Thanks! Similar to Jeremiah, we mostly use it when the temperature is close to or below freezing.
However, we also use it for first cleans. It really cuts down scrubbing power. I’d say it cuts the work in half. Bird dirt comes off sometimes without even scrubbing and I’ve even avoided laddering up on several construction cleans with tape and silicon which I just scrubbed super hard with hot hot water.
I had a cool experience last year. I was heavily marketing to a condo development when I got a call from the pm. She said that she’d love to utilize our system and techniques because there was no other company in the area who could reach certain difficult access buildings. However, because she didn’t trust our technology, she would like to see the results up close and personal on a small job before she’d let us submit proposals for a dozen of her properties. The building where she lived had hard access windows that hadn’t been cleaned since 1989, when the structure was built. 4 panes, $80, 15 minutes with hot water. It led to winning 10 of the 12 properties she presented our proposals for.
Joshua Adriance
Pure Water Window Cleaning
514.867.8324
www.pwwc.ca
That’s awesome. I get jobs occasionally where I am coming in after someone (usually a painter) pressure washes cedar shingles and blasts the windows with cedar bits , varnish etc. I bet the hot water WFP will clean this stuff right up. As well as baked on pollen, bird crap and all the other stuff that doesn’t come off as easily with cold water.
Might not need to use the white pad much if you’ve got the hot water working for you.
Oops, triple post. The app said that the program was shutting down my post and that it was corrupted when I was ready to submit the post. I guess it lied.
Joshua Adriance
Pure Water Window Cleaning
514.867.8324
www.pwwc.ca
How cold can you clean with an inline heating unit? We usually have a few weeks in single digits and it can also be windy where I am. Will the water freeze on the building or lower windows if doing multi-story work? What about ice on the ground?
I really like the idea of reducing my time on first cleans though. We have a lot of fir trees and sap as a result. I currently use bronze wool and oil flow to pre-treat windows when needed.
I have used that same camping heater before. For camping. They are not very reliable at all.
Constantly going out, or getting water too hot.
You would have to carry around a full propane tank and be sure to have batteries with you all the time and have the thing sitting vertical.
But are we talking before the filtration system? or after
I would be interested in ideas of heating water before my RO system, I have heard you get much more cleaning if the water is warm.
The viscosity of water changes with temperature. So yes, RO’s perform better with warmer water. Not sure what their upper limit is, though.
and regarding the cleaning ability, the main factors/methods of cleaning theory are:
-heat
-chemical
-agitation
-dwell
The more of those you can utilize, the easier cleaning becomes (I guess theoretically, all of those factors play a part to some degree in any cleaning task. Anything above absolute zero has “heat”. Even water is a “chemical”. Low pressure application and rinsing still “agitates”. And any period of time could be considered “dwell”. But the more features you actively increase, the better off you’ll be).
What about sediment, carbon and lastly DI resin filters? Can they also handle that high of temp? Also the lines going to and from the filters, can they handle that temp? I think it would be awesome if we could filter hot water safely, but a lot of work would have to go in to either customizing a new set up or building one. Personally heating the water after filtration and then just prior to glass application is a safer more efficient way to go.
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I’ve used a few different makes & sizes of tankless propane heaters & found them brilliant to work with. Some things to watch out for:
Bigger isn’t always better - get a big unit and the lowest temp setting might still be too high & you’ll end up cracking panes from thermal shock in the winter. I found 6L sized units suited me perfectly,… they’d go nice & hot when needed, but when there’s snow on the ground they can be turned down low enough to just keep the water from freezing on the glass.
Some units have a “safety timer” built in and won’t run constantly for more than 20 minutes - this is hugely annoying and renders the heater practically useless, so check this before you buy.
Many of these units require 2-3 litres a minute flow rate to run reliably - if you’re a miser with water and use a low flow rate you may need to shop around a bit more to find one that works with less flow.
All these units need to be ventilated, but also need to be protected from gusty conditions which may blow the flame out, so plan carefully where to fit it.
The heater should be fitted AFTER all purification equipment, especially if you use a flow control tap/aquadapter - the reason being that when you stop the water flowing at the pole it takes a while to pressurise the hose & DI tank etc etc,… if your heater is before the DI tank the water will keep flowing through the heater for a considerable time and because its flowing slowly the water will be getting hotter & hotter (It can even boil) and could damage membranes, pop apart fittings, burst hoses etc. The closer to the pole the heater is the better controlled it is and the more even the temperature output is.
