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Bubbad2u

Help with my 12 volt pump

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Hey guys, 

I have been lurking around for a while trying to pick up as much as possible. I still have not decided for sure if I am going to add roof cleaning to my services. I am a one man show so I may go after some small ranch jobs until I feel more comfortable. I am going to do a free job next week for a friend to get my feet wet. 

I went ahead and bought a pump set up from Pressure Tek. I mostly am a pressure washing company so I can use the pump for deck work, cedar buildings, stucco and things like that. I hooked everything up, but as it sets now the pump cycles for 5 seconds every 20 seconds or so. Is this normal? I would have thought once the pressure is built up it would hold for a while at least. With the constant cycle it would seem I have a leak, but I ran 30 gallons of water through the system and don't see any leaks. Does anyone have a suggestion?

I have a short video that shows what is happening. Hopefully I can get it to load. 

Thanks for the help.

Joe 

 

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Ok thanks for the reply, I am using a 7870 with the 1/2 Kuri hose. I haven't touched the pressure switch, I'll do some looking into that. I read pieces and parts that say the accumulator can be adjusted, I didn't know the pressure switch needed to be adjusted. This thing needs a book of instructions or something. LOL

Thanks again

Joe  

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13 minutes ago, Bubbad2u said:

Ok thanks for the reply, I am using a 7870 with the 1/2 Kuri hose. I haven't touched the pressure switch, I'll do some looking into that. I read pieces and parts that say the accumulator can be adjusted, I didn't know the pressure switch needed to be adjusted. This thing needs a book of instructions or something. LOL

Thanks again

Joe  

I didn't see the accumulator at first, yes, that is more then likely the problem, not the pressure screw.

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14 hours ago, Advantage Roof Cleaning said:

We don't even use an accumulator anymore as advised by others that have gotten rid of theirs. It's too prone to leaks and issues and just not worth the hassle.

http://www.advantageroofcleaning.com/cedar-roof-cleaning/

Our member Al Gigliotti made his own accumulator, but he is about the only one I know still using one. The more expensive Northern Tool 12 volt pumps have a special pressure switch that unloads the pump much more gradually, greatly eliminating failures. 

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8 hours ago, Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777 said:

Our member Al Gigliotti made his own accumulator, but he is about the only one I know still using one. The more expensive Northern Tool 12 volt pumps have a special pressure switch that unloads the pump much more gradually, greatly eliminating failures. 

Ok, So I got about an hour to work on this this morning before I headed out. 

I think I saw the thread where someone made an accumulator tank (maybe Al, not sure) he used the 2 gal metal tank from Lowes.

I bought one of those and installed it. The pump no longer cycles every 20 seconds like the video I posted yesterday. Works great shoots almost 40' on flat ground flows at 5 gpm at the end of the hose.

But when spraying the pump still kicks on at the slightest use. If I spray for more than 1 seconds the pump kicks on. So I lowered the bladder pressure on the tank to 12 psi and it still kicks on after 1 second.

Now if I turn the pump off I can spray for 20 seconds with the pressure in the line and in the accumulator tank. 

This would lead me to believe that I need to lower the setting when the pump kicks on, I was under the impression that would be the Allen screw on the pressure switch. But from the reading I have been doing tonight it appears the screw controls the output pressure not the switch pressure. I still have to figure that out.

Did I understand correctly that most guys are not running the accumulators anymore? Is that just with the Northstar pump you mentioned or all 12 volts in general?

Joe

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I saw were you mentioned those were different with the way their pressure switch works. Sort of a throttle down set up?

I will look into those for sure. I am just trying to make this work since I have the Fatboy on hand. Hopefully I can pick up another (Northern) as a back up and I can experiment with that some. I almost need a slower pump I think, this one sure moves a lot of material. But I'll get it just need a little more practice.

Joe

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5 hours ago, Bubbad2u said:

I saw were you mentioned those were different with the way their pressure switch works. Sort of a throttle down set up?

I will look into those for sure. I am just trying to make this work since I have the Fatboy on hand. Hopefully I can pick up another (Northern) as a back up and I can experiment with that some. I almost need a slower pump I think, this one sure moves a lot of material. But I'll get it just need a little more practice.

Joe

An awful lot of people don't like all the excess flow of a Fat Boy, and drop down to the 5 gpm pump.  Remember, be SURE the Northeern tool pump is one with that cool ass throttle down pressure switch. 

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Right I'm with you. I looked at them this morning. I will be sure to do that. It is funny when I bought my pressure washer I started with a 4gpm and cussed myself for not getting the bigger unit. SO when I bought the roof pump I bought the big one and now wish I had a smaller pump. LOL It never fails.

Joe

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IMHO, buying a 12 volt roof cleaning pump is a lot like buying a performance Camshaft, for a street driven car.  It is always better in both case, to err on the small side. If you buy too large of a Camshaft, then the car will not idle well, and you may not have enough Vacuum for the power brakes! The same with a 12 volt roof cleaning pump.

Too large of a pump will have excessive flow, creating run off and dead plants, pissed off customers. Unlike an air pump, you can't simply put on a smaller nozzle, or the pump will cycle excessively :( 

 

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Right, and not only that I am working with a smaller mix tank for now and this pump chews through the material. I did a couple cedar buildings and every time I turned around I was out of my precarb mix. I'll know for next time, I do see the benefits of this pump of other applications, stucco, wood work, etc. But it is funny, when you are new every time I do a job I see something else I need to buy or something I should have done different. All part of the process I guess.

Joe

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9 minutes ago, Bubbad2u said:

Right, and not only that I am working with a smaller mix tank for now and this pump chews through the material. I did a couple cedar buildings and every time I turned around I was out of my precarb mix. I'll know for next time, I do see the benefits of this pump of other applications, stucco, wood work, etc. But it is funny, when you are new every time I do a job I see something else I need to buy or something I should have done different. All part of the process I guess.

Joe

One of the reason why I suggest an air pump is, even the largest air pumps can use a super small mist nozzle w/o complaining. 

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This is another "wish I would have know" I was a framer for 12 years before I started this business so I had a new wheel barrel compressor that would have been perfect for an air pump. But I sold it a while back. I had no idea, should have held on to it.

Joe

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Some people like a 12 volt pump Joe. Our member Ted Saunders has built quite a roof cleaning company around 12 volt pumps, and my friend Jeff Worth uses 12 volt pumps. Jeff is in Orlando, and cleans as many roofs as we do. He uses an obscure Shurflo 12 volt pump, and swears by it. Neither Jeff, or Ted, use the Fat Boy Roof Cleaning Pump. 

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Ok, the saga continues, lol.

I did a little more searching, found the older thread where Al Gigliotti explained his set up. 

Set the accumulator to 40 psi to see how that would work. The pump still cycles really quick, more than 2 seconds on the trigger and the pump is running. I even tried a small 2510 nozzle and it still cuts right on. 

But funny enough if I turn the pump off I can spray for 30 or 40 seconds before losing pressure. I am just missing something I guess. 

Then today while I was testing a few things I see this

IMG_6273.JPG.21f04a842e6f6546a738920e578a42df.JPG

water spraying out near the head.

Haha. I just can';t win with this goofy thing

Time to go take this apart I guess.

Joe

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2 hours ago, Bubbad2u said:

Ok, the saga continues, lol.

I did a little more searching, found the older thread where Al Gigliotti explained his set up. 

Set the accumulator to 40 psi to see how that would work. The pump still cycles really quick, more than 2 seconds on the trigger and the pump is running. I even tried a small 2510 nozzle and it still cuts right on. 

But funny enough if I turn the pump off I can spray for 30 or 40 seconds before losing pressure. I am just missing something I guess. 

Then today while I was testing a few things I see this

IMG_6273.JPG.21f04a842e6f6546a738920e578a42df.JPG

water spraying out near the head.

Haha. I just can';t win with this goofy thing

Time to go take this apart I guess.

Joe

That may be your problem, the pump losing pressure from the leak ?

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32 minutes ago, Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777 said:

That may be your problem, the pump losing pressure from the leak ?

I don't think so, I have had the cover off the whole time and this just started today. I have never seen any water in the "box" before today.

I guess I'll run down to Northern and grab a new pump. Should I go for the 5.5 gpm model?

Joe

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