Hot Water Reach & Wash System

[Window Cleaning Dublin]

Hi Guys

With the winter coming in Ireland and with the winters being colder and colder every year, i was thinking to invest in a hot pure water system. I had a look at the prices and i nearly got a hearth attack. A tiny heater for a reach & wash system, diesel, costs more than the van. Over 4k. Anyway, as i have never seen anyone ever using it before, i just wonder if any of yous have ever use it?

1. If the window is cold, in contact with hot water, is there a risk of cracking?

2. After the hot water goes through 300 feet of hoses, it will still be hot at the end?

3. Is hot pure water better than cold one?

Thank you for your help

 

[Part Timer]

Depends on how cold the water is compared to the glass. Never personally done it but with the new A rated double glazing the thermal shock might cause future problems.

No it's not, initially it will take anything up to 10 minutes to be anywhere near as warm as it is out of the heater.

Yes it's better but depending on how dirty the windows are you're cleaning will make a difference. In winter it will keep you warmer and handling / reeling in the hose is a lot better.  

 

[Pjj]

The answers to your questions are 

1 yes you can 

2 yes but it will have lost a little bit of heat 

3 yes it is but some will argue it’s no better .

 I was cold wfp for 7 years and have now had hot for the last 5 years , I would never go back to cold now it cleans better , faster and easier , hoses are nice and supple on cold days , plastic cleans are a doddle with it as are commercial building wash downs . In 5 years I have cracked two pains of glass both had damage prior to me cleaning it and it cracked across the window , provided you arnt stupid by leaving the pole squirt ing water on the same place on the glass you will be fine we have cleaned tens of thousands of windows with hot water on freezing days the last two days it’s been -2 and we have been using water 60 degrees with no problems whatsoever , it’s not cheap to buy or run though but in my opinion I would never go back I have 3 vans two with hot and one with cold my guys hate using the cold water as it takes much more scrubbing to remove dirt bird poo bee pollen etc , if you can afford a decent diesel system go for it you won’t regret it , avoid the lpg route it’s a nightmare. 

 

[scottish cleaning service]

You would need a 9kw diesel heater, I think they cost £1500 to buy but are bomb proof. If you wash dishes with cold water and then try hot water, you will notice the difference. Not many used hot water nor electric reels two years ago when I joined the forum. It seems now that everyone is heading in that direction because they realise that time is money. Not heard a single person saying they regret using hot water but plenty of likes. ?  

 

[dazmond]

if your van cost you 4k then i wouldnt have a £4.5k diesel heater installed in it as you ll probably be changing it again in a few years.....id only get one installed in a brand new van that your planning on keeping for 10-15 years...think long term if your gonna splash out on a decent hot system....

i love mine and use it every day(9kw grippa hydroheat).also no worries about my system freezing on cold nights as it comes with frost stat as standard.....?

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

Every year when it starts to get cold people start thinking a hot system will keep you working it won't.When temperatures drop to a certain level the water will freeze on the glass no matter if it's hot or cold.

I don't dispute the fact that it's nice to work with and the hoses being more manageable but unless you do a lot of first cleans, live by the coast or industrial window cleaning you will see little difference.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I have a £10k hot water system fitted in my twelve year old German van. Its only done 70k miles and I got it resprayed. If I was to get a new van then all I would do is move the tank over and reels over. Okay it would take a day to do it but it can be easily done.

 

[Pjj]

Every year when it starts to get cold people start thinking a hot system will keep you working it won't.When temperatures drop to a certain level the water will freeze on the glass no matter if it's hot or cold.

I don't dispute the fact that it's nice to work with and the hoses being more manageable but unless you do a lot of first cleans, live by the coast or industrial window cleaning you will see little difference.

The water doesn’t freeze on  the window using hot , but it will on the ground , you can work In freezing conditions easily but it’s the water that’s left behind that causes a problem with slippery hazards and unless the water is going on a garden and not paths  and roads then it’s time to pack up and go home ,hot water will remove all dirt far quicker and easier than cold water will , try cleaning salty windows on the coast with cold and see how long it takes to get spot free results , with hot it takes less than a quarter of the time and perfect results every time , the hot water desolves    the salt and dirt and is able to absorb it cold struggles to do this due to the surface tension of the water being less viscous ,a customer of mine is a chemist and he explained it in scientific terminology but it’s a scientific fact that hot will clean better and faster , especially in extreme conditions , I was cold wfp for 7 years and been hot for the last 5 and it has made a huge difference to my buisness and time taken to do the jobs , I know this subject is a very contentious one but if I had spent 4:5k on hot and it made no or very little difference I certainly wouldn’t have bought a second hot system , and now looking at a third one .

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

The water doesn’t freeze on  the window using hot , but it will on the ground , you can work In freezing conditions easily but it’s the water that’s left behind that causes a problem with slippery hazards and unless the water is going on a garden and not paths  and roads then it’s time to pack up and go home ,hot water will remove all dirt far quicker and easier than cold water will , try cleaning salty windows on the coast with cold and see how long it takes to get spot free results , with hot it takes less than a quarter of the time and perfect results every time , the hot water desolves    the salt and dirt and is able to absorb it cold struggles to do this due to the surface tension of the water being less viscous ,a customer of mine is a chemist and he explained it in scientific terminology but it’s a scientific fact that hot will clean better and faster , especially in extreme conditions , I was cold wfp for 7 years and been hot for the last 5 and it has made a huge difference to my buisness and time taken to do the jobs , I know this subject is a very contentious one but if I had spent 4:5k on hot and it made no or very little difference I certainly wouldn’t have bought a second hot system , and now looking at a third one .

Like I said if you clean a lot of costal salty window,Do plenty of dirty first cleans or heavily soiled industrial window cleaning then yes it will make a difference  .

For the average residential window cleaner doing regular monthly maintenance cleans you won't notice the difference.

Hot water also freezes faster than cold Fact.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Like I said if you clean a lot of costal salty window,Do plenty of dirty first cleans or heavily soiled industrial window cleaning then yes it will make a difference  .

For the average residential window cleaner doing regular monthly maintenance cleans you won't notice the difference.

Hot water also freezes faster than cold Fact.

Don't mean to be cheeky Cgh but have you ever used a hot wfp? The reason I ask this is because no one on the forum has went hot wfp and then returned to cold. fwiw 

 

[Pjj]

Like I said if you clean a lot of costal salty window,Do plenty of dirty first cleans or heavily soiled industrial window cleaning then yes it will make a difference  .

For the average residential window cleaner doing regular monthly maintenance cleans you won't notice the difference.

Hot water also freezes faster than cold Fact.

We clean all types of things from windows to industrial buildings , plastics solar panels and so the list goes on hot cleans all stuff faster we have over 2,500 monthly residential  cleans and at a rough estimate we are a third quicker with hot my guys using the hot van will finish quicker than they will doing the same work with cold I alternate the work and the vans they use so they all do the same jobs ever other month the hot van is always a lot quicker , as I say this is a very contentious subject but I know it works better and faster in all work , bee pollen snail trails and bird poo are a nightmare to remove with cold especially in the winter months when the cold water is colder than normal . We have never had hot water freeze on the glass but have had cold freeze and had to scrape  it off with a scraper taking even more time ???

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

Don't mean to be cheeky Cgh but have you ever used a hot wfp? The reason I ask this is because no one on the forum has went hot wfp and then returned to cold. fwiw 

yes.

When I purchased my first Grippa tank system Grippa came out to a commercial site I have.I used the hydro heat hot system on the job.

Now this job is cleaned every month and  I won't dispute the fact that hot cleans better on dirty work but on the site I have and for regular maintained work it wasn't any quicker.Nice to work with supple hoses and a warm pole but 4-5k is an expensive pair of gloves.

I also clean a lot of retail work all year round in some freezing conditions and it doesn't matter if the water is boiling hot or not once it gets down to a certain temperature the water will just freeze to the glass..

I do like the webasto systems and grippa's is especially good with the thermostat cut in but the 5k outlay wasn't going to generate me an extra 5k+ in revenue and work.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I like the hydro heat especially for my pvc cleans. No sure if commercial are too bothered if its hot or cold but as long as it looks clean. I think I was about 4 grand for my 9kw hydro heat and its better than going to the taxman, that's why I went for it.

 

[dazmond]

i use my hot water system every working day of the year......my advice is to invest in a grippatank 9kw heater with frost stat (installed in a brand new van) then you ll be sorted for many years to come with very little downtime/faff and you can just concentrate on doing your job as quickly and as efficiently as possible....

window cleaners are always looking for short cuts,cheap DIY jobs,scrimping and scraping to try and save a few quid (i know ive been there many times myself!),fair enough if you cant afford it but many of you can.....invest in your business if you want a smoother working day,less downtime/faff,etc....

 

[RWCleaning]

I strongly considered getting the Ionics hot box. I had a rental van for a few weeks last year with one inside on its Ionics system. Great bit of kit because they can add it to any system, even your typical d.i.y wydale tank which I have. I emailed Ionics after I had to give the van back to the insurance for a price, think it was £3,200 +vat & fitting at their place. Ran from the van diesel tank. 

I like the idea that you can take it out & add it to any system. 

I often think “ah stuff it I’ll get it on the credit card” but have refrained and I’m considering a new van in 2021 so I’ll wait till after then.

Hot water was great on a dirty conservatory roof I did, but maintenance windows no difference for me. 

 

[Pjj]

I strongly considered getting the Ionics hot box. I had a rental van for a few weeks last year with one inside on its Ionics system. Great bit of kit because they can add it to any system, even your typical d.i.y wydale tank which I have. I emailed Ionics after I had to give the van back to the insurance for a price, think it was £3,200 +vat & fitting at their place. Ran from the van diesel tank. 

I like the idea that you can take it out & add it to any system. 

I often think “ah stuff it I’ll get it on the credit card” but have refrained and I’m considering a new van in 2021 so I’ll wait till after then.

Hot water was great on a dirty conservatory roof I did, but maintenance windows no difference for me. 

You can retro fit a Grippatank hydro heat to any system as well I have one on my van and have a second van with the ionics one and the Grippatank one is far superior , and cheaper .

 

[dazmond]

mines a retro fit grippatank hydroheat too.......highly recommended if your in the market for a diesel heater.....id never buy anything from ionics...i dont trust them as a company,they are also very very expensive compared to other companies

 

[Part Timer]

Mine's a Webasto from nearly 9 years ago, better not tell @Pjj who supplied and fitted it ?

 

[Pjj]

Mine's a Webasto from nearly 9 years ago, better not tell @Pjj who supplied and fitted it ?

Pure freedom ???? ?????

Mine's a Webasto from nearly 9 years ago, better not tell @Pjj who supplied and fitted it ?

Ime still waiting 5:5 years later for them to get back to me with a quote for a hot system , good job I when with Grippatank ???