Working in the snow....

[Bongofish]

Personally I never work in between xmas and new year....it just doesn't feel right to me.....I like to take a good 10-12 days off and start fresh in the new year....

How can you be full up with work to not be able to reschedule a few days work?I thought you d only be window cleaning for less than a year?

Yeh I have, but have about on average 210-220 monthly customers and fully booked up until middle of February now with weekend work (Conny roofs, gutter cleaning). And just today got 5 new customers all message my Facebook business page and all in my village/town. Also will have Friday off as new year's Day so that's a day down there to make up for. 

 

[Davy G]

It's more a safety and speed issue with me, if you're using a fully extended pole at 50' the last thing you want to be doing is looking for the clamp to lower or raise the pole.

It is also much quicker to extend and collapse your daily pole if the clamps are all in line.

I cant work with them out of line either. Safety isn't such an issue for me as our standard poles are only 22 ft. We have an SLX 30 but that's only used on a couple of jobs.

It's the untidiness and trying to find the clamps to change the length that annoys me. Plus as @Pjj
said trying to fit them into tubes after.

I do wonder if it would be possible to alter the collars in future designs so that they could be lined up by feel without having to look? Perhaps having something like a small half-moon cut out on one collar and a matching half-moon male shape on the other, that would locate into place by feel alone with just a little side to side rotation?

It isn't a major issue I suppose. But it would be a niggle done away with. After all equipment design evolves over time.

 

[High-tower]

I do wonder if it would be possible to alter the collars in future designs so that they could be lined up by feel without having to look? Perhaps having something like a small half-moon cut out on one collar and a matching half-moon male shape on the other, that would locate into place by feel alone with just a little side to side rotation?

that might be quite a good idea. I don’t know if it’s common, but my poles wear and start spinning beneath the clamp. A little key in base of the clamp, perhaps like the one on the gooseneck scraper, would solve that!

 

[dazmond]

Yeh I have, but have about on average 210-220 monthly customers and fully booked up until middle of February now with weekend work (Conny roofs, gutter cleaning). And just today got 5 new customers all message my Facebook business page and all in my village/town. Also will have Friday off as new year's Day so that's a day down there to make up for. 

i have 340+ jobs on my books...a large portion of them are 4 weekly cleans and some of them are large stand alone houses plus commercial jobs and i can easily clean them working part time (20-25 hours a week)...i dont work weekends......

 

[Davy G]

that might be quite a good idea. I don’t know if it’s common, but my poles wear and start spinning beneath the clamp. A little key in base of the clamp, perhaps like the one on the gooseneck scraper, would solve that!

Maybe that would be doable? Perhaps round or bevel the corners so they wouldn't be so exposed to damage when collapsing the poles in a hurry.

 

[Chris33]

Was a guy out yesterday in Scotland where there was a fair bit of snow, hose and fittings just kept freezing up from lying in snow

 

[Bongofish]

i have 340+ jobs on my books...a large portion of them are 4 weekly cleans and some of them are large stand alone houses plus commercial jobs and i can easily clean them working part time (20-25 hours a week)...i dont work weekends......

Yeh, I don't want to be working long days Mon-friday as my weekends also involve work for the bigger jobs. 

My calculations work out that your doing roughly 70 houses a week mon-fri and working 20-25 hours?

And that doesn't include the commercial work your doing. 

I'm new to the game but that's some going.....some if my bigger house can take me 35 mins alone from parking up to pulling off. 

 

[Pjj]

Was a guy out yesterday in Scotland where there was a fair bit of snow, hose and fittings just kept freezing up from lying in snow

Sounds like he needs hot water ???

 

[Chris33]

Sounds like he needs hot water ???

Defo does. I had it before and it was an awful bother for reliability guess that depends on how it's set up 

 

[Pjj]

Defo does. I had it before and it was an awful bother for reliability guess that depends on how it's set up 

Depends what set up you have we have diesel wabasto hearers in our vans and just had the burner replaced in one after 12,000 hours run time never missed a beat and runs 8 hours a day 5 days a week , never had a breakdown with it . 

 

[Chris33]

Depends what set up you have we have diesel wabasto hearers in our vans and just had the burner replaced in one after 12,000 hours run time never missed a beat and runs 8 hours a day 5 days a week , never had a breakdown with it . 

I was grippa and the reliability did bother me a lot. Have an install in jan of new van at window cleaning warehouse do you think its worth adding their hot then?

 

[Iron Giant]

I was grippa and the reliability did bother me a lot. Have an install in jan of new van at window cleaning warehouse do you think its worth adding their hot then?

You must have had almost as many installs as @Pjj?

 

[Pjj]

I was grippa and the reliability did bother me a lot. Have an install in jan of new van at window cleaning warehouse do you think its worth adding their hot then?

I have 2 ionics thermopures and a Grippatank add on boiler on a pro 5 ionics as well would thoroughly recommend the Grippatank one , not so keen on the ionics thermopure as it puts a % of the water from the hot pump back to the tank and the pole at the same time and I feel it restricts the flow I want to the pole even on maximum setting , dint know how wcw do there set up but assume it’s similar to the Grippatank set up 

 

[Chris33]

I have 2 ionics thermopures and a Grippatank add on boiler on a pro 5 ionics as well would thoroughly recommend the Grippatank one , not so keen on the ionics thermopure as it puts a % of the water from the hot pump back to the tank and the pole at the same time and I feel it restricts the flow I want to the pole even on maximum setting , dint know how wcw do there set up but assume it’s similar to the Grippatank set up 

Yes it's a hot box and around 3k for two man seemingly. Will have to look at this but I haven't lost any days yet due to being cold. Hmmm need to give it a think 

You must have had almost as many installs as @Pjj?

Never hold onto vans long but reckon would lease after this one tbh bud

 

[Pjj]

Yes it's a hot box and around 3k for two man seemingly. Will have to look at this but I haven't lost any days yet due to being cold. Hmmm need to give it a think 

Never hold onto vans long but reckon would lease after this one tbh bud

Grippatank ones are similar money 

 

[Chris33]

Grippatank ones are similar money 

I honestly wouldn't buy off them again though. Comms for issues up in Scotland have been terrible which also puts me off travelling for another hot system. Maybe I'll try source this locally 

 

[dazmond]

Yeh, I don't want to be working long days Mon-friday as my weekends also involve work for the bigger jobs. 

My calculations work out that your doing roughly 70 houses a week mon-fri and working 20-25 hours?

And that doesn't include the commercial work your doing. 

I'm new to the game but that's some going.....some if my bigger house can take me 35 mins alone from parking up to pulling off. 

Some of my jobs take me an hour to clean.....some less than 10 mins....but the reason why I can clean a lot of jobs in a short time frame is

1.lots of work very close together. 

2.being organized. 

3.experience.

4.electric reel.

5.hot water.

 

[NewGuy]

Back on the hot water topic then?

It's the rain that's a nuisance down here in Kent. I'm tempted to call it a day. 

 

[Davy G]

Back on the hot water topic then?

It's the rain that's a nuisance down here in Kent. I'm tempted to call it a day. 

If it's too far outside your comfort zone for working, I'd call it. I wouldn't call it for worrying about how customers feel.

 

[NewGuy]

If it's too far outside your comfort zone for working, I'd call it. I wouldn't call it for worrying about how customers feel.

I called it because I'm a fairy. 

 

[wezza13]

Back on the hot water topic then?

It's the rain that's a nuisance down here in Kent. I'm tempted to call it a day. 

I didn't bother going out in it today, went and did a few outstanding quotes. Back to it tomorrow! 

Whereabouts in Kent are you?