Pressure washers

[ian]

I'm about to repaint my house — it's a 2 story terrace.

before painting I need to wash the walls down to get rid of the accumulated grime (I live in the inner city) and other muck.

I'm not too keen on hiring because travel to and from the hire outlet and hire charges starts to get very expensive once a stop-start work schedule is factored in. Also I've an ongoing need to wash down the front fence and most of the yard on a regular basis.

I'm inclined towards an upper mid-range Karcher unit (the K497 – 6.7 l/m, 1885psi, 7.5m hose) which will draw from a bucket or rain water tank.

but should I get something with a larger flow rate?
Is an aluminium pump worth the extra expense?


what are your comments, experience, recommendations


thanks

ian

[batcat]

Gday Ian,
I see you're in Sydney, unfortunately you cant use mains water (directly) so whatever you decide on must not be reliant on mains pressure for water intake.
You can apply to the waterboard for a once off permit to clean your walls before painting, however they wont give you an ongoing permit for fence and yard...
I went through the exercise a couple of months ago. In the end I hired a high pressure unit from the local hire co.
You can read about my woes here (further to below, the other half enquired to the water board about restrictions as our need was a Health issue, unannounced and uninvited a water board officer (you know the one's you see driving around Sydney in 'the Water Patrol' sign written cars) turned up here on a staurday morning.
Cynical me figured he was more checking than anything else.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=54274

[ian]

I understand re the restrictions on mains water use
that's why I'm thinking of feeding it via a "rain water" tank

as I understand it, if the washer draws from a large bucket that is refilled using a float valve (or a kid who turns the tap on and off) I'm not using a "fixed hose"


ian

[dazzler]

Hi Ian

I just bought a petrol powered cleaner as set out below. $499 which compared to the electric ones seemed good value.

Have used it and it is a bloody ripper!

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Briggs and Stratton 2,050 PSI Clean Shot Pressure Washer #20206

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=middle>http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21AJ2XGER8L.jpg (javascript:popup())

</TD><TD vAlign=top width="100%">


</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2><HR class=aom_hr></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>Features:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD> </TD><TD>2,050-psi power washer with 2.0-gpm flow rate; turbo nozzle and detergent injection system</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD> </TD><TD>3-3/4-horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine and 25-foot high-pressure hose</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD> </TD><TD>Durable steel construction</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD> </TD><TD>Includes washer, hose, scrub brush, safety glasses, motor oil, storage bag</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD> </TD><TD>48 pounds; 2-year warranty</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Chris Parks]

New legislation/regulation news today says the Govt is going to enact the restrictions to say if the water came from their dam you can't use it for banned purposes period, so no decanting into a tank from the tap!

[ian]

Mini

To quote Sydney Water ...

What exemptions will apply during Level 3?
The exemption for hosing hard surfaces for health, safety or construction activity also remains unchanged but the conditions applying to the exemption have been tightened to save water – businesses with these exemptions must now use high-pressure water equipment or another device that limits flow to 10 litres or less per minute. The flow-limiting device can be fitted into a tap, trigger nozzle or hose. This change also applies to the washing of vehicles.

[Alastair]

Also make sure that the unit you buy WILL operate with a bucket feed.

Many of the cheaper units will not. Tried with my GMC, which works fine off the mains for my purposes, but when running off tank, would not prime. When manually primed, would not deliver proper pressure, and frequently airlocked.

regards

[mugwoody]

Hi Ian,

Just a couple of things for your thoughts.

Karcher units usually have a propriety line of virtually everything in them and if you have a failure you will only be able to use Karcher replacement parts which, unless their pricing has changed dramatically, cost a bundle. Why would they charge extra for an aluminium pump cos, if you want to put detergent through, it will be eaten away in no time flat. Or is the pump offered some kind of plastic? If you want pressure for cleaning I would consider a minimum of 1,000 PSI.

The Briggs unit wouild seem a better buy as long as the pump is bronze.

My 2 bobs worth.
Peter

[HappyHammer]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Briggs and Stratton 2,050 PSI Clean Shot Pressure Washer #20206



</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=middle>http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21AJ2XGER8L.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:popup())



</TD><TD vAlign=top width="100%">




</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>Features:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD><TD>2,050-psi power washer with 2.0-gpm flow rate; turbo nozzle and detergent injection system</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD><TD>3-3/4-horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine and 25-foot high-pressure hose</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD><TD>Durable steel construction</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD><TD>Includes washer, hose, scrub brush, safety glasses, motor oil, storage bag</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD><TD>48 pounds; 2-year warranty</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
How noisy is it Dazzler (similar to a lawnmower?) and does it run continuously when in use?

HH.

[dazzler]

Sorry I's been away.

Just like a lawn mower only sprayier. :D

[pharmaboy2]

guys according to sydney water, the exemption includes construction activity, and you are allowed to use a 10lpm or less high pressure cleaner. It is an absolute requirement for most outdoor painting to be done on a clean surface, and painting is part of construction.

What you cant do, is clean the house for no apparent reason, unless I suppose it has some mould on it (health). Thus it doesnt need to come out of abucket for the OP purposes, and I know the karchers I've used need a lot of pressure on the inlet to get them going.

All you need is a defendable reason to avoid fines - know what the rules are, and be prepared with your answer as to why it is either construction, health or safety related - so mould on path is slippery - safety, dirty side of house - I'm painting it, mould on house - health risk of spores - whatever.

bigger is better in cleaners, depends entirely on budget, a couple of hundred to $700 for home use wihtin hte karcher range - I dont own one, I just have acouple of friends who have them whcih is excellant for me! ;)

[Black Ned]

The single most important consideration is to attach a water filter between source of water and machine.
Damage to seals is a common problem caused by microscopic sand and other other contaminants scoring the pump.