I bought this used around a month ago, and I haven’t been able to get it working since I got it and I’ve troubleshot pretty much everything I possibly can. I know I don’t have any air leaks because I get good distance, but my SH line will not pull or if it does, it barely pulls. I’m guessing a bad check valve is struggling to open and blocking flow? It’s making this weird bubble on the top of the line that’s further making me think there’s a blockage. I’m trying to post a video but it won’t let me. What do some of you more experienced guys think?
What valves do you have? Pentair?
Need photos for sure
GF Valve Proportioner. I upgraded from my pentair to this because my pentair had a hairline crack
It’s the valve all the way on the left that’s messing up, but the little air bubble is so tiny that you can only tell it’s there on video
It may be perspective in the photo but is your SH and Water hose diameter the same size?
Yup they’re both 1/2 it just looks funny in this pic, and my soap is 1/4
So just close your other valves completely and take them out of the equation. A lot of things you can eliminate pretty quickly. Filter, not blocked, line clear, no leaks in it, etc. Just work back towards proportioner. Run pump for a few minutes just pulling through the bad line. It should shoot about the same, maybe 90%. You may just have an air bubble.
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When I close my other valves my pump starts struggling like crazy. There’s almost nothing getting through that line
And I know it’s not anything in the line or the filter all the way back to the Proportioner because I’ve checked all those. That’s why I’m assuming at this point it has to be a stuck/blocked check valve or some other piece within that side of the Proportioner
So take them apart and fix or replace. May just be a piece of trash or something.
If you want to double check then swap water and SH line at proportioner.
@Racer is a lot more knowledgeable than me, but I will say that I kept chasing issues with my setup until I switched to a mono block manifold and ditched those cheap check valves. Stupid things kept failing on me.
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That’s a good idea to switch the lines I didn’t think of that
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Tell me about it 
I bought a used rig with pentair proportioner that I fiddled with for almost three months with no luck before I gave up on it and bought a used GF proportioner off FB Marketplace, which is now giving me this problem. I’ve swapped the pump too. I haven’t been able to wash a roof since I bought this rig which was the end of last season
That’s the trade-off between buying used v. new. Sometimes used works out very well, but buyer beware. You really have to have a good idea what you’re long for and looking at.
New costs more, but it gives better odds of less problem long-term, and you know how it’s been taken care of.
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Once you figure out which valve is getting air you can apply water pressure to find the leak. Normally there is a crack in a joint somewhere. Like where you would screw a fitting if you make it too tight it will crack and sometimes they just crack when they get brittle from the SH. Good luck!
You figured it out yet?
Totally agree. Used stuff is a PITA. But this proportioner was a killer deal. I’ve been scraping my way along with my sweaty startup haha 
money has been tight from reinvesting into necessary equipment, but I’m only buying new from here on out. I actually ordered my first brand new machine just over a month ago and it’s arriving tomorrow. It’s a GX690 and I’m SO excited. Never had anything higher than 4 GPM
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I don’t think there’s any air in the system, because none of my valves make me lose distance, but this is definitely worth checking. What do you use to apply pressure into the valve?
I haven’t actually got a chance to work on it yet until just now. Gonna give it a good run for its money for a couple hours. It’s hasnt really been urgent because I haven’t done a roof cleaning since I started this season so there’s not any jobs that I have to rush to get this fixed. I’m just turning them down until I know this thing can go full boar
