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goalie1

New member
I have two questions and you guys have been a big help in the past;

First, Is there somewhere I can buy parts for my first rig at discount prices? I am looking specifically looking for stainless steel hose reels and tanks? It seems there must be someplace to get a more reasonable price.

and second, Is there anyone who can sell me specific plans to plumb my rig?
It isn't going to be ultra fancy but it will be my first and it will be mine. I have been working out of the back of my truck and just bought a 6'x10' flatbed trailer. I want to skid my 3500 psi4gpm unit with a loaf tank, 2 chemical tanks (one with a surflow pump and the other for injector use, and three hose reels,high press, garden, and chemical.

Thanks for the help if anyone has the ability to create the plans. I am not trying to be a cheapskate but every penny counts with me. I am trying to grow my bus without debt.

Thank you,

goalie
 
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ron p

if $$ is important right now, i say skimp on the stainless steel reels and just get a good quality steel one.
Plumbing is easy.
loaf tank[float tank]? Why do you need that if you have a supply tank?
Garden hose to reel-reel to inline water filter-filter to supply tank[put a float valve in the tank so it wont overflow]-bottom of supply tank to second water filter-filter to pump inlet.
**use reinforced hose from supply tank to pump and keep your pump as low as you can.
As far as the tank for your injector. I would keep it raised from the pump height and just run the supply hose from the injector to the tank[try and keep the tank close to the injector].
The flo-jet tank could be a 25 gal drum starapped to a hand cart.
Then weld 2 ears on it [like a vaccume cleaner] to wind the hose on. Weld a plate to the back of the cart to hold the battery.
Lots of people sell these pre-made if you want.
Your chem tanks can just be 25 gal drums[check your local dry cleaners or car wash,tip the guy $5]
Your garden hose reel can be got at home depot.
So can the all the hose ,hose barbs,hose clamps,ect...
You only need a supplier for the hose reels and the in-line water filters
Check out www.envirospec.com
For supply tanks check local because the shipping is a killer.
www.roncoplastics.com i think.
Do you have breaks on that trailer?
Keep in mind water is around 9 lbs. per gal.
good luck.
check out ebay once in a while for stuff.
 
Re: ron p

ron p said:

loaf tank[float tank]? Why do you need that if you have a supply tank?
Click to expand...


I have a water tank and float tanks...........the float tanks come in handy when winterizing........
 
Ther is alot of jargon going around that can easily become confusing.

With regard to tanks, I was told that in addition to any chemical tanks I may use I should also install a 130 gal horiz. leg tank. This is what I called a loaf tank. This tank would be fed by the garden hose and give my pump a steady supply of water eliminating the risk of pressure changes or lack of water damaging my pump.

My question now is since I have been successfully working out of the back of my truck since August hooking the garden hose diectly to my pressure unit, AND I am not prospecting jobs that would require my own supply of water (at this time), is this "loaf" tank an expense I can live without for now and then add to my rig later? Or is the benefit of this loaf tank something I should have ASAP while designing my flatbed rig?

I look forward to your responses.

goalie
 
If your alway working around water then its not a must. you could use and empty 55 gallon drum, (plastic) i've seen guys use these. they are cheap, you can usally find someone trying to dispose or a few.
 
tanks

Goalie, Is your unit a direct drive or a belt drive. You said you hook the hose directly to the unit. The D/D runs at a faster RPM than the B/D . 3450rpm v 1740rpm . the low rpm pump will draw a suction from a tank where as a higher rpm will not. On a D/D pump, You can mount the tank with the outlet higher than the inlet on the pump. This will fool the pump and use gravity to feed it. As long as there is a suficient volumn of water in the tank, in which you create some head pressure and the pump should run fine. But when you haul water around you want to keep it at the lowers center of gravity just for safety reasons.
Hope I have explained myself well enough.

Michael T
 
Thank you all for your replies, they have been very helpful.
MICHAEL T. my unit is a d/d so gravity will be a must, and RON MUSGRAVES, the idea of a 55 gal drum is worth checking into as a stopgap measur until I can more easily buy the large tank.
ONE MORE QUESTION???
Am I correct in my assumption that the purpose of this tank is to maintain a steady flow of water to the pump thereby protecting it and hopefully stretching out its life?
Thanks again - goalie
 
You should not have a problem using only 4 GPI. I have a 5 GPI on a small trailer that I only got because some of my exhaust customers occasionally want some outside stuff done, and I didn't want to send them to another power washer. I use it as a backup and for some bigger jobs, I don't go looking for work for it, but it gets used 7 or 8 times a month. I have never had a problem with water supply.
 
That "Loaf Tank" as you call it is a good idea if you will have workers using your rig so they won't mess up your pump while the powerwasher is ON and they aren't holding the trigger open on the Wand to let water circulate thru to keep the pump cool.

If your the only one who pretty much uses your powerwasher then I would not worry about the "loaf tank" at this time as long as you don't forget to run water thru your pump while machine is running. This requires you to squeeze gun/wand to allow water to move thru pump. DO NOT allow powerwasher to run without water circulating thru the pump at least every 2 minutes.

With that being said its NOT a bad idea to have that "Loaf Tank" set-up so you won't make the fatal mistake yourself. I may set up my second rig set-up like that when I expand my commercial work so there is less oppurtunity to screw up the powerwasher.

As for now I use Ball valves and leave them open if I need to have my powerwasher running without cicrulating water thru it longer then 2 minutes.
 
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