How to run a 12 volt roof cleaning pump w/o a battery!

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

Yes, you can run a 12 volt roof cleaning pump all day long w/o using any battery, if you have a generator and one of these http://www.12voltpowersupplies.us/

Simply order the 36 amp unit for under 75.00 shipped, plug it into your generator, and go clean some roofs!

Be sure and  waterproof this power supply, if you leave it outside.

These little power supplies are awesome! 

They are rated for 30 amps sustained, and 36 amp peaks!

 

 

 

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

 

Yes, you can run a 12 volt roof cleaning pump all day long w/o using any battery, if you have a generator and one of these http://www.12voltpowersupplies.us/

Simply order the 36 amp unit for under 75.00 shipped, plug it into your generator, and go clean some roofs!

Be sure and  waterproof this power supply, if you leave it outside.

These little power supplies are awesome! 

They are rated for 30 amps sustained, and 36 amp peaks!

 

 

 Guys, these power supplies are also voltage adjustable, from 9 to 14.8 volts! Maybe, just maybe, we can lower the pumps voltage, to slow its flow down a bit, or maybe increase voltage to 14.8 vdc, to get the last bit of distance out of the pumps ? I have not tried this, and the pumps may overheat or burn up at higher or lower sustained voltages ? Just thought I would throw this out there, in case anyone wants to play.

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

There are advantages/disadvantages to running a 12 volt pump this way, vs just using a battery.
One of them is the added "need" for a Generator, but that isn't an absolute need, since you can simply plug your 12 volt power supply in at your customers house.
Plus, when you use one of these 12 volt power supplies, you have 30 amps all day long, and all of the time!
Not so with a Battery, because as the battery gets it's charge drained, it looses it's amperage, and the 12 volt pump begins to suck, as far as performance goes.
I have cleaned many roofs in a day with 12 volt pumps powered by batteries, and sometimes I noted a loss of pump performance on the last few roofs, compared to when the battery was freshly charged.

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

Check this out guys, this is a monster DC Motor being run by a huge DC Power Supply. Though I do not use 12 volt pumps, I realize a lot of my roof cleaning friends do. So, I am always trying to "push the envelope". It MIGHT be possible to simply feed a 12 volt roof cleaning pump with more voltage, for a short period of time, when you need it to really shoot. And also, it may also be possible to reduce voltage to "turn your 12 volt pump down" when you have too much flow, etc.

[Power Wash Plus]

Yes, you can run a 12 volt roof cleaning pump all day long w/o using any battery, if you have a generator and one of these http://www.12voltpowersupplies.us/

Simply order the 36 amp unit for under 75.00 shipped, plug it into your generator, and go clean some roofs!

Be sure and  waterproof this power supply, if you leave it outside.

These little power supplies are awesome! 

They are rated for 30 amps sustained, and 36 amp peaks!

 

 

 

Has anyone ever tried this?

[Jim Ordway]

This could definitely be a good alternative to using a battery.  I am curious if anyone has set it up, and what has been learned.

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

This could definitely be a good alternative to using a battery.  I am curious if anyone has set it up, and what has been learned.

I use only air pumps, so i have never actually tried it myself, but as long as the 12 volt power supply is rated for the amps the pump draws, I can't see why it will not work.

[Curb Appeal Pros LLC]

That looks like an awesome alternative to using batteries!

[ROOF CLEANING OF MID-MO]

I just ordered mine. I will do a write up when I can

 

 

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

I just ordered mine. I will do a write up when I can

 

 

Please, keep us posted! 

[ROOF CLEANING OF MID-MO]

Price Update

Price has dropped to $60 and shipping is only $5. 

[ROOF CLEANING OF MID-MO]

Just got done with a job and was going to flush out my pump when I noticed the power supply had come in. 

Out of the box you have to attach the power cord to the machine. The simple diagram makes this easy. Not wanting to completely change the set up I have now, I have clamps that attach to the battery right now. I just stripped some wire I had on hand and attached them into the right location and clamped them together. Right away the pump was pumping harder than it ever has with my battery. 

Since this have a voltage adjustment screw on it, I played with it a bit. On the lowest setting the pump hummed along like it has did with the battery. With a slight turn of the screw the pump started to pump faster and farther, as expected. With the screw turned all the way up the pump was probably pumping more than it was rated for. This might be a good thing if you need just a little bit more distance for a very short amount of time. 

I will play with it some more when I am on my next job and see what it can do. 

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

Just got done with a job and was going to flush out my pump when I noticed the power supply had come in. 

Out of the box you have to attach the power cord to the machine. The simple diagram makes this easy. Not wanting to completely change the set up I have now, I have clamps that attach to the battery right now. I just stripped some wire I had on hand and attached them into the right location and clamped them together. Right away the pump was pumping harder than it ever has with my battery. 

Since this have a voltage adjustment screw on it, I played with it a bit. On the lowest setting the pump hummed along like it has did with the battery. With a slight turn of the screw the pump started to pump faster and farther, as expected. With the screw turned all the way up the pump was probably pumping more than it was rated for. This might be a good thing if you need just a little bit more distance for a very short amount of time. 

I will play with it some more when I am on my next job and see what it can do. 

This was as I predicted it would be, and the flip side of turning the pump up for more spray distance, is to turn the pump down for smaller nozzles, so cycling is reduced.  Be sure and wear goggles, just in case the pump blows up and the SH leaks, or sprays in your eyes. Better safe, then sorry because remember, we are doing things here no one has done before, with these 12 volt pumps.

What 12 volt pump are you running ?

[Roof Cleaning Jacksonville FL 904-304-0810]

I'm all about that safety! After having second degree burns a couple years back, I don't play with SH. This is interesting, because a lot of things are like this on battery power. It's the amperage that suffers, and the pump doesn't have the full power. I have a little electric razor like this. Plug its charger in, it runs full tilt like the energizer bunny! Unplug and run off it's battery and it's half strength. 

This really does need looked at more! I'll be paying attention for sure to any further developments in this area.

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

I'm all about that safety! After having second degree burns a couple years back, I don't play with SH. This is interesting, because a lot of things are like this on battery power. It's the amperage that suffers, and the pump doesn't have the full power. I have a little electric razor like this. Plug its charger in, it runs full tilt like the energizer bunny! Unplug and run off it's battery and it's half strength. 

This really does need looked at more! I'll be paying attention for sure to any further developments in this area.

Adam, everyone knows about my Love Affair with air pumps for roof cleaning. But I have never turned my back on all the roof cleaners who still run the 12 volt pumps.  You are absolutely correct about how much better any electric motor operates, when it is fed properly. I think many roof cleaners who adopt this system of running their 12 volt pumps are gonna find that their pump will spray much better, and shoot even farther. My only concern is, if they attempt to slow their pumps down by reducing it's voltage (starving it), it can cause the pump to overheat. We will just have to closely monitor pump temperature when we reduce the power supplies voltage.  Here is a much better way to achieve nearly total control of the speed of the motors of the 12 volt roof cleaning pumps more safely.  

https://youtu.be/yK809CPa9NI

Edited March 1, 2016 by Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777

[Roof Cleaning Jacksonville FL 904-304-0810]

Awesome ideas here in this thread for sure. A smaller tip would be nice on my 12v at times. I really want to go to air, but not just yet!

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

Awesome ideas here in this thread for sure. A smaller tip would be nice on my 12v at times. I really want to go to air, but not just yet!

Well, this will allow you to slow the pump down Adam, so you can use a small ass nozzle, w/o fear of the pump cycling on and off, and burning up relays faster. As the motor is slowed down, unfortunately you lose torque, that effect flow and pressure. But, if you use something like this, you don't play by the same rules any longer 12 volt pwm speed controller

[ROOF CLEANING OF MID-MO]

What 12 volt pump are you running ?

I am running the 5850 from Pressure Tek.

[3LM Roof Cleaning]

One of the major reasons I abandoned 12v was the fact that I spray 80% tile roofs.  My Delevan 5850 with 30 orifice was putting down to much chem.

That said with this idea, and say maybe I set up three different pump sizes that are plug and play with my inlet and outlet, then i could in theory run whichever pump I need based on my roof.

Example 7gpm FatBoy, 5gpm 5850, and something smaller in the 2-3gpm range for those tile roofs with the appropriate nozzles for each

 

Sorry if slightly off topic, just thinking out loud

[ROOF CLEANING OF MID-MO]

Here we have 99% asphalt roofs. 

My battery was only putting out 9.5 volts so my pump was lagging and I couldn't get a good stream with anything other than the 60/65 degree tip. Now that I can have my pump running at an optimal level I am going to see what works best for me. 

Edited March 2, 2016 by ROOF CLEANING OF MID-MO

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

Here we have 99% asphalt roofs. 

My battery was only putting out 9.5 volts so my pump was lagging and I couldn't get a good stream with anything other than the 60/65 degree tip. Now that I can have my pump running at an optimal level I am going to see what works best for me. 

LOL, it sure makes a big difference when the pump is getting fed correctly  

One of the major reasons I abandoned 12v was the fact that I spray 80% tile roofs.  My Delevan 5850 with 30 orifice was putting down to much chem.

That said with this idea, and say maybe I set up three different pump sizes that are plug and play with my inlet and outlet, then i could in theory run whichever pump I need based on my roof.

Example 7gpm FatBoy, 5gpm 5850, and something smaller in the 2-3gpm range for those tile roofs with the appropriate nozzles for each

 

Sorry if slightly off topic, just thinking out loud

Hopefully, by controlling the speed of your pump, you can get one pump to do all you need it to ?

[Power Wash Plus]

Anymore updates on thisAny 

[ROOF CLEANING OF MID-MO]

I am still playing with tip sizes. How many volts to run for each size. How many gpm are being used. 

 

[Apple Roof Cleaning (813) 655-8777]

Lol, this thread has had nearly 1600 views as of 3-8-2016   Seems like a whole lot of people are interested in this topic.

[Power Wash Plus]

I am still playing with tip sizes. How many volts to run for each size. How many gpm are being used. 

 

Great. Can't wait to hear the reults. Thank you in advance for the time put in.