Tank bypass

[degraffreed]

To the vets.

As you all know I am fairly new to the industry and I post a lot of questions and you guys always come thru in the nic of time.

I have another question. ( I have a lot of question)

I purchased a Rashco Rk 41 3000 psi, 5 gpm. I do alot of residential housecleaning and I have a helper that runs and check the water tank and turns on and off the machine, in order for me to change guns and wands.

I went to a local dealer and the said it would run $150.00-200.00 to set my rig up to run a bypass from my unloader to the tank. Is this reasonable or could this be something a newbie could complete.

It appears to me that all I would need would be a jumper hose from the unloader to the fresh water tank.

Any pictures someone could post as a refernce would be greatly appreciated. I may, depending on the cost, have it installed.

Thanks for the help gents.

DeGraffreed

 

[chirobob]

You can just run the bypass hose into the tank put a weight on it to stop cavitation. The neater way is to get a 3/4 inch tank fitting, fit it to the tank just below the fill level of the tank. You can use 1/2 inch garden hose for the bypass as long as it is kept fully open it won't be under a lot of pressure. I will take a photo and post my tank that I made out of a wheely bin. We don't get the variety of tanks shapes you guys have over there so this was the closest thing I could sorce at the time plus it has wheels.

 

[OrangeCrest]

I went to a local dealer and the said it would run $150.00-200.00 to set my rig up to run a bypass from my unloader to the tank. Is this reasonable or could this be something a newbie could complete.



DeGraffreed

And this is why you should do your own maintenance of your machine...

You can have this done in less than a hour, at tops.

Did you ask them how much it would run you to change your oil? ..."oh, we have a special going, have your oil changed and disposed of for only $65... We use only oil that has been blessed by the Great Powering Washing God, Wegottasucker!! Huuuuummmmmm..... Huuuuummmmmmmm.....

You can get all the equipment you need at Home Depage or Lowes...

Get a 1/2" plug (for your pump), about 3' of 3/8" hose doesn't need to be high pressure(or how ever long you need to feed the hose from your unloader to your supply tank), a bib that you are going to screw into your supply tank and attach your hose to, 2-hose clamps (one for the unloader, one for the bib).

Just follow the current hose attached to your Unloader that routes back to the front of your pump. Take that hose and route it to your supply tank.

You will need to plug the pump where the old hose went.

If you have any questions, you will get the answers here... Don't for get to let them know how long it took you and how much the equipment ran you... Also let them know when you will be bringing in your equipment for service with them, since you now trust them as much as you do...

 

[MR ALAN]

I went to a local dealer and the said it would run $150.00-200.00 to set my rig up to run a bypass from my unloader to the tank. Is this reasonable or could this be something a newbie could complete.

Highway robbery!! No different than a dealer charging $500.00 for a steam valve with install when the parts are $25.00 and will take less than an hour.

 

[squirtgun]

Degraf,
Orangecrest's pic are about the same as what I would post.The only difference is I used 5/8" id clear braid hose.The larger hose diameter moves more water,thus offering extra cooling.
The size line you use is less important than setting up the bypass to the tank.It will save you lots of wasted time back and forth to the machine(no need to shut it down when not washing),as well as,save wear and tear on your pump.

 

[Mark]

If you have upstream soap injection, and bypass back to a tank you will
wind up with a tank full of suds if you are not careful.

When we set up trailer rigs with bypass to the water tank, we usually remove the upstream soap valve.

One option would be a soap solenoid controlled by a pressure switch, shutting off the soap when you go into bypass. [whatup]

 

[squirtgun]

We never use the upstream on the machine,so we've never had that problem.

I watched a guy almost go insane because he was getting air in his system.Turns out the valve on the machines upstreamer wasn't closed,and was causing cavitation.I fixed it for him in 30 seconds,he had been trying to figure it out for a week.

 

[OrangeCrest]

If you want to upstream, just add a two way valve after the unloader and between the supply tank and the pump.

When you upstream, you will turn the valve so it circulates from the unloader back to the pump and when you aren't upstreaming, turn the valve so it unloads back into the supply tank.

 

[Jon]

It's a piece of cake to install a 3 way ball valve for by-pass.

Why a 3 way ball valve, because if you're going to run soap or anything though your pump you want it to go to the reclaim tank and not the fresh water tank.

Picture of how mine is set up.

 

[Henry Bockman]

Hey Jon,

Do you get a better mixture rate by upstreaming and do you do it often? I've always downstreamed because I was concerned with damaging the pump. Even though I didn't think it would do much harm since I run water through it immediatly when actually cleaning or rinsing.

What are the advantages to upstreaming versus downstreaming?

 

[Mark]

PRO:
Upstream soap can be applied at the full rated pressure of machine.

CON: Upstream chemical applications are limted as to what you can run through the pump / coils. no acids etc.

 

[Jon]

Henry I don't do either, I use a Shur-Flo pump and pump from my 35 gallon chemical tank.

I run 125 feet or is it just 100 feet of chemical hose and never have any problems. Ok once when the generator ran out of fuel!

 

[chirobob]

Upstreaming "rocks" for vehicle washing. I also use it through my steel eagle for flat surface cleaning. As far as degreasing (Heavy) - upstream, heat and a rotojet works great. I've never been to concerned about the pump, it is the workhorse and it may wear out. I just factor this into the hourly/job rate.

 

[Dan S]

up works good
down works good

up seems to get cleaner faster b/c of hot soap ~pressure
down takes awhile b/c you are trying to clean and sometimes just give it a mist instead of cleaning
both ways uses more h20 as compared to pre-spray mode with a shure-flo or flow-jet.
using either pumps you save h20 and soap but have the extra hose to contend with.
I plumbed my 1/4'' with a ball valve and used the same wand as pressure, but couldnt find a way to hook both hoses together without spending lots of $. also winding the two hoses together on one reel was a challenge.
2 step hoses are twice the $ and are very heavy.

Im thinking about going down acid and up the soap which is very easy for me b/c of the remote.

but then I contend with using more h20 which means I would have to stop and fill up more. as well as buying more soap.

when I pre-spray I can get 6 drums outa one drum and the results are great.

I wish I can find that "magic" soap that I can pre-spray and then just do a rince and not a wash to get the results.

BUt everybody I buy from claims to have the best soap on the market and they either work or they dont there seems to be no in- between.

I do believe the "power-brite" when used alot strips the shine off the trks. and makes it very dull........... clean looking but dull.

so now im searching once again for the soap of THE century. power brite also streaks the tanks and the only way to correct it is re-apply the power brite or apply acid.

SO WHO HAS A GREAT SOAP? AT A COST EFFECTIVE PRICE????????????????

 

[chirobob]

Hey Dan,
why don't you make your own ............................you will save a heap of dough in the mean time. The comparison from downstreaming to upstreaming was that I used the same amount of soap. I've been doing this for the last six months and I'm pretty happy with the results. The best soap will have a pH of 13+ usually with caustic. Only in the last two months I've been getting a pH of 13+ with sodium metasillicate and Tripolyphoshate. If you want I will be glad to share the recipe, to date it is better than I have been able to buy. Just remember the chemical companies had to start somewhere as well, and I think all of us are just as smart as some of the chemists out there.

 

[chirobob]

BTW - the better the soap you will have to reapply the acid - it took me a lot of searching for a solution to realise this is the easiest way. So rather than a two step - I'm doing a six or seven step....................................

 

[Dan S]

By all means please send me your info. I would love to give it a shot.

smwash@pennswoods.net

also where to buy what you are talkin` bout.

Thanks.

 

[degraffreed]

Thanks for the tips gents.

Jon, on your shurflo or flowjet. How are you getting chems up high with those setups at low pressure. Are they only pushing 1-2 gpms? Seems like they do not have the pressure to get chems up high on homes. I can see it working for one story homes or flatwork but not two or three story homes.

I cannot figure out if I should go with the tank bypass and risk bypassing soap back to the tank.or should I install a remote control for the engine that I can operate as a one man cleaning crew.

I like using the upstream to get the pressure I need for the cleaning up to two stories on residential homes. The downside is I have to turn the machine off often to change out wands I need and cut the machine of if I run into a situation where I do not want the pump to bypass for more than a few minutes.

Downstreaming is slow compared to upstreaming my chems. This takes longer to clean this way. Also with your set ups are you caring chem buckets around like the x-jet setup or are your units stationary on you truck/trailer?

Can you post a picture of a Shurfol or Flowjet.

I am still learning the diffrent kinds of set ups and the pros and cons of each unit. I market to mainly to [hello] residential cleaning.

Degraffreed

 

[OrangeCrest]

I cannot figure out if I should go with the tank bypass and risk bypassing soap back to the tank.or should I install a remote control for the engine that I can operate as a one man cleaning crew.


Degraffreed

Put a two way, or three way (like Jon Noted), valve between the unloader and the supply tank/pump and this will solve the problem with soap going into your supply tank when you are up streaming.

You can also add a high pressure valve between your gun and the end of your hose. This will enable you to change between your surface cleaner and your gun without having to turn off your machine.

 

[oneness]

SO WHO HAS A GREAT SOAP? AT A COST EFFECTIVE PRICE????????????????

Citracleen. Get it from Steve Rowlett...Not super cheap, but awesome. You get what you pay for...isn't that what you tell your customers? Want a cheap soap, you'll likely get cheap results.