Pressure washer for the shop? Anyone?

[FinerCutslawnCare]

I have decided I am done going to a car wash with trailers full of equipment when I could just wash them at my place and not have to worry about loading anything up. I have decided that I am going to buy a pressure washer and I want something decent and powerful. I have between $750-1,500 to spend on one so let me know what I should get. I want something that is going to tackle any job I throw at it but is also reliable as it will be used weekly for a lot of equipment. Thanks in advance!

[gasracer]

Something about like this??
http://www.pressurewashersdirect.com/BE-PE-4013HWPSCOMZ-Pressure-Washer/p4751.html

[bcg717]

How many people are going to be using it? The reason i ask is because if a lot of people are going to be using it the best bet is a electric powered unit that has a time delay shutdown feature. Any pressure washer no matter what make or model should not be ran in bypass (without the trigger being pulled while running) for over 2 mins. This causes major wear and tear on the packings. Electric pressure washers will drive the price up, especially for one strong enough to get the job done. The pressure washer listed above is a great unit. Email me if you want a better price on it though. Bcg717@msn.com

[FinerCutslawnCare]

I will be the only one using it. It will be used for washing mowers and trucks. Maybe a skid when needed. And gasracer anything will be fine, I just want to make sure it is going to be reliable.

[gasracer]

I have had "B E" for a couple of years and it works great. Mine is a little smaller than that one.

[GunnPropertyServices]

i have a pressure washer almost the same model as that one, good pressure washer plenty of power and GPM. the only thing i would suggest is try to find a local pressure washer shop that services them and buy from them. the engine will run forever but the pump will need to be rebuilt. they will be able to rebuild the pump fast and cheaper then sending it off or buying new

[JB1]

get one that has a burner for hot water.

[FCPWLLC]

This one.... 4 gpm.... General Pump (parts are easy to get and not extremely expensive) Honda Engine (no brainer)

BELT DRIVEN.... Less RPM on Pump. Lasts longer. Further away frome heat on Engine. Less Vibration.

The dealer is AWESOME!

http://www.pressuretek.com/bedr4gpm40ps.html

[FCPWLLC]

How many people are going to be using it? The reason i ask is because if a lot of people are going to be using it the best bet is a electric powered unit that has a time delay shutdown feature. Any pressure washer no matter what make or model should not be ran in bypass (without the trigger being pulled while running) for over 2 mins. This causes major wear and tear on the packings. Electric pressure washers will drive the price up, especially for one strong enough to get the job done. The pressure washer listed above is a great unit. Email me if you want a better price on it though. Bcg717@msn.com

Except for Washers that are mounted with a float/bypass tank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vGKqoa0-Wk

[bcg717]

Except for Washers that are mounted with a float/bypass tank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vGKqoa0-Wk



Exactly, but i think he was just talking about wheeling it around his shop

[FinerCutslawnCare]

Exactly, but i think he was just talking about wheeling it around his shop

Yea I am just looking for something to wheel around the shop.

[gasracer]

Just make sure you get a good quality machine and it will give you good service. I am not sure about where you live but my local lawn equipment shop carries the BE line. Just have to check around. I wouldn't go to Lowes or Home Depot.

[S&S Outdoor Services]

I bought a Northern Star 3300 PSI for $1100.00 from Northern Tool and Equipment. I've had it for two years with no problems and it's got plenty of power for almost any job. Just make sure to take the pump off in the winter!

[Pumptecguy]

Yea I am just looking for something to wheel around the shop.

You are located near 2 good manufacturers already: Cam Spray and MI-T-M. See what they have to offer. General pumps will probably provide you with the best value (dollars spent versus life) and they are common.

When I worked with a supplier to them, BE used to makes many, many things in China to drive down costs, but I suppose a Comet pump (Italy) and Honda engine is fairly standard.

The unloader and trigger gun will be the 2 items you will need to be careful about. A bad trigger gun at best will break soon and at worst jam open and maybe hurt someone. The unloaders can fail and destroy a pump.

The sad part is that you cannot choose these things and you have to rely on a manufacturer to provide quality.

My usual advice: Do not buy a 4 at 4000 washer unless you really know what you are doing and are a fool. :hammerhead:

You will best served by limiting your pressure to 2000 psi at 4 gpm. It will clean better and you will destroy few things. In fact, 4 at 1000 psi will probably do everything you need done, allow you to go electric and save you money. The tough part is finding one, since psi seems to be the obsession with manufacturers.

[Cajun Cleanin']

I would get a 4gpm 4k psi machine.You can dial down the pressure with the unloader.You can't dial it up on a smaller machine.

I would also use Pressure tek,Watercannon they both sell good machines imo.Now is the time to buy one as they will offer deals that you won't get during the warmer seasons.

Like Mike K said anything Honda with a general or cat pump will last you a long time.I have a machine from watercannon that has at least a thousand hrs on it still starts 1st pull.

[FCPWLLC]

I would get a 4gpm 4k psi machine.You can dial down the pressure with the unloader.You can't dial it up on a smaller machine.

I would also use Pressure tek,Watercannon they both sell good machines imo.Now is the time to buy one as they will offer deals that you won't get during the warmer seasons.

Like Mike K said anything Honda with a general or cat pump will last you a long time.I have a machine from watercannon that has at least a thousand hrs on it still starts 1st pull.

He will be better off using a Dual Lance wand for lowering the pressure. Don't fool with the unloader.

[gasracer]

GPM is more important that PSI> I have a 2.5 GPM at 2800 PSI max but I can turn it down with the control lever on the pump. Just using it to clean my equipment it does fine. Cleaning heavy equipment might take something a little larger like 3-3.5 gpm.

[FinerCutslawnCare]

What would someone think a car wash gpm and psi are? The pressure in a car wash is just fine I believe.

[bcg717]

What would someone think a car wash gpm and psi are? The pressure in a car wash is just fine I believe.

Roughly between 3 gpm @ 1100PSi and 4 GPM @ 2000PSI. I'd guess closer to the 3@1100 though.

I have a couple electric pressure washers in that range for sale as well.

[FinerCutslawnCare]

I believe I will be going with something that is 3.5 gpm at 4000psi. I can always turn it down but I want it to be able to tackle any job I throw at it.

[Pumptecguy]

I believe I will be going with something that is 3.5 gpm at 4000psi. I can always turn it down but I want it to be able to tackle any job I throw at it.

You are correct that you can turn it down, but in doing so, you DECREASE the gpm (flow), and therefore, the cleaning power of your washer.

The nozzle creates the pressure, the pump pumps a set amount fo fluid, the engine drives a the pump at a speed. The law of nozzles requires a fixed amount of fluid for a specific pressure. For example, an '04 nozzle performs as follows: 1 gpm at 250 psi, 2 gpm at 1000 psi, and 4 gpm at 4000 psi. None of these are a good choice for what you want to clean.

If you really want to clean something, then I recommend a washer that has the ratio of gpm to psi of 1:350. This is roughly what self serve car washes have. They operate at 3.5 to 4 gpm and 1000-1200 psi.

If you want to spend a lot of money and have a very limited use (useless?) washer, then buy a 4 at 4000. If you want to have something that will clean very well, then increase your gpm and lower your pressure. The practical limit for flow is about 5 gpm, since most garden hoses cannot keep up. A 5 at 2000 or 2500 psi would a wiser choice IMO.

If you still want the 4 at 4000, then use a dual lance with either an '05 (2500 psi) or an '06 (1800 psi) in the other side. You will probably like the cleaning ability so much that you will wonder why did I spend extra for '4000'.

[FinerCutslawnCare]

If I had to choose between these 2 which one would you/people go with?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200350620_200350620

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200355682_200355682

[gasracer]

I would prefer one of these 3.
http://sleequipment.com/store/myProducts.cfm?CFID=294688&CFTOKEN=45159215&parentcategoryid=108|All%20Pressure%20Washers&productID=1587&showDetail=1&categoryID=108|All%20Pressure%20Washers&vendoridtodisplay=0&filterFor=&collection=

http://sleequipment.com/store/myProducts.cfm?CFID=294688&CFTOKEN=45159215&parentcategoryid=108|All%20Pressure%20Washers&productID=1586&showDetail=1&categoryID=108|All%20Pressure%20Washers&vendoridtodisplay=0&filterFor=&collection=

http://sleequipment.com/store/myProducts.cfm?CFID=294688&CFTOKEN=45159215&parentcategoryid=108|All%20Pressure%20Washers&productID=1588&showDetail=1&categoryID=108|All%20Pressure%20Washers&vendoridtodisplay=0&filterFor=&collection=

[bcg717]

I'd contact your local pressure washer store. You will get a better piece of equipment and better service than you will at a northern tool or online. Here is 2 in Iowa i found on google.

http://www.washersystems.com/

http://hotsyiowa.com/

[gasracer]

The ones I posted are from a shop near me but they sale and ship things all over the world.

[Keegan]

Simpson and Graco make VERY GOOD washers. The higher the gpm the better it will clean. Don't just look at the psi.

[FinerCutslawnCare]

I'd contact your local pressure washer store. You will get a better piece of equipment and better service than you will at a northern tool or online. Here is 2 in Iowa i found on google.

http://www.washersystems.com/

http://hotsyiowa.com/

I looked at these 2 sites. Has anyone had any experiance with hotsy? I have used an electric M-I-TM and wow it was a brute!

[bcg717]

I looked at these 2 sites. Has anyone had any experiance with hotsy? I have used an electric M-I-TM and wow it was a brute!


Hotsy is one of the top of the line brands, as well as Mi-T-M, Landa, Hydrotek, Alkota, Alladin, etc.

[FCPWLLC]

If I had to choose between these 2 which one would you/people go with?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200350620_200350620

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200355682_200355682

No and No. Direct drive and cat pumps are expensive to fix. Good pump, just to a good bang for your buck.

For what you want to do.....

http://www.pressuretek.com/bedr4gpm40ps.html

I personally won't use anything less than 8gpm anymore now that I have used almost everything out there. You asked about the Hotsy... Good machines but priced way higher than equally good machines.

[gasracer]

No and No. Direct drive and cat pumps are expensive to fix. Good pump, just to a good bang for your buck.

For what you want to do.....

http://www.pressuretek.com/bedr4gpm40ps.html

I personally won't use anything less than 8gpm anymore now that I have used almost everything out there. You asked about the Hotsy... Good machines but priced way higher than equally good machines.

Let's be realistic,I would like to know where you get a water supply that handles 8gpm?Not from a 3/4" water hose.

[FCPWLLC]

Let's be realistic,I would like to know where you get a water supply that handles 8gpm?Not from a 3/4" water hose.

We use a float tank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vGKqoa0-Wk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs6EP3SqwD4

Most homes/businesses actually can push 6-10gpm, but the float tank allows us a buffer.

[Greenlandscaping]

I will be the only one using it. It will be used for washing mowers and trucks. Maybe a skid when needed. And gasracer anything will be fine, I just want to make sure it is going to be reliable.

1st Northern star. 2nd karcher