So I went out and bought the spot sprayer tank and pump system mentioned in another forum thread and did some testing on it. Here are some highlights followed by my video on it.
Easy to assemble and hook up to a 12V deep cycle battery.
First test had the pump motor pulsating but flow out the brush head was fine for window cleaning. (just out of the supplied black hose the pump doesn’t pulsate. It only starts pulsating once I add 5/16" pole hose.) All in all pretty strong flow coming out. And the pump would shut off any time I shut the ball valve off. Good…saves wear and tear on the pump and battery life.
I did notice a second lead I could hook my battery up to. It appears to change the PSI rating and flows more steady. Only concern is the pump motor stays on even when the ball valve is closed. As soon as the ball valve is open, that’s when the pump kicks in and flow is good and strong.
Cleaned up to 3 stories in my testing with ball valve turned on only slightly and pump working perhaps at half strength or more. I’m sure this system could take you to 4 or even 5 stories. The pump is rated at 70PSI.
I like the steady pump flow from the second lead connection but I also like having the pump shut off when I restrict water flow so I’m thinking some more testing over long jobs would be in order. Either way, if the pump quits down the road at least I’ll have a good tank system and I can put a better pump on it.
Hope this helps. At least it’s a cheap way to play around with vehicle pump/tank setups. You can even put this on a cart although if it’s full it will be quite heavy to get off the vehicle.
It sounds like the first lead connection didn’t activate an internal bypass so the pump starts cycling when there’s enough back pressure once you connect the 5/15 tubing and brush to it. Maybe the second lead activates an internal bypass so you no longer have a cycling problem. However, this bypass doesn’t shut off the pump when the flow is cutoff completely.
Doesn’t the pump come with a manual so you can confirm this? Or maybe you can find the manual online.
Pump lasted about a full season. To re-buy the same pump would be fairly cheap. $30 US
I went with a shurflo 1.0 to 1.8 60 psi. About $90 i think was the cost.
Tho that pump burned through the small battery on board fast.
So up-graded battery as well.
I never had the pump still running when i pinched off. Same goes with the new stuff installed.
So i would say get you a back-up of same pump or up-grade pretty soon.
Awesome video Mark! That’s exactly what I’m looking at doing. Any idea how much time on a 2 gpm pump your 15 gal tank would last? I’m thinking of a bigger tank…or a smaller pump, lets say a 1 gpm. Anyone have any thoughts?
I would suggest that instead of going with a smaller pump to add a flow controller to control the pump and the flow rate. WCR sells a very nice digital flow controller for around $170. Or go cheap and get an analog pump controller on Amazon for as low as $13 (as mentioned in another thread on this forum).
A local area window cleaner will be taking this out for a test run on a job later ths week.
With my old backpack setup (40psi), I could usually do a medium size 2 story house arriving with a full backpack (just over 4 gallons) and two 5.5 gal gerry cans of pure water. Keeping in mind that I ad the ball valve close at hand to turn off water in between.
Definitely contact the manufacture of the pump, most, if not all, electric pumps are designed to shut off when not pushing water. Non stop running or quick cycling (like in the first connection) will burn up a motor pretty quickly. Bob at Pressure Tek sells an accumulator tank for use on high volume pumps which will allow you to safely reduce the flow without damaging the pump.
You can also go to RV dealer and talk to the mechanics in the back about hooking up your car battery to charge the marine battery. This way it will always be fully charged and ready to go. When I was using electric pumps for roof washing I had that set up and have been using the same battery, without charging, for about 4 years.
Harbor freight has a 15 gallon 40 psi 1gpm 99.00 and I got coupon to and I also already have ettore aqua pure cart you guys think this will be suitable to use as a semi portable tank for when I am not able to use the tap on the house because its out of the city. Thanks Ross
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My Neverpump backpack sprayer is rated at 40 psi i believe. It did well up to 3 stories but could manage 4 in a pinch. You could hear it stuggling a bit at 4 stories but it got the job done.
i just ordered the digital flow controller so I’ll test it out in a few days. I’ve also got a few other pumps at the shop to test out including one shurflo, and a couple of the new ones from RHG.
[COLOR=#404040][FONT=arial]Okay after some field testing, 3 houses (approx 50 windows done). The tank wasn’t 100% full and the test operator suggests possibly 70 panes could get done if one was right on top of the flow and shutting off in between to conserve water.
I should be receiving my WCR flow controller in the next day or two and will see how it affects the pumps performance and water control.[/FONT][/COLOR]
I’d imagine it would affect it to some degree…but I’m sure there’s others in your area using tanks. I’d recommend no less than 25 gallons and you could even load up 2 or more gerry cans as backup. Should be good for a couple of houses without issues.
Great write up and video! I am interested in adding wfp to my trailer setup and my question is what kind of purification setup are you guys using to fill your tanks? Thanks
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Very impressed with this Water Delivery System. Fourth level is approximately 50 feet high. Speed controller has the motor running at roughly 20% of maximum output.
