[doak]

hi

what is the cheapest water fed pole system for a beginner to learn his way on

trolley mounted or back pack
complete kit inc making the water pure

cheers
links would be great (cheapest i found 995, but really on tight budget)

[Jewel Cleaning]

Step one:

Buy one of these tds meters: www.cleaningspot.co.uk/acatalog/TDS_meters.html#aTDS3

Test your water, and come back here with the results!

[Dean Aspects]

A back pack would be a good starter as when you finally upgrade to a van system the back pack will still be useful for awkward jobs as for making pure water you will need to find out the tds of your water if its low then a di vessel will do the job if its higher then you will need an ro and a static tank and transfer pump you will also need water barrels to carry with you to top up the back pack

[LWC Ltd]

If you are thinking short term just to try out the results then here's a shopping list:

30ft Unger teleplus pole,
Angle adapter
Broom holder cone
Length of external pole hose
Vikan brush to fit thread

That's your pole sorted.  (£120 ish)

Then to make the water:

To start with you could use a filled DI resin vessel to make the pure water. If your TDS is high then you're best to get a RO system. But if you won't be using it much or your TDS is low just use resin.
2 Vessels are better than one cos you can use 1 as a pre filter for other one to make resin last longer.

25 Litres of resin (recommend Dowex)
DI vessel or 2 if intend to always use resin without RO.

That's the pure water sorted: (£140 ish)

Getting the water up there:

You can either use it straight off the tap pressure or with a back pack.

Straight off outside tap pressure would work where there is a tap.
Back pack.  (£150 - Williamsons
Decent trolley to mount backpack and DI vessel on. (£30)

Other bits and pieces:

TDS meter
Connectors
Length of hose
Spare back pack battery
5 or 6 20L cannisters. (You can refill on the job if you have the DI vessel on your trolley)

That'll get you off to a good start if you're on a tight budget. 

Your looking at £500 for this set up and you don't need to get a van if you don't have one already.

[doak]

awesome thanks guys

will get tds a come back


cheeeers

[matt]

build your own

check out the DIY site

<--------- e.mail me for a link

[doak]

thanks mate gr8 site

[Paul Coleman]

The water will be pretty hard as you're in Suffolk.  DI only would be a cheap start up to make pure water but you would really need an RO system if you want to get into it.  Not everyone persists with window cleaning.  If you're not sure whether you want to do it for the longer term, why not start with DI to see how you get on?  DI only would only give you around 2000 litres per sack (around £75) at 250 TDS and you would need two DI vessels ideally.  If you get the DI vessels, they won't be wasted as they could go after an RO unit if/when you get one.
Omnipole do a 30 litre backpack on a trolley that looks pretty good at £395 (I think).
Then some 25 litre containers at whatever they cost.
If you want to get into it in Suffolk though, there's no getting away from an RO and storage tank with transfer pump I'm afraid even if you don't do it straight away.

[doak]

yeah water is as hard as hulk hogan
is there a "idiots guide " to w fp
as i dont really understand how an ro and di etc work
cheers

[LSA]

Might be worth knowing your water pressure

[poleman]

yeah water is as hard as hulk hogan
is there a "idiots guide " to w fp
as i dont really understand how an ro and di etc work
cheers

A Ro system, will make 95% pure water and the di (mix bed resin) does the 5%

If your not on a water meter, then get a Merlin Ro, as its cheap and last some years, you best bet (if you have a garage) put a IBC tank in and make pure water when you are working, then when you come home, you can refill it ready for the next days work

Andy

[doak]

ok say if i do one house a day   how much water would i need and how much would be waste?

[poleman]

About 2lts a min at the brush head. normal house 10 15 mins

A merlin has a high waste 3 to 1 thats why I said about best if you wasnt on a meter

[doak]

yeah i on a meter
would aim to do at the moment before i tempt it full time approx is 10-20 house at the weekend

i like the look of the diy unit matt suggested   may startwit one of those


fingers crossed

what do you guys do in winter regarding freezing tanks in sheds ?
and do you still clean  with poles when it rains?

cheers

[poleman]

Light rain yes, heavy rain no, I am on the south coast so frost isn’t really a problem, if it is for you, stick a greenhouse heater in your van or shed/garage