What the record has to answer afterwards
A trial record is not a log of what the operator thought. It has to answer four questions that come up in the purchase meeting: can the site feed the machine continuously, does the water on site change what the machine leaves behind, what does the trial consume per shift, and what has to be installed or changed before the production unit is switched on. Anything that does not help with those four questions is a note, not evidence.
Write the record for a reader who was not standing there. That single rule removes most of the arguments later.
Log the site conditions before the machine is switched on
Start with what exists at the trial point, because a steam machine only performs as well as the supply feeding it. The fixed steam cleaning machine PowerDe HW02 takes tap water through a 4-point internal-tooth joint (1/2 inch), runs on 220 V, and carries an 80 L SUS304 tank with 6 kW of heating power. Those four numbers define the conditions you must document, not the cleaning result alone.
| Item to record | How to write it down |
|---|---|
| Water source and fitting | Mains or tank; whether the existing tap matches the 1/2 inch internal-tooth connection, or an adapter is needed |
| Supply continuity | Whether water stays available for a full shift, or whether the tank has to be refilled by hand and how often |
| Electrical point | Distance from the 220 V outlet to the working area, cable length, whether the circuit is shared with other equipment |
| Drainage and runoff | Where the loosened grease and water go, and who is responsible for collecting it |
| Room temperature and ventilation | Indoor or outdoor, enclosed or open, since both change how long surfaces stay workable |
Record the water hardness reading from the site supply if a test is available, and say plainly whether it was measured or estimated. Hardness is the input that explains scale inside a heater months later, and an estimate written as a measurement is the fastest way to lose trust in the whole report.
Measure the steam side during the run
The HW02 page states a steam temperature of 160°C and a vapor pressure of 0.8 MPa, with selectable dry and wet steam. During the trial, note whether the machine reaches and holds those conditions at the nozzle under your own supply, and how long the wait is from cold start to the first usable pass. That figure decides whether the cleaning window fits inside an existing shift break or requires planned downtime, and it is a number only you can produce.
Then record consumption in the units purchasing uses: how much water the tank holds and how many minutes of continuous spraying that supports, how often the tank is refilled per shift, and whether the operator loses steam pressure while the tank is being topped up. Note the same for power: whether the machine was connected to the trial outlet for the whole session or moved between points, since extension cables and shared circuits are where real trials fail.
For each cleaning pass, describe the surface, the soil before cleaning, the mode selected (dry steam or wet steam), the nozzle used and the result after one pass and after a second pass. Photos dated in the file name belong with these entries, not in a separate album nobody matches to the table.
Capture the operating and safety observations
The HW02 listing describes leakage, short-circuit, high-temperature, high-voltage, water-shortage and high-voltage-explosion protection, plus a vacuum function for interior work. In the record, note which of these actually engaged during your trial and under what condition — for example, what the machine did when the water ran low, or when the operator paused with the gun open. Those notes matter because they are the ones a safety reviewer will ask about.
Write down what the operator needed to be told twice. Handle reach, machine footprint of 1,200 × 800 × 1,200 mm including handles, and the effort of moving it across your own floor are practical constraints that a brochure cannot answer for your site. If your area has narrow parking aisles or a step between bays, that is the place to state it.
Compare the trial against your current method on the same job
Put the steam trial and your existing process side by side on one job, with the same soil level and the same surface. Time per vehicle or per machine, litres of water used, chemical product used, labour minutes, and whether the area was back in service immediately are comparable columns. If you also run industrial steam cleaning equipment elsewhere in the plant, compare against that benchmark rather than against a cold-water hose, which understates the difference.
Do not average the whole trial into one number. One pass on a lightly soiled surface and one pass on baked grease give two results, and the second one is what your purchasing case rests on.
Close the record with actions and a signature
End the document with three lines: what has to be installed before production use (a water point with the correct fitting, a dedicated 220 V outlet, a drainage route), what has to be confirmed with the supplier (service interval, water treatment for hard supply, spare nozzle and hose availability), and what you accept as a pass. Name the person who ran the trial and the person who signs it off.
When the water conditions are specified rather than assumed, the next step becomes concrete. PowerDe is an intelligent cleaning equipment manufacturer in Shenzhen working from its own production base, and its engineering services cover customized steam cleaning equipment for applications that need a different supply arrangement, tank size or operating mode. Send them your completed trial record and the questions about fitting, supply continuity and drainage are answered against your own figures instead of a general description.
