Best Water Fed Pole brand to use?

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Ok so in this van I have:

•500L upright wydale baffled tank, and retaining steel frame.

• Gardiner Pole systems- Pump and pump controller (you can see them on the left and right, but you only need one of each if only one person will be working)

•GrippaTank hose metal hose reel & GrippaTank 100m micro bore hose.

•Gardiner poles- I have a 10ft clx. 18ft extreme & 25Slx.

Then under my passenger seat I have a decent leisure battery which runs off a split relay to power everything.

£30ish worth of wiring & electrical bits and bobs & john guest pipes & elbows to link everything up.

Then it’s anything extra you might need, step ladder? Gardiner back pack for awkward terrace house? Traditional window cleaning stuff for internal cleans? Cleaning chemical for very dirty gutters & fascias? A variety of brush heads? 

Think all in all, everything in the van, including some of the extras above comes to £1200? No problems after 2 & bit years. You CAN do it for cheaper, but the GrippaTank hose never ever seems to kink, and Gardiner make the best poles in my position. I bought everything new apart from the hose reel which was about 3 months old from my old boss. 

View attachment 14471

No mention of a DI unit even though the OP is in London so will need a pro RO as well so add another £500

 

[RWCleaning]

No mention of a DI unit even though the OP is in London so will need a pro RO as well so add another £500

Good point. Yes sorry i completely forgot about that. As I have a separate R.O & d.i system in my garden. 

R.O+d.i systems can be anything from £200-£2000 it seems. You’ll need to find out your TDS water reading out of the mains and ideally your psi out of the mains taps you’ll be using. 

 

[Gordonuk]

I initially read it as you ran a property management company. How many houses comes to a simple equation of sizes and distance between. A 4 bed large Victorian house with awkward sash windows would take a good 30 minutes to do from pulling up to pulling away. If you then have a 20 minutes drive then 10 a day would be a reasonable target. 

If you have a separate factory unit with room to build a static R/O and a separate tank then this is far cheaper, easier and quicker to run than a van system. 

If you're in a soft water area you won't need an R/O. Buy a TDS meter from a reputable source, find out and go from there. 

Thanks for all the advice Part Timer.

 

[Gordonuk]

Good point. Yes sorry i completely forgot about that. As I have a separate R.O & d.i system in my garden. 

R.O+d.i systems can be anything from £200-£2000 it seems. You’ll need to find out your TDS water reading out of the mains and ideally your psi out of the mains taps you’ll be using. 

 

We have been recommended to use a RO system as we were told that once its set up its relatively cheap to run compared to the DI system. So thats the sort of DIY system we would like to build. One more thing we do not have the space to store the Van and equipment so the window cleaner will be taking the van home with them and we are not sure if he will have room for a tank or even a garden to house the external tank. I have read that it can take up to 8-10 hours to fill up the 500 Litre tank each night. Is this true? And is there anyway around this?

Also since I am a completely newbie with regards to Water Fed Pole systems once we have bought all the individual items is it possible to hire someone to put the whole thing together and wire it up and attach it properly to the van?

 

[Part Timer]

You run a property maintenance company, do you employ a plumber and electrician, or someone that knows the basics of both. If you do then all you need is  someone to bolt the tank into the van. 

With a booster pump you can produce upto 300 litres an hour of pure, and it doesn't need to be watched as long as you get a solenoid float, I think that's the name, it will automatically cut off when full. 

 

[RWCleaning]

We have been recommended to use a RO system as we were told that once its set up its relatively cheap to run compared to the DI system. So thats the sort of DIY system we would like to build. One more thing we do not have the space to store the Van and equipment so the window cleaner will be taking the van home with them and we are not sure if he will have room for a tank or even a garden to house the external tank. I have read that it can take up to 8-10 hours to fill up the 500 Litre tank each night. Is this true? And is there anyway around this?

Also since I am a completely newbie with regards to Water Fed Pole systems once we have bought all the individual items is it possible to hire someone to put the whole thing together and wire it up and attach it properly to the van?

First point regarding to filling-

yes it can, can take longer or even quicker. It depends on your tap pressure.

I have 20 psi at my house (awful pressure) I wouldn’t be able to make enough to work if it wasn’t for my booster pump (which cost me about £250) when the booster pump kicks in the tap pressure shoots up to about 65/70psi. So over 8-10 hours I can produce 500Ls of pure. 

I have a 1000L tank which I just keep full, then in the evenings I  quickly fill my van tank up, takes about 10mins then I put my R.O & booster pump on (booster pump is on a timer switch of 1hr on 1hr off) then in the morning the storage tank can be either nearly full or over flowing. R.O filter systems definitely work more efficiently in warmer weather. In the winter when it’s dropping below 5 degrees I reckon they lose 30% efficiency (in my opinion)

And to set up, yes you could/should take your van to someone mechanically minded who can drill through your van floor & bolt your steel frame in. I thankfully knew a mechanic. Wiring- there’s plenty of mobile car electricians out there. Also I took my van to a separate gargle who fitted my battery & split charge relay for like £50, took them 45mins. The rest of it is honestly fairly straightforward. 

 

[RWCleaning]

Avoid X-Line like the plague!  One of the worst cusromer service / aftercare in the industry.   They have a rep for being your best friend whilst your spending thousands ant once spent if you got issues just try to get them on the phone. Not going to happen. 

Grippa and Ionics both have solid reputations as does The Cleaning Warehouse in Wolverhampton. They will build you a system for a quater the price of the other two. 

(Going off the main subject briefly) wow I didn’t know they had a reputation like that.? I’ve only ever seen one X-line system in the flesh, they don’t seem to be very popular, I’m surprised they can hold out for their high prices!

 

[Pepsi]

Hi 

I have a professional set up and live in N London happy to offer advise if you pm me I can discuss this further if that helps 

 

[Gordonuk]

Hi 

I have a professional set up and live in N London happy to offer advise if you pm me I can discuss this further if that helps 

Hi Pepsi,

I have sent you a PM as requested. 

Cheers.

 

[Gordonuk]

Avoid X-Line like the plague!  One of the worst cusromer service / aftercare in the industry.   They have a rep for being your best friend whilst your spending thousands ant once spent if you got issues just try to get them on the phone. Not going to happen. 

Grippa and Ionics both have solid reputations as does The Cleaning Warehouse in Wolverhampton. They will build you a system for a quater the price of the other two. 

Thanks for the tip Green Pro Clean Ltd. That was one of the companies I looked at!

 

[Gordonuk]

First point regarding to filling-

yes it can, can take longer or even quicker. It depends on your tap pressure.

I have 20 psi at my house (awful pressure) I wouldn’t be able to make enough to work if it wasn’t for my booster pump (which cost me about £250) when the booster pump kicks in the tap pressure shoots up to about 65/70psi. So over 8-10 hours I can produce 500Ls of pure. 

I have a 1000L tank which I just keep full, then in the evenings I  quickly fill my van tank up, takes about 10mins then I put my R.O & booster pump on (booster pump is on a timer switch of 1hr on 1hr off) then in the morning the storage tank can be either nearly full or over flowing. R.O filter systems definitely work more efficiently in warmer weather. In the winter when it’s dropping below 5 degrees I reckon they lose 30% efficiency (in my opinion)

And to set up, yes you could/should take your van to someone mechanically minded who can drill through your van floor & bolt your steel frame in. I thankfully knew a mechanic. Wiring- there’s plenty of mobile car electricians out there. Also I took my van to a separate gargle who fitted my battery & split charge relay for like £50, took them 45mins. The rest of it is honestly fairly straightforward. 

Thanks again RWCleaning your advice has been invaluable. If I do buy a system the DIY option definitely looks like the best way to go. I could always upgrade the system once the business starts to grow. I am really tempted to get a Hot Water system but I will have to look at the costs involved.

You run a property maintenance company, do you employ a plumber and electrician, or someone that knows the basics of both. If you do then all you need is  someone to bolt the tank into the van. 

With a booster pump you can produce upto 300 litres an hour of pure, and it doesn't need to be watched as long as you get a solenoid float, I think that's the name, it will automatically cut off when full. 

Hi Part Timer yes we do but I would still want to find a mobile mechanic who perhaps has some experience of Water Fed Pole systems.

 

[RWCleaning]

Cool. Yeh if you can easily afford hot water then I’d get hot water. I would personally only get a professionally built diesel one rather than a d.i.y gas hot water system (just a personal choice that’s all) anyway I’m sure it’ll go fine ?

 

[Gordonuk]

Cool. Yeh if you can easily afford hot water then I’d get hot water. I would personally only get a professionally built diesel one rather than a d.i.y gas hot water system (just a personal choice that’s all) anyway I’m sure it’ll go fine ?

Hi there I have just seen this Gas Powered Hot Water Heater for sale by a company called Brodex and they have assured me that it can be added to any Water Fed Pole system to give hot water. Do you know anything about these devices? Are they any good? And what about the company Brodex?

https://brodexbms.co.uk/product/l10-gas-powered-water-heater/

Any feedback from you or anyone else on these forums would be great.

 

[Part Timer]

Brodex ? Have they been rescued again from bankruptcy. Hope the new set up is better than the other lot.

 

[RWCleaning]

I don’t know much about brodex 

 

[AGlassAct]

Hi there I have just seen this Gas Powered Hot Water Heater for sale by a company called Brodex and they have assured me that it can be added to any Water Fed Pole system to give hot water. Do you know anything about these devices? Are they any good? And what about the company Brodex?
 
https://brodexbms.co.uk/product/l10-gas-powered-water-heater/
 
Any feedback from you or anyone else on these forums would be great.

Wow!!! That’s virtually the same as the ones on eBay for £70. Get a plumber to instal an LPG Heater - they’d charge about £70 to connect the gas pipe for you (the same as connecting a gas BBQ!) look in green pro cleans you tube feed as he did a step by step install. I have an LPG boiler and a diesel heater (both DIY) and the LPG is far superior.


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[scottish cleaning service]

Only ever heard bad news regarding Brodex on here and was told to avoid them because their aftersales is nonexistent when they are solvent. As for LPG heaters, they all go with L5 on here and they are around £120 I recall. I would just stick with the majority on here and you wont go far wrong. :1f609:

 

[Gordonuk]

Wow!!! That’s virtually the same as the ones on eBay for £70. Get a plumber to instal an LPG Heater - they’d charge about £70 to connect the gas pipe for you (the same as connecting a gas BBQ!) look in green pro cleans you tube feed as he did a step by step install. I have an LPG boiler and a diesel heater (both DIY) and the LPG is far superior.


Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

AGlassAct have you got a link to the LPG boiler you bought so I can take a look at it?

Cheers.