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Advice from Lads with 2 reel set up

johnny bravo

Well-known member
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2,754
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teesside
setting van up today as a 2 man / 2 reel / pump. etc

do any of you with this set up have any niggling issues i should look out for    when 2 working togeather from same van. 

Tangled hoses etc.        what can i expect.   Or does it work out well.

one does tops / one follows and cleans bottoms. 

or one Back one Front

Any advice will be much apreciated.   

 
setting van up today as a 2 man / 2 reel / pump. etc

do any of you with this set up have any niggling issues i should look out for    when 2 working togeather from same van. 

Tangled hoses etc.        what can i expect.   Or does it work out well.

one does tops / one follows and cleans bottoms. 

or one Back one Front

Any advice will be much apreciated.   
We only work one person per property on domestic , 3-4-5-6 bed  as dont feel it’s efficient to have two people on it , if it’s a large Manor House then yes two works well we usually have one guy front and one back and then they will take an end each , working from the van with two guys works well this was my set up on old van very fast and effective way of working , new van will have twin stack reels .

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Different coloured hoses can be handy to untangle them ?  Do they both need to wind in at same time? If so can you position reels so they can both be wound in at same time?

 
what a balls up,    all going fine then i find a tear in the old reel hose   been stored away for a few years.      Cut that bit off then  Strainer leaking .     Looked like the plastic  cracked inside hose end.  maybe cracked with O ring tightened up.     

Set all up again,     now water trickling out then stopping for some reason.     All feking day wasted.        i did manage to get van cleaned out .     Headache job.    

 
We go different ways, one left and one right, then meet in the middle.
Same as that. We each go to the furthest point. Which is usually the opposite back corner, as we mostly work with the van parked adjacent to the corner of the house in line with the drive or side alley. That way we each do two aspects if it's detached, so only one corner each to trail the hose round for access. Ie, we try to work diagonally. If the side entrance is on the left, lookin at the property, I, working from the back of the van will start working at the diagonal far corner of the rear of the house. Son (working from the side door workstation) will start at the same corner on the right side of the house from the front access.

If the rear access is to the right of the house, then he will pull around to the back with the side kit as that's the way the van lines up for us each to have just one corner to go round. We'll then work on one wall at a time each. Top, then bottom on the same wall and work towards each other.

No, doing all the tops all round then going back to do all the bottoms, as I think some might do. Less footwork and effort, more efficiency and speed.

Our workstations are entirely separate and independent of each other, so as we don't get in each others way and impede the stride of our work.

 
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Im trying to set my van up as a 2 man reel setup.    i have all the gear but having a few teething issues,   Cannot fathom out why water flow is getting restricted.    

When i got  it 1st set up all seemed ok, waterflow was ok from both reels.     Then i noticed 1 strainer leaking.     Looked like a cracked   bit from strainer clamp in hose.     Replaced then things started to not go smoothly.

Is there any where in North East  i can get it set up .   If i cannot get it right tomorrow.  Probably something stupid needs rectifying.        Its hard to put pics on here now from computer .   it used to be easy 

 
Just replicate the second reel the same way you  have done the first , only reason for restricted flow would be the outlet from the tank is to small , from experience if taking two hoses from one outlet it needs to be 3/4 inch for best flow , or a smaller separate  outlet will work ok , can you put up any pictures of your set up and tank outlet 

 
i agree with those who go to far corner. one goes to back far corner or to a barrier like a side fence  or shed the other goes to same corner/barrier from front side. then we work towards each other.

both setups are at side door and there is sometimes a small traffic jam at set up. i may look at putting one out the back for next season.

for residential you want a pole with short collapsed length so clamps are at your chest and you can extend and collapse fast and easy. 

our minimum price is 89 cad for up tp about 12 panes of glass outside only. it takes 11-13 minutes from pulling up to driving away.

we use all reach it equipment including rhino hose 150 feet on electric cable spool.

 
We have never had a problem with 2 Shurflo pumps drawing water from a single 1/2' hose from the tank.

Having 8mm hose on one reel and 6mm on the other makes no difference. This is our current setup although soon still uses the backpack 50% of the time.

A 1/2" house with a t piece for the closest pump has worked for us for near on 15 years.

I put up a photo of my first van's pipework a while back for you to copy. I've stuck to the same setup with the following 2 vans.

Those Shurflo pump filters need to be hand tightened and then I nip them up with a spanner. They do leak air on the suction side of you don't. (They are plastic so you need to do this with care.)

 
When I first set up my two man system I had the pumps at slightly different heights not thinking it would make a difference. After posting on here for help someone (think it was Spruce) told me to ensure they were at the same height. 

Dont know if that helps?

 
got one now.      strainer is leaking from the top of strainer,  cant fathom as to why.  may be the seal 
Usually if it's hit by frost it will crack or start to leak.

If you have no heat in the van then run the pump dry for a few seconds and then remove and empty the strainer at night.

 
Best place off the shelf for hose to go from pump to reels .    May need some as and when needed .   Not the  standard cheap hose , something decent .  get a few metres

 
im taking a look today, need to get sorted or put back to  solo set up.

Trying to set up to get son out.  hes been out a few times now but just taking turns  different houses.    

He works p/t  hours reduced in town .   his partner works F/T      Mrs asked him what he was having for Tea,  he says maybe cheese on toast .     WTF    both wages go on rent P/Tax  etc.       Need to get sorted so he can get an extra income coming in 

Seems some working people are worse off than couples on Benefits  .     They cannot get any help with any reductions etc  as both classed as working 

Imaging doing a full days work  security guard,    going home for Tea to see if you have anything,   Cheese on toast.       Both paid monthly .

 
Best place off the shelf for hose to go from pump to reels .    May need some as and when needed .   Not the  standard cheap hose , something decent .  get a few metres
I personally use and have to admit I get mine from Amazon UK 

13mm PVC nylon re-enforced hose.

Fits all hoselock style connectors perfectly and doesn't kind or twist 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/METRES-BRAIDED-FLEXIBLE-TUBING-AIRLINE/dp/B009W7BJDY/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=13mm+pvc+hose&qid=1606302741&sr=8-5

 
We have never had a problem with 2 Shurflo pumps drawing water from a single 1/2' hose from the tank.

Having 8mm hose on one reel and 6mm on the other makes no difference. This is our current setup although soon still uses the backpack 50% of the time.

A 1/2" house with a t piece for the closest pump has worked for us for near on 15 years.

I put up a photo of my first van's pipework a while back for you to copy. I've stuck to the same setup with the following 2 vans.

Those Shurflo pump filters need to be hand tightened and then I nip them up with a spanner. They do leak air on the suction side of you don't. (They are plastic so you need to do this with care.)
I followed this  setup Spruce,     What i changed was my hose fittings from hozelock.     My big mistake was fitting a dead end hozelock onto tank tap outlet.    Thinking it was a claar female hozelock  brass from B&Q.     Picked from the box i took no notice.    Changed that to a Hozelock fitting  , changed my  Elbow swivell  to Hozelock.       Water running again to my main reel i use daily.   

At least i know i can get out even by myself untill i get organised   

 

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