Tech Talk With Andrew Greess

2 Comments

Comment by Chris the Celtic Bugman on February 10, 2009 at 7:31pm

Pest Avenue Freeze Out
January 2009

With winter comes additional risk for PMPs. Deep freeze conditions can cause considerable damage to pest control spray equipment. Some of the most expensive parts are most at risk of freeze damage. Water can freeze in lines, and the resultant expanding ice can damage pumps, spray guns, line strainers (filters), hand sprayers, etc. In addition to the added cost of equipment repairs, customer appointments will be missed while equipment thaws out or is repaired.

There are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself and reduce the risk of freeze damage to your pest control equipment.

Equipment Design.

Work with your equipment provider to build in preventative measures. Some suggestions:
- Install a valve between tank and filter to shut off the flow of water through the system
- Install a drain at a low point in the system to allow water to drain out
- Install a fill with a removable plug to allow the addition of anti-freeze to the pump


Operations.
- Train your technicians to be aware of and take steps to prevent freeze damage. Remind them that damaged equipment impacts their ability to provide great service to customers and hurts the company financially.
- Train your technicians to always release the pressure when they are done spraying. Systems under pressure will experience greater damage from freezing than would otherwise result. This is especially true for handheld compressed air sprayers and backpacks.
- Train technicians not to use frozen equipment until it thaws out. Using or running frozen equipment will make a small problem worse (i.e., more expensive, longer delays, etc.)

- From the department of the truly obvious: store vehicles in places where the equipment will not freeze
- Wrap hoses with insulating material to reduce freeze risk
- Cover equipment with insulating blankets at night
- Purchase a pump heater to keep your pump warm and cozy at night
- Build a pump heater by hanging a light bulb inside a cardboard box over your pump. Be sure there is no fire risk.
- Drain water from equipment before an expected freeze.
- Add anti-freeze to equipment being stored for the winter
- If storing pest control sprayer for the winter, consider removing pump to perform annual maintenance.
Awareness and preparation are key to preventing freeze damage to your spray equipment. Remind technicians of their responsibilities to prevent damage to company equipment. Perform spot checks to ensure your policies are implemented. Track damage by technician to identify repeat offenders and problems with equipment design.

For more ideas, read Greess’ blog at www.SprayEquipmentBlog.com or follow him on Twitter.

Andrew Greess
www.qspray.com
Andrew@qspray.com

Comment by Chris the Celtic Bugman on February 22, 2009 at 12:21pm

Verry Cool Article! can't wait for the next one!