So I installed the sir mixalot (southeast softwash version of the expensive proportioner) and have it all hooked up to water surfactant tank and sh tank. Stoked to have this as it definitely has advantages. I’ve only used it once to test it and realized that there are other things I’d like to spray with the 12v, such as wood restore, other specialized chemicals for large stain areas and sodium percarbonate. It occurred to me that maybe I could install a 3 way ball valve after the proportioner so that I can have another line running to my mix tank and be able to spray different things. Has anyone done this? Would it affect the performance by having the solution run through it as it’s already running through 3 separate valves using the mixalot?
Well answered my own question after reading my post, obviously the other line wouldn’t go through the proportioner. Guess my main question is if anyone ever does it that way to use 12v for more than sh.
You might be able to put a 3 way valve before it on your surfactant line or something. Or the SH line.
Then at least you can ratio it with the water
That’s a great idea! As long as I don’t affect the flow (which it probably won’t) I may do that. I would have the second line go to my mix tank I use for ds or more sh storage depending on how much I need for the day. Could always shut surfactant and water off too if I need to mix oxalic acid or something similar up. Guess the main concern is having only one 1/2 inch hose in to feed as it’s also 1/2” out also. With the mixalot it’s two 1/2” in, plus 1/4” in and then 1/2” out.
I have a 3 way before my pro mix a lot. Mainly for transferring but sometime I like to bypass the pro mix a lot for more gpm and distance. I don’t notice any issues
Just put a 3 way at the inlet of your proportioner. I have a couple on mine, where I can pull different soaps and one on my SH line coming in so I can flush my SH valve. Or the simplest thing to do is to just use a drop tube on the inlet where your SH comes in and you can pull anything thru it. Way I have mine set up on new truck build.
Or if you want the SH hard wired, just put a 3 way on the inlet there and have the extra line with a drop tube.
I love 3 ways. I will add one for the soap line and one on the sh line as a drop tube that can go into either my mix tank or a 5 gal bucket. My softwash 12v has its own 7gpm 100psi pump with its own yellow top optima. I have another 7gpm that is 60psi on the other side hooked to a second yellow top optima that also runs the PW. That one has one 3 way before the pump and 2 after the pump. Suck from either the 55gal sh tank on the truck or a drop tube to go into the bulk supply tank, 5 gal bucket or whatever. First output goes into trucks sh tank or another 3 way. Then second 3 way goes out to second 55gal mix tank or another outlet drop tube. It’s awesome moving bleach or whatever all around everywhere with no spills! Thanks for the advice guys!
Bahahaha. Sorry but i had to
I knew I wasn’t the only one!
Why don’t you just hook up those Optimas in parallel and let your pw charge both plus will give you longer 12v time if needed.
The reason I didn’t connect to the alternator is because the rep who sold me the 12v pump system said that I should not charge the deep cycle agm battery with an alternator but with a trickle charger. He said it would damage the battery. I was also not sure if the alternator could charge both so I just did what he said. I read another post where a guy does it that way. I like your idea of connecting in parallel. I also realized this weekend while redoing lots of stuff that I have an extra shelf in the engine bay for a second battery (I have a gas 2500 and they manufacture same engine bay for the Duramax). Space at a premium so what I was hoping do is move the second battery over there and run 0 gauge wire back to the other battery in the PW to connect to it for charging via the it’s alternator and the 12v pump. Do you see any problems running about 16’ of heavy wire between them to connect in parallel? Do you use a terminal block for all the stucco connected to the battery? I will have 2 pumps, Schertz box, and electric hose reel to connect on top of the PW itself.
I would think you wouldn’t be drawing enough amps to overload the 0ga wire on a 16ft run. You could do load calculations to be sure but it’s not like you would be running everything all at once.
If you go that route make sure the + cable is fused near the battery in case of any shorts. I personally would run a separate fuse box for everything the back that way it’s all in one central location to check if something stops working. And all your feeds to each individual piece of equipment would be fused.
Beat me to it. This is pretty much how I have mine setup. Except I’ve only got the one deep cycle battery, installed under the hood.
I have 0-gauge power wire running from the battery to the back of the truck. I think either a 250 or 300 amp fuse right next to the battery in case the power wire gets damaged somehow and shorts to the frame. (If you’re running dual batteries in parallel, I think there should be a fuse at both ends of the run)
I ran the power wire inside of heater hose in the areas that it’s more exposed. Looking back, I’d really suggest running it through heater hose the entire length of the wire if you can manage it. It will be much more protected that way.
I top off the battery with a tender every couple weeks. If I was running a softwash pump with it regularly, I would probably bump that to every few days. The alternator keeps it charged some, but not at 100%.
If you wanted to get fancy you could also add an automatic charging relay(acr) and charge off your truck while driving and not worry about draining your truck battery when using your pumps. They’re used a lot in marine applications where you have 2 batteries in a boat. Use your outboard to charge your trolling motor battery while running but your trolling motor won’t kill your cranking battery.
Wait till you see my truck build. I definitely have terminal blocks, needed just for accessories - 3 sets of lights. battery monitor, 12v, 3 electric reels. I have the pw battery and another battery hooked up in parallel, wire from auxilliary battery goes to 40A circuit breaker for the reels and 12V feeds directly off aux. battery. Then have terminal blocks that everything else mounts to.
The pw only puts out 20amps and only when running. But I don’t use AGM batteries anymore. Found that with a 12v when they drop off, they drop off a lot, like 10ft of distance in 5 minutes.
@Racer looking forward to your build. I’m assuming you’ve ditched the AGM batteries for lithiums?
Get about 18 months out of them
