Carry water?

[Mountain View]

When doing commercial flatwork and/or buildings, how often are you hauling all the water needed vs. using onsite water supply?

[Lightning Gene]

I try to use onsite water whenever I can Or charge extra to haul it in...

[Ron Musgraves]

I never haul, use onsite. its impossible to use water hauled in.... you will use on average 2000 gallons a nite. Are you planing on using a tanker truck?

Everyone in the commercial world uses connection on property.

[Mountain View]

Did Ron just bite my head off? Ouch. Anyway, I was thinking what Ron said.
The reason I ask is that I will be upgrading my set up to do more commercial and flat work and was wondering, other than a buffer / bypass tank, what was the tank size requirement. I suppose for doing a quick demo or small volumes for those few places that don't have a tap close by. Any other reasons? I've been doing exclusively residential and wood so far.

[Ron Musgraves]

Originally Posted by Mountain View

Did Ron just bite my head off? Ouch. Anyway, I was thinking what Ron said.
The reason I ask is that I will be upgrading my set up to do more commercial and flat work and was wondering, other than a buffer / bypass tank, what was the tank size requirement. I suppose for doing a quick demo or small volumes for those few places that don't have a tap close by. Any other reasons? I've been doing exclusively residential and wood so far.

All my units have enough water to run 30 minutes. We have two rigs just for demos.

Yes you never hook up if your giving a demo.

I just dont have time to give your a sugar coated answer.

I speak for commercial contractors that are serious about what they do. You might find some guy that tells you he hauls it. Hes a liar.

With reguards to what Gene Said i'm sure hes talking about one time cases.

If you asked Russ, Nick, Henry, Scott K, Scott S, they would all tell you that haulig water is crazy if you can use on site.

Have i ever hauled it? Yes /////would i if i can get it onsite? NO

[Beth n Rod]

Water can be problematic....
At times you can use onsite water, other times you need an off site source and may need a permit and a hydrant connection. From time to time in more rural areas we have needed a truck to bring in water when no hydrant is available and the well is insufficient. It depends on your job, your client, and their property. Best advice I can offer is make sure to ask questions before you quote.

• is their a spigot on the premesis you can hook up to
• what is the flow like
• how is parking
• how is pedestrian traffic
• is there a hydrant nearby if onsite water is not available (trust me you need a meter and permit to use a hydrant)
• if the owner is residential (yes - I saw this is commercial but you never know what job you may get) and on a well, what is the capacity

Beth

[FLORIN]

I think its a good idea to have a decent size tank just in case. Carry only what you need to be able to start your machine and not have to wait for it to fill up enough before you can start your machine. Ive had instances where the property was a large sprawling one and found it easier to hook up to the first spicket wash around that area and let the tank fill up and wash what you can only with the tank after that until needing to hook back up again. Saves alot of hooking and unhooking of the feeder hose. I do alot of curb cleaning for prep for a stripping company to paint after so its easier for me to use the tank water.

[One Tough Pressure]

I carry water at all times and try to leave each property with a full tank. I have a handful of smaller accounts that I can run off the tanks alone and I have no desire to run hundreds of feet of supply hose when I can bring the water with me.
Stores around here are notorious for not having any hook ups within common reach on the exterior of the building.

[MichiganPowerWashing.com]

I have many small jobs which require me to bring my own water. 30 minutes of run time is plenty enough for most.
I just bought back up hot water unit and I need a tank ... 125 gallons would be good size for it BUT I can't find any place in MI to sell tanks !?"!?!
Hey Mi pros ... any help ?

[Ron Musgraves]

I'm sorry guys, you dont run a good business bringing your water to jobs.

yes to the original poster you can use a tank and stand waiting around like these guys.

I'm sorry i love the 30mins, how long at your house did it take to fill that tank? about 20 minutes, so every job you go to if you fill up will take 20 minutes. accourding to your figures you can do about 10 of these a night. you will only spend about 3:30 minutes filling water.

I dont think I'm going to try that anytime SOON. Hook up and use there water every place you can.

Dont listen to anyone about this, I gave you five successfull guys on these boards.

I can guarantee none of them will argue this.....

I sick of people giving people wrong and incorrect info.

[Ron Musgraves]

Originally Posted by One Tough Pressure

I carry water at all times and try to leave each property with a full tank. I have a handful of smaller accounts that I can run off the tanks alone and I have no desire to run hundreds of feet of supply hose when I can bring the water with me.
Stores around here are notorious for not having any hook ups within common reach on the exterior of the building.

I can agree in certain times, end of the night. start of a night.

[Ron Musgraves]

Originally Posted by MichiganPowerWashing.com

I have many small jobs which require me to bring my own water. 30 minutes of run time is plenty enough for most.
I just bought back up hot water unit and I need a tank ... 125 gallons would be good size for it BUT I can't find any place in MI to sell tanks !?"!?!
Hey Mi pros ... any help ?

Co-op... farmers... harrington plastics online.

Tanks are cheap, doesnt one of these dist here sell the tanks?

[Beth n Rod]

Originally Posted by Ron Musgraves

I'm sorry guys, you dont run a good business bringing your water to jobs.

yes to the original poster you can use a tank and stand waiting around like these guys.

I'm sorry i love the 30mins, how long at your house did it take to fill that tank? about 20 minutes, so every job you go to if you fill up will take 20 minutes. accourding to your figures you can do about 10 of these a night. you will only spend about 3:30 minutes filling water.

I dont think I'm going to try that anytime SOON. Hook up and use there water every place you can.

Dont listen to anyone about this, I gave you five successfull guys on these boards.

I can guarantee none of them will argue this.....

I sick of people giving people wrong and incorrect info.

It's pretty basic to look for a spigot onsite as your first option. I'm pretty sure all here would agree. However, it is important to plan for contingencies. This means having alternate plans you are ready to implement should your first plan fail. This is not just common sense but good solid business management as well. By the time you finish your estimate and site inspections you should already know which option you need for that job, and what your alternative options need to be.

Beth

[Ron Musgraves]

It's pretty basic to look for a spigot onsite as your first option. I'm pretty sure all here would agree. However, it is important to plan for contingencies. This means having alternate plans you are ready to implement should your first plan fail. This is not just common sense but good solid business management as well. By the time you finish your estimate and site inspections you should already know which option you need for that job, and what your alternative options need to be.

I can agree theres and exception, I just didnt want anyone to think it was a practice.

Beths correct if you gotta you gotta. It not practice in the commercial world..

Sorry guy if I come accross to strong sometimes.

[FLORIN]

Originally Posted by Mountain View

Did Ron just bite my head off? Ouch. Anyway, I was thinking what Ron said.
The reason I ask is that I will be upgrading my set up to do more commercial and flat work and was wondering, other than a buffer / bypass tank, what was the tank size requirement. I suppose for doing a quick demo or small volumes for those few places that don't have a tap close by. Any other reasons? I've been doing exclusively residential and wood so far.

Ron, I dont think anyone is giving wrong or missinformed info here. His question was because he was upgrading his system to have a water tank and not just a buffer tank. There is plenty times on jobs i have had which is easier and more time saving to use only tank rather than keep moving feeder hose. It is not common practice because of the added weight but its good to have the decent size tank for just in case on certain jobs.

Also Ron, you mentioned you carry enough water for a 30 minute run time. Alot of guys out there have a 8gpm machine. With that you need 240gallons of water. Thats no small potatoes. I have a 300 gallon tank myself