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We pull from the TOPS of our tanks, instead of using Bulkheads. My experience with even the best bulkheads is they eventually leak. Titans are great reels, especially with PLASTIC hose reel swivels. Here are some pics of the Titan reels, and me using Titans FIRST prototype plastcic swivel! Thanks for the tip on Water Cannon. THICK Kynar is the very best for fittings, as long as ya don't step on em ?

-- Edited by Apple Roof Cleaning at 14:09, 2008-07-13

Chris, How is that swivel holding up?

Just wondering.

This post is about:

AIR DIAPHRAGM PUMPS and Gas Powered PORTABLE Compressors

To all Professional and Aspiring Roof Cleaning Contractors,

My apologies to many of you who have e-mailed me over the course of the winter I am just now returning many of the e-mails I was not able to get to earlier.

I have had a number of private and personal situations with family, health and the reorganization of my company and our marketing and strategic efforts and just have not been available for a while but I am back on board now and hope to be here and available for good and for the long haul and will try to answer questions and field certifications as time allows.

If I can be of help from now on and in the future let me know.

Also, I have been testing some equipment over the course of the winter and have some hopefully good information to share with all of you here on the forum so read on please.

Many of you who have been in the roof cleaning business, know the value of good equipment and the difference and aggravation used junk can make in our businesses and of course, many of us start out, myself included, with what we can afford.

But after a while and once we get a few jobs and a season or two under our belt we see the value in maximizing uptime and minimizing downtime.

On that note I have found that Apple Roof Cleaning (our Honorary Mr.Chris Tucker) has got a real edge with pioneering the AIR DIAPHRAGM PUMP for use in the Roof Cleaning industry.

I have been working with these pumps for the last year and started off with a used YAMADA 5 and eventually tried a used 15 and now have moved up to a Ingersoll-Rand ALL KYNAR 1/2" pump and a MONSTER

I also invested last season in a brand new MONSTER KYNAR PUMP from YAMADA which has a maximum 49 GPM capacity and a 1" inlet and outlet which I have split into two 1" Hose Reels with 400ft. of 3/4" AG hose. The real bottleneck has been air supply.

I have spent all winter sourcing and experimenting with these pumps and on warmer days tested them, continually going back to the drawing board and doing the math and figuring out flow rates and orifice sizes and etc.

The problem with these BIG pumps is that they use a MASSIVE amount of air to operate correctly and not suffer from cavitation or pump lock where the pump actually locks up or stalls out from being STARVED for air because of inadequate Compressor CFM and a large enough tank to keep production up to a commercially acceptable level.

To this end I have been scouring the net and trying to find the best source for gas engine portable compressors with a large capacity tank and a low rpm level for longevity and a maximum CFM for my standards for use a COMMERCIALLY viable solution to the problems I have been experiencing.

I also hoped that if I found such a compressor, it would meet some of my other criteria such as the following:

1. It had to be primarily AMERICAN MADE with components sourced, manufactured and assembled in AMERICA by AMERICAN workers

2. It had to have a warranty that is second to none and the company that built it needed to prove that they can, will and do stand behind their product and if their was an issue with warranty or service, parts were readily available and easy to get and those replacement parts needed to be made in the USA by American workers.

3. That the company that I choose would be the type of company that I would be proud to recommend to my friends, family and other Roof Cleaning Professionals and not feel ashamed to speak highly of the companies integrity, history, warranty and longevity.

I finally feel I have found such a company and feel confident they will help other roof cleaners to maximize production and minimize down time and repairs by utilizing their compressors along with a good quality KYNAR and or Poly air diaphragm pump.

No longer should we as Professional Roof Cleaners be held hostage by inferior pumps made by other companies made to handle less corrosive cleaners but not truly up to the task of working consistently in our challenging environment and conditions.

Chris of Apple Roof Cleaning opened the minds of many a Roof Cleaner with exposing others to the possibility of a virtually maintenance free roof cleaning chemical delivery setup with the questions he asked "How can we improve and get better?" and How can we get that pesky chemical love on the roof consistently with minimal effort and without constant corrosion of pamp and hose reel parts. Chris Tucker, My hat is off to you for sharing your valuable wisdom and pioneering spirit with me and with us all.

Now for the next step, we all need a RELIABLE GAS POWERED AIR COMPRESSOR with "Disks instead of Reeds" in the pump heads and Cast and not aluminum parts and real heavy duty forged rods and american made compressors to be proud to own that last.

The company I found and am proud to present to you all is called EATON COMPRESSORS out of OHIO. You can go to there site and do your own research and evaluations. Don't take my word for it, put them to the test. Call and ask questions, read their Q and A's, read their feedback from other customers and then get yourself one of these finely crafted work of compressor art. These compressors are made to work and work hard and are back with an industry leading 5 YEAR BUMPER TO BUMPER WARRANTY. This sold me and the FACT that they employ AMERICANS who source primarily AMERICAN made parts made within the borders of the USA. Call me patriotic but I am a FIRM BELIEVER in BUY AMERICAN MADE as often as possible.

You can go to Eaton Compressors website at www.eatoncompressor.com and specifically, to http://www.eatoncompressor.com/page/page/536572.htm and, if you like, you can speak directly with the General Production Manager, Mr. Steve Derr or believe it or not, sometimes the President of the the company even still answers the phone.

The President and CEO's name is Matt Cain and if your lucky enough to catch him he is an absolute wealth of knowledge regarding his company and product line.

I have recently asked if Mr. Steve Derr, Production and Sales Manager of Eaton Compressors would HONOR use with becoming a member of this forum and share his MANY years of experience with us regarding how to evaluate, use and care for a Premium Quality Compressor such as the type I found to be manufactured by this AMERICAN comapny. Steve said he will consider it and for all our sakes I hope he does com on board so we all can learn and grow from the professionalism of this man and this company.

I don't know about you but, I am planning to use Eaton Compressors on all my rigs.

Don't take my word for it, do your own research. I think you will decide on EATON too.

If you decide you want to step up your game and take it to the NEXT level I encourage you to check this company out and see if their compressors and the USE of AIR DIAPHRAGM PUMPS keep you up and running and working rather than repeiring and changing parts out all to frequently with the "OTHER" liquid handling pumps out there that have metals in them that corrode all too quickly.

If anyone does decide to buy a compressor from this great company, please let them know that you heard about them from this terrific forum, dedicated to Roof Cleaners, by Roof Cleaners, The Roof Cleaning Institute of America, or RCIA, for short and tell Matt Cain or Steve Derr , David from Roof Clean USA sent ya, ok?!

Good Luck to all the new and aspiring roof cleaners coming on board and to all the established Roof Cleaners, this may be just what you ned to get all the air you will ever require to run full bore, and maximize your companies revenue stream.

All the Best to you all and Happy and Prosperous New Year.


-- Edited by Roof Clean USA at 03:04, 2009-02-14

Thanks for that write up Dave.

Jeff

Mike Sullivan wrote:

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GOOD LORD!! 49 GPMS!!! That's ridiculous! 24gpms through (2) 3/4" hoses, good gracious!

I take it you're only using this much flow for very large commercial jobs like apartments and condo complexes.

---

No Mike,

ACTUALLY we have developed a system whereby we stand in one location and Spray the neighbors Roofs while we are working on the primary customers job. We need the 49 GPM's........ because of the OVERSPRAY!

By the way, did you know in Gadsden County Florida, it is the home and originator of the mouth washing apparatus called the Teethbrush, yes, really, except that they found most of the people out in the rural areas had few, if any teeth so they modified the term and that's why TODAY, they call it the Toothbrush! "Doooahhhh"

JUST KIDDING on both counts, Mike and anyone else...LOL!!

Yes, to answer the question HONESTLY, we only will be using this MONSTER pump on very large roofs with many squares of composite and asphalt shingle roofing, where time, is of the essence and we can run two men at opposite ends of the structure or either side of the roof and run with it, Carefully, of course.

Hope you got a laugh out of my reply....I couldn't help it...LMAO