My rig is a 7x14’ enclosed with a 8gpm hot water skid permanently mounted & plumbed. I also carry a mobile 5gpm machine on wheels. It’s used about 10% of the time when I can find parking in the city for my trailer. Thankfully business is good and just keeps getting busier. I have help when available but I’ll be hiring someone full time soon and would like to increase efficiency by setting up the 5gpm machine to stay on the trailer and be semi plumbed with a hose reel.
I’m having a hard time envisioning the adapters and plumbing setup required to do this. I plan on installing a second bulkhead for the small machine instead of messing with the existing plumbing for my big machine. So from that bulkhead I’ll have a y-strainer to the suction hose to the machine. Here is where I’m stuck. How to a preserve the ability to hook up to the spigot while plumbing it? Should I use a 1" bulk head -> 1" Y strainer -> 1" to 3/4" barb-> 3/4" ght hose -> machine
Never done this before and can’t find info on it.
PS: it’s a direct drive so I’m hoping gravity feeding will work.
The key to running direct drives off of a buffer is limiting restrictions.
Use a 2in bulkhead and then step down slowly to 3/4 hose (somewhere in there put a ball valve) You want no more then 3ft of hose…ditch the filter. But yes, if you want to be able to connect and disconnect I’d just stick with your normal garden hose connectors
I’m not sure what you mean by slowly. I only need it to be maybe 2-2.5’. I’m thinking 2” bulkhead > 2” to 1 1/2 barb > 1 1/2 hose > 1 1/2 to 3/4 mender > 3/4 hose > machine
@florida_condo_cleani mentioned in another thread cam locks shouldn’t be used for suction so I guess I should leave it as regular ght. Any other options I’m not aware of?
Hopefully after the summer I’m able to build something more compact and not have to work like this.
Gear drive will suck water, you can run longer hose. Even my 4/4 direct drive runs off a 6’ 3/4" hose out of my leg tank, actually runs a lot better than off a spigot. Not sure why.
If your still wanting the option to use it as a mobile unit, then I’d stick with the GHT. However, if not, just remove the GHT on the pump and add a king nipple (threaded barb) and just connect it permanently. If I’m understanding you correctly.
But your machine shouldn’t be pulling any suction, you’re gravity feeding. I’d go with 3/4” camlock right on the pump, and use camlocks on your garden hose.
From the tank, run 1” crush proof line directly to a 3/4” camlock for the pump.
So plumbing and fitting this setup has my head spinning.
@Infinity and/or anyone else please take a look at my shopping cart. I have arranged them in order, starting from the buffer tank and ending with the pump. The second image is the cam locks for using with the ght spigots.
Would you do anything differently? Am I over looking anything? From the looks of Truck Norris your pretty much a master plumber so any advice would be appreciated. Others are welcome as well.
Use a Banjo HB075-100, that’s a 1” barb on one end, 3/4” pipe thread on the other. That will eliminate your need for a reducing coupling.
Then rearrange your camlocks so the male end is leading.
So next fitting after that HB075-100 would be a 3/4”fpt x male cam
And proceed from there.
Btw, what will you be using for a filter when you hook up to the spigot?
And whatever gave you that impression? You should see all the slow drips I’ve got on my supply line, lol.
Oh, and one last thought: an old grump told me once that plastic fittings shouldn’t be used directly on the pump. Something about them getting brittle and shattering and destroying the pump. I personally think the polypropylene would hold up ok. But it’s worth mentioning that I did switch to a brass inlet fitting after he told me that…
Solid advice. Thanks. I’ll make the order tomorrow. Hopefully this will be the last order for a while. Got rained out today and spent way too much money.
