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Aqua pure system
- Thread starter AdamS
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AW Services
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Small and too small for daily commercial use in my opinion.
Geography is key with being a new starter.
The best helpful advice i can offer is by firstly buying a genuine H&M TDS meter and testing your home tap water to ascertain its Parts per million count.
If its under 100 you'll be okay with a simple resin filled DI vessel or something portable like the Unger Hydropower DI system and use a 2 stage prefilter for your home setup or van
A 2 micron sediment filter and a carbon block filter
If your water PPM count is stupidly high you'll require a RO membrane system
Kind regards Austin
Thanks for your advice. I was going to get a tester to test my water I'm sure it's hard water where I live. When you say small do you mean tank size as this has a 650l baffled tank. I dont really know much about them I'm just doing research. I'm guessing you can just fill the tank from garden tap and the resin and filters sort the water out?
AW Services
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My opinion.
This sounds like a DIY job as I doubt any supplier would fit a tiny r/o into a van with a 650 liter tank. You could be considering something that could end up to be a death trap.
Personally, I would only consider a system that has been supplied and fitted by a supplier such as PureFreedom or Grippa Tank. You know that the tank will be fitted correctly and as safe as is possible.
Most genuine suppliers will fit 4040 r/o's as part of a plug and play van mounted system Aqua Pure supply tiny r/o's that are ok for supplying water to coffee machines and that's about it..
They do supply a Pentair r/o which again isn't suitable for window cleaning as it isn't efficient enough. And its very expensive.
Exellent thankyou very much. I was just looking on Ebay for a van and these systems seem to be the only ones. Think it might be a case of buying a van then having the system installed by one of the two mentioned. Unless you guys know where to buy a van and system from as a package. Was looking around the 5-6k mark for van and system
I see this on Ebay as an example of what to expect from a supplier fitted system.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Window-cleaning-van-ford-transit-ionic-ionics-systems-pro-5-thermopure-hot-water/193515461651?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131231084308%26meid%3D7764d3fe25284dec80ac282cd68168bc%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D164232000687%26itm%3D193515461651%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109
The Ionic system has a good name but the system is very dated. The r/o is working pretty well removing 97% of the total dissolved solids in the water. Being a 4040 I would expect the r/o will produce around 2lpm of pure under normal conditions.
The added bonus is that it has a diesel hot water system the owner says is in good working order.
I would replace the very expensive Ionics di vessel with a standard di vessel.
The Transit is a T300 so well capable of carrying the load.
Now here's the problem. This is a 57 plate Transit so is 13 years old. It has to be thoroughly inspected for rust as these vans are terrible for it. And guess what? Under body corrosion was noted at the last MOT under advisories.
https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
If you look back over the years of MOT inspections you will find that the previous owner didn't look after his van that well. When his van failed an MOT he only replaced what was necessary to get it through the test. He calls it well maintained - no it wasn't well maintained.
It also has a high mileage. 142k is in the territory of timing chain failure.
So forget this. There is no way this van is worth that amount of money. The system isn't as valuable as the owner would like to make out. It could have cost 13k new but then you can get a brand new 650l PureFreedom system with r/o for a little over £3000 plus £500 for fitting.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/650L-FULLY-FITTED-WATER-FED-POLE-WINDOW-CLEANING-SYSTEM/250667389976?hash=item3a5cf0d418:g:KwYAAOxyOM5RZNvm
You don't need a hot water diesel heater. They cost around £4500 -£5000 for a 2 man system.
If you bought this van you would have to buy poles and hose reels.
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I see that van earlier and was a little put off by the mileage. So my budget of around 6k is doable then? I want a system that is going to work and if looked after work for many years and eventually pay for itself. I think I may have to go down the route of buy a van and system separate as I cant find anything used that seems any good. The only ones I see was them aqua pure and I'm glad I asked here as I would have probably bought it. Need to do some more research just trying to get to grips with this forum so I can answer some of my own questions really. I do appreciate all the help from you all
You really need to ask yourself what you actually need for window cleaning.
For example my son has a 2002 Citroen Berlingo 800 lx with the 2.0l hdi engine. It also has a side sliding door. We fitted a 500 liter tank with a single pump and hose reel. His SLX 25 Gardiner pole fits through the bulkhead into the drivers cabin. He also has a pair of step ladders.
We purchased it 4 years ago for a chappy in London. It had 83k on the clock and had a new clutch fitted. Body work was a little tatty but as these vans are galvanised dipped the body underneath has no rust. We paid £950 for it. Engine and gearbox are in perfect working order. It was a BT van originally and had a few central locking modifications. I put it back to standard as the mods no longer worked.
This company sometimes has vehicles worth a look at.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2014-Citroen-Berlingo-1-6-HDi-625Kg-LX-75ps-PANEL-VAN-Diesel-Manual/143551214199?hash=item216c51b277:g:TGEAAOSwMu5eaVY2
I'm not sure a 350l tank is a long term investment tbh. It maybe OK for a new cleaner but I think you will soon outgrow this size tank. But that's my opinion. Some do a good days work with less water.
For example my son has a 2002 Citroen Berlingo 800 lx with the 2.0l hdi engine. It also has a side sliding door. We fitted a 500 liter tank with a single pump and hose reel. His SLX 25 Gardiner pole fits through the bulkhead into the drivers cabin. He also has a pair of step ladders.
We purchased it 4 years ago for a chappy in London. It had 83k on the clock and had a new clutch fitted. Body work was a little tatty but as these vans are galvanised dipped the body underneath has no rust. We paid £950 for it. Engine and gearbox are in perfect working order. It was a BT van originally and had a few central locking modifications. I put it back to standard as the mods no longer worked.
This company sometimes has vehicles worth a look at.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2014-Citroen-Berlingo-1-6-HDi-625Kg-LX-75ps-PANEL-VAN-Diesel-Manual/143551214199?hash=item216c51b277:g:TGEAAOSwMu5eaVY2
I'm not sure a 350l tank is a long term investment tbh. It maybe OK for a new cleaner but I think you will soon outgrow this size tank. But that's my opinion. Some do a good days work with less water.
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I looked at this company but looked similar to that aqua pure system. Also didn't know if they was legit as it says berlingo on the ad and some pictures are of the citroen and the steering wheel is a Peugeot. I will have another look but if you find anything half decent for a new starter please post a link. I was looking at a slightly larger van as I want to do gutters aswell as I've been working with them for around 8 years so want space for some fittings to do repairs
I had a Citroen Relay 04 plate swb for 10 years until rust underneath made it commercially uneconomical to repair. I bought it at 4 years of age with 33k on the clock for £2750. It has 75k on the clock now.
I spend 2 years looking for a replacement. The best I could find was a 2012 Peugeot Boxer 333 SWB with 89k on the clock for £5500. Under normal conditions I would never have bought a van with that mileage but used vans now have high mileages. I moved my 650 liter tank from my old Relay but welded up another frame, something I wouldn't do again.
?
I worked for Citroen as a commercial salesman. We had a Berlingo come in with the same Peugeot badge on the steering wheel and Citroen Badges. Both vehicles were made on the same French production line. The Frenchman doing the paper work had no idea if it was a Citroen or a Peugeot. So he placed Peugeot and Citroen owner's manuals, service history and wallets as he was too lazy to check the chassis number on the windscreen to identify which brand it was.
When it arrived our workshop corrected the steering wheel badge. So yes, its a red flag as a potential buyer but it could have been a repeat of what happened to us and the dealership didn't bother to correct it. The other thing is that I could be a second hand airbag fitted. It says its accident free....
Lets put it this way: I've haven't heard anyone complain about the company on the forums. But like anything due diligence is important when buying anything from anybody.
They also have a 100% feedback on Ebay - that's quite an achievement for a vehicle dealer.
But its not big enough for you anyway
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Thanks spruce. I've looked at there website and they sell the 500l set up for 2500 plus free fitting at there site which isn't bad compared to some other set ups I've seen. What size van or weight would I need to carry that? As it could be a option to buy the system then i have a £3500 budget for a van
AW Services
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Very informative and genuine advice. That's what makes this forum unique. Decent guys helping one another ?
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Hi. For what you want to do with extra space you need to be looking at a Vivaro size van. You could get away with a 2700 but a 2900 is better as it will carry a heavier load. A swb would be tight but an lwb would be better.
One of the local lads does window cleaning and carpet cleaning. He has a swb 2900 with a 650l tank width ways across the van just in front of the rear axel. There is enough space between the tank and bulkhead for his carpet cleaning machine and accessories - just. He has a 2 man system with pf double decker hose reels at the back and not much room for anything else. His poles fit into 110mm black plastic sewer pipes hanging from the roof. I don't know how much extra space you need for gutters so this is why a think a lwb is better.
Now looking on eBay there is a 60 plate mwb Peugeot Boxer 333 for sale in Middlesbrough with 83k on the clock.
The nice thing about these Fiat built vans is that the bodies are galvanised from 2007. Mine hasn't got any rust underneath.
It needs to have a good service history. It has a Ford 2.2 Puma engine with timing chain. Timing chains need to be changed at around 120k. Expect the alternator to fail around now. It's not worth fixing the old one. Better to go for new, not a recon or refurbished one. It's a bummer of a job and you should replace both serpentine belts while your are there.
Oil pumps are also a weakness on this engine are they are on 2.2 Transits, Landovers and a few other brands that use the same engine.
I replaced mine together with the sump as a precaution. Another Windie locally had his pump fail so I took that as a warning to me. His van had similar mileage.
Oh. And the turbo pipe from the intercooler rusts and mine blew a hole in it. A replacement from Peugeot is £535 but £130 from coastal motor homes. A good exhaust fitter will be able to repair the pipe with a new piece for less.
Older Vivaros and Renault Trafics are the same van. They had gearbox issues from 2002 to around 2008. If a cambelt goes it's and expensive repair. Also good to keep the serpentine belt in good order. If that goes out can take a cambelt out with it.
This is why due diligence is so important. Unless you are buying new you have keep your wits about you.
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Di vessels come in different sizes but the bigger the Di vessel the heavier it is. Replacing resin become more challenging as the vessel gets bigger. It does for me anyway as I've got a bad back.
My r/o is in the garage. I have a 6 liter di vessel. My product water after r/o is 3ppm. I change resin in my Di vessel once a year. I estimate I use around 70 to 75k of pure water a year.
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If your water is soft then purifying water with resin only is an option. So this is a way of doing it. The slower the flow the better. Double Di vessels will save on resin costs a bit.
They generally say water tds to 100pm on a water metre is a good option for Di only. Water usage is another consideration. You can always add an r/o later.
But whilst convenient 25l of resin costs around £90.
