Water bill?????

[harunh]

That's about £125 to £250 a week, using that much water you must be cleaning 1,500 houses a week. So even at £10 a house that's £15,000 a week income and you can't afford £250 a week for water????? ?

I have 7 vans and each van has a 850 litre tank of water 

Today we had 5 vans out, 4 vans used all the wateR and 1 had over a quarter left so ill let u continue doing your maths in your head ?

 

[Bongofish]

Our pure usage does  vary depending on what we are doing but on avarage we use around 15,000 ltr of pure per week with 3 vans , sometimes considerably more but then we are using the customers water to top up so don’t have to pay for  that ????

Use customers water to top up pure?

I only have a 350 litre tank and I'm buy myself, but my little g300 filtration system takes about 10 hours to fill the tank with pure from complete empty. 

Not sure whether I should be looking to upgrade to something that fills faster or this is normal? 

It doesn't really cause me any massive issues. Back for 2pm in the day and buy 10pm it's nearly full and turn it off but would be nicer to be quicker. Also 60%+ of the water is waste water just going down my back drain so always feels like a big waste. 

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

@Pjjand @harunhare you not on a metered commercial water tariff in your units?

I always thought a commercial tariff was much higher than a domestic one.

I 'm on a metre the cost isn't that bad a lot better than using spotless.I can't understand why there are guys near me with multi vans that still go to them their water bills must be extortionate.

 

[harunh]

@Pjjand @harunhare you not on a metered commercial water tariff in your units?

I always thought a commercial tariff was much higher than a domestic one.

I 'm on a metre the cost isn't that bad a lot better than using spotless.I can't understand why there are guys near me with multi vans that still go to them their water bills must be extortionate.

Na on a fixed rate lol

 

[dazmond]

Na on a fixed rate lol

I know a window cleaner who uses a stand pipe on the pavement at the front of his house.....is this even legal?he s been doing it for years and has 3 vans....

 

[Pjj]

@Pjjand @harunhare you not on a metered commercial water tariff in your units?

I always thought a commercial tariff was much higher than a domestic one.

I 'm on a metre the cost isn't that bad a lot better than using spotless.I can't understand why there are guys near me with multi vans that still go to them their water bills must be extortionate.

I fill my vans from hone don’t have a unit , water for the vans I just pay for the water no sewage charge I have a sub meter for it , and pay domestic rate for it , water company know what ime doing and are happy with it , been like this for 18 years . It was them that suggested and fitted the sub  meter . 

 

[Pjj]

I know a window cleaner who uses a stand pipe on the pavement at the front of his house.....is this even legal?he s been doing it for years and has 3 vans....

It is legal if he has a licence for it we do the same when doing large pressure washing jobs and need loads of water , just phone the water company they will supply the stand pipe key and bar it has a water meter on the stand pipe and you pay per cubic meter for what you use . Some do this without the licence and it’s a heavy fine if you get caught 

Use customers water to top up pure?

I only have a 350 litre tank and I'm buy myself, but my little g300 filtration system takes about 10 hours to fill the tank with pure from complete empty. 

Not sure whether I should be looking to upgrade to something that fills faster or this is normal? 

It doesn't really cause me any massive issues. Back for 2pm in the day and buy 10pm it's nearly full and turn it off but would be nicer to be quicker. Also 60%+ of the water is waste water just going down my back drain so always feels like a big waste. 

We have filtration on all the vans so can produce pure anywhere 

 

[Bongofish]

It is legal if he has a licence for it we do the same when doing large pressure washing jobs and need loads of water , just phone the water company they will supply the stand pipe key and bar it has a water meter on the stand pipe and you pay per cubic meter for what you use . Some do this without the licence and it’s a heavy fine if you get caught 

We have filtration on all the vans so can produce pure anywhere 

But to produce enough water to clean a house I would be there waiting for half an hour ?. Maybe yours are alot faster than mine ?

 

[ched999uk]

Use customers water to top up pure?

I only have a 350 litre tank and I'm buy myself, but my little g300 filtration system takes about 10 hours to fill the tank with pure from complete empty. 

Not sure whether I should be looking to upgrade to something that fills faster or this is normal? 

It doesn't really cause me any massive issues. Back for 2pm in the day and buy 10pm it's nearly full and turn it off but would be nicer to be quicker. Also 60%+ of the water is waste water just going down my back drain so always feels like a big waste. 

If your filtration is working and giving you enough pure then no problem at all. 

Unless you have very low tds they you are going to be 'wasting' a fair bit of water it's normal. I was considering running waste to a water butt and using a little pump to fill up loo (bungalow and bathroom next to outside tank) that way I would be using some of the waste to flush the waste ?. 

 

[Part Timer]

But to produce enough water to clean a house I would be there waiting for half an hour ?. Maybe yours are alot faster than mine ?

We can produce up to 250 litres an hour and @Pjj can do 400 litres an hour. We will need to upgrade as with 2 men working on big commercial jobs we're not actually producing much more than we're using.

 

[Martyn]

But to produce enough water to clean a house I would be there waiting for half an hour ?. Maybe yours are alot faster than mine ?

You need a 4040.

 

[Pjj]

But to produce enough water to clean a house I would be there waiting for half an hour ?. Maybe yours are alot faster than mine ?

No ime talking about large commercial, hotels, apartment blocks etc that we are at for several hours , we wouldn’t fill up at a private house , I can produce 1000 ltr of pure in 2 hours  per van ,it will still fill the tank using 3-4  pumps running whilst filling the tank 

You need a 4040.

We have twin 4040  and 800 ltr per hour booster pump 

 

[Bongofish]

No ime talking about large commercial, hotels, apartment blocks etc that we are at for several hours , we wouldn’t fill up at a private house , I can produce 1000 ltr of pure in 2 hours  per van ,it will still fill the tank using 3-4  pumps running whilst filling the tank 

We have twin 4040  and 800 ltr per hour booster pump 

I feel that water is starting to hold me back abit. In 12-14 houses I'm empty and in the last 2 days gained 7 new customers and 2 of them big houses. Starting to work 7 days a week just so I can get all houses done with the water I have. I need to be back at 2pm so I can start filling tank for next day. Really going to have to either look at a new system or a separate tank that I can leave running into while Im working so I've always got more water if I need it. ?

 

[Part Timer]

I feel that water is starting to hold me back abit. In 12-14 houses I'm empty and in the last 2 days gained 7 new customers and 2 of them big houses. Starting to work 7 days a week just so I can get all houses done with the water I have. I need to be back at 2pm so I can start filling tank for next day. Really going to have to either look at a new system or a separate tank that I can leave running into while Im working so I've always got more water if I need it. ?

Nice problem to have

 

[ched999uk]

I feel that water is starting to hold me back abit. In 12-14 houses I'm empty and in the last 2 days gained 7 new customers and 2 of them big houses. Starting to work 7 days a week just so I can get all houses done with the water I have. I need to be back at 2pm so I can start filling tank for next day. Really going to have to either look at a new system or a separate tank that I can leave running into while Im working so I've always got more water if I need it. ?

OK so the pure is holding you back then. First thing, you say you have to be home by 2pm to process and turn off by 10pm. If you had an auto shut off then you could run processing overnight?

Then you suggest you are running out of water so have to stop? If so then you need either more van capacity, home storage or to use less water per window, you do use a univalve or tap on your pole to shut off water when not needed, like walking front to back, extending poles etc?

If you have space at home then maybe have a IBC tank and use your current RO process to auto fill. That way you will have 1000 Litres read to go but you will need auto shutoff and transfer pump.

 

[Bongofish]

OK so the pure is holding you back then. First thing, you say you have to be home by 2pm to process and turn off by 10pm. If you had an auto shut off then you could run processing overnight?

Then you suggest you are running out of water so have to stop? If so then you need either more van capacity, home storage or to use less water per window, you do use a univalve or tap on your pole to shut off water when not needed, like walking front to back, extending poles etc?

If you have space at home then maybe have a IBC tank and use your current RO process to auto fill. That way you will have 1000 Litres read to go but you will need auto shutoff and transfer pump.

Hey mate. 

Yeh I use a univalve. I think it's going to have to be an outside storage tank in the back garden. Never thought about the auto shut off, are these hard to install? Although it means my 350litre tank will still be enough to do me untill 2pm anyway. (I start at 8:30 at first customers house). I know some people can do more houses than me with less water but still finding the perfect balance of rinsing etc etc. 

Nice problem to have

I guess so. But also is this a problem that's not needed? You guys are producing pure so much quicker than me that it probably shouldn't be a problem I just need to figure out the best way so that at 2pm I'm not home again filling a tank for the next day. I'm still new to this really and always take everyone on here's opinion on board as so much experiance here. My wife keeps telling me to finance a bigger vehicle and tank but with the system I'm using , the bigger the tank, the longer to fill. ?

 

[harunh]

Hey mate. 

Yeh I use a univalve. I think it's going to have to be an outside storage tank in the back garden. Never thought about the auto shut off, are these hard to install? Although it means my 350litre tank will still be enough to do me untill 2pm anyway. (I start at 8:30 at first customers house). I know some people can do more houses than me with less water but still finding the perfect balance of rinsing etc etc. 

I guess so. But also is this a problem that's not needed? You guys are producing pure so much quicker than me that it probably shouldn't be a problem I just need to figure out the best way so that at 2pm I'm not home again filling a tank for the next day. I'm still new to this really and always take everyone on here's opinion on board as so much experiance here. My wife keeps telling me to finance a bigger vehicle and tank but with the system I'm using , the bigger the tank, the longer to fill. ?

Get a bigger van and u will have more water to play with ££

 

[ched999uk]

Hey mate. 

Yeh I use a univalve. I think it's going to have to be an outside storage tank in the back garden. Never thought about the auto shut off, are these hard to install? Although it means my 350litre tank will still be enough to do me untill 2pm anyway. (I start at 8:30 at first customers house). I know some people can do more houses than me with less water but still finding the perfect balance of rinsing etc etc. 

I guess so. But also is this a problem that's not needed? You guys are producing pure so much quicker than me that it probably shouldn't be a problem I just need to figure out the best way so that at 2pm I'm not home again filling a tank for the next day. I'm still new to this really and always take everyone on here's opinion on board as so much experiance here. My wife keeps telling me to finance a bigger vehicle and tank but with the system I'm using , the bigger the tank, the longer to fill. ?

Looking at this logically you need more water on the van! Even if you produced more at home you would still run out at 2pm, OK so you could pop back home if close and fill up.

Looking at your fill rate it seems like you are producing about 40 litres per hour. So if you had a 400 litre tank in van it would take 10 hrs to fill. That's fine if you don't have to watch it and stop it when it's full.

An auto shut off is very simple. All you need is a float switch similar to this Stainless float switch then you need a 12v solenoid valve 12mm barbs . You then need to connect the solenoid valve to your water inlet and the float switch into the top of your tank. The solenoid -ve goes to leisure battery or chassis ground. Then you need a wire with a fuse (1amp) from leisure battery +ve to the float switch, then out of float switch to +ve on solenoid. That's it!!!! The float switch needs to be set so that when water is low it provides 12v to solenoid and that opens the solenoid to allow water to flow in to you ro system. This is just a very basic system with just some random amazon parts. Obviously stainless and brass components are probably better quality but the above gives you an idea?

Also it might be worth having an overflow from your tank just in case the shutoff fails otherwise you could flood the van!!!!

One other think you could do as a temp measure if your van has weight limit to spare is after about 3 hrs of production go out and transfer your pure into 4 barrels. Then carry on filling your tank with an auto shutoff. Then you have 100litres extra to top up your tank with. 

Hope that helps?

 

[Part Timer]

Hey mate. 

Yeh I use a univalve. I think it's going to have to be an outside storage tank in the back garden. Never thought about the auto shut off, are these hard to install? Although it means my 350litre tank will still be enough to do me untill 2pm anyway. (I start at 8:30 at first customers house). I know some people can do more houses than me with less water but still finding the perfect balance of rinsing etc etc. 

I guess so. But also is this a problem that's not needed? You guys are producing pure so much quicker than me that it probably shouldn't be a problem I just need to figure out the best way so that at 2pm I'm not home again filling a tank for the next day. I'm still new to this really and always take everyone on here's opinion on board as so much experiance here. My wife keeps telling me to finance a bigger vehicle and tank but with the system I'm using , the bigger the tank, the longer to fill. ?

To give you an idea of what's available off the shelf. I'm sure the tech guys will say make one yourself at a fraction of the cost.

https://purefreedom.co.uk/water-purification/reverse-osmosis.html

 

[Davy G]

My water bill is approx £1400 a year, I'm on a meter. It's  not the end of the world, a fair portion of that goes towards use of home so...meh. 

(Removed for the snowflakes)

My personal opinion is that it's criminal to be metering use of a resource that will never dwindle. The same amount of water has always existed on the earth, and always will. It's not like gas and oil when there is only a finite supply available. 

But then again water meters was Labour's idea, so no surprises for that..

?

Well worth following @ched999uk's advice on fitting an overflow. But make sure you have a bigger overflow than the pipe filling. I'd suggest 1/2 inch pipe at least.

A cautionary tale : A couple of months back my tank overflowed in the garage despite having an overfow. I have a 1000 litre IBC tank half way back from the door. The inlet is 1/4 inch, the overflow is 3/8 which is the next size up. I have a float switch which shuts off the booster pump when the level is about a foot from the top. I have another float valve which is supposed to shut off the water completely when the level reaches about 6 inches from the top. It slows it to almost a stop but still a very, very slow trickle.

Any excess water had up to then always escaped through the overflow. Till one night it didn't. The overflow wasn't blocked and the pipe had no high points to allow an air lock. I figured out what the problem was.
It was that the length of pipe on the overflow is about six or seven feet, from the top of the tank to the ground just outside the corner of the garage door (for monitoring purposes). The weight of water above the pipe wasn't quite enough to break the surface tension and force the air out through the pipe. I had often seen the level reach an inch or two above the overflow before suddenly releasing. As I said, on that one occasion it just kept going, eventually coming out of the lid. We had to remove the carpet from the floor and we replaced it with the click-together rubber matting from Halfords.

A job for the Spring is to fit a larger, probably 3/4 inch o/flow.

 

[Pjj]

I feel that water is starting to hold me back abit. In 12-14 houses I'm empty and in the last 2 days gained 7 new customers and 2 of them big houses. Starting to work 7 days a week just so I can get all houses done with the water I have. I need to be back at 2pm so I can start filling tank for next day. Really going to have to either look at a new system or a separate tank that I can leave running into while Im working so I've always got more water if I need it. ?

What size tank and what filtration have you got ??? What’s your TDS??