Originally Posted by Apple Roof Cleaning

Nope, it wasn't me, but we are doing a 6500 sq foot barrel Tile one in Avila tomorrow for 1500.00!

Advanced Roof Cleaning is ex Mallard employees who copied them.
Their trucks are even set up 'Mallard Style" ...

Don is correct, Mallard is not what they once were.
Mallard was Alfred Lockyer, and his son.
They had 40 trucks, in their heyday.
The son started Terra Clean, and went his own way, chasing commercial work.
The father sold Mallard out to some new owners, I run into them every now and then.

Mallard also spawned Roof EX, who are very much here in the Tampa area.
They kicked my butt on a job by offering to clean the whole house for what I wanted for just the roof.
Unlike Mallard, they are down and dirty.


BTW, the picture of Advanced trucks is very old, maybe that was them, in their heyday ...

I have only run into them once, and I got that job.

Back in the old days Kory, there weren't many roof cleaning companies around.
We got big bucks for doing roofs, compared to today's prices.

Us "Old Timers" had to figure this roof cleaning stuff out for ourselves.

Before there was The Grime Scene, or this or any other one, there was only the Delco board.

I think I was the first person to actually publicly help people on Delco with my roof cleaning knowledge.

The larger GPM Shurflo pump, with a 5/8 hose was known as an "Apple Setup".

Then, one day, in a fairly affluent Tampa subdivision, I heard about a "Company" doing roofs for 1/2 my companies price!

And, lo and behold, guess what set up he was using ?

So, I "copped an attitude" and stopped helping people publicly on the Internet.

However, the ones that sought me out after finding my web site, I still helped, as long as they were not local!

Others "took my place" on the Delco board, and started helping people with the old knowledge I gave them.

Meanwhile, Beth and Rod, and several old friends from Delco "made the jump" over to The Grime Scene.

I was asked to come, but I had several local friends who hung out on Delco, and I remained behind.

When I finally did come to TGS, few knew me anymore.

But, that has all changed, and I feel I have a lot of information to add to the roof cleaning world.

We pioneered the use of John Blue Pumps and Titan Stainless Steel Hose Reels.
It was only after we bought so many of these products, that the owners of these companies went after the roof cleaning market.

John Blue is an agricultural company, but when I saw a Poly head on their old PP 193 pump, I abandoned the Hypro pump we had been using.
Once they knew what we were doing with their pumps, they saw a new market, and went after it.

And, because of the reliability problems we had with the John Blue PP 193, and the huge potential market John Blue was made aware of, they actually went to Bertollini, their Italian pump supplier, and asked them to make a better pump!

Once Bertollini found out about this new market, they made a pump for Comet, as well as John Blue.

Titan Reels were almost unknown in the Pressure Cleaning world,
but when I discovered they had thick Stainless Steel cores, we started using them.
It wasn't long before Mark at Titan discovered there was a new, potential market.

So Kory, imagine my shock coming over to TGS, and no one even knowing who I was ?

I saw people I had never heard of, posting pictures of the new John Blue pumps, and the Titan Hose reels I pioneered for roof cleaning use.

I know for a fact I was the first roof cleaner ever to use a John Blue Pump, OR a Titan Stainless Reel.

But yet, I get little credit for my discoveries, and contributions to the roof cleaning world.

Instead, I have to sit back and watch others get called "Gods" and "Guru's", using and selling equipment they might not have, had it not been for me, LOL

But Ya know what Kory, it's all good, because if others don't know the real deal, I do, and people are slowly finding out all I have given to this Industry.

One guy from TGS actually called John Blue and Titan to ask about purchasing stuff, and THEY know who I am.

John Blue and me are not on speaking terms for reasons I will not get into here, but Mark from Titan and me are cool.
I even suggested he make his cores out of Titanium instead of Stainless, and he is exploring the possibilities.

I have quietly moved way beyond John Blue pumps, and had you come to the Tampa roof cleaners meeting, you would have seen my latest "discovery", an all plastic, chemically resistant, hose reel swivel, with Teflon internals!

People are switching to the "Mean Green" Polyurethane Hose I discovered, because It has total chemical resistance, and is light, cheap, and strong.

Though some do not like runoff, many have discovered how much faster a larger hose will allow your pump to be, and several from TGS have switched to an "Apple Style" setup.

And, it has all been a "learning experience" for me as well, to learn to tolerate ideas different from my own ...

Actually, one of my old "students" turned me on to the Polyurethane Mean Green Hose, so sharing what I know has been beneficial to me.

I really hope to meet you and all the other Tampa area guys Kory, and your ideas are great, like getting sponsors, etc.

Chris

Originally Posted by Hank Cassellberry

Appleman-

This may be way off,
but,
do you know Carly Simon?

Originally Posted by Apple Roof Cleaning

A GREAT first post Hank !
No, I do not know Carly Simon, but do you know Richard Richard ?
His friends just call him "Dick"

Originally Posted by All Seasons Exteriors

Yeah, Mallard has been around awhile now. They're not what they once were though (at least not in Orl).

Originally Posted by Keth

Thanks for the advice Don. I will toy around with the orifice to see if I can get a bit more flow. As a part timer I only shedule one job a day at this time. Do you use more than 35 gallons on a single house typically?

If I were to change pumps and wand which Surflo would you suggest that would work best with the wands that you build?

Originally Posted by Keith

Thanks for the advice Don. I will toy around with the orifice to see if I can get a bit more flow. As a part timer I only schedule one job a day at this time. Do you use more than 35 gallons on a single house typically?

If I were to change pumps and wand which Shurflo would you suggest that would work best with the wands that you build?

Originally Posted by Apple Roof Cleaning

We have used the Spraying Systems wand with 20 GPM Gas Powered pumps.
All one need do is change the tips to accommodate the extra flow.

While we no longer use wands very often, I find the trigger on the Spraying Systems wand easier to use then a ball valve.

I find it very awkward on a slippery, steep roof, to constantly "wrestle"
with a ball valve.

I have made wands using plastic ball valves, but one broke on me, and I played hell shutting the Chlorine off.

But a ball valve has the advantage that once it is on, you do not have to hold the flow on, like you do with a trigger type ...

So, I guess it is what you are comfortable with.

As for pumps, you could stay with what you have, or go to a bigger Shurflo.

If you go to a larger flow Shurflo, you will also need to increase the size of your hose to take full advantage of the extra flow.

The higher GPM Shurflo are much faster, but also have more run off, so a ground man is nice to have.

Also, if I may make ask a question, why do you need 300 feet of 3/8 hose ?

We pretty much only clean roofs, and have never used more then 2500 feet of hose.

If you cut 75 feet of the 300 feet of 3/8 hose off, it will allow your current pump to perform better, and still leave 225 feet.
225 Ft is plenty for most residential.

Also, unrolling all your hose will eliminate the coiled hose pressure drop, and allow better spraying pressure.

I wouldn't unroll on every job, just the big ones.

Originally Posted by Keith

Thanks Chris. Good advice. The reason I have 300 feet of hose is because I just bought this trailer setup with low hours and that is the amount of hose that it had on it. It did seem excessive to me but not knowing roofs I didn't want to lop any off until I had gained some experience.

I will lop off some hose but I am certainly not going to tell you that I have a Steel Eagle reel all brand shiny new for this hose as I am sure you will warn me of how quickly it will eat this reel up. It is a reel that has no other use (my main reel is a Titan ) so I am going to put it on and wait for it to fail.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Keth

Thanks Chris. I do have a flush circuit on this setup so it will help it last longer. Right now I don't see a huge demand for roofs. I ask customers and they don't seem to care. South Carolina isn't like Florida. They just live with the algae here for some reason. I want it to be on the rig just for the fact that I am planning on offering a three tiered pricing schedule along the Silver, Gold and Platinum line and am anticipating having Platinum include the roof if warranted.

When this pump burns out I will experiment with some of the other ideas that you and others have posted. I am excited about it and hope that roofs become more of a no brainer here in SC but for now I see myself doing 2-3 month but that doesn't prevent me from wanting the right gear for when it happens. I am sure my Phelps wand will get me through this transition phase in my business. Someday I may actually own one of those "sprays like a male cat" rigs.

Cheers!

Originally Posted by dljon

Has anyone used a compressed air driven pump like the graco polypro diaphram md.515 or larger for chem placement? or possibly deck work?