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How cold is to cold

Russ Spence

Active member
I was wondering the same thing David, we have some flat work scheduled for tonight 2 states away and there is a hard freeze warning for that area, it is supposed to be in the mid 20's but in out humid environment that is like the low teens to the northern atmosphere.
 

James VanHandle

UAMCC-Member
We have been doing flatwork in NJ up until today. Tomorrow is our last jobs and its freezing as we go. Winterizing the machines everynight(until our new garage is built) takes some time. Oh I ran into the WAWA crew, who we lost 52 stores to, today. WAWA figured they would buy there own rig and do it themselves. The crew didnt know why there unit wouldnt turn over this morning(23 deg this morning) and the hoses were all froze up and that big crack down the side of the pump hummm thats gonna hurt. Maybe we will get them back next year..
 

Rob Huffman

New member
I say mid 20's. But depends on wind and all. We did a bunch of stores last sunday and it was 32 but with wind said feels like 23. On our last location, the whole ramp of the trailer was iced up. Ice around the hose reels were deep enough that we couldnt pull the locking pin for the reels...lol. Was actually pretty funny since no ice was on the concrete or surrounding area. Thought for sure we would have problems but no biggy. Got home and winterized everything right away. But it got me thinking on two things. Putting a small antifreeze tank on the trailer. And bringing a portable heater too.
 

David Vicars

New member
Yeah, it was 21 this morning with a wind chill of 9. I know if I had to wash the last couple nights, I would of rescheduled.

Russ, how bad would that throw off your schedule this time of year.

Jim, good luck getting those accounts back. You could buy a few extra pumps and mark them up and sell them to wawa.LOL
 

John Tornabene

Member Guest
Were suppose to do a Roof Job Friday here but the weather is only going to be a high of 36. Sat there saying rain here but it might hit 50 then drop in the lower 20's. Not sure if where going to do this roof job. Might wait until next year. In NY city we still maintain a monthly account and in 9 yrs now we never missed a month. The city is odd when it comes to cold weather. Right down the road from this account is the Empire state Bldg and with all the lights and people and the trains below surface its warmer at least once a month in the winter that we can powerwash.
 

Rob Huffman

New member
Dave,
It really depends on the job we are doing. Most of my regular accounts (the ones we service bi-weekly and the other ones we have had for 6 years) I know which ones we may need salt. Most of them we dont need anything. For the new accounts we have attained I do have a couple brooms on each vehicle so if we see puddles that wont go away with the wand then we will broom it thin and if need be we will apply salt.
 
I got back in about 2:30 this morning from cleaning 4 stores... I think it was in the low 20's when we finished up... Well its 21 now wind chill 15...I stopped at a service station before making the short ride home to blow all the machines out just to be on the safe side!! But as far as the cleaning went all was good except for not being able to see for the steam!!
 
Cleaning below 30 degrees is crazy especially at night.I have seen 1st hand ice form as fast as we cleaned and still be on the ground at 9am the morning.

You are putting your customer,their customers and your company at risk by doing so.
 

James VanHandle

UAMCC-Member
We had a customer book a house wash in late november. Nice size job about $875 They had been scheduled for a day it was going to be in the 50s or so. We had to cancel due to a tire failure on our truck mounted unit which we needed to get up thier driveway. Notified the customer we will have to keep an eye on the weather. Then the weather turned COLD. 20s at night. They call us everyday to see if we can come out to clean thier house. They demand we get it cleaned before christmas. AHHH good luck with that!! Lack of sceduling on there part does not constitute an emergency on mine. I told them I will call them in the spring. They said they were calling there lawer. I told them he most likely will not come out and clean it in the cold either. LOL They hung up.
 

Rob Huffman

New member
you can do it lil engine...LOL. Jim I think the people with that house wash called me today...Told them I would do it as I helped Santa deliver the presents...SPLASH and DASH that one baby....
 

William Page

New member
We had a customer book a house wash in late november. Nice size job about $875 They had been scheduled for a day it was going to be in the 50s or so. We had to cancel due to a tire failure on our truck mounted unit which we needed to get up thier driveway. Notified the customer we will have to keep an eye on the weather. Then the weather turned COLD. 20s at night. They call us everyday to see if we can come out to clean thier house. They demand we get it cleaned before christmas. AHHH good luck with that!! Lack of sceduling on there part does not constitute an emergency on mine. I told them I will call them in the spring. They said they were calling there lawer. I told them he most likely will not come out and clean it in the cold either. LOL They hung up.

Just playing devils advocate here. Sounds like they did schedule in time but you could not provide the service when scheduled due to failures on your part. Carry a spare, sub it to someone else, use a second truck. Either way, lack of planning on your part should not constitute an emergency on the customers.
 

James VanHandle

UAMCC-Member
We It wasnt just a blowout. Was a ball joint broke. All the other rigs we have were going full steam trying to keep up with the demand this november. By the way I got a call today from that homeowner. They apologized for there actions on the phone and will wait for our company to do the job in the spring.
 

Douglas Hicks

New member
We It wasnt just a blowout. Was a ball joint broke. All the other rigs we have were going full steam trying to keep up with the demand this november. By the way I got a call today from that homeowner. They apologized for there actions on the phone and will wait for our company to do the job in the spring.

Probably the lawyer could not fit the job into his schedule either. But I would ask for his name, you might be able to sub work to him in the future.
 
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