W
WWC
I wanted a less expensive start in water fed poles, and decided to convert a Harris decorator's pole into a water fed pole. Though, I decided to buy the conversion kit will all the bits (and instructions) already from Tecbuk. I got my water fed pole conversion kit on eBay.
Here is the contents of the kit:
This kit is for converting a 5m Harris pole to a water fed pole, so even with the kit, you still need to buy the following to get you a fully working water fed pole:
1 x 5m Harris Pole (from B&Q or other decorator's supplies store - about £15 at this date)
1 x Water Fed Pole Brush (from a manufacturer or specialist window cleaning supply store)
1 x Hose adaptor to go to your water supply e.g. male Microbore or male Hozelock fitting (eBay or a specialist window cleaning supply store)
And of course, you will need the rest of the wfp set up e.g. water and pump etc.
OK, so down to work...
Take your 5m Harris Pole:
The Tecbuk instructions tell you to use a hacksaw and saw off the end of the pole. Right at the start, I deviated from the instructions! I did stick to them the rest of the way through the process (mostly).
I drilled out the pop rivets instead to remove the end piece.
Then I 'helped' the end off with a thump from a chisel as it was sticking on still a bit.
Afterwards, I used the sandpaper provided in the kit to clean up the inside of the holes, to remove any rough edges.
Next, the fitting that goes into the top of the pole. It is too narrow to fit tightly inside the Harris pole, so...
Use the insulating tape provided to pad the inserted section out a bit.
Make sure you don't wind on all the tape. Stop after a number of winds to check out the fit. It should be a tight, even fitting the length of the inserted section. So, add or take away tape to achieve that result.
I deviated a little from the instructions again here – just in what order I did a couple of things in. The instructions went to do a bit of glueing soon. I wanted to do that at the end, as I knew once I started to glue anything, I would need to stop working on the pole and let the glue cure.
So I went to the other end of the pole next, and cut the base cap off with a Stanley Knife.
The cap comes off easily, though these is a bit of glue left on the pole, it rubs off fairly easily with your sandpaper.
The new cap in the kit is a bit big for the Harris Pole, so use the rest of the insulating tape to pad out the pole.
Winding insulating tape on the base of the Harris Pole
Afterwards, push on the end cap
Now, back to the top end of the pole again. It's time to do some glueing.
We want to mix the epoxy resin provided, and spread it onto the taped section of the metal piece we are going to insert into the pole. I assume you already know it is a nice tight fit since you tried it before moving onto the base end cap – didn't you? If you haven't tried it, do it now before it is too late.
The instructions didn't say this, but generally, with epoxy resin, you should squeeze out equal amounts of both tubes onto a mixing surface, and using the blue spatula thing provided, mix them together before putting them onto the insert.
Mix equal quantities of both tubes
Then spread the glue evenly on the taped part of the insert using the spatula provided, and ease it into the end of the pole.
Once in place, leave undisturbed to harden / cure. I left mine for 24 hours.
Ok now it has cured, we are nearly there now.
Take the hose provided and push it up the end of the pole. Personally, I found it easier to go from the top end down.
Once all the way through, we have a fiddly bit. We need to get the hose to come out of the side hole in the top insert.
I used garden wire to help me pull the hose through the side hole.
Now push on the connector that goes to the jet hoses. This goes onto the hose that you have just pulled out of the side hole
Screw on the angle adaptor and extension piece
Then add you brush (not included in this kit) and connect the hose to the jets.
You may need to adjust the length of hose coming out of the side hole. It should be enought to allow movement in the brush when the angle is changed, but not so much that it flops about and gets tangled when you are working.
Finally, you need to add an adaptor to the end of the hose that will connect to your water supply. That is likely to be a 'male' fitting of either Hozelock or like in my case, a Rectus 21 Microbore fitting.
You will need to soak the end of the hose for a minute or two in boiling water to soften up the end the hose, and allow the hose fitting to be put on easier as the hose will streatch better to accomodate the inserted fitting. To do this, I just put some boiling water into a heat resistant jug, and put the end of the hose (about 5cm) into the water for a couple of minutes.
Before putting the hose fitting on, make sure you have put an 'O Clip' loosely on the hose first, then you can use this to clamp the hose onto the fitting afterwards to secure it. The O Clip can be secured by tightening in the 'lugs' at the side. You can do this with pincer pliers, or I just used an older pair of cable clippers.
Here is an example of how to tighten the O Clip.
Please Note: You do this on the hose, when the clip is in place. This photo was taken with no hose as it was too difficult for me to position the clip correctly, tighten it, and get a good photograph, doing all by myself.
Now you are good to good to go. Just plug in your new water fed pole to your purified water supply and your off!
I bought one of these conversion kits as I was still pretty new to water fed poles when I got it, and wasn't sure what I needed or didn't need, so I wasn't about to try and guess what I needed to convert a Harris pole to a water fed pole. Though, as I write this post, I am a lot more savvy than when I bought the kit (some time has passed between taking these pictures and me actually writing this post, and I primarily use WFP now). Though, I still feel that the kit was good value, and a good buy, as it gives you everything you need in one parcel. No shopping around for different sized bits and pieces, it all comes as one package, ready to use.
As you can see from this post, it is pretty simple to convert a 5m Harris pole to a Water Fed Pole with this conversion kit.
Here is the contents of the kit:
This kit is for converting a 5m Harris pole to a water fed pole, so even with the kit, you still need to buy the following to get you a fully working water fed pole:
1 x 5m Harris Pole (from B&Q or other decorator's supplies store - about £15 at this date)
1 x Water Fed Pole Brush (from a manufacturer or specialist window cleaning supply store)
1 x Hose adaptor to go to your water supply e.g. male Microbore or male Hozelock fitting (eBay or a specialist window cleaning supply store)
And of course, you will need the rest of the wfp set up e.g. water and pump etc.
OK, so down to work...
Take your 5m Harris Pole:
The Tecbuk instructions tell you to use a hacksaw and saw off the end of the pole. Right at the start, I deviated from the instructions! I did stick to them the rest of the way through the process (mostly).
I drilled out the pop rivets instead to remove the end piece.
Then I 'helped' the end off with a thump from a chisel as it was sticking on still a bit.
Afterwards, I used the sandpaper provided in the kit to clean up the inside of the holes, to remove any rough edges.
Next, the fitting that goes into the top of the pole. It is too narrow to fit tightly inside the Harris pole, so...
Use the insulating tape provided to pad the inserted section out a bit.
Make sure you don't wind on all the tape. Stop after a number of winds to check out the fit. It should be a tight, even fitting the length of the inserted section. So, add or take away tape to achieve that result.
I deviated a little from the instructions again here – just in what order I did a couple of things in. The instructions went to do a bit of glueing soon. I wanted to do that at the end, as I knew once I started to glue anything, I would need to stop working on the pole and let the glue cure.
So I went to the other end of the pole next, and cut the base cap off with a Stanley Knife.
The cap comes off easily, though these is a bit of glue left on the pole, it rubs off fairly easily with your sandpaper.
The new cap in the kit is a bit big for the Harris Pole, so use the rest of the insulating tape to pad out the pole.
Winding insulating tape on the base of the Harris Pole
Afterwards, push on the end cap
Now, back to the top end of the pole again. It's time to do some glueing.
We want to mix the epoxy resin provided, and spread it onto the taped section of the metal piece we are going to insert into the pole. I assume you already know it is a nice tight fit since you tried it before moving onto the base end cap – didn't you? If you haven't tried it, do it now before it is too late.
The instructions didn't say this, but generally, with epoxy resin, you should squeeze out equal amounts of both tubes onto a mixing surface, and using the blue spatula thing provided, mix them together before putting them onto the insert.
Mix equal quantities of both tubes
Then spread the glue evenly on the taped part of the insert using the spatula provided, and ease it into the end of the pole.
Once in place, leave undisturbed to harden / cure. I left mine for 24 hours.
Ok now it has cured, we are nearly there now.
Take the hose provided and push it up the end of the pole. Personally, I found it easier to go from the top end down.
Once all the way through, we have a fiddly bit. We need to get the hose to come out of the side hole in the top insert.
I used garden wire to help me pull the hose through the side hole.
Now push on the connector that goes to the jet hoses. This goes onto the hose that you have just pulled out of the side hole
Screw on the angle adaptor and extension piece
Then add you brush (not included in this kit) and connect the hose to the jets.
You may need to adjust the length of hose coming out of the side hole. It should be enought to allow movement in the brush when the angle is changed, but not so much that it flops about and gets tangled when you are working.
Finally, you need to add an adaptor to the end of the hose that will connect to your water supply. That is likely to be a 'male' fitting of either Hozelock or like in my case, a Rectus 21 Microbore fitting.
You will need to soak the end of the hose for a minute or two in boiling water to soften up the end the hose, and allow the hose fitting to be put on easier as the hose will streatch better to accomodate the inserted fitting. To do this, I just put some boiling water into a heat resistant jug, and put the end of the hose (about 5cm) into the water for a couple of minutes.
Before putting the hose fitting on, make sure you have put an 'O Clip' loosely on the hose first, then you can use this to clamp the hose onto the fitting afterwards to secure it. The O Clip can be secured by tightening in the 'lugs' at the side. You can do this with pincer pliers, or I just used an older pair of cable clippers.
Here is an example of how to tighten the O Clip.
Please Note: You do this on the hose, when the clip is in place. This photo was taken with no hose as it was too difficult for me to position the clip correctly, tighten it, and get a good photograph, doing all by myself.
Now you are good to good to go. Just plug in your new water fed pole to your purified water supply and your off!
I bought one of these conversion kits as I was still pretty new to water fed poles when I got it, and wasn't sure what I needed or didn't need, so I wasn't about to try and guess what I needed to convert a Harris pole to a water fed pole. Though, as I write this post, I am a lot more savvy than when I bought the kit (some time has passed between taking these pictures and me actually writing this post, and I primarily use WFP now). Though, I still feel that the kit was good value, and a good buy, as it gives you everything you need in one parcel. No shopping around for different sized bits and pieces, it all comes as one package, ready to use.
As you can see from this post, it is pretty simple to convert a 5m Harris pole to a Water Fed Pole with this conversion kit.
