| Following is a series of tech tips aimed at helping you get the most of out of your
truck mounts and other equipment.
Baby It's Cold Outside - Keep Your Truckmount in a Heated Garage!
Repair costs to truck mounts which have sustained freeze damage can run as high as $2,500.00 or more. Although these may be extreme cases, you can see the importance of protecting your investment. During non-working hours, a heated garage is naturally the best defense. If a garage is unavailable, other measures must be taken. Click here for more from Chris Pond at JonDon.
Tighter Isn't Better
An end-user bought a new truckmount, a Cadillac called the CHAMP. He had it installed and went to make tons of money. He noticed the vacuum belt was flopping around unlike any that he had ever seen, so, he tightened the belts. The following day the two went out and within a few minutes at their job, SNAP, CRACKLE AND POP. He asked why he blew the belts on his CHAMP in only five hours. We told him that he had overtightened the belts, and to come in and have the destroyed belts replaced. The moral of the story is that on your awesome BLUEline CHAMP, the belts will have approx. 1/2” deflection and appear to be loose. DO NOT BE LIKE GOLIATH and assume “tighter is better.” The belts on the CHAMP are supposed to be loose. Leave them that way and you will get many happy hours of use from your equipment.
Regular Maintenance Leads to Long Life
Let me introduce you to Slick and Grind...Slick has a new BLUEline Equipment Co. unit, installed by “Long Life Distributors, in We Care, USA.” Mr. Care asked his service manager, Technie, to educate Slick about maintenance. Technie and Slick went through the manual. They also went to the truck and Technie showed Slick where to check the oil on the engine, the blower, and the water pump. Technie explained the importance of the 50 hour break-in period. After that, the oil should be changed every 100 hours. Technie showed how to add WD40 to keep moisture out of the blower, especially important with water extraction. As they parted, he said, “Remember to lube your blower nightly and check your fluids daily.”
Grind bought the same unit at “See U Distributor” in Problem, USA. See U gave Grind a five-minute demo and sent him off. Grind immediately began to suck up water from Hurricane Ivan. Grind became so busy, he had no time to read his manual. Within a month, the unit sounded terrible. A month later, his unit was no longer sucking and was grinding. So, he brought it back to “See U Distributor.” See U saw that the oils were low and that the blower was on its way to being seized. See U said, “Didn’t you read the manual and follow the maintenance charts in there?” Grind replied, “I haven’t had the time.” The moral of the story: educate the user about the importance of proper daily lubrication and overall unit maintenance.
Proper Lubrication Necessary
You remember our friends “Slick and Grind”? Grind is pretty mechanical and has chosen to maintain the unit himself. At “See U Distributor” in Problem, USA, they told Grind that 10W30 oil should be used in the KOHLER engine, CAT oil in the CAT pump, and AEON PD in the blower. Shortly after Grind did his 100-hour maintenance, he noticed an oil leak and called us. After talking with him, we found he used normal 10W30 oil. Every KOHLER Engine leaves BLUEline Equipment Co. filled with synthetic oil (SAE 10W30 Synthetic) and should be replaced with the equivalent. Using non-synthetic oil could potentially hurt the seals and cause leaks.
Grind had another problem. “Why is my waste pump out blowing fuses at the pump (in-line fuse)?” After some troubleshooting—check valves clean, no restrictions, etc.—we found that there was no oil in the pump out. “See U” had said the unit was “maintenance-free." With no oil, the motor was not spinning and over-heating the unit, which caused the fuse to blow. After all his problems were solved, Grind was not at all happy with “See U Distributors.” He talked to Slick and is now going to “Long Life Distributors” in Longevity, USA, for all his maintenance and parts.
Learn Minor Trouble Shooting, Impress Your Customers
You remember our pals Slick and Grind. Well, the good news is that they are both on vacation. Let me introduce you to “Ready” from Prepared Distributors and “Not” from Haven’t Distributors. Ready has been a BLUEline Equipment Co. Distributor since the beginning and has many ThermalWaves and Champs in the field. He has read the manuals and knows which parts to stock. He has belts, CAT oil, blower oil, screens, rebuild kits (example wand), filters (oil, air), and more in his inventory. When customers arrive, he solves problems quickly. This is critical for customers located hours away. He is also great at troubleshooting and can give advice about most problems.
Not has also been a BLUEline Equipment Co. Distributor since the beginning and has the same amount of units in the field. He has not read any manuals, but says he has skimmed through them. He has not become an expert on BLUEline Equipment Co. units.
As an example, Gill called us even though he had a simple problem with the waste tank float. It was stuck in the “up” position, so his ThermalWave would not start. We found that Not informed Gill to jump the orange and grey wire. We asked Gill to just unhook the connector and try again. To Gill’s surprise the unit started. Another happy End-User.
We are here to provide you with technical support. At the same time, your customers will be more impressed and more satisfied if you learn how to perform minor troubleshooting, so they don’t have to call the factory every time.
In Freezing Weather, Avoid Use of Freeze-Proof Faucets with Hose Attached
If you service an area that is subject to freezing temperatures, you may find homeowners have installed "freeze-proof faucets." These faucets work well when they are allowed to drain properly.
A freeze-proof faucet has the valve seal (the part that shuts off the water flow) about one foot into the warm part of the building. Conventional water faucets have the valve seal on the outside of the building. When the freeze-proof faucet is turned on, the valve opens and the water flows in its usual manner. When the faucet is turned off, the water drains out. When cold temperatures arrive there is no water to freeze and the pipes do not burst.
However, if the water is not allowed to drain, the positive aspects of this faucet are nullified. Leaving a garden hose attached to these faucets may prevent the faucet from properly draining. The water stays in the faucet, freezes, then bursts at some point after the valve seal. The problem is that the home owner does not know that the faucet has burst until after the faucet is turned on.
Should you be the carpet cleaner that turns on the water and floods the customer’s finished basement causing thousands of dollars in damage, it's a big problem. Even though it is not your fault, the customer will likely blame you, since you turned on the faucet. When called on a job and the temperature has been below freezing, check to see whether some restriction has kept the water from draining properly. Do not use that freeze-proof faucet until you check with the home owner. Better yet, use another faucet that is not subject to freezing temperatures. Also, when you are cleaning and have hoses hooked up to a faucet, be sure to remove them if you stop for an extended period of time, i.e. lunch. If you do not disconnect your hoses, the water may freeze in the pipes and you may be liable for damages.
Many hardware stores carry freeze-proof faucets. Take a few minutes on your next trip to the hardware store and examine a freeze-proof faucet so you can better understand how they work. |
