Easy pump

Waterfed Poles
1

Hey Guys

i’ve used an RO system on about 60 jobs, works great, i usually use the tap water and i’m good for 4 storeys high with no problem, I’d like to have a ‘just-in-case’ pump if lacking pressure out of the tap, or even going up to 6 storeys high
Could kinda look stupid in front of the client if lack of pressure happens :wink:

I’m also considering adding a second pole to it. Do you have any recommendations on an easy/cheap pump to add-on my system?
(also: do i attach it between the tap and the system or after the system?)

thanks

2

The cheapest pump for price u will get is a Wayne plug in pump works great or pay the price for an rhg pump in box and u still have to pay for battery I have one use it a lot but only use up to four story’s or make your your own

3

There are 2 answers :

1 BOOSTER PUMP :

A booster pump goes before the RO and increases the pressure in the RO, thereby giving more pressure on the other side of the RO (pure water.

An RO works as a result of a pressure differential across the membrane - so the more the ‘difference’ the greater the production.

The only problem is that this formula is seriously interfered with by the temperature of the IN WATER - in our case, the temperature of the ground water from the spigot.

The production of an RO in Laboratory Conditions is designed at 77ºF (lets say it is rated for 2500gpd) but at 39ºF, the very same RO will only produce 50% (1250gpd) due to the increased viscosity of the water.

So … a booster pump will increase the pressure before the RO, with consideration to the temperature, and the ‘head’ of pressure pushing back from gravity on the pure water line (this is back pressure that reduces the pressure differential ) .

2 DELIVERY PUMP

A Delivery Pump cannot have any pressure behind it … it is a ‘push’ pump only.

So … to use a Delivery Pump, you need a TANK - just a small buffer tank 35 gallons to 50 gallons is fine …

Now the RO is filling the BUFFER tank, not pushing water up a tube - so there is no 'back pressure from the head of gravity. As a result, the RO can perform better (but still affected by water temperature) .

NOTE TO SELF : You do not need an RO system to use a buffer tank … you can also feed DI WATER into the buffer tank.

The delivery pump is now dedicated 100PSI to your delivery of purified water to the pole and brush jets.

Now the going gets better … if you have the Delivery pump - you can add a Pump Controller - if you use the right type, the greater the resistance (eg Head of Gravity), the more amps the controller delivers to the pump so the pressure, flow, and velocity of water from the jets is CONSTANT - regardless of your working conditions …

One Delivery Pump per operator , and you can have 2 operators working at different heights … remembering water finds the path of least resistance, so it will always flow more out of the lower brush if all other conditions are equal …

I hope this helps …

3 Likes
4

The simple solution for going above 4 storeys is to switch to DI ONLY.

Think about this : what percentage of the glass you clean is above 4 storeys ?

Even on a 6 storey building, only 2/6 of the glass is above 4 storeys, so even if you have TDS 600, you average cost of DI over th whole job is still only between $2and $3 per hour (2 stress on DI ONLY with a running cost of $6.00 per hour, and 4 storeys with RO at running cost of 60 cents per hour).

If you need a pump, it’s a great investment, but if you are only wanting it for a very small % of your glass, then DI ONLY is the solution (DI does not use water pressure to make the water spot-free) .

5

Perry I bought a pump for this year because last year I ran into a lot of bad pressure at homes.
With pump pressure with the Wash-It will it be ok to add another pole to it or was the wash-it only designed for 1 pole even w a 1/2 hp pump

6

Thanks Perry

those are precious info!!!
Is there any concern of running 2 poles at once on the same DI?

7

Filtering water on the job site is a pain. After one season I found water pressures and TDS were too inconsistent from one house to the next and it was impractical to be setting up my Wash-It at every stop. I carry 60 gallons of pure water in my trailer fed by a Shurflo pump and a controller. It’s enough to last me all day and I always have the same pressure. At the end of the day I can go home and fill 'er up again while I do yard work or whatever.

8

Yeah that’s the goal to just carry my own water. There has to be some drawbacks to a trailer tho like accessing ladders and other things in the bed of the truck?

9

Hey Jean-Michel!

With pressure problems I’ve utilized several solutions.

I keep my Gardiner or Surflo backpack on hand. They can act as a small but powerful buffer tank. I’ve used both 6 stories up. Even if my RO membrane is only producing a trickle you can still work out of it as a buffer all day as long as you’re using it intermittently.

I have a 26 gallon chemical tank with a 100 psi pump that’s powerful enough to push water through lots of hose and up 2 poles.

Also, as was mentioned by others, using di only is a very effective solution whilst the most expensive option.

Montréal has really good water tap pressures so it’s rare that you’ll have issues.

Talk soon!

Joshua

10

All of my equipment is stored inside an enclosed trailer with a ladder rack on top. I don’t store any equipment in my truck.