Water-supply acceptance is the check most often skipped at handover, and the one that shows up loudest later. The machine works, the demonstrator was impressive, the invoice is paid — and then a shift discovers that the tank empties faster than the supply refills, the fitting leaks at the first connection, or the run-off has nowhere to go. A written acceptance check costs an hour and prevents all of it.
The checklist below is for the person signing off an installation: a facilities manager, a depot engineer, a maintenance lead or a site representative for a buyer taking delivery of a fixed or mobile steam cleaning machine. Each item has a pass condition you can put on a form.
1. Inlet connection and fitting
- Confirm the inlet specification against the machine actually delivered. Published details for one fixed model in this range list a tap-water inlet with a 4-point internal-tooth joint, 1/2 inch. Reconfirm the figure for your model and version in the order documents, since page wording is not always consistent.
- Connect to the site supply and check the joint for leaks at operating conditions, not only at static pressure.
- Check that the fitting is correctly threaded and not cross-threaded, and that it can be disconnected and remade by an operator without leaking.
- Confirm an isolation valve exists at the supply point and that it is labelled.
- Confirm a filter is fitted where the local water is hard or carries solids, and that the filter is on the maintenance schedule.
Pass condition: one full connection and disconnection cycle with no leak, and the fitting type matches the delivered machine's specification in writing.
2. Supply adequacy under real duty
Static flow is not the test. The test is whether the supply keeps up while the machine runs.
- Measure the fill time from empty to full at the site supply, and record it.
- Run the machine in the mode you intend to use and observe whether the tank level holds or falls during operation.
- Check whether anything else on the same line draws water during the cleaning window — other bays, kitchen equipment, process use.
- Confirm the fill frequency your crew will actually perform. Published tank capacity for one fixed model is 80 L in SUS304 stainless steel; use that number to work out fills per shift at your duty cycle, and whether that is acceptable labour.
Pass condition: the tank holds through a normal operating period in the intended mode, and the number of fills per shift matches what the procedure assumes.
3. Water quality
- Check hardness and solids at the point of use; scale is the slow failure mechanism in any heated water system.
- Confirm whether the supplier's warranty assumes treated water, and whether your installation meets that assumption.
- Confirm the descaling or maintenance interval recommended for your water, and that the site has the parts and instructions to carry it out.
- Confirm that the water supplied is suitable for the machine — drinking-quality water is usually assumed, and recycled or process water is a different case requiring the supplier's written agreement.
Pass condition: water test result recorded, and the maintenance interval agreed and written into the site plan.
4. Water-shortage behaviour
This is the item that protects the heater, and it is quick to test.
- Run the machine down to empty supply and observe what it actually does: does it stop, alarm, or continue drawing power?
- Confirm the protection is present on the delivered unit. Several models in this range are listed with leakage, short-circuit, high-temperature, high-voltage and water-shortage protection, and one fixed model's overview also mentions high-voltage-explosion protection. Ask the supplier to confirm the protection list for your specific model and version rather than relying on catalogue wording, which is not identical across pages.
- Have the operator who will run the machine demonstrate the refill procedure without prompting.
Pass condition: the machine protects itself on loss of supply, and the operator can demonstrate correct refilling.
5. Run-off, drainage and drying
- Confirm the run-off route from the actual working position to the drain or collection point, and walk it.
- Confirm that where oil or grease is expected, the drain is oil-separated, and that nothing discharges to a surface-water system.
- Measure how long the wetted area takes to dry enough to walk on safely, in the mode you intend to run.
- Confirm containment for the mode you will use: dry steam produces little run-off, wet steam considerably more, and hot water more again. If the site drainage suits only dry steam, that is a limitation to record in the procedure, not to discover later.
Pass condition: run-off reaches an appropriate drain or container, and drying time is short enough for the operating plan.
6. Supply-side electrical and configuration checks
Water and power meet at this equipment, so the electrical check belongs in the same walk-round.
- Confirm the delivered configuration: fixed units run on a 220 V supply, and published heating power for one model is 6 kW; mobile models run on a 48 V battery supply and are listed in with-battery and without-battery versions.
- Confirm the correct version was delivered, including whether a battery was supplied — this is a frequent order error.
- Confirm the socket, cable and routing are away from the wet zone, and that the circuit is adequate for the load.
- Confirm the charging position, if any, is dry, ventilated and clear of the wash area.
Pass condition: delivered specification matches the order, and the power route is physically separated from the wet work area.
7. Documentation and sign-off
- Inlet fitting specification, tank capacity and water-quality requirement, in writing.
- A one-page water procedure for the crew: fill, check, mode, and what to do on a shortage alarm.
- Maintenance schedule entries: filter, descaling, hose and fitting inspection.
- Spare fittings and wear parts on site, with part numbers and lead times.
- A signed acceptance record listing every test above, with the measured values, and any exception with a date for closing it.
Record measured values rather than opinions. "Supply adequate" is not evidence; "80 L filled in 4 minutes 20 seconds, tank level held through 40 minutes of dry-steam operation" is.
A water-supply acceptance check is short: fitting, supply under duty, water quality, shortage behaviour, run-off, configuration, paperwork. Doing it once, on paper, prevents the recurring faults that make a steam machine unpopular with the crew that runs it. If you are preparing for handover, send PowerDe your inlet, drain and supply details through the contact page and ask them to confirm the water requirements for the exact model you are taking delivery of; the cleaning equipment series pages list the fixed, hand-pushed and mobile units in the range.
