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Some advice on WFP trolley systems

Daniel Perkins

Premium Member
Messages
773
Location
Dublin
Hey guys,

New here, been doing trad for nearly 20 years over here in Dublin and have a good bit of retail in shopping centres and some high outdoor work. I was considering getting into the wfp side of things for some high awkward jobs i have outside and to push for new work. I've been trying to do some research and have looked at threads on here and elsewhere to try get my head around it.

I'm basically looking for something portable that I can take out of the car (no van) fold away cart, say 25l containers and just get to work. Have been looking at various cart systems like Unger n-lite, Big Boy, Sure Clean and few others. On one of the sites selling cart wtf systems it said this which I didn't really understand.

" All these 'plug in and go' system are to be used with ready filtered pure water (THEY DO NOT purify water, they are designed to carry water from your pure water system)".


I thought I could just take out say the Unger N-Lite and fire away with it. Clearly I don't understand the process as I thought these systems did that. I know there are a few other threads like this on here but I would really appreciate any advice.


 


Thanks


 


Dan


 
Welcome @Daniel Perkins!

If you're using a car and new to wfp I'd definitely recommend buying a backpack like Gardiner's or Facelift BigBoy amd strap it to a folding trolley. You might need to buy a small, cheap trolley like and Aldi one but at £15 you can replace those every year or so.

Re water you'll need to purify this and fill up the backpack from water containers. Check out your water TDS reading to see if you need RO or DI only set up.

 
Hey mate thanks for the info, i'm waiting on tds meter which should arrive any day now. How do I purify the water before I fill the backpacks & would I still have to purify the water with the Unger N lite?

I was curious to know how long you could get out of the battery on the backpacks. I was actually surprised at how technical the wfp systems are, was a bit lost reading some of the tech on other threads. I think from what I've gathered is if tds is low then use DI and if it's high use RO?

 
As a rule over 100 RO, under 100 DI only. With an RO you'll still need a DI to get a TDS reading of 0. I use DI only, and its simple. House tap - DI - Container. Change resin when TDS creeps up.

Backpack batteries will easily last a days hard work, I use a water genie backpack as it comes with a simple removable trolley. I've got 3 days out of mine before.

Water will keep at 0ppm for ages in containers, you'll need at least 4 to start with, I carry 8 and a full backpack in my car every day.

Hope this helps, if your TDS is over 100 there's a few RO gurus on here that'll guide you well

 
I think the Unger N Lite is attached to an outside tap - basically it's a built in DI Vessel that you can take to the customer's home and use the tap pressure to clean by simply attaching a hose and wfp.

My Father-in-law does this in a few estates but its not prectical where you don't have a water source or an estate where you can easily trail the hose around all working from one house's tap.

 
As a rule over 100 RO, under 100 DI only. With an RO you'll still need a DI to get a TDS reading of 0. I use DI only, and its simple. House tap - DI - Container. Change resin when TDS creeps up.Backpack batteries will easily last a days hard work, I use a water genie backpack as it comes with a simple removable trolley. I've got 3 days out of mine before.

Water will keep at 0ppm for ages in containers, you'll need at least 4 to start with, I carry 8 and a full backpack in my car every day.

Hope this helps, if your TDS is over 100 there's a few RO gurus on here that'll guide you well
Thank you for the info. I should have my TDS reader tomorrow to get an idea of the water reading. I want to do exactly that carry 25l containers in the car & backpack/Unger on cart. I thought with the Unger N Lite I could just pour water into it with resin and that makes it pure. not sure if i'm mistaken.
 
I think the Unger N Lite is attached to an outside tap - basically it's a built in DI Vessel that you can take to the customer's home and use the tap pressure to clean by simply attaching a hose and wfp.
My Father-in-law does this in a few estates but its not prectical where you don't have a water source or an estate where you can easily trail the hose around all working from one house's tap.
Just seen this post after I posted above. As regards the Unger N Lite, if I had 4 or 5 containers 25L in the car, I am understanding it right, that I connect the hose to 25L containers (my water source) and the N Lites di vessel make the water pure?
I really under estimated how complex this is.

 
I'd wait for your TDS meter to turn up @Daniel Perkins and go from there. Do you have a garage or similar with a tap that you could produce pure in? I had a trolley to start with and was DI only. I made my pure every night and filled my 25L barrels while on a timer, then I'd transfer my barrels to my car. It was a ballache to be honest.

If you could make your pure and keep it in a holding tank and transfer to your barrels that would save a lot of aggro.

 
I'd wait for your TDS meter to turn up @Daniel Perkins and go from there. Do you have a garage or similar with a tap that you could produce pure in? I had a trolley to start with and was DI only. I made my pure every night and filled my 25L barrels while on a timer, then I'd transfer my barrels to my car. It was a ballache to be honest.
If you could make your pure and keep it in a holding tank and transfer to your barrels that would save a lot of aggro.
I have an outdoor tap & I have a container to collect rainwater. I was looking to buy the unger n lite and was under the impression (probably wrong) that I just pour normal water into the n lite with bag of resin in side and the DI vessell makes it pure?
Can I ask you how you produced your pure water?

 
I have an outdoor tap & I have a container to collect rainwater. I was looking to buy the unger n lite and was under the impression (probably wrong) that I just pour normal water into the n lite with bag of resin in side and the DI vessell makes it pure?
Can I ask you how you produced your pure water?
I had a tap outside then got a tap connected in the garage. I had 2x DI vessels as I lived in a very soft water area at the time. My TDS was about 050PPM. I moved to van mount after about 6 months. I live in a hard water area now so I've gone down the RO route with a 1000L holding tank. My pure water produces and the system shuts off when it's full due to having a cut off switch on a float. I then transfer it to my tank in my van every night.

 
I had a tap outside then got a tap connected in the garage. I had 2x DI vessels as I lived in a very soft water area at the time. My TDS was about 050PPM. I moved to van mount after about 6 months. I live in a hard water area now so I've gone down the RO route with a 1000L holding tank. My pure water produces and the system shuts off when it's full due to having a cut off switch on a float. I then transfer it to my tank in my van every night.
I'd love to get a van but at the moment I can't with costs, I have a lot of trad work and the car suits perfect. Using a cart and containers would be perfect if I could do it.

If I used 25l containers to water and connected to the Unger N Lite, which filters up and make the pure water ... do I need some kind of pump that provides a pressure to push the water from the 25l through the hose into the N Lite DI vessel?

 
I'd love to get a van but at the moment I can't with costs, I have a lot of trad work and the car suits perfect. Using a cart and containers would be perfect if I could do it.
If I used 25l containers to water and connected to the Unger N Lite, which filters up and make the pure water ... do I need some kind of pump that provides a pressure to push the water from the 25l through the hose into the N Lite DI vessel?
With the unger setup you need to connect it to mains water so you get enough flow and pressure, tbh it seems like a ballache to me. My setup cost £450 from scratch, including pole. It takes me 15 mins an evening to fill, so tend to have a cuppa whilst I wait All the unger system is is a glorified DI vessel with quick change bags and inbuilt TDS meter. Also if you do need an RO you'll have to make your pure at home anyway.

Simplest and cheapest way would be...

Garden tap - DI - containers - get to job - backpack - pole - glass.

If RO needed then

Garden tap - RO - DI - holding tank - containers - get to job - backpack - pole - glass.

Hope this clarifies things a little more

 
With the unger setup you need to connect it to mains water so you get enough flow and pressure, tbh it seems like a ballache to me. My setup cost £450 from scratch, including pole. It takes me 15 mins an evening to fill, so tend to have a cuppa whilst I wait All the unger system is is a glorified DI vessel with quick change bags and inbuilt TDS meter. Also if you do need an RO you'll have to make your pure at home anyway.Simplest and cheapest way would be...

Garden tap - DI - containers - get to job - backpack - pole - glass.

If RO needed then

Garden tap - RO - DI - holding tank - containers - get to job - backpack - pole - glass.

Hope this clarifies things a little more
Thanks very much for all the info mate, very much appreciated. I think the lack of mains water when I'm out a store is going to be my issue, the jobs I have in mind don't have water mains nearby. I'd probably need some kind of pump to get pressure from 25l containers through hose, do't know is that is a thing even lol.

450 quid is brilliant, some of the wfp systems are ridiculous money. The Unger is about 1600 quid all in. Over here in Ireland there isn't many places that sell wfp systems, seem to have to get them in UK.

 
Thanks very much for all the info mate, very much appreciated. I think the lack of mains water when I'm out a store is going to be my issue, the jobs I have in mind don't have water mains nearby. I'd probably need some kind of pump to get pressure from 25l containers through hose, do't know is that is a thing even lol.
450 quid is brilliant, some of the wfp systems are ridiculous money. The Unger is about 1600 quid all in. Over here in Ireland there isn't many places that sell wfp systems, seem to have to get them in UK.
8 containers of water will last the day if you trad bottoms and wfp all tops, and 8 will fit in a standard hatchback with all the trad gear, backpack and pole. I use a Mazda 323 ATM and have no dramas. If you want to know what I bought and where I got it pm me and I'll send you a shopping list, assuming you can get away with DI only

 
8 containers of water will last the day if you trad bottoms and wfp all tops, and 8 will fit in a standard hatchback with all the trad gear, backpack and pole. I use a Mazda 323 ATM and have no dramas. If you want to know what I bought and where I got it pm me and I'll send you a shopping list, assuming you can get away with DI only
I use four containers and fill up at lunchtime - if you have a customer with a water source who doesn't mind then you could bring the DI vessel with you and top up through the day.

Plenty of options to make it work without spending a couple of grand!

 
I use four containers and fill up at lunchtime - if you have a customer with a water source who doesn't mind then you could bring the DI vessel with you and top up through the day.
Plenty of options to make it work without spending a couple of grand!
Good point, I think @daveyboy has done something similar in the past. There's always ways around it, as long as your tds isn't too high!

 
Got tds meter today and coming out at 770! I take it DI is out the window now /emoticons/sad.png

I take it this means added complication and cost?

 
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Got tds meter today and coming out at 770! I take it DI is out the window now /emoticons/sad.png
I take it this means added complication and cost?
Yup :thumbsdown:

 
Although you could use a double DI but you will go through a lot of resin very fast.

Other option is to check out if you can buy pure and fill up at a water works...

 
Resin seems fairly expensive too so probably end up zipping through it. I've seen some posts on here about RO units. I don't know why I thought my tds would be low, not sure why I had that in my head lol. Would one of those reverse osmosis unit be a viable option to make water pure at home and then put it in containers in the car?

 
Resin seems fairly expensive too so probably end up zipping through it. I've seen some posts on here about RO units. I don't know why I thought my tds would be low, not sure why I had that in my head lol. Would one of those reverse osmosis unit be a viable option to make water pure at home and then put it in containers in the car?
Calling @spruce & @doug atkinson, they the experts with RO

 
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