Apple Roof Cleaning
Roof Cleaning Instructor
John Blue Pumps - A Closer Look
I see quite a few postings here about John Blue pumps.
We tried em years ago, w/o success.
They really aren't John Blue pumps at all, they are made by an Italian company known as Bertolini.
Here is the link, see for yourself http://www.bertolinipumps.com/nuovos...naggio_eng.htm
They are gas powered diaphragm pumps.
The PP series of pumps have stainless steel valves and springs, a big no no with chlorine.
The bolts that hold on the diapraghms on are stainless as well.
Stainless only has a "C" resistance to Chlorine.
The old pumps had many problems.
The springs broke, the valves corroded, the diaphragm bolts corroded and snapped, and the biggest flaw is the poly coated intake manifold itself!
They spring unfixable leaks on the pressure side of the manifolds, right behind the bolt hole that holds the manifold to the head.
I found John Blue company quite quick to sell us pumps, but quick to refuse to fix em under warranty!
Now, Bertolini has come out with a new pump that John Blue is again putting it's name on.
Deja Vu ?
Though it appears to have some improvements, it still uses stainless steel bolts to hold it's diapraghms, practically guaranteeing catastrophic pump failure when the cracked, corroded pieces of stainless steel rip the diapraghms apart, causing chlorine to cascade throughout the pump body.
Contrary to what some may have been told, these pumps are not Hastelloy!
The body is simple aluminum, and the rods have bronze in them!
One must remember that chlorine gasses, so one must deal with not only this aggressive liquid, but the corrosive gas as well!
We do not recommend these pumps.
Yes, they are pretty fast, but not worth the hassle and expense.
I understand John Blue is now "guaranteeing" them.
Yeah right.
Just like they guaranteed their old ones.
Once we were truly committed to their pumps for our 3 trucks with expensive gearboxes, Honda motors, etc, they decided to "Un Guarantee" them on us!
They knew quite well what we intended to do with them too.
So, there we were, a very busy roof cleaning company, basically at their mercy.
A set of valves cost 300 dollars for their pumps, and other parts were expensive too.
We went to heroic measure with these pumps, actually having springs, valves, and all critical bolts and diaphragm retainers made for us out of Hastelloy.
This cost a small fortune!
This cured the springs and valve problem, and the diaphragm bolts, but the Poly Manifold, a the aluminum body, and brass rod parts just cant take the chlorine gas and flow.
At least not for very long.
We were replacing the Manifolds every two months.
Then, lets not even get into regulators!
These pumps eat regulators, even the stainless steel spring ones.
The stainless will corrode and small pieces will find their way into the tank, only to be sucked back into the pump with disastrous results.
Strainer ?? LOL
Yeah right ?
What strainer is going to hold up to chlorine, stainless steel ?? NOT
Plastic will break, causing quick pump failure.
Until we discovered what we are now using, we finally admitted defeat, and went back to our dual shurflo .
We used dual 3.6 GPA at 45 psi on our small trucks with less hose length, and dual 100 psi Shear Flows at 1.6gpm on our longer hose equipped trucks.
One big thing to remember using a shurflo is that it is NOT a continuous duty pump, so use it for no more then 15 minutes, and take a break, go pass out some flyers, smoke a cigarette, or have something to eat.
Give the pumps a break, and they will live a lot longer.
Chris
I see quite a few postings here about John Blue pumps.
We tried em years ago, w/o success.
They really aren't John Blue pumps at all, they are made by an Italian company known as Bertolini.
Here is the link, see for yourself http://www.bertolinipumps.com/nuovos...naggio_eng.htm
They are gas powered diaphragm pumps.
The PP series of pumps have stainless steel valves and springs, a big no no with chlorine.
The bolts that hold on the diapraghms on are stainless as well.
Stainless only has a "C" resistance to Chlorine.
The old pumps had many problems.
The springs broke, the valves corroded, the diaphragm bolts corroded and snapped, and the biggest flaw is the poly coated intake manifold itself!
They spring unfixable leaks on the pressure side of the manifolds, right behind the bolt hole that holds the manifold to the head.
I found John Blue company quite quick to sell us pumps, but quick to refuse to fix em under warranty!
Now, Bertolini has come out with a new pump that John Blue is again putting it's name on.
Deja Vu ?
Though it appears to have some improvements, it still uses stainless steel bolts to hold it's diapraghms, practically guaranteeing catastrophic pump failure when the cracked, corroded pieces of stainless steel rip the diapraghms apart, causing chlorine to cascade throughout the pump body.
Contrary to what some may have been told, these pumps are not Hastelloy!
The body is simple aluminum, and the rods have bronze in them!
One must remember that chlorine gasses, so one must deal with not only this aggressive liquid, but the corrosive gas as well!
We do not recommend these pumps.
Yes, they are pretty fast, but not worth the hassle and expense.
I understand John Blue is now "guaranteeing" them.
Yeah right.
Just like they guaranteed their old ones.
Once we were truly committed to their pumps for our 3 trucks with expensive gearboxes, Honda motors, etc, they decided to "Un Guarantee" them on us!
They knew quite well what we intended to do with them too.
So, there we were, a very busy roof cleaning company, basically at their mercy.
A set of valves cost 300 dollars for their pumps, and other parts were expensive too.
We went to heroic measure with these pumps, actually having springs, valves, and all critical bolts and diaphragm retainers made for us out of Hastelloy.
This cost a small fortune!
This cured the springs and valve problem, and the diaphragm bolts, but the Poly Manifold, a the aluminum body, and brass rod parts just cant take the chlorine gas and flow.
At least not for very long.
We were replacing the Manifolds every two months.
Then, lets not even get into regulators!
These pumps eat regulators, even the stainless steel spring ones.
The stainless will corrode and small pieces will find their way into the tank, only to be sucked back into the pump with disastrous results.
Strainer ?? LOL
Yeah right ?
What strainer is going to hold up to chlorine, stainless steel ?? NOT
Plastic will break, causing quick pump failure.
Until we discovered what we are now using, we finally admitted defeat, and went back to our dual shurflo .
We used dual 3.6 GPA at 45 psi on our small trucks with less hose length, and dual 100 psi Shear Flows at 1.6gpm on our longer hose equipped trucks.
One big thing to remember using a shurflo is that it is NOT a continuous duty pump, so use it for no more then 15 minutes, and take a break, go pass out some flyers, smoke a cigarette, or have something to eat.
Give the pumps a break, and they will live a lot longer.
Chris
