Van and system advice needed please.

[Viaticus]

Hi, I am looking at buying a van with built in system and I am finding all the terminology a bit of a mine field.

The prices range from 1K to 6-7K.

Are there any particular systems or makes, models etc I should stay away from? Or any pitfalls I should avoid.

THe poles and brushes I get but the tanks and battery options, makes, models and power etc is all a bit new to me.

Cheers

 

[spruce]

Before you do anything else buy a genuine TDS meter. Without knowing the tds of your tap water you can't make an informed decision on what system to buy.

Then you need a van that will carry at least 400 liters of water.

 

[peter rogers]

That's a pretty big range u have

If u have a van decide these things

If u want 1 or 2 man system

How much u want to earn per week ?

How much u are willing to trad

All these will make the decisions for battery size tank size and. The amount of water u need to produce

 

[spruce]

That's a pretty big range u have
If u have a van decide these things

If u want 1 or 2 man system

How much u want to earn per week ?

How much u are willing to trad

All these will make the decisions for battery size tank size and. The amount of water u need to produce

You're right. I was thinking as a single operator. The trouble is most buy the first van they like and then ask what size tank they can fit inside afterward.

 

[Taxlossloz]

It's very simple don't be dazzled by fancy stuff - spruce is right find out your TDS that's the complicated bit doing the water filtration

Then its just pump it out the tank through a reel , up a pole , out the brush - via battery power - if you buy the stuff yourself and DIY you will know how to replace stuff or upgrade - Spend money you save on a newer van or better poles

 

[Taxlossloz]

If you got 6 k -rough guide

3k van

1k poles ( carbon x2plus univalve)

1k filtration ( that's if TDS high)

1k tank pump batt reel fittings etc

That's generous you'd prob have 1k left to buy some more stuff like backpack , domestic pressure washer etc

Compare the pre kitted vans at 6k see how new they are etc

Get good poles don't go cheap

 

[Viaticus]

Thanks for the help guys. I have ordered a TDS Meter so I will come back with more information on that.

As for my plans - My goal is to earn circa 3K per month and I am happy starting a round from scratch and/or buying rounds that suit. At the beginning I am guessing the majority will be domestic work but I will also look to build the commercial side once I am comfortable. Ill be working alone the majority of the time, however, my brother in law has a round and will help me if I need in the early stages. The main thing is that I get up to 3K pm as quick as possible. I have money for investment through another business so I want to make sure I buy the right/suitable equipment but obviously I want to keep the initial outlay as low as possible.

I have looked all over the net and each van has a different system and different set of specs. I want to make sure I dont get stung.

Ill put up the TDS readings asap and again thanks for your help

 

[spruce]

Thanks for the help guys. I have ordered a TDS Meter so I will come back with more information on that.
As for my plans - My goal is to earn circa 3K per month and I am happy starting a round from scratch and/or buying rounds that suit. At the beginning I am guessing the majority will be domestic work but I will also look to build the commercial side once I am comfortable. Ill be working alone the majority of the time, however, my brother in law has a round and will help me if I need in the early stages. The main thing is that I get up to 3K pm as quick as possible. I have money for investment through another business so I want to make sure I buy the right/suitable equipment but obviously I want to keep the initial outlay as low as possible.

I have looked all over the net and each van has a different system and different set of specs. I want to make sure I dont get stung.

Ill put up the TDS readings asap and again thanks for your help

Once you know your tds you can then decide which system will suit you. If your water is soft then di is all you need. If its hard then you will need to use reverse osmosis to remove nearly all the minerals and di to 'polish' the remainder off.

If you are on the boarder between r/o and di (say 100ppm or a tds of 100 - same thing) then having or not having a water meter will also influence your decision.

If you are going r/o, have you got a place to store water in a 1000 IBC tank - a garage? This way you can process water whilst working and transfer to the van's tank as and when needed.

If you have a 2 man setup then you should be looking at a 650 liter tank minimum. Ideally 2 poles, 2 hose reels and 2 pumps and 2 controllers. A 110 amph leisure battery will power those. This means you will need a van of around 1100 kg payload.

Of course all this is pointless without customers, so have some leaflets printed and go knock on doors (canvass).

Where are you and what made you decide you want to clean windows - excluding BIL?

-

 

[Viaticus]

Hi just coming back on this.

Tested my water at home and it is showing 330 - how bad is that ?

Also I've decided to take the plunge and go for a 2 man set up off the bat as I expect to grow this business seriously. The vans I've looked at so far are a Renault traffic and transit. Both come with rounds that are small but can be grown. My concern is the system I get installed. One of the rounds comes with a 250L system which won't cut it.

I'll also be picking up a load of equipment which I'll have to sift through the and keep or sell etc?

Any system recommendations based on that reading would be great

 

[kevinc250]

put some links up to the vans and stystems mate,you need an ro stystem with that tds,if you want to go big then you are looking at buying a 40/40 membrane and pre filters to produce enough water for what you'll need,also an ibc tank to store this water-do you have a suitable place for a metre square tank for water production?this bit comes before buying a van or stystem some things you can economise on but not water production

 

[Viaticus]

Cheers mate.

If it's a meter square and no more then I have a space on my balcony for that which is right next to my kitchen.

I live on the first floor but I'm guessing I am run some sort of hose from my balcony down to my van which is directly underneath. ?

 

[kevinc250]

Cheers mate.
If it's a meter square and no more then I have a space on my balcony for that which is right next to my kitchen.

I live on the first floor but I'm guessing I am run some sort of hose from my balcony down to my van which is directly underneath. ?

with the right size hose gravity would push that water very quick,i'd check though on the weight loading of that balony as its a lot of weight on one point,also if you opt for an ibc tank you'd need to paint it black(if you can't find a black one)to stop alghi setting in,

 

[Viaticus]

The balcony is not over hanging its a fixed over supporting walls so very good with weight.

SO can you explain this process for me please? Is it a case of - I fill this IBC tank direct from my tank and then as I transfer it to the tank on the van it gets filtered? Or does it get filtered in the tank then transfered etc.

Sorry for the newbie questions but I am on a massive learning curve /emoticons/smile.png

Whats to stop me running from the house straight to the van down below?

Im off to google some of this

 

[Taxlossloz]

Sounds like you need RO 40/40 with pre filters set up on balcony into tank - then either gravity as Kev says or if not submersible transfer pump to blast into van quickly when you need( then hose is not permanent dangling down ) - also Di vessel to polish you could keep that in van then you could always get pure on demand if your out on job

 

[Viaticus]

Ok - done loads of reading. So 1 option is to mount an Ro 40/40 on my balcony and an ibc tank. Then feed the tank on the van with a di onboard.

What is another option please?

Im going to ring round a few companies to see what they recommend also.

 

[spruce]

An IBC tank full of water weighs a ton plus the weight of the frame and container. There aren't many balconies built to take that weight.

Flats are an issue. Water usage is a problem if the flats are on a water meter. With a 4040 and a tds of 330 I recon you will need a waste to pure ratio of 2 to 1. So 1 liter of pure will cost you 3 liters of water to produce. Use 350 liters a day of pure will mean using 1000 liters.

If you can overcome this issue permanently then I would say it would be better to process water directly into your tank if you can park close enough. Mine produces 2 liters of pure a minute so it would take me less than 3 hours to fill it. Doing this isn't the most convenient way but its probably the best you can do under the circumstances.

Here's @slippy with his situation.

Putting hose on outside of flat?

-

 

[WW2015]

Hi Viaticus,

I bought all of my equipment fairly recently after window cleaning for 2 years for a larger company.

This is the list of things I bought and I found putting everything together fairly straightforward, its certainly the cheapest way to do things. I don't mean to plug any particular companies but i did find the cleaningwarehouse to have pretty much the cheapest on everything...also their technical support was very helpful when I did get stuck or have queries when putting things together.

2007 Mercedes Vito 100k miles £3000

Gardener SLX 25 £250 + VAT (should reach pretty much every window on a domestic round)

500L baffled Tank - Thecleaningwarehouse £231.62 + VAT

Retaining Frame for 500L Tanks - Thecleaningwarehouse £137.50 +VAT

Pump, Controller and split relay - Thecleaningwarehouse £166.66 +VAT

Univalve for Pole £29.99

Water filtration - The BIG Genie Static RO 4040 Professional system £791.66 + VAT.

Rubber matting to line the van- Superior Black CHECKER-PLATE Garage Van Shed Rubber Flooring Matting 1.5M WIDE

£45

I also painted the van with some cheap waterproof paint from screwfix. So in all, my setup cost me under £5000 including the van.

 

[Viaticus]

Vid of balcony

 

[Viaticus]

For some reason it's not accepting my vid or pics to show you the balcony

 

[Viaticus]

Hi Viaticus,
I bought all of my equipment fairly recently after window cleaning for 2 years for a larger company.

This is the list of things I bought and I found putting everything together fairly straightforward, its certainly the cheapest way to do things. I don't mean to plug any particular companies but i did find the cleaningwarehouse to have pretty much the cheapest on everything...also their technical support was very helpful when I did get stuck or have queries when putting things together.

2007 Mercedes Vito 100k miles £3000

Gardener SLX 25 £250 + VAT (should reach pretty much every window on a domestic round)

500L baffled Tank - Thecleaningwarehouse £231.62 + VAT

Retaining Frame for 500L Tanks - Thecleaningwarehouse £137.50 +VAT

Pump, Controller and split relay - Thecleaningwarehouse £166.66 +VAT

Univalve for Pole £29.99

Water filtration - The BIG Genie Static RO 4040 Professional system £791.66 + VAT.

Rubber matting to line the van- Superior Black CHECKER-PLATE Garage Van Shed Rubber Flooring Matting 1.5M WIDE

£45

I also painted the van with some cheap waterproof paint from screwfix. So in all, my setup cost me under £5000 including the van.

Great infor thanks