could end up blowing off connectors. Your 100 PSI pump will actually be putting out 130 PSI with the blue dial set at maximum. Don't forget, you disabled the pump pressure switch when you connected the Varistream. The pump will no longer stop when 100 PSI is reached.
As each of our systems is different, so are our Varistream settings. The size of jets you use and the diameter of your hoses, amount of hose left on your reel all come into the equasion Hope this makes sense.                                                                Dai

[NWH]

Therefore it will blow your pipes off.

[Pole2pole]

Interesting Dai....It seemed to work fine today,but the pressure builiding up as i was cutting the flow for half a dozen seconds was like vesuvius on a bad day..........am i right in thinkin i should turn the dial down somewhat? :

[jeff1]

Varistream 2 with 100mtrs 8mm microbore and I use mine at 10 'O'clock for normal use or 11/12 'O'clock for a first clean.

What I found was I spent about an hour playing with the blue pot in the varistream and my hose pulled out a different lenghts until I had the optimum setting on my varistream,
I now have an excellent jet from my brush head, play around with your varistream pot until it gives you your desired flow rate.

There are no 2 set-ups the same, even though we have the same equipment from the same manufacturers, small variations in the Tolerance's of electronic components see to this, the only way manufactures of electronics can give a near true indication of tolerance, is by using top quality components of 1% tolerance, and not the 10% tolerance I have in mine. this would then add about another 30% to the price of a varistream.
Your battery capacity also plays a part, this can also be governed by the cable size and lenght and battery clips we use.

Also the hose's may be from different batches, this may create a slight difference in hose diameter and the way its wound on the reel can play a small part in different flow rates.
So you see, no two systems are identical and we can only give you a guid.

The only true answer, is to play with your own varistream, until optimum pressure at your brush is obtained.

[Davew]

Try removing the varistream!

So Alex I have nothing to fear when the day comes and my Varistreem packs up - just run without it?

[spotless2000]

The pumps coming up to a couple of years old

What about the filter prior to the pump?

My flow reduced to a trickle this week.  Poor preventative maintenance on my part.  This filter was coated with a brown film.  A quick clean and all was good.

Steve