How to flush hose only on T120?

[rapidlawn]

I have another question about our T120. After fighting with a very bad clog over the weekend, I've discovered that flushing the hose is essential after every use. With my old machine I could simply run fresh water directly thru the pump and thru the hose. However with the Finn setup, there is no way to do this (at least that I can figure out) without sucking fresh water from the tank and then thru the hose. This does not work if I still have a few hundred gallons of slurry left over. Obviously I can flush via air, but I don't have a compressor readily available all the time.

Just wondering what others have rigged up to alleviate this problem?

Thanks,

[landscaper1009]

We advise our contractors to flush the hose, tower and recirculation lines between tank loads.  When you get back to your water source, just as you start adding water, you can flush your lines back into the tank and be ready for the next load. 

Or you can do it when you are thru for the day and flush everything back into the tank or discharge it on the ground.

It only takes a few minutes to flush all three.

[hydroservice]

The way the Finn is designed you need to either get some more water in the tank to flush things, install the air flush system, or just leave it for the next use. By far air works the best with plugs. My theory was always don't plug things cause no matter how you do it its a pain.

[cag1980]

I have made a air flush for my t120 and plumbed it off the air brakes.  It's a nice setup but I can't seem to get a complete close on that big gate valve.  So when I had a good clog the other day I used my other old method, I have a cam lock fitting bushed down to a garden hose and that did the trick. It's simple and cheap but I have always found the painful thing about it is customers keep the outside faucets off for what reasons I don't know. I remind them to leave them on and one out of five seemed to forgot.. If the truck I was purchasing did not have air brakes my plan was to install a onboard electric compressor ,  not cheap I think a good one was 6-7 hundred but would be worth it.. One thing that should help is when you about done spraying cut that big gate valve off.  Then run the pump brief and spray out what you can in the hose..  My air flushes the hose better that way, it has a hard time flushing the hose completely full till I can figure out why that valve is not closing and pushing air threw the sump.  Even with water faucet flushing get as much out of the hose as you can some people have horrible water pressure and that makes it tough also.   

[hydroservice]

With air flush its important that the air fittings are located in a place that will allow all the air to be directed to the problem area. The hose reel fitting should be located just after the ball valve and just before the lead in hose to the reel. For the gun & recirc line there should be a fitting just above the pump in the lower discharge pipe. Any machine with air flush must also have a gate valve in the main suction line so that can be closed to prevent air from going into the tank. Because our truck had air I made air fittings to fit anywhere I needed and I used the trailer glad hand for an air line that would reach anywhere I needed. I even used it for blowing out the radiator.

[Epic Manufacturing]

One additional thing to keep in mind is that dewatering is typically the cause of a clog.  If you need to shut the machine down and can't flush the lines, make sure you close all of the ball valves to trap as much water as possible in the line. 

In lieu of an air flush system or a water flush tank, cag1980's idea does work well.  Put together a cam lock with a garden hose adapter and put it on the gun in place of your nozzle.  You can then hook up a garden hose to back flush the lines.

Thanks,
Jeff

[hydroservice]

I made it my goal to never plug my machine or hose. And I didn't for many years. No matter what method you use to unplug it it is just such a waste of time. On another note. We have had several calls with engines shutting down because of high temp caused by plugged radiators. They can be easily forgotten. Blow them out once in awhile. An overheated engine that won't run is a waste of time and can get costly.

[cag1980]

Thanks for the tip hydroservice! I  would have never thought to blow out the radiator..

 I will try to post a few pictures for those intrested.  I have found it convenient to have ball valves on the garden hose flush tool.. One so you don't have to run to and from the house to turn on and off the faucet.. And the second one is to relief pressure when you can't  clear a clog.  You would be surprised the pressure some faucets build up.. Sometimes  with bad clogs you have to take you spraying hose apart if you running long lengths and flush it in sections and somethimes from opposite ends..     

[ECSVA.com]

I have hose clogs a lot, it usually comes from having tack added to the mix.  I have a fitting to hook the hose directly to the fire hydrant by my shop, and blow it out there.  I tell the guys no matter how tired they are, and want to go home, that it will be much easier to spend 15 minutes at the end of the day cleaning, as opposed to an hour screwing with a clog the next use.

[hydroservice]

I just can't remember the last time I had a hose plug. Running clean water threw the hose before each use, being sure the load is mixed, and being sure there are no leaks in the plumbing is all I ever did and we had 300' on our T-330.