Pressure Washer

Pressure Washer

How To Choose A Power Washer

Executive Summary about Power Washer By Pete Marentay

Choosing from the vast amount of power washers isn't easy so make sure you read this information to find the best power washer for your needs.

1. Gasoline vs Electric power washers

2. Hot Water vs Cold Water power washers

3. PSI vs GPM vs CU

4. Belt Drive vs Direct vs Gear Driven power washers

5. Portable vs Stationary power washers

6. Wobble vs Axial vs Camshaft Pump

7. Heavyweight vs Lightweight power washers

8. Home Model vs Contractor Model power washers

Gasoline vs Electric: Most power washers are either powered by an electric motor or a gasoline engine. A few are diesel powered. Electric power washers require little maintenance and are very quiet. You can have electric power washers with lots of power, but most electric power washers are small units designed for specific jobs, such as mobile detailing or deck cleaning. Gas power washers, on the other hand, can be extremely portable. Gas-powered power washers are used for cleaning concrete (called “flat work”), deck cleaning, fleet work, kitchen hoods and ducts, or any other power washing job that requires portability.

Hot Water vs Cold: Most power washers are cold water portables. Some jobs, like removing heavy grease or stripping off finishes, just go better with hot water power washers. Hot water power washers will enable you to cut about 30% off the time it takes to do ANY job. Many new power washing contractors make the mistake of under-buying their tools to save money. Most experienced power washing contractors over-buy their tools and make the difference back in no time with the added power and features. If all you are going to do is clean and seal wood, just buy one of the cold water power washers. If you already own a cold water power washer and want to have hot water, you can call us and buy a “hot box” which will heat the water coming out of most cold water power washers.

GPM stands for Gallons Per Minute, the flow rate of power washers. CU stands for Cleaning Units, which is PSI multiplied by GPM. All of these terms refer to the power put out from power washers.

To clean effectively, power washers must provide ‘agitation’ to scrub off the dirt and ‘flow’ to rinse it away. Homeowner's power washers tend to run between 1200 and 2700 PSI. Contractor-grade power washers tend to run between 3000 and 5000 PSI. More power means faster work, but more power also means more potential for surface damage. GPM is much more important to most contractors than PSI. PSI (power) will help you break the chemical bond between the cleaning surface and the dirt. The higher the GPM, however, the more surface area a power washer can clean. Dealers of homeowner power washers like to refer to CUs when they show you power washers. If you have power washers with 3000 PSI and 4 GPM, you have 12000 CUs. For homeowner power washers, this is a good comparison of the power you are buying. Belt Drive vs Direct vs Gear Driven: The gasoline engines used for power washers all run at around 3450 RPM. In Direct Drive power washers the pump is bolted to the engine shaft, so it spins at the same 3450 RPM. Direct drive power washers transfer the vibration of the engine directly to the pump as well.

The faster pumps of direct drive power washers are spinning so fast that they cannot draw water from a tank or a lake very well. Portable vs Stationary: Stationary power washers are used in car washes, factories, etc. Portable power washers are used by contractors who travel to the customer to do the work. The most common power washers for contractors to use are cold water portable power washers (for small residential work) and hot water skid units (for large commercial work or high-volume residential work).

Every pump manufacturer makes several grades of pumps – Good, Better, and Best.

Axial pumps tend to last for about 600 hours before needing service.

The Camshaft design delivers the most power and durability of all these designs. Heavyweight vs Lightweight: If you are buying portable power washers, it makes sense to pay attention to the weight of the power washer. The cheapest power washers usually have the cheapest pump, which won’t hold up well for most contractors. The finish of power washers can be very important. This particular choice will vary depending on the power washers preference.

As a power washer and distributor, I see homeowners dragging in dead power washers that are only a few months old every week. These power washers cost more to fix than to replace, so my ‘boneyard’ is full of discarded homeowner power washers.

In the long run, you are better off with the better power washer.

Tips on Using Power Washers

Executive Summary about Power Washer By David Urmann

The most basic power washer consists of a trigger gun, high pressure hose and a motor that directly drives a water pump.

A pressure washer is a powerful mechanical device that has high pressure water systems fit for several household jobs. The electric power washer is great for cleaning small surface areas like grills, cars and even windows. Gas pressure washers, on the other hand, are more powerful. An industrial power washer is deemed as the most durable model. Do not run the power washer without a water supply because it can damage the motor.

When cleaning sidings, make sure that you point your power washers downwards. Squeeze the power washer trigger before storing the washer in order to reduce pressure inside the hose.