FREE FLOW revealed and a how to guide

[Guest]

Basicaly free flow is a metered or controlled air leak at the blower.

What does it do? Free flow allows the blower to work at optimum rpms.
it allows the blower and engine actually breathe and work as one instead of fighting each other. This increases more air flow and vacuum atw.

This will work on the majority of machines out there. some machine may need plumbing modifications.


you will need a 5/16 drill bit. a 2'' galvanized cap with fpt,on 2'' close nipple. you will need to drill to holes in the cap. you then remove old vacrelief system install tthe nipple into blower port at the tee then install cap. Sart machine and cap off vaccum HG should go to 14 to 18 hg. The machine may bogg if it does add another hole. this time it should be 14 to 15 hg on machine. Take wand inot house at 100 feet of hose and clean carpet . with out wand glide you will feel a big difference more air and vacuum. with wand glide you may only need two holes. you can make different caps. Now here is the kicker , the dry times will be better the vacuum will be better airflow better. The HG guage wont show it. THe guage may read 13 or 14 hg but you will be pulling more.

This is based on my machines that I build. works on 36 45 47 and 56 blowers. Blower should be spinnning around 3600 3450 rpms.

goodluck I am still tweaking this system.

 

[Kevin B]

So....why not just plumb this over the top of an existing vac relief valve. ie, control what goes through the valve?

I don't get how this can change the flow of air down the hose. Why not just set the HG to 18? Why not kunkle the blower with a capped and drilled kunkle valve?

 

[Jay D]

I don't know why it works but I reset mine to this system. I put an wool rug next to my tm and ran 100ft of hose to my 2" glided wand and put the wand on the carpet. Started the machine and watched the hg with me both pushing the wand and it resting on the carpet. I started with the two 5/16 holes and preceded to add 1/8holes until the gauge stayed in the 14-15hg setting on the guage with the wand on the carpet. My vacuum is so much better, both air flow and "grip on the carpet". I still have no idea WHY this works but it works. Try it, you will only be out a few bucks in plumbing parts. If not go back to your old relief system. Other relief systems may work but this works too.

Mister Sir

 

[Guest]

Hey Nick maybe you cann add a cap similar to that on a pepper or salt shaker. You know you can add several holes and then just dial it to the right place for you.

Just a thought

 

[Guest]

All ready doing that jeff. On the new machines coming out the EZ will have an adjustable vac relief on the front of the machine.

Kevin. You can do that but it works better. you dont have any extra restriction. Hey for under 20.00 works great and gives super perfromance. O there are other little bonus that I did not mention

The machines produce about 5 to 10 degrees hotter water not much but still a gain. The engine just runs smooother .

 

[Mikey P]

I'd like to see that in action.


What are the chances of it working on a Vortex?

 

[Guest]

yes it should work on a vortex. If you email me picture I can explain on how to set it up.. You may need a 4 inch cap with 3 to 10 holes.

I will be in later tonight to check emails.

 

[truckmount girl]

Air that is leaking at the cap or at a spring relief valve is lost CFM. This sounds like it has all the flaws of a spring relief valve, only more, because the leak is constant. The only advantage I see is allowing an underpowered system to run at a higher rpm, and thus a higher lift setting. You would pull more water and get significantly more cfm with a Kunkle set at 12 or 13 than with this system set at 14 or 15 because you would be using every cfm you produce.

This may be fine for a system that is so underpowered it can't handle a Kunkle, or severely restrictively plumbed (2" plumbing, 90 degree bends, etc), but for the life of me it makes no sense from a physics perspective how this could outperform a traditional spring relief, let alon a Kunkle/Bayco.

All this seems to be is allowing you to run your motor at a higher rpm without bogging, thus allowing you to attain higher lift numbers, but it seems you make up for any gains in lift by losing the crucial cfm. I only see this working on poorly designed, restrictive, or underpowered systems.

If you introduce a constant leak at the wand, at least the air lost there would help evacuate the hoses, but a leak at the truck is just cfm forever gone. Every cfm that exits the holes is a cfm that never made it to the wand....unless, a system is so poorly designed it never would have generated that cfm to begin with.

You are going to have to explain this better Nick. Are you saying that the average hacked together TM loses so much performance in restrictive, poorly designed plumbing that the rise in rpm, and lift will make up for the loss in cfm at the holes? If so, then it tells me that there are far bigger problems with the unit. Design a unit which is non-restrictive without having to constantly leak and put a precision reief valve on it and you will have far superior performance to any unit which is constantly pissing the cfm's generated out at the truck.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Guest]

Sounds like a cheaper alternative to the knukle if it works. Why spend 200.00 to drill a couple of small holes first.

 

[Guest]

I guess if you consider blue line , powerclean, vortex and others hacked togther sysytems yep. It works dude on all systems. It works like a river it flows and continuous flow. Instead of dammed un dammed. or open close open close.

 

[truckmount girl]

There would be a formula for figuring this out:

If TM A can only spin the blower at XXXX rpm without bogging, it has a total cfm generated of YYY. If you can increase the rpm and the speed the blower turns at by introducing a constant leak, you will get an increase of cfm generated of YYY, however you must subtract cfm lost forever through the constant leak, -YYY. If you can make more additional cfm from the increase in rpm and resultant cfm than you lose through the holes you will see an increase in performance, HOWEVER that is simply a band-aid placed on a poorly designed unit. better to spend a little more to fix the basic problems with the unit, or avoid purchasing underpowered, poorly designed units to begin with.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[truckmount girl]

How many units, what age and what brands do you have running this system Nick? Specifically.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Greenie]

Back when I was trying to get our old slide in (with a 25hp engine) to drive a 47 blower at a decent lift level, I did just what Nick is talking about, by putting some tape over a few of teh relief holes on the spring relief.

Later, (and still to this day) on more powerful units we did this with the kunkle and bayco valves:

The drilled caps really dial the valves in, and quiet the actuation a bit in the process, as well as serve as a crude debris screen for foreign matter.

But to claim the free flow out performs a kunkle on a healthy system is just plain wishful thinking.

I did notice that the "testimonials" so far are all from EZ owners who have not put a kunkle on their unit.

I have no problem with "cheaper" but let's make sure it's Better before we make such claims.

 

[Greenie]

I didn't see it anywhere above so I will point out some facts.

Most of these units are 2.5" - 4" ports on the blowers.

If you only run a single 2" hose (one wand) off of said machine, you have such a huge Restriction in the first place, that jsut about any vacuum relief will help the unit perform better and not labor or struggle.

Also Nick runs his blowers faster than most others, only amplfying the effect.

Use your head when reading this kind of stuff.

 

[Guest]

we have been doing it for ayear now. last month we put it on a blueline champ, 2 days ago a 8 year old 405 performer. 2 dc 300 1 powematic hydramaster 3.2 and 4.0 spit fire. all of them have had a big increase in perfromance. You should see the performance you get with 2.5 inch hose. hy

 

[truckmount girl]

Nick,

What is the difference between "free flow" and just drilling holes in your waste tank to produce the same effect? This is a favorite poor man's vac relief for homemade TM builders in our area. Effective, but inefficient.

You have put this on a handful of units. Were any of these units running Kunkle/Baycos? If so, which units and what lift were these devices set at? If a Kunkle is set too high for a given system, it must be adjusted, was it adjusted?

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Farenheit251]

Seems like the HG will be set perfect for for one particular set of circumstances. How about if I am cleaning a sculptured berber where I can't get a good wand to carpet seal? The Kunkle doesn't leak any air allowing it all through the wand. Or the opposite if I am doing a water extraction with 150 feet of hose and a water claw. Will the set amount of leak give enough to avoid overheating the blower at total lockdown. What if I add or remove a glide,change wands,want to use a 1.5 inch whip in an excessively furnished house,use an RX 20 on a dense pile-or on a glue down where it skips a little. Seems like a good setup for a guy doing the same apartment carpet day in and day out but the kunkle/Bayco self compensates for different circumstances. Brian E

 

[Guest]

All kunkles were adjusted at 14 hg . The blower has not overheated . so far works great in the field. However for Brians question that is why there will be on that you can adjust on the machine if you would like. Putting holes at the tanks does not work well just like putting vac relief at the tank does not work as well.

 

[Kevin B]

but a leak at the truck is just cfm forever gone. Every cfm that exits the holes is a cfm that never made it to the wand....unless, a system is so poorly designed it never would have generated that cfm to begin with.

This is exactly why this FREE FLOW is physically inferior to a system that reliefs at a perfect set amount and has restrictive holes via a cap(as greenie pictured) helping to slow down the actuating pulsation of a kunkle/bayco valve.

 

[Kevin B]

All kunkles were adjusted at 14 hg . The blower has not overheated . so far works great in the field. However for Brians question that is why there will be on that you can adjust on the machine if you would like. Putting holes at the tanks does not work well just like putting vac relief at the tank does not work as well.

Why not make one that had a dial that spun a cam shaped washer underneath the holes adjusting the airflow for different situations? Just an idea.

 

[Guest]

Kevin that is a great idea, and we are doing it. But dont knock it till ya try it.

 

[Kevin B]

Honestly, I'll give it a shot. But, pure logic already reveals that your losing cfm out those holes...and it will never go down the pipe...not the right pipe anyway.

 

[Guest]

Kevin really think about the logic for a moment. When a wand head hits the carpet , the vrv opens either on a kunkle or a springloaded. The moment they open you lose cfm one could say. The springloaded opens pretty quick always by passing air. sometimes not enough or too much. The kunkle opens too one can feel air bypassing right away. The plastic pvc that has been added to has been added to help raise lift help ,get the kunkle more accurate, and cut down on the high pitched noise that comes from it when open. Or losing cfm. The free flow allows just enough but not to much just like a kunkle with out the bells and whistles..

hope this helps

 

[Greenie]

Kunkles do not open immediately.

Free flow is always open.

End of story.

 

[Guest]

Kunkles do open immediately at least on ez's ask jeff ellis he saw it in person. the other side of the story. o yes you can also hear the kunkle open and close several times in a minute.

 

[Jay D]

People try it yourself and draw your own conclusion. Have an open mind. Kunkles, cimexs, encap, 2.5"hose, 4to the door,even glides were looked at with skepticism until they were tried. My machine works better, but to clarify it does drop in rpms with the wand on the carpet, 3450 down to 3200-3250 rpms from a 27hp kohler and a 47 blower. Nick is not perfect but he has stumbled onto something I think works, maybe not a bayco or kunkle but it does work. Like I said try it and if you don't like it go back to your standard setup. And yes my heater is putting out hotter water, weather it is the change of season or the new setup I don't know.

Best wishes to all.

Mister Sir

 

[Steve Smith]

Think about this.

"Free Flow" may seem flawed because of this "lost" CFM.
However the wand is not always on the carpet locked down.
When the wand is off the carpet who cares about the "lost" CFM.
When the wand is on the carpet you now have a steady vacuum relief system.

With a kunkle you don't have this constantly lost CFM.
When the wand is off the carpet you are not lossing CFM.
But, when the wand is on the carpet locked down you will have "lost" CFM as the kunkle cycles.

It seems possible the free flow could be a better "vacuum relief system" than the kunkle when the wand is locked down on the carpet since it is not cycling, it is just a steady relief.

Seems like you would need some way to adjust it for different types of carpet like a sculptured berber where you couldn't get the wand to lock down. In that situation a kunkle would work best.

At the least it is an interesting idea.

 

[FastEddie]

I think a Kunkle or Bayco dialed in with a controlled leak ATW makes best sense. My Bayco barely cycles and the controlled leak I caused by notching my glides keeps a steady stream of air moving thru the hose during cleaning which is ideal. How about going back to the old days of drilling the wands head with multiple tiny holes and dialing it in by plugging for different cleaning situations? Relief valve ATW.........

 

[Out of Character - 0]

depending on the techs wanding style and the carpet our Kunkle does open and close quite frequently. With a glided wand on glue down commercial carpet if I run the wand the Kunkle would stay open all the time. If one of our techs runs the wand it opens and closes with each stroke. He brings the wand back further changing the angle and breaking seal for just a second. After we dialed in the hole on our kunkle the hg's don't fall at all when it opens up. Also we didn't use drilled holes, we use a pvc reducer that fits in the relief hole.

 

[Mike Brummett]

FREE the FLOW!

SAVE the CFM's!

Sure sounds like a lot of hot air to me, but what do I know?

Why don't you people put your heads together and come up with a solution for the CRI-SOA situation?
With all this collective brain-power flying around, you ought to harness it and use it for good!

MIKE