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Moving to a van set up

Andy M

New member
Messages
4
Hi,

Posting on behalf of my husband, hoping you guys will be able to give us some advise

We are looking to move on from a pure freedom trolley to a van set up. We have a budget of 5k. On some of the FB WC pages they say it's easy and a lot cheaper to buy your system parts etc and fit it yourself. Looked at companies that supply and fit for you but we're looking at around the 2.5k mark for most of them

So would someone be able to give me a list of everything we need to buy so I can do some costings please (or maybe point me in the direction of a previous thread that could help?).

We're in a hard water area and will want everything to be in the van (as in filter the water straight into it rather than into separate outside tanks and transfer if that makes sense??)

Many thanks for taking the time to read.

Leigh (on behalf of Andy)

 
Tank

ro4040

sediment filter and housing 10 inch

carbon filter and housing 10 inch

van inlet for 2 hoses . 1 water in 1 water out

1 reel an 100m of 8mm hose and fittings

pole

water pump and controller .... Look at the cleaning warehouse. Get one with built in charger and water shut off solenoid

leisure battery and split relay

di vessel

inline filter for pump

heavy duty 12mm hose red or blue

if using hiselock connections gd quilty ones

that's everything and most important some power tools to install

pm me if any questions

 
Hi,
Posting on behalf of my husband, hoping you guys will be able to give us some advise

We are looking to move on from a pure freedom trolley to a van set up. We have a budget of 5k. On some of the FB WC pages they say it's easy and a lot cheaper to buy your system parts etc and fit it yourself. Looked at companies that supply and fit for you but we're looking at around the 2.5k mark for most of them

So would someone be able to give me a list of everything we need to buy so I can do some costings please (or maybe point me in the direction of a previous thread that could help?).

We're in a hard water area and will want everything to be in the van (as in filter the water straight into it rather than into separate outside tanks and transfer if that makes sense??)

Many thanks for taking the time to read.

Leigh (on behalf of Andy)

Hi Leigh

As a start I would expect you already have an r/o so in the worst case scenario you might need to upgrade it a little.

The advantages of having an 'outside tank and transferring it' is that you don't need a fast r/o like a 4040 as you will be able to process water more slowly when you are out working during the day. There will also be a reservoir of water available should you need to top up during the day. A 4040 r/o alone will set you back about £600.00. You will also need a 12v solenoid and a float switch that will automatically cut the main water feed to the r/o when the tank is full.

Unless you are in a privileged position and are able to process water onsite, mostly what you start off with is what you have for the rest of the day.

Whilst customers might accept a cleaner taking enough water from their outside tap to clean their windows, they would probably object to supplying water to clean the rest of the street. As with any r/o, a customer seeing waste water running down the road or diverted into a drain wouldn't go down too well IMHO. In winter I have found that most householders have shutoff the water to their outside tap as well.

If you were thinking of a van mount only, then Purefreedom use a quality pump and controller on their trolley which you could transfer to your van mount. I'm not sure about the battery but it could also be 'man' enough for a day's work. If so then you would need a tank, frame, hose reel with hose and a few minor bits and pieces to get you going.

I have also seen a cleaner securing his Purefreedom trolley in the van and just connecting the feed to the main tank rather than pushed in the 25 liter plastic drum. The hose from the trolley then goes to a hose reel and then connected to the pole as before.

IMHO you need at least a 400 liter tank, a tank frame and a 100 meter hose reel with hose. (I would suggest that minibore hose is better than microbore as the pump doesn't have to use as much current to push water through it as the hose diamt is slightly bigger, but that consideration is down to the size of your existing battery.

For a single operator, to smallest payload van I would consider would to a 600kg although an 800 would be better.

ie Transit Connect T220 LWB, Citroen Berlingo 600/800 old shape, new shape 625/825 etc.

Tank frame

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350l-upright-Tank-Retaining-Frame-for-window-cleaning-/181035895782?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a26948be6

They charge the same price of £165 for a 500 liter tank frame so presume 400 liter would be the same price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400-LITRE-WATER-TANK-FOR-WATER-FED-POLE-CAR-VALETING-FLAT-OR-UPRIGHT-/191483104776?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item2c95484e08

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8mm-Minibore-Hose-100m-Wheeled-Metal-Reel-fittings-WFP-Window-Cleaning-/181415318416?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a3d321390

 
Thank you for your reply, will show andy tonight when he gets home. I think the reason he wants it all in the van is that we are a bit limited, as we have no garage or accessible places to put a shed for a system to go in, so his thoughts were, process the water over night straight into the van. At the moment his filters are in the kitchen with the feed going out to a tank outside in our side access (not a very wide area and shared with neighbours).

I do appreciate what your saying about having spare water to come back for should he run out but I guess he could still use his current system that goes into a smaller tank outside the house or we are lucky enough to have a local company that sell the water at a fairly reasonable price should he need it in an emergency.

God, it's complicated all this isn't it lol

 
Fair enough.

Both the boys have 500 liter tanks in their vans and that is slightly more than enough for each day's work.

An aquadaptor/aquatap is a good way to save water waste as you switch the water off immediately you have finished cleaning a window.

A 4040 will fill than tank quite quickly, depending on your water pressure. Ours is unboosted, 50 psi water pressure and HF5 membrane produces 2 liters of pure water per minute with 2 liters of waste..

 
Hi, we're in Dartford, Kent. We're thinking that maybe it'll just be safer and easier to buy a van and get a system fitted by a company?? Or ideally, find a van that someone is selling to move up to a bigger system.

 
you have to think why they are selling there van with everything in it.

some are genuine, others may have been told to get rid.

it all depends how many customers you have, and how much water you need.

small ro 300 / 450 in house. booster pump = around 200 litres per 3 hours.

a bigger 4040 id say mainly for outhouse or shed.

van set up for everything apart from water filters di vessel around £6- £700

if doing water in house

 
Calculate, exactly what you need and then buy better, that's my advice.

I have just dropped £2k on a used system as it was value for money. I will spend a couple of hundred replacing all the filters just to be sure they are mint but that's it really.

For £5k you can get something pretty darned sweet.

My advice is to put the money in the filtration (after all pure water is the objective) and also good quality poles (and just as importantly brush heads.)

I would not discount the idea of a store bought system but I would calculate the size of tank, filtration required, one pump or two, then call almost everyone in the industry for quotes. Next look at all those installers reviews on here and discount the worst ones and move forward from there.

Age and experience teach us the the most expensive isn't always the best!

Good luck.

 
dont do that as itl cost a fortune it sounds daunting but it isnt. systems preused are generally gettin sold for a reason as pumps can go controllers can go and the membrane of ro were need changed

what type of van were you after ???

a brand new 500 litre system all in from the cleaning warehouse is 1500 thats reel and full system all fittings etc

 
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