Waterfed pole setup

[ashley1337]

Hi all,

I’m looking to start my own Waterfed pole window cleaning business.

I’ve watched a thousand videos and been reading the forums plenty but can’t seem to find a complete list of all the tools needed to start.
I’ll be buying a van in the next couple of weeks and getting a 350-400L water tank but other than that I’m not entirely sure what to get.

Could anyone help with a full list of things needed? Even if it’s not fully required but it would make things easier/better.

Any help is appreciated
Ash

 

[spruce]

A van that will carry the load. 400 litres of water weighs 400kgs, the frame and other stuff, another 200kgs; yourself and tank of fuel.

A tank and crash tested tank frame with the tank properly secured to the van floor and chassis if possible. Preferably done professionally.
Leisure battery. 75 amph ok but 105 plus better.
Leisure battery smart 230v charger.
Spring controller and Shurflo 5.2l pump.
Hose reel with 100m of microbore hose.
All hose and hose fittings.
Gardiner SLX27.
Drying towels and dirty cloths.
An A frame step ladder to get over most padlocked side gates.
A pole with a hook to slide gate bolts across to open side gates.
Oil filled radaitor with froststat in the winter.
Outside power supply.
Not totally necessary but either a split charge relay or battery 2 battery charger.


To process your own water.
TDS meter. (not a cheap one from Ebay.)
R/O and/or DI vessel depending on the TDS of your water supply. 450gpd minimum and 4040 preferably. Option of buying water in from another window cleaner or Spotless water.
IBC tank and transfer pump.

Customers. Door knock and/or social media - say Facebook. Own website.
Customer management software program.
Advertising leaflets.
Petty cash. We still carry 2 x £10 notes, 4 x £5 notes, £18 in £1 pound coins, £2 in 50 pence pieces and 2 x 10p pieces. Most of our payents are now done via bank transfer.

Trad gear.
Unger squeegee. We have four with different blade lengths.
Unger applicator
Bucket
Eco friendly dish washing soap.
Scraper.
We also have a large Unger scraper that will go on the end of a Gardiner pole with the brush removed. Gardiner also does a scraper that will fit on their poles behind the brush head.

 

[Jaygti]

I know I always say this, but the equipment side of window cleaning is easy.
It’s getting the work that’s hard!
If your in a saturated area (most places) then expect probably 2 years of canvassing etc , to get into a reasonable position ??

 

[ashley1337]

A van that will carry the load. 400 litres of water weighs 400kgs, the frame and other stuff, another 200kgs; yourself and tank of fuel.

A tank and crash tested tank frame with the tank properly secured to the van floor and chassis if possible. Preferably done professionally.
Leisure battery. 75 amph ok but 105 plus better.
Leisure battery smart 230v charger.
Spring controller and Shurflo 5.2l pump.
Hose reel with 100m of microbore hose.
All hose and hose fittings.
Gardiner SLX27.
Drying towels and dirty cloths.
An A frame step ladder to get over most padlocked side gates.
A pole with a hook to slide gate bolts across to open side gates.
Oil filled radaitor with froststat in the winter.
Outside power supply.
Not totally necessary but either a split charge relay or battery 2 battery charger.


To process your own water.
TDS meter. (not a cheap one from Ebay.)
R/O and/or DI vessel depending on the TDS of your water supply. 450gpd minimum and 4040 preferably. Option of buying water in from another window cleaner or Spotless water.
IBC tank and transfer pump.

Customers. Door knock and/or social media - say Facebook. Own website.
Customer management software program.
Advertising leaflets.
Petty cash. We still carry 2 x £10 notes, 4 x £5 notes, £18 in £1 pound coins, £2 in 50 pence pieces and 2 x 10p pieces. Most of our payents are now done via bank transfer.

Trad gear.
Unger squeegee. We have four with different blade lengths.
Unger applicator
Bucket
Eco friendly dish washing soap.
Scraper.
We also have a large Unger scraper that will go on the end of a Gardiner pole with the brush removed. Gardiner also does a scraper that will fit on their poles behind the brush head.

Thanks mate really appreciate it

 

[ashley1337]

I know I always say this, but the equipment side of window cleaning is easy.
It’s getting the work that’s hard!
If your in a saturated area (most places) then expect probably 2 years of canvassing etc , to get into a reasonable position ??

The plan is to do weekends/evenings until I'm at the point where I can leave my job. I want to be in it long term so if it takes a few years, it'll be more than worth it in the end.

 

[Clean zero]

Very thorough list one last thing plenty of get up and go needed and energy ?

 

[RickyG]

I know I always say this, but the equipment side of window cleaning is easy.
It’s getting the work that’s hard!
If your in a saturated area (most places) then expect probably 2 years of canvassing etc , to get into a reasonable position ??

True story, in my little village of about 13 roads there are 11 different window cleaners & that's just the ones I know of

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

True story, in my little village of about 13 roads there are 11 different window cleaners & that's just the ones I know of

Same with my area.It's absolutely saturated round here.I've seen 2 new vans in the last 2 days.
I wouldn't want to be starting out now.

 

[ashley1337]

A van that will carry the load. 400 litres of water weighs 400kgs, the frame and other stuff, another 200kgs; yourself and tank of fuel.

A tank and crash tested tank frame with the tank properly secured to the van floor and chassis if possible. Preferably done professionally.
Leisure battery. 75 amph ok but 105 plus better.
Leisure battery smart 230v charger.
Spring controller and Shurflo 5.2l pump.
Hose reel with 100m of microbore hose.
All hose and hose fittings.
Gardiner SLX27.
Drying towels and dirty cloths.
An A frame step ladder to get over most padlocked side gates.
A pole with a hook to slide gate bolts across to open side gates.
Oil filled radaitor with froststat in the winter.
Outside power supply.
Not totally necessary but either a split charge relay or battery 2 battery charger.


To process your own water.
TDS meter. (not a cheap one from Ebay.)
R/O and/or DI vessel depending on the TDS of your water supply. 450gpd minimum and 4040 preferably. Option of buying water in from another window cleaner or Spotless water.
IBC tank and transfer pump.

Customers. Door knock and/or social media - say Facebook. Own website.
Customer management software program.
Advertising leaflets.
Petty cash. We still carry 2 x £10 notes, 4 x £5 notes, £18 in £1 pound coins, £2 in 50 pence pieces and 2 x 10p pieces. Most of our payents are now done via bank transfer.

Trad gear.
Unger squeegee. We have four with different blade lengths.
Unger applicator
Bucket
Eco friendly dish washing soap.
Scraper.
We also have a large Unger scraper that will go on the end of a Gardiner pole with the brush removed. Gardiner also does a scraper that will fit on their poles behind the brush head.

Having trouble finding this "Leisure battery smart 230v charger"

would you recommend 8mm or 6mm hose?

For the SLX 27, is there a specific brush that's pretty much good for everything or would you recommend a few different ones?

Thanks

 

[ched999uk]

Charger something like this Smart 12v 5 amp Charger more amps = faster charge but max should be 1/10th AH of battery.
6mm hose is lighter, more manageable, it does flow a bit less but that's not normally a problem.
Brush is a difficult one. I have a Supreme tapertec which is great, a 26cm Flocked sill brush (most work), and an extreme flocked sill brush (for my SLX27 good light weight brush, helps when doing windows over connys/extensions etc).
Started with just Supreme TaperTec which I do like - great scrubbing power.

 

[RickyG]

Having trouble finding this "Leisure battery smart 230v charger"

would you recommend 8mm or 6mm hose?

For the SLX 27, is there a specific brush that's pretty much good for everything or would you recommend a few different ones?

Thanks

i bought a smart charger for my bike out of lidl few year back not a lot of money probably sub £20 been using it on 2 of my big leisure batteries and trolley battery been good as gold no problems, ultimate speed its called shows voltage on a screen, as for a brush theres a lot of choice a flocked sill brushes from gardiners is a good starter brush but you will be going through em to find your personal choice, go on gardiners site click on brushes alex has done a youtube video explaining all the different types, the slx pole is

https://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/video-guide-to-gardiner-brushes.html

 

[spruce]

Having trouble finding this "Leisure battery smart 230v charger"

would you recommend 8mm or 6mm hose?

For the SLX 27, is there a specific brush that's pretty much good for everything or would you recommend a few different ones?

Thanks

I have this one.

Numax 12V 10A Automatic Intelligent Leisure Battery Charger ranges upto 135Ah | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Numax 12V 10A Automatic Intelligent Leisure Battery Charger ranges upto 135Ah at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

My leisure battery is 105 amps. The previous 2 were 110amps. As @ched999uk says, a 75amp battery needs a smaller charger.

I like these as they can be left on all weekend no problem.

 

[spruce]

@ashley1337
If you look at Purefreedom's website, you will see that 'plug and play' systems are available. These basically come with everything you want. They can be purchased with an onboard r/o system if this is required.

Single Operator - Upright Van Mounted Systems - Pure Freedom

Crash Tested, Van Mounted Window Cleaning Systems engineered for longevity. Pure Freedom van mounted systems are designed as a robust and long-lasting means to purify and deliver pure water, capable of running a single operator and available in 250, 300, 400 and 500 Litres. With a compact...

purefreedom.co.uk

The first thing you need is to buy a TDS meter. I would suggest www.daqua.co.uk or another main wfp supplier. This will give you a direction with regard to water filtration. You don't specific your area, but windies living in areas where the water is soft may not need an r/o as they can filter their water using resin only. However, if you are living in a soft water area and aren't on a water meter, then I would still go the r/o route to save resin costs. Resin is expensive these days.

 

[spruce]

A van that will carry the load. 400 litres of water weighs 400kgs, the frame and other stuff, another 200kgs; yourself and tank of fuel.

A tank and crash tested tank frame with the tank properly secured to the van floor and chassis if possible. Preferably done professionally.
Leisure battery. 75 amph ok but 105 plus better.
Leisure battery smart 230v charger.
Spring controller and Shurflo 5.2l pump.
Hose reel with 100m of microbore hose.
All hose and hose fittings.
Gardiner SLX27.
Drying towels and dirty cloths.
An A frame step ladder to get over most padlocked side gates.
A pole with a hook to slide gate bolts across to open side gates.
Oil filled radaitor with froststat in the winter.
Outside power supply.
Not totally necessary but either a split charge relay or battery 2 battery charger.


To process your own water.
TDS meter. (not a cheap one from Ebay.)
R/O and/or DI vessel depending on the TDS of your water supply. 450gpd minimum and 4040 preferably. Option of buying water in from another window cleaner or Spotless water.
IBC tank and transfer pump.

Customers. Door knock and/or social media - say Facebook. Own website.
Customer management software program.
Advertising leaflets.
Petty cash. We still carry 2 x £10 notes, 4 x £5 notes, £18 in £1 pound coins, £2 in 50 pence pieces and 2 x 10p pieces. Most of our payents are now done via bank transfer.

Trad gear.
Unger squeegee. We have four with different blade lengths.
Unger applicator
Bucket
Eco friendly dish washing soap.
Scraper.
We also have a large Unger scraper that will go on the end of a Gardiner pole with the brush removed. Gardiner also does a scraper that will fit on their poles behind the brush head.

I forgot a Univalve on this list @ashley1337

 

[Iron Giant]

Same with my area.It's absolutely saturated round here.I've seen 2 new vans in the last 2 days.
I wouldn't want to be starting out now.

There is a lad who set up around 2 years ago and has 3 vans on the road and is charging about £6 for a 3-bed semi he is charging half the price of the going rate on quite a few jobs and yet he isn't vat registered

 

[Pjj]

There is a lad who set up around 2 years ago and has 3 vans on the road and is charging about £6 for a 3-bed semi he is charging half the price of the going rate on quite a few jobs and yet he isn't vat registered

That’s a lot of houses at six quid a go to get to 84k ??

 

[ashley1337]

I forgot a Univalve on this list @ashley1337

Thanks dude!