Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Truck Mount Maintenance Suggestions
The following are service suggestions from Hydramaster which can be applicable to a wide variety of truck mount brands and models.
Rough Running Motor
When diagnosing an engine that is running rough or appears to be under powered, one of many possibilities is that one of the cylinders may not be firing correctly. While this could be either an electrical problem or a mechanical issue, there are a couple of quick and easy ways to find out which cylinder is not firing.
The first method is to remove the spark plug wires one at a time while the engine is running. While the machine is at idle or low speed, you should observe a change in speed when the wire is removed from the cylinder that is firing properly. Before moving onto the next cylinder, reattach the previous plug wire. If a plug wire is pulled and nothing changes, then that cylinder is not functioning properly.
The second method is using a handheld infrared thermometer. One with a laser pointer on it works best as they are easier to aim. Point it at the surface of the head directly adjacent to the spark plug of each cylinder. The temperature should be equal on all cylinders if they are working properly. If you find one that is running cooler than that one should be the culprit. Now that you know which one is not working, you will be able to investigate why the cylinder is not firing. This could be due to lack of spark, fuel, or compression. Each of these items will need to be checked individually. This can be done with 2, 3 or 4 cylinder engines.
Blower Daily Lubrication
There is always confusion on how to lubricate the blower on a daily basis. Use the following to ensure proper blower life:
- Place the machine under a full vacuum load - (use the top surface of a cap from a lube can).
- Spray your lube into the lube opening for 5 to 7 seconds.
- Allow the bl0wer to run an additional minimum of 2 minutes under load. This allows the lubricant to be pulled into the blower to lubricate the lobes and case.
- Use Penzguard Z7 or equivalent. WD-40 is now an acceptable lubricant per Tuthill.
Blower Maintenance
The workhorse of a truck mount carpet cleaning machine is probably the vacuum pump (or as it is better known, the blower). However, even with knowing that this is very critical part of the machine, it is one of the most abused - because of the lack of regular and proper maintenance. On blowers that have oil baths on both ends it is easy to remember to change both at the same time. On blowers that have an oil bath on one end and grease fittings on the other, the service interval may be different. Check the manual for the blower to be sure. Also, remember that only 2 or 3 pumps or until you see some grease ooze out of the vent may not be enough. You have to keep pumping grease in until you see new, clean grease come out of the vent. This can take 20 to 24 pumps of a grease gun for a large blower!
Winterizing Your Equipment
As the cold weather sets in across the U.S., you need to be reminded to freeze guard your equipment. That includes wands, rotary extractors (such as RX-20s), hoses and various cleaning hand tools. If you only freeze guard your truck mount and neglect the tools, you can experience burst water valves on hand tools and split hoses - both can lead to embarrassing situations in a customer's home.
You can winterize your equipment with Duraclean's Freeze Guard: http://www.duracleanfranchise.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=1179-1
Labels: Hydramaster, Technical, Truck Mount
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