Hi all, we’ve been running most of our residential jobs using a very simple wfp setup: Xero ro/di, 1 pole and 150 ft of hose for the last few years, and it has served us well. Now we are branching into more low-rise commercial work and have run into some snags that are preventing max efficiency.
1.) Building footprints can be large and sprawling, and have few water access points
2.) Sometimes agonizingly low native pressure
3.) The jobs are generally outside only. So with only 1 pole that leaves the other guy on the ground using trad tools and occasionally having a hard time keeping up
So ideally we would like to boost our capacity by running with perhaps 300 feet of hose off the Xero, split for 2 poles somewhere along the way, and upgrade to better brushes with 4 jets and/or rinse bars.
Would adding a small pump allow the Xero to push enough water to feed two poles up to 3 stories? If so, what kind (gas, electric)?
Is there a certain size/type of hose that works best for long runs? How far can I feasibly run away from the ro/di cart before pressure/flow drops into uselessness?
What are the benefits of adding a digital flow controller into the mix, as opposed to just using manual valves at each pole to regulate output?
I’m also not opposed to adding a water tank as a buffer/reservoir, but our current vehicles are small (Ranger; Rav4) so that would cap the tank capacity around maybe 25-35 gallons unless I add a trailer into the mix as well. Is that enough to do any meaningful work?
If not, go DI only for more pressure. Should be able to run two off of a single filter/set of inline filters.
If so, and you’re doing enough volume to justify buying a second RO/DI kit, do it.
If you go for a tank setup you can easily fit a larger vertical tank. 35 gal won’t get you too far without having to refill if you’re doing large projects.
I have a flow controller for the tank setup on my trailer. Once it’s dialed into your setup it keeps the pump from cycling and will prolong its life.
you want to add more brushes with more jets and more hose and more height and sometimes low pressure…NO
single ro xero puts out enough for 1 brush with 2 jets maybe 4 not enough for a good top rinse not enough for 2 brushes.
you could add a pump to increase to get about 1 gpm vs 1/2 with no pump.
you will maintain more pressure through out if you use longer hose from tap to cart and move the cart to keep the pole hose shorter. the ro is a pressure theif and so is the pole hose but a 3/8 hose from the tap will maintain more than enough pressure and volume at lengths in the 200 or 300 foot range
unless you have a tank and pump there is nothing to use a flow controller for as it controls the pump
This is the way to run two poles with the Xero Pure. Get a tank, the size will be determined by you vehicle. Fill the tank at home with pure water using the Xero Pure. Once you arrive at the job you can hook up to the water and be filling the tank at the same time you are drawing water from the tank unless you have a vehicle that can carry a large tank. You will need to get a tank, two pumps and 2 flow controls. Each pole needs its own pump and control. The pump control will turn the pump on and off, save the life of the battery and the pump and allows you to control the flow of the water at the brush. Weather 70 ft up or 10 ft up you will always have the same flow at the brush with a pump control. You will also need a deep cycle battery. Each pole will need its own hose reel with 150 feet of 3/8 OD hose. 100 ft of pole tubing 5/16 OD. Feel free to call me anytime I can help you set it up and get you all the supplies.
Just another thought to throw in the mix. We worked a couple jobs that were over huge complexes and a lot of the areas you could not get close to at all with the truck. So we made a couple of these. $99 wagon from Tractor Supply, 50 gal tank and a 2gpm pump. This allowed us to keep the hose short, it would easily run 2 poles at 3 stories. With one pole you could get about an hour of work before you had to refill the tank. The cart ended up being awesome if you could get it transported to the job. I also added an expansion tank so the pump didn’t continually cycle.
The best part that you can’t see in the picture is that one section of this job I had to work in some parking lots, so I have strobe lights wired to the battery . Looked really cool
In the near term, I am leaning toward keeping a little booster pump on the truck as cheap insurance for low source pressure, and adding some extra hose length before the Xero cart to give us longer legs between faucets. That would make the current single-pole setup much more tolerable, as even one pole is 10x better than none at all.
Now for the long term I intend to add a trailer, water tank, 2 pumps and reels, flow controllers…etc. Basically the works. Then I probably will want a more robust towing vehicle than the Ranger as well. #goals
. Looked really cool
