Starting out in a car help please

I drive a Dacia Sandero stepway could any one recommend what type of system to get shall I get about a 250l tank and put it in the boot or use the 25l containers and use a trolley? Also what pole would you guys recommend as a first. Thank you very much in advance [emoji120]

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Is it possibly to just cut to the chase and get a van? Consider this first I reckon

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Unfortunately my budget at the minute is about 500-1000 inc all the leaflets etc only doing it weekends until my round picks up [emoji846]


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Get the biggest tank the car will take don't get 25l containers get a Marine bilge pump glued to the bottom of the tank and wire it up to a leisure battery, fit a marine re-enforced vaccum hose and get a fuel gun it takes 30 seconds to fill a Backpack which I'm presuming your planning to use?

Yeah just wasn’t sure weather to use a tank or the smaller containers, what pole should I get and length?


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Qwerty Cleaning said:

Yeah just wasn’t sure weather to use a tank or the smaller containers, what pole should I get and length?
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I filled and emptied containers for 8 years my shoulders and legs aren't thanking me for it I'll put some links up tomorrow for you of what you need I'll also do a vid of my set up, get a 22 ft pole if you can it'll cover most awkward to reach windows and do most 2 storey.

id be checking your insurance if you are sticking a big tank in it!
so id get water purification sorted first,barrels,backpack,slx or clx 22 pole and 30m hose reel should see you good for a start up

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Ok tyvm for you help everyone I’ve ordered a TDS meter so just waiting on that first [emoji846]


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I started out with a old Nissan primera that I use to carry 6x 25 litre barrels and a back pack with folding trolley in the boot. Thought of putting a tank in the back but firstly its just not safe and it would invalidate my insurance. I use to do the tops wfp and bottoms trad. After about 6 months I had more work and bought a old citroen berlingo 1.9d van for £850. I put a flat tank in this and everything was done wfp from then on. You can still find these vans very cheap with low miles. The 1.9d engines are slow but very reliable. I got 3 years reliable use from this van and only changed it as I wanted something newer and with a bigger payload

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i wouldn't install a tank in it. First things first you are on a budget and at some point you will want to upgrade to a van, as it stands you would be able to sell the car on and fund part of the van later on, stick a tank in and you will more than likely make a mess and loose a big chunk of the resale value of the car??

Avoid Gardiners V3 Back packs like the plauge. Just had 1 die on me after 5 weeks and they are not returning my calls.

This is the 4th in 18 months. Wear and tear is one thing but 5 weeks? 

Avoid Gardiners V3 Back packs like the plauge. Just had 1 die on me after 5 weeks and they are not returning my calls.

This is the 4th in 18 months. Wear and tear is one thing but 5 weeks? 

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I can't fault mine mate, never had an issue with it... With regards to the service they are a bit of a pain answering the phone sometimes but they have one of the best reputations in the industry for service. If you've had issues with 2 of them why would you keep buying more? Can't understand how you made it to 4 of them.

Like I have said, fair wear and tear. But not after 5 weeks? 

That's what I have a problem with.

And best reputtations in the industry for service but they are a "bit of a pain answering the phone." 

Yeah!  Great when I have lost money.

Avoid Gardiners V3 Back packs like the plauge. Just had 1 die on me after 5 weeks and they are not returning my calls.

This is the 4th in 18 months. Wear and tear is one thing but 5 weeks? 

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I've just bought 3 of them and I found they are great to deal with but they are short of staff at moment.

I would buy a pair of roof racks and trade till I had the money to buy a van. Good luck.

Like I have said, fair wear and tear. But not after 5 weeks? 

That's what I have a problem with.

And best reputtations in the industry for service but they are a "bit of a pain answering the phone." 

Yeah!  Great when I have lost money.

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Yeah to be fair I can see where you're coming from, I'd feel the same. Just keep going, they will answer and i'm sure they will sort it for you mate!

Avoid Gardiners V3 Back packs like the plauge. Just had 1 die on me after 5 weeks and they are not returning my calls.

This is the 4th in 18 months. Wear and tear is one thing but 5 weeks? 

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Email them and you will get an answer very quickly I have found

Never had an issue with the backpacks

Ive had a few issues with my backpacks from Gardiners but their response has always been first class.

i always e mail them with details of the problem and they always respond very quickly.

personally I find their customer service excellent.

Yeh overall I’ve only ever found Gardiner helpful & honest. They’re definitely very busy... but in business that’s a good thing.

I used backpacks & containers for the first 18 months. It’s not a bad way to start actually. I really enjoyed it at the time. By the end I was doing £15-£20 a hour. 

My set up was:

•7x 25l containers

•2 v3 Gardiner back packs

•22 CLX pole

•10 CLX pole.

•A small pair of fold up ladder that went about 10ft high

•Trad bucket & gear

•And a hose reel for gutter jobs or plastic roofs (which I only brought with me when needed and plugged in to the customers outside tap)

Then after 5/6months bought a little 150gpd R.O to make my own water at home. That was £200ish maybe more.

All my stuff fitted in my Peugeot 206

without looking too unsafe or cowboy.

Set yourself a goal of maybe:

”Right in X amount of months I want enough work to buy a van & d.i.y van system” etc

Gotta be honest, if the the backpack I saw the inside of a while back is anything to go by, I’m not surprised by the number of them that go wrong quite quickly. First, the wiring and the connections didn’t look very secure. Second, the micro switches in the pumps used in these backpacks are really not up to being switched on and off as frequently as is necessary in our job. The contact surfaces burn really quickly and then they stop working. 

If I were to buy one of these backpacks, at the very least I would rewire it and fit a 40amp automotive relay to take the load off the micro switch in the pump. I would likely also substitute the controller with a cheap PWM one off eBay.  I recon that would increase the service life considerably.

I use a similar setup on my trolley and until I wired in the 40amp relay I was going through a pump every two months. It was always the micro switch that burnt out.

Marko067 said:

Gotta be honest, if the the one I saw the inside of a while back is anything to go by, I’m not surprised by the number of them that go wrong quite quickly. First, the wiring and the connections didn’t look very secure. Second, the micro switches in the pumps used in these backpacks are really not up to being switched on and off as frequently as is necessary in our job. The contact surfaces burn really quickly and then they stop working. 

If I were to buy one of these backpacks, at the very least I would rewire it and fit a 40amp automotive relay to take the load off the micro switch in the pump. I would likely also substitute the controller with a cheap PWM one off eBay.  I recon that would increase the service life considerably.

I use a similar setup on my trolley and until I wired in the 40amp relay I was going through a pump every two months. It was always the micro switch that burnt out.

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Actually saying that, the 2nd one I bought got a leak very very quickly, couldn’t find where it was coming from. Then eventually the controller dial snapped off and the battery wasn’t great.

So a year ago or so I bought another one, I only use it for two 8weekly houses, and one 6Weekly house. Never dropped or anything and it’s got a leak. Took it apart over this weekend, again can’t find where the leak is coming from, as it’s a slow small leak, but all the jubilee clips are rusty.... 

[email protected] said:

Actually saying that, the 2nd one I bought got a leak very very quickly, couldn’t find where it was coming from. Then eventually the controller dial snapped off and the battery wasn’t great.

So a year ago or so I bought another one, I only use it for two 8weekly houses, and one 6Weekly house. Never dropped or anything and it’s got a leak. Took it apart over this weekend, again can’t find where the leak is coming from, as it’s a slow small leak, but all the jubilee clips are rusty.... 

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I purchased a 12l sprayer form a supplier on eBay a while back with a similar setup in the base. It had a slow leak which I couldn’t locate but I noticed that the hose used was quite stiff and didn’t allow for any flexing. So I replaced it with some microbore hose and fresh clips to clamp it in place. It did the trick. Been dry as a bone ever since.