We just added a van this season for our guys to do strictly window cleaning.
I’m having an issue balancing the system. Two pumps have randomly stopped working. I’m not sure if they overheated or it’s something with the pressure switch. I swapped out the pumps and they both worked a few hours later. I was having a hard time getting enough pressure at the pole unless I cut the waste down which would cause the pump to cycle. Now I can get decent pressure at the pole without it cycling but I’m wondering if it’s too much back pressure on the pump. The lines between the pump and reel are 1/2"pex. The line off the reel is 50’ 3/8" flexzilla, to around 175’ of 5/16o.d. at the pole. The waste line is 1/2"pex.
I’m thinking of doing 200’ of 3/8 flexzilla and 50’ rhino tube.
Any suggestions to help balance the system?
Update: So I ordered the 250’ roll of 3/8" flexzilla air hose. I used 200’ of it and then 50’ rhino tube. It helped a little but I had a pump shut down again yesterday.
I think I found the answer. I was controlling the waste flow with a valve. Yesterday I installed a flow restrictor fitting (which I got off of the outlet side of my wash-it setup) and rhino tube into the waste port and it works great. Nothing to adjust, the pump runs strong and it’s great pressure at the pole.
I’d like to see the inside of your Transit Connects and how you have them set up, if you have a chance. We have 5 altogether and are still looking for space ideas lol.
Hi Chris,
I actually only have one van but I can take a more detailed video of my setup. Our other setup is an enclosed trailer with a ro/di, pressure washer and soft wash system as well. Maybe I’ll take a video of that one as well since I’ve updated it.
@MalonesWindowCleanin This is a explanation of why you were having the problems with your pump. It is a little long and maybe complicated but it will help everyone in the future who reads this thread, but in simple terms its called static pressure. A simple fix is a pump control. https://windowcleaner.com/rhg-pump-controller
So why calibrate the controller to a pump?
What we are doing is telling the control what the maximum pressure the system normally operates at. To get a good flow at the brush head the system is probably running between 40 - 70 PSI. So the control knows that the normal max level is 70 PSI. When a user stops the water flow the pump will attempt to push against the restriction increasing the pressure above 70 PSI the pump sees this sudden rise and stops the pump. This is what we refer to as DEAD END (DE).
When flow is stopped EG the pole tap is turned off. Two things happen
Pressure builds up in the line
Current draw by the pump spikes
In normal operation the Pump will draw around 3 – 5 amps with system PSI stable as the system is in open flow. Stopping flow means the pump draws a lot of current very quickly and the system pressure rapidly builds. As above the control see,s this sudden change and stops the pump DE
During this DE (flow stopped period) the controller retests the pressure at the pump every three seconds.
During the DE retest the controller will briefly pulse the pump for a fraction of a second some operators will hear the pump blip. The Controller is designed to carry out this test but importantly it will not allow pressure in the system to build any higher.
When the restriction is removed the pressure falls back below the 70PSI maximum and the controller restarts the pump at the preset flow.
The control is designed to stop the pump before the pump pressure switch activates where the water flow has been stopped. A pump pressure switch may activate at 110PSI give or take (based on 100 PSI pump) as described earlier running the pump to these high levels can cause problems.
When calibrating the controller ensure that the hose is connected and the pole. If you use more than one pole calibrate using the longest pole. There needs to be water at the brush head for the controller to calibrate. ( In some cases it may be necessary to run the pump to force any air out of the system.
Battery
Low battery voltage can cause DE as there may not be enough to run the pump properly. With the pump off and the battery not under load Volts should be above 12V as displayed on the controller. IF when under load the volts fall significantly ( more that .3 of a volt ) it may be the battery cells are depleted or not holding a charge.
