[Clive McDonald]

I'm looking for a good reel with metal parts that is robust enough to take been driven by a motor.I've seen some nice looking ones on the gardiners site, but it says something about the handle being the plumbing plug, and i need to be able to remove the handle.

Anyone know what a good quality reel is, or where to get one from

[concept]

http://www.purefreedom.co.uk/metalhosereel.html is what i am looking to order tonight, unless anyone knows any better ones?

[Clive McDonald]

I'll go along with that. Seems the best of the cheap ones, but are there any better ones?

[Alex Gardiner]

I'm looking for a good reel with metal parts that is robust enough to take been driven by a motor.I've seen some nice looking ones on the gardiners site, but it says something about the handle being the plumbing plug, and i need to be able to remove the handle.

Anyone know what a good quality reel is, or where to get one from

It's only this reel that the handle acts as the plumbing plug.


All the rest have either removable or folding handles.

[STEVE-UK]

i know these are one of the best reels money can buy, larger versions are used on u.s fire engines

 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=150346062419

[Clive McDonald]

Que 1 do you still sell the electric one you mentioned once

Que 2 I want something tough, but i want to take the handle off and drive it electicly, do you think any one stands out as being more suited than the others.

But part of my thinking is, if i'm to spend 200 on a reel and diy it, why not 500? for the proper job.

[Alex Gardiner]

Que 1 do you still sell the electric one you mentioned once

Que 2 I want something tough, but i want to take the handle off and drive it electicly, do you think any one stands out as being more suited than the others.

But part of my thinking is, if i'm to spend 200 on a reel and diy it, why not 500? for the proper job.

Answer 1 - We can still supply the electric reel.  It is an electric version of the blue reel that I posted above but with the separate speed controller the cost is about £850!


Answer 2 -  The one that I think would be most suited to taking the handle off and driving electrically would be this one:

[Alex Gardiner]

email sent.
On the electric one are we talking auto rewind with some guidance and quite a brisk inward wind that can be connected to a leisure battery?

Email received.  The electric one has to have a separate variable speed controller to control the 1/3Hp motor.  Basically, it can rewind it as fast as you want or as slow as you want.  It could be connected to a leisure battery but it would drain it very quickly.  The importers recommend running the vehicle whilst operating to avoid flattening the battery - not an option I think for most of us window cleaners.

[ftp]

Just pay the boy a few pence more to reel them both in.

[Oakley Windows]

Yea, you got a 'boy' now!! what are you paying him to do....sit round picking his nose?

Get crankin' boy!!....NOW!!!   

[Clive McDonald]

Not knowing anything about electrics i use three 1.3ah batteries on my two electicaly driven reels to power a motive force makita drill.Because all three were drained yesterday, todays cunning plan was to take an invertor and the battery charger so that after some use a battery was swopped.This worked well with me never having to use battery three at all, but swopping the others a couple of times.

On the last job one of the reels gave in, hence me needing a new one.


I still think the electric reel alex mentioned might be viable, especially if the battery drain thing turned out to be rubbish.

[Window Washers]

Not knowing anything about electrics i use three 1.3ah batteries on my two electicaly driven reels to power a motive force makita drill.Because all three were drained yesterday, todays cunning plan was to take an invertor and the battery charger so that after some use a battery was swopped.This worked well with me never having to use battery three at all, but swopping the others a couple of times.

On the last job one of the reels gave in, hence me needing a new one.


I still think the electric reel alex mentioned might be viable, especially if the battery drain thing turned out to be rubbish.

I love to listen to these posts from you, as you will not be defeated, and fair play to you Clive.
seems a ball ache to me, for what is a quick job anyway, but I do read with interest.

Ian

[matt]

clive here is what to do

i guess these drills are either 12 V , 14.4 or  18 Volt drills

if they are fairly new my guess will be with the 14.4 V

you will see what they are on the side of the drill

remove battery and look at the PLUS and NEG terminals on the drill ( they are up in the handle part where the battery plugs in ( you can see on the battery which is PLUS and NEG )

either :
get 2 small croc clips ( you might not be bale to get them to stay on, thus option 2 )

OR

buy some of these ( halfords will sell them i guess ) http://www.speeding.co.uk/acatalog/Rear_Screen_Heater_Tab_Adhesive_.html

stick them on the plates on the drill and attach some wire

NOW run these wires to some croc clips and attach to a leisure / car battery

job done, no messing about with recharging small batteries

[matt]

oh and it doesnt really matter what Volt the battery is, as the car battery will be 12 V, it will just mean the drill will run a  touch slower

[Nathanael Jones]

I've a 24V drill that I have wired up to the WFP battery and it worked quite well. Not as powerful as when i had the 24v battery in,.. but it'd defo wind a reel and no chance of it burning out the motor.

[Clive McDonald]

Thanks for that Matt i'll look into it and see if it works.The drill is 18, and when the battery is first inserted it is a bit fierce, so less power might be better.It's a bit bonkers that i can do something with two bits of wire and those import people can do the same and flatten a car battery.If Alex proposed a more reasonable cost say 800 all in i might have a go and then it could be ascertained if it worked or not.You'd think these cox people would want to push a new market.Here's what i wrote before i saw your reply.

When i first put my system together it was always going wrong- airlocks ,pumps cycling- now it never does.The same with hot- loud bangs in the back of the van and clouds of steam as another hose blew up like a bycycle tyre and popped.Now never a peep of a problem.

Now , as you know i have just switched to two poles, two pumps, and two reels and all sorts of things keep happening. A scudo is a very small van to have all this stuff so it's a little cramped.

Day two of my change of working method produced my highest ever earnings. Even i was a little taken aback by what seemed like an ordinary day in the work sense. All the extra kit used i already had as spares, so to have to have buy a better reel is not the end of the world.

[Clive McDonald]

Just been on and ordered. It wasn't so bad the site remembers my address and delivery instructions.

[matt]

Thanks for that Matt i'll look into it and see if it works.The drill is 18, and when the battery is first inserted it is a bit fierce, so less power might be better.It's a bit bonkers that i can do something with two bits of wire and those import people can do the same and flatten a car battery.If Alex proposed a more reasonable cost say 800 all in i might have a go and then it could be ascertained if it worked or not.You'd think these cox people would want to push a new market.Here's what i wrote before i saw your reply.

it will work no probs

as its 18 V, it will still work with 12 V , just not a fast

your 1.3 aph batteries will be replaced with say a 85 aph battery, do the maths, it should last a while between recharge