Eliminating Recovery Tank

My goal is to get a mini reclaim rig into the back of a van for our regularly scheduled nightly accounts. 4gpm Hot with a vacuum system, probably just a vacuberm or vac surface cleaner.

My question is...can I attach a series of filters to the auto pump out of a vac drum, bypass recovery tank, and recycle gray water for reuse. No oil, just dirty concrete. I realize I will be changing filters often, and I am prepared to replace packings/pumps.

Don't think I will be able to fit two tanks into the back of a van. Any suggestions?
 
We do at the end of the night at the last location, but there is no grass anywhere near our work area and traffic is usually a nightmare.

We hit five or six locations a night, in and out. Looking to just get vacuberm and hose off the van and go to work.
 
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My goal is to get a mini reclaim rig into the back of a van for our regularly scheduled nightly accounts. 4gpm Hot with a vacuum system, probably just a vacuberm or vac surface cleaner.

My question is...can I attach a series of filters to the auto pump out of a vac drum, bypass recovery tank, and recycle gray water for reuse. No oil, just dirty concrete. I realize I will be changing filters often, and I am prepared to replace packings/pumps.

Don't think I will be able to fit two tanks into the back of a van. Any suggestions?

Do you mean put it directly back to the pressure washer? If so, i think that you would have too many "gaps" in the flow, too little sometimes too much other times, probaly need to use a small float tank at the minimum.

And it is very easy to build some drop out tubes with a 3 foot peice of 4" pvc and some epoxy. Take the 4" pvc put a cap on the bottom, then take a peice of 3" SDR35 pvc, cut it into a half moon about 8" long, epoxy that into the top 12"" of the pipe then put a screw cap on top of the pipe, you will need to plumb 3 -6 of these together with a common feed rail at the top and a comon rail on the bottom with a dump valve at the bottom for flushing them out. What the 3" sdr35 does is act like a drop out baffle, the solids fall and the water flows out the top fittings. You can build this for under $100.00. it will work great ,but if youget into a job where they ask for certain specs your screwed, they usualy want manufacture spec proof.

What this will do is drop most of the solids out before they get to your filters, works great and cheap to make, if you are good with metal you can make brackets for the pvc and will serve you well. But if not you can make the brakets out of wood, and just connect the system together eith a union at both ends so you can un hook it and slide it out for service.

Also if you want you can put some reusable AC filter in the tubes as well that will keep the turbitiy down and makeit settle in the tubes better.

Good luck.
 
Joe thanks for the idea! Currently, I use a stainless mesh pre-filter made for carpet cleaning rigs, that is attached to the vacuum inlet. It does a great job of filtering out solids like cig butts and leaves etc. Easy to pop off and empty out.

Don;t really have to deal with a lot of solids though as these are weekly and bi weekly accounts.
 
Joe thanks for the idea! Currently, I use a stainless mesh pre-filter made for carpet cleaning rigs, that is attached to the vacuum inlet. It does a great job of filtering out solids like cig butts and leaves etc. Easy to pop off and empty out.

Don;t really have to deal with a lot of solids though as these are weekly and bi weekly accounts.


Yea I know exactly what you are talking about, we do lots of carpet as well, those are good pre filters but will clog real fast as you know.
 
Could probably fit two of these in the back of a van...

http://www.ntotank.com/70gasttota.html

yhst-57325452875569_2121_5333588
Yes but you still need to get the solids to drop out, and it is easiest to do with a baffel. I f ya use a tank like this then the water will have a great bit of turbity and the solid will stay suspended, you maybe could fill it with the AC filter material but it would be a monster to clean out, you know trying to pull that AC filter medium out if that littleopening on this tank would be hard.

Idealy it would be better to put the drop out pre blower, that way you are extracting the water through the media at vacuum, but that is a differnt lesson. :deadhorse:
 
Joe can you post some pics or a drawing of what you are describing. that would be ideal for my situation. I'm looking for something for solid drop out that is cheap and doesn't take up alot of space. But still easy enough to clean out the sludge quickly.
 
Joe can you post some pics or a drawing of what you are describing. that would be ideal for my situation. I'm looking for something for solid drop out that is cheap and doesn't take up alot of space. But still easy enough to clean out the sludge quickly.

I may do that soon, I think I have a buyer for my company, and may sit back for a bit and maybe do something else. If that happens I will give all kinds of pics of my stuff and you all can copy all my ideas and build your dream machines....build build build!!
 
Another thing with using reusable ac filters, you want the plastic type, and then if you have light grease it will separate some of the oil out because they are oliphilic. Not a perfect separation filter butit will give you a little edge. Ibuilt my first rig like that 15 years ago in march of 95.
 
Another thing I forgot to mention when I was describing how to build a drop out system is on one of the tubes put a riser that is at least a foot or so higher then the final discharge point, this will allow for over flow to exit the system and not put back pressure on the pump out itself.

As well if you do decide to build these drop out tubes make sure you use the thicker wall sched 80 pvc for the actual tub itself, why, cause at least where I live the sun degrogate the pvc so fast that it may make it brittle.

I am going to build another set using 10" pvc this week or so, that should take care of 50 gpm if I use 6 tubes. I also just found a great supplier for filter housings and filter that will greatly increase our filter capacity, cheaply. This company is giving me filters made of recycled pet plastic, it looks like some great stuff and will give green credits on fed projects. These filter go down to 1 mic.

And wasn't there more posts in this thread? Where did they go?
 
good suggestions Joe.
Solids management is the BIGGEST issue with "recycling for re-use"..
Each contractor has his own combination of jobsites to deal with so I'll add..
There are several configurations that can work, and your trailer layout is always an issue, so..
Just call me for suggestions.. info is free.
..this is what I do.
 
By an EPA official, I was told Chicago has an archaic sewage filtration system..
Stormwater mixes directly into the sanitary-sewage system,
the Muni filters out "what they think need to"
then the effluent goes ??.. ? .. into Lake Michigan. Eh?
How nice.. ..They don't have to "write themselves an exemption"
whey they want to wash their sidewalks.

I guess they still believe "Dillution is the solution." Eh?
..and the EPA is OK with that !??

I understand that Phoenix is an enormous "sand Filter",
but Lake Michigan is supposed to be a "protected waterway."
This subject is probably the one that gave rise to the expression..
".. sh!# floats "

..'nuf said.
 
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