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Back Pack and DI Vessel

LeoPaul

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I'm based in the middle east having moved out here 4 years ago. I've recently lost my job but I see great potential here for a "British" window cleaner to serve the expat community. I've spoken to westerners here (as they will be my main customer base initially) and have gauged their interest and what they would be willing to spend so want to push ahead with it.
My budget is not big and I understand I should buy the best I can afford.

I don't have a van and don't have the budget to buy one just yet. My intention is to invest in a van and van mounted system in the near future. I have been looking at purchasing a Big Boy 2 Back Pack along with an Unger DI vessel. Houses where a tap is available I plan to use the DI vessel and ones where water is not available I will use the back pack. I envisage I will pack the car with 25l containers already filled with pure water to refill the back pack as and when.

The two main concerns I have for the above set up is -

1. The back pack only holds 22L and some of the villas out here are quite big so I feel I will use up all the water fairly quickly.

2. Looking at the Unger website the small DI vessel recommends on average to change the resin bag after around 700L. I feel I will be changing the resin every few days ? . I could purchase the larger 3rd size up Unger DI vessel which I assume gives you 3 x the amount of water volume before changing resin.

What is everyones experience with the above options and do you recommend a different set up bearing in mind I don't have a van yet.

Thank you ?
 
Hi and welcome , the first thing you need is a TDS meter and see what reading you are getting from your water , anything over 100 will work out expensive for resin only . Secondly you will need more water per job than in England due to the heat , but apart from that yes I don’t see why you couldn’t get started by doing what you are suggesting then if it takes off expand and get a van mount if they have them out there ?
 
Hi and welcome , the first thing you need is a TDS meter and see what reading you are getting from your water , anything over 100 will work out expensive for resin only . Secondly you will need more water per job than in England due to the heat , but apart from that yes I don’t see why you couldn’t get started by doing what you are suggesting then if it takes off expand and get a van mount if they have them out there ?
Thank you! The Unger DI vessel comes with a TDS meter but I have checked with the local water authority who tell me the TDS range is 110-250 ?‍♂️

I’ve checked since posting and Unger’s largest DI vessel gives roughly 2,400 litres of pure water before needing to change the resin. I can then buy the resin locally for around £60 for 3 x 6L packs.

Yeah, I will be able to source a fitter / supplier for the van mounted system locally.
 
Don't buy the unger Di as it takes unger bags of resin and they are expensive. I have read that you can replace the resin in the bags yourself which would be cheaper. A 'standard' di resin vessel would probably work out cheaper.
As @Pjj said check the tap tds before buying a di as if its too high it will cost you a fortune.
I am probably completely wrong but does a lot of your tap water come from processed sea water? If it does it might be worth learning a bit more about what chemicals are in it re making your own pure.
One other possible thought, are most of the windows on the villas ground floor? If so maybe you could trad them?
 
Don't buy the unger Di as it takes unger bags of resin and they are expensive. I have read that you can replace the resin in the bags yourself which would be cheaper. A 'standard' di resin vessel would probably work out cheaper.
As @Pjj said check the tap tds before buying a di as if its too high it will cost you a fortune.
I am probably completely wrong but does a lot of your tap water come from processed sea water? If it does it might be worth learning a bit more about what chemicals are in it re making your own pure.
One other possible thought, are most of the windows on the villas ground floor? If so maybe you could trad them?
I don’t know about the Middle East but in the cayman islands all there tap water is desalinated sea water and goes through industrial grade ro units
 
Don't buy the unger Di as it takes unger bags of resin and they are expensive. I have read that you can replace the resin in the bags yourself which would be cheaper. A 'standard' di resin vessel would probably work out cheaper.
As @Pjj said check the tap tds before buying a di as if its too high it will cost you a fortune.
I am probably completely wrong but does a lot of your tap water come from processed sea water? If it does it might be worth learning a bit more about what chemicals are in it re making your own pure.
One other possible thought, are most of the windows on the villas ground floor? If so maybe you could trad them?
Ok, noted regarding not buying Unger. The only issue with that is variety of other brands are limited here so I might not have a choice. But for sure I will research to see if there are standard DI vessels out there available here so I can pour the resin into it to save some coin. TDS is between 110 - 250.

Yes, correct all the water here is through desalination. The process is all in line with the WHO and they have said it’s safe to drink tap water however I would say 90% of people don’t.

The water is free from chemicals and bacteria when it comes out of the tap but does lack minerals as it’s from sea water and has gone through a hefty filtration system already (which is a good thing). It’s low in potassium and magnesium. PH between 6-8.

Any experience with the back packs?

Thank you!
 
I don’t know about the Middle East but in the cayman islands all there tap water is desalinated sea water and goes through industrial grade ro units
I thought it might be desalinated. If it goes through an RO is that just designed to remove salt or other solids as well?
 
I thought it might be desalinated. If it goes through an RO is that just designed to remove salt or other solids as well?
There set up out there removes everything they then add minerals I think at each property the apartment's we had had a filter system that was re planished every 3 months or so if I remember correctly, didn’t taste great but you do get used to it .
 
Thank you! The Unger DI vessel comes with a TDS meter but I have checked with the local water authority who tell me the TDS range is 110-250 ?‍♂️

I’ve checked since posting and Unger’s largest DI vessel gives roughly 2,400 litres of pure water before needing to change the resin. I can then buy the resin locally for around £60 for 3 x 6L packs.

Yeah, I will be able to source a fitter / supplier for the van mounted system locally.
You need a more accurate reading 110-250 is a huge range difference a TDS meter shouldn’t cost more then £15 I would check it yourself. As others have said under isn’t the best option , if you can get a decent resin vessel and some tulison mb115 that will last longer than under and should also be cheaper , in this country a bag of resin is 25 litres and costs vary but around £100 a bag I believe
 
I'm based in the middle east having moved out here 4 years ago. I've recently lost my job but I see great potential here for a "British" window cleaner to serve the expat community. I've spoken to westerners here (as they will be my main customer base initially) and have gauged their interest and what they would be willing to spend so want to push ahead with it.
My budget is not big and I understand I should buy the best I can afford.

I don't have a van and don't have the budget to buy one just yet. My intention is to invest in a van and van mounted system in the near future. I have been looking at purchasing a Big Boy 2 Back Pack along with an Unger DI vessel. Houses where a tap is available I plan to use the DI vessel and ones where water is not available I will use the back pack. I envisage I will pack the car with 25l containers already filled with pure water to refill the back pack as and when.

The two main concerns I have for the above set up is -

1. The back pack only holds 22L and some of the villas out here are quite big so I feel I will use up all the water fairly quickly.

2. Looking at the Unger website the small DI vessel recommends on average to change the resin bag after around 700L. I feel I will be changing the resin every few days ? . I could purchase the larger 3rd size up Unger DI vessel which I assume gives you 3 x the amount of water volume before changing resin.

What is everyones experience with the above options and do you recommend a different set up bearing in mind I don't have a van yet.

Thank you ?
Also, if you need an emergency answer to anything, pjj is on here 24 hours a day ?
 
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