Unique opportunity

So I work full-time in the Marine industry and we on occasion deal with large barges. Simply put I spoke with one of our dredging customers and he said they could contract me to clean the barges. I’m thinking degreaser of some sort and a jet nozzle. It’s heavy grease and around the engine and sea sludge/algea on the body. I may back pack spray the degreaser to get a hotter mix. They are 8’x60’ 2 sections and 10’x60’ center section. I have a 5gpm machine cold water. What would be a good degreaser to use and will cold water with a jet nozzle do the trick or will heat be required? Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I think I’d treat this one similar to fleet washing due to all of the grease in the engine bay so @Hotshot and @dperez can help there. Since it’s heavy grease you’ll likely need hot water. If anything rent a hot water machine. You might have to line up a handful of barges to do at one time to even make it worth renting one. As far as the algae just use sh. I’m sure the algae is thick so you’ll likely need a stronger mix than what you can down stream. Do you have a 12v setup?

Be careful with backpack sprayers. They will eventually leak. A lot of degreasers are hydroxide based. Sodium Hydroxide is lye which I’m sure you’ve heard of. You don’t want that on your skin. A few guys on here have had their skin burned because of leaking backpack sprayers.

Unfortunately I do not have a 12v I was thinking of maybe making a cheaper set up just to get by. Could I possibly purchase a heater unit and pipe it into my existing set up?

They have hotboxes you can buy that you use with your existing pressure washer. Although, you’ll also need a generator or access to 120v to power it.

You could always get an x-jet in place of a 12v but it’ll be pain dragging a bucket of mix around. You could throw a cheap 12v together for around $600. You can try down streaming the algae first. Who knows, it might be strong enough to kill the algae. I’m just picturing a barge with 1" thick of algae, crustaceans, and grime. Might take a few applications. Even still I would consider getting a 12v setup in the future. You’ll use it a lot more than you think. Stucco, pre and post treating concrete, roof cleaning, masonry, etc. Once I got mine setup I don’t know how I worked without one. They’re definitely worth the investment.

Are they out of water or close to the water? What are you going to do with run off? You definitely going to need hot water.

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Here’s my thread on a SUPER basic 12v setup. You can build one like this just to get you started and be much safer than a backpack sprayer.

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Honestly I was thinking of a concrete scraper like for busting up tile. Do a quick swipe to knock off the heavy stuff and then. Quick soft/ pressure wash with turbo nozzle maybe not even use the scraper. I just don’t want to use 50gallon of bleach if I can put a little elbow grease and make out better on my profit. The painters we have normally just pressure wash it with turbo nozzle and degreaser through pump! :grimacing: Makes me cringe. I’m thinking around 15-20cents per square foot around 4600sq ft per complete unit. @Firefighter4hire we are not near any water and there’s no worries of run off.

Why would you change if they are happy with that and its feasible to do that just follow their lead you can experiment on the second job. Dont re invent the wheel. Build 12v pump get turbo nozzle hot water will save you alot of time try and rent one ask painters what degreaser they use

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For me it’s all about improvement. That’s cool if they’re happy with that but if I can make it easier or maybe cut off an hour I’m always down to learn. Had man not reinvented the wheel we wouldn’t have monsters trucks, drifting, and many other Motorsports. Different wheels for different applications. But yes I will build a 12v. @DisplacedTexan thanks for the link I’ll that’s up. I recently scored a 6x10 trailer and mig, tig, and stick welder from a trade on softwash. I want to do a nice pallet I can roll on and off my trailer. I use it too much to dedicate it.

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I’m sorry I was under the impression that you had never done it before.

It’s all good man. I’m no vet but I have a general idea and good sense. I’ve read very helpful info on this forum. A lot of gold nuggets here! Where are you out of if you don’t mind me asking?

Fredericksburg. You

So how long does it take to wash one? Do you have pictures

L.A. lower Alabama. I don’t unfortunately but as far as time those guys milk it Im thinking like 8-10 hr day tops per 3 pc. Worst case scenario I day and half highly unlikely but I’ve had some disappointing days. Do you guys ever get into anything else? I like multiple sources of income. I had a client ask me to build a fence and I said sure turned out to be pretty lucrative. I’ve built a couple since made enough to pay off my PW, and buy an auger, nail gun and compressor.

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I used to do alot of other projects but no time anymore to much stuff to wash

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Most just stick to washing. There are some of us that also due wood staining and concrete/paver sealing. You can keep a pretty full calendar if you market and advertise even if just starting out. Eventually you won’t have to market as much. You can’t expect the jobs to come to you though. Sometimes you have to hit the pavement, knock on doors, and hand out flyers. Washing can definitely keep you busy if you go about it the right way.

I think @CFH gets into some other things like fence building. He’s very knowledgeable on all aspects of business. I’m sure he’ll give you some great advice.

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I don’t advertise because I work 50hrs a week and usually try tie up just sat. It’s a work life family balance. I have two boys and a wife. So everyone wants to do something. I love it though. I went at it for three months last year. I believe my marketing was weak and I didn’t push hard enough. Hard pill to swallow but truth is truth.

I’ve washed a handful of fences and decks. I’m realizing I don’t care for wood. It’s too time consuming imo. I enjoy working with my hands so the fence building is kind of theraputic. I’m debating on getting a subcompact tractor with bucket and back hoe. I’ll tackle anything I think I can make a decent $ per my time.

What part of LA

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