Hi all - ready to take the plunge

[Jimroot]

Work out how much is the max water you'd need in a day. A three bed semi maintenance clean can be done easily for 20L I'd say so if your going to do max 15 a day a 300L would be ok and you can get the smaller van.

Get trad for indoors but I'd still WFP the lot to save time outside.

DI only you don't need to pay for the RO stuff in those ads.

I thought that ad on eBay was dodgy too, and I think if you shop around and build it yourself you'll do it for 2k easily including a van that will last a few years. Then spend a lot more on the marketing side as it requires a lot to get established (time/money)

If you build it yourself you'll know straight away what needs fixing/maintaining and what/how to do it.

 

[Alex87]

Work out how much is the max water you'd need in a day. A three bed semi maintenance clean can be done easily for 20L I'd say so if your going to do max 15 a day a 300L would be ok and you can get the smaller van.
Get trad for indoors but I'd still WFP the lot to save time outside.

DI only you don't need to pay for the RO stuff in those ads.

I thought that ad on eBay was dodgy too, and I think if you shop around and build it yourself you'll do it for 2k easily including a van that will last a few years. Then spend a lot more on the marketing side as it requires a lot to get established (time/money)

If you build it yourself you'll know straight away what needs fixing/maintaining and what/how to do it.

Cheers for the reply.

Ye 350l is what I have been looking more into. I mean I can't see more doing more than 15 houses a day within at least the first year ( if I am though I'm not going to complain )

I have just watched and read a few things on here about fitting and it does look simple enough.

Out of interest how long does/how many houses (3 bed semi for exmaple) does a bag of resin last. Just so I can get my costs straight

 

[Jimroot]

Gardiners website has a resin calculator...

You need to know the TDS of your water and the litres per month.

it's hard to say how well you'll do and how much resin you'll use, but i suppose if you get through it it will pay for itself. I'd budget for two bags a year so about £140

 

[Alex87]

Gardiners website has a resin calculator...
You need to know the TDS of your water and the litres per month.

it's hard to say how well you'll do and how much resin you'll use, but i suppose if you get through it it will pay for itself. I'd budget for two bags a year so about £140

Ah right I was expecting a bag a month. Shows how much learning I got to do.

I just watched a good video on here made by jake showing his van setup and how easy it is to install. Good helpful video by the way.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is it as basic as getting a 350l tank bolted to floor in van. Run that into shurflo pump which then runs into the di vessel which finally runs to hose. And the pump is connected to controller which connects to leisure battery ??

 

[Jimroot]

Yes I think that's it.

Just a few little bits more like filter/strainer.

I got my 250L tank used for about £60, I've got a useful strong grill steel bulkhead and four 800kg break straps about £15, it's rock solid

Jake and green show good set ups and others here. Mines trolley based currently but I'm going to adapt it to a van mount eventually

 

[Extremecleansussex]

My Trafic is halfway there. You can use the Di set up only but there's room for an RO filter too.

I started with this van seven years ago and it's served me well. There have been days when I've used 600l by mid afternoon when I first started but now with very few first cleans I use less than 400l.

I've just bought an electric van so this is just sat on my drive.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/221901108826

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[Adams0211]

You're in the same situation I was just over a year ago. I was fed up with my dead end job and got interested in window cleaning. I bought my van and all my trad gear and started advertising. I was working 6am-2pm shifts so I able to get onto the Windows for a couple of hours each day after my regular job finished. I kept work sweet and every couple of months I was able to drop a day in the warehouse. By March this year I was down to two days a week at the warehouse and jacked it in. Best decision I ever made and I'm now looking at moving over to wfp for some of my work. A lot of people will say different but I think you're starting at a good time of year. It may be a bit harder to pick up new customers but if you can make it through that first winter and come out the other side you'll be laughing. And don't underestimate the power of Facebook advertising. Create a business page and Join all the groups local to you. Advertise twice a day (I find after dinner time gets best results) and you'll soon have plenty of customers. Give me a shout if you need any advice from a fellow newbie.

 

[Jimroot]

View attachment 5525

Out of interest how long does/how many houses (3 bed semi for exmaple) does a bag of resin last. Just so I can get my costs straight

I've tried to work this out, my tap TDS is about 60, so according to the calculator, with my two vessels adding to 22L, costs are about 16p of resin per house, so if you did average 30 per week (not a bad optimistic average part time estimate first year IMO), the resin will (on paper) last 3.8 months, with two inline vessels you can extend the life, not sure by how much, my guess is 4.8 months +/- 1

 

[Parky]

I'm thinking of going for a Volkwagen Caddy with 400L tank. Does anyone use a caddy? Im a big Volkswagen fan (Because they lie about emmisions) and the Diesel engines they use.

 

[Alex87]

You're in the same situation I was just over a year ago. I was fed up with my dead end job and got interested in window cleaning. I bought my van and all my trad gear and started advertising. I was working 6am-2pm shifts so I able to get onto the Windows for a couple of hours each day after my regular job finished. I kept work sweet and every couple of months I was able to drop a day in the warehouse. By March this year I was down to two days a week at the warehouse and jacked it in. Best decision I ever made and I'm now looking at moving over to wfp for some of my work. A lot of people will say different but I think you're starting at a good time of year. It may be a bit harder to pick up new customers but if you can make it through that first winter and come out the other side you'll be laughing. And don't underestimate the power of Facebook advertising. Create a business page and Join all the groups local to you. Advertise twice a day (I find after dinner time gets best results) and you'll soon have plenty of customers. Give me a shout if you need any advice from a fellow newbie.

Thanks for the advice.

Went into work today and they are positive about me going part time and I should get the outcome tomorrow.

Hopefully they allow it as I imagine it will take some pressure off me. If not though I suppose it will make me more determined.

Just itching to get out there now canvassing and advertising.

 

[Adams0211]

Thanks for the advice.
Went into work today and they are positive about me going part time and I should get the outcome tomorrow.

Hopefully they allow it as I imagine it will take some pressure off me. If not though I suppose it will make me more determined.

Just itching to get out there now canvassing and advertising.

I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Alex87]

Ok so got my van this morning, went for the transit connect.

About to order the equipment now. Just to get this correct.

I need 400l baffled upright tank

Shurflo pump and controller and strainer

100m 8mm hose and reel

Leisure battery

Di vessel

SLX18 POLE

Is there anything else which I will need ?

Thanks

 

[Dave B]

Applicator and squeegee for those inside jobs you'll be asked to do

And a few microfibre cloths

 

[Alex87]

Applicator and squeegee for those inside jobs you'll be asked to doAnd a few microfibre cloths

Yup got all that sorted as I plan to do trad down and wfp up.

But from wfp point of view that should be it ? And the customers

Thanks

 

[Jimroot]

Slx22 or more maybe?

Two 11L upright vessels

 

[Dave B]

Make sure you order all the connectors you will need....don't want it all turning up but missing one

 

[Alex87]

Slx22 or more maybe?
Two 11L upright vessels

I was going to get the SLX18 for now to get me up and running then in the future get the slx25. Is it correct to say the slx18 will do the job for 2 floor houses ?

 

[Tuffers]

Ok so got my van this morning, went for the transit connect.
About to order the equipment now. Just to get this correct.

I need 400l baffled upright tank

Shurflo pump and controller and strainer

100m 8mm hose and reel

Leisure battery

Di vessel

SLX18 POLE

Is there anything else which I will need ?

Thanks

Some half inch hose to connect tank - pump - reel, a screw in elbow to connect tank to half inch hose, some jubilee clips, some Hozelock fittings, cage or 5 ton ratchet strap to restrain tank, resin, RO?, connectors to and from pump, battery charger, maybe a tap between the tank and pump so that you can stop water flow if you needed to disconnect the pump from the system.

I'd go for SLX-22 pole and a 110amp battery.

Can't think of anything else.

 

[Alex87]

Some half inch hose to connect tank - pump - reel, a screw in elbow to connect tank to half inch hose, some jubilee clips, some Hozelock fittings, cage or 5 ton ratchet strap to restrain tank, resin, RO?, connectors to and from pump, battery charger, maybe a tap between the tank and pump so that you can stop water flow if you needed to disconnect the pump from the system.
I'd go for SLX-22 pole and a 110amp battery.

Can't think of anything else.

Aha perfect. Thanks for this, just what I needed.

Any recommendations of where to get it from would anywhere discount for buying all from one place.

 

[Jimroot]

I use my 22ft on more than 50% of the two storeys, above extensions so I'd say it's essential minimum for regular domestics, you'll end up using a step ladder IMO with an 18

 

[Extremecleansussex]

I'd say get a 25ft first and an 18ft later. I'd also get an 8ft and do downstairs wfp too. You should have plenty of water with a 400l tank.

Save your trad kit for insides.

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