Car motor powered PW?

J

Jeremiah

New member
Yesterday we bought another wrecked car for practically nothing and it got me thinking. Why can't a car motor power a pressure washer? Something small like a 4cyl out of a toyota corrolla or something. Being computer controlled, I can adjust the idle to exactly 1450 rpm, I'd have the machine a 1:1 pulley to go on the crankshaft, but everything else is readily available. Even at that rpm these motors put out close to 100 hp and probably close to that in torque. It should easily power two 8gpm pumps (like the Allison setups) The best benefits would be 1., fuel consumption: it would practically sip fuel and 2., noise; these things barely make a sound. I can get one of these motors complete for less than a grand, I can easily build the skid, so what am I overlooking?
 
Jeremiah said:
Yesterday we bought another wrecked car for practically nothing and it got me thinking. Why can't a car motor power a pressure washer? Something small like a 4cyl out of a toyota corrolla or something. Being computer controlled, I can adjust the idle to exactly 1450 rpm, I'd have the machine a 1:1 pulley to go on the crankshaft, but everything else is readily available. Even at that rpm these motors put out close to 100 hp and probably close to that in torque. It should easily power two 8gpm pumps (like the Allison setups) The best benefits would be 1., fuel consumption: it would practically sip fuel and 2., noise; these things barely make a sound. I can get one of these motors complete for less than a grand, I can easily build the skid, so what am I overlooking?
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Fuel!!!! Size maint costs....room what else
 
Some carpet. cleaning truckmount mfg's have used them in the past. I think it was Prochem that used a 4 cylinder Nissan in one of the machines. I like Kubota diesels myself. I don't own one but have been wanting to repower one of my skids with one.
I know where there is a watercooled kubota diesel with only 100 hours on it in a miller
welder that I could pick up for $1000.
 
It can be done but it would take alot of fabricating and thought. I think you would be better off with a older carburated motor and a adjustable throttle. you could mill down the jack shafts to accept a gearbox or pulley and put pumps on either side of the engine. might be a good project to take on during the winter.
 
I have a honda prelude with the 2.0 si motor that i have been thinking about doing that with for some time now. The lender that holds the title to it skipped town so i cant sell the car and a decent size pressure washer motor is a easy $2k. And as far as fuel consumption i would bet that 45 or so hp that i could get with the 2.0 at around 2,000 rpm would be about the same as a honda 18hp or maybe even less.
 
Yeah, I've been looking at dyno graphs on the net, 30-40 hp tops at 1500rpm for a 4 cyl. hmm. I could up the rpm to 3000 and use a 2:1 pulley, but there goes fuel savings, and noise so I'm right back to where I started. Thanks for the thoughts though.
 
If you ran at 2,000rpm or so you should be able to get decent power and i know my honda 2.0 car is not half as loud loud at 2k then a honda 13hp at 1,450.
 
When I thought about it before I had A hard Time with gearbox transmission etc how to fabricate. Has to be a easier way.

What about adding belts to the Crankshaft harmonic balancer ?

run it off the the front of the engine no fabrication needed
 
Dollarspa said:
When I thought about it before I had A hard Time with gearbox transmission etc how to fabricate. Has to be a easier way.

What about adding belts to the Crankshaft harmonic balancer ?

run it off the the front of the engine no fabrication needed
Click to expand...

Are you guys really trying to re invent the wheel? If the noise is bothering you fabricate a good muffler system or go electric. I dont think you are going to get better fuel consumtion from a four cylinder engine. Just my 2cents.
 
I race stock cars and have a shop full of small block chevy motors and hot rod parts. I have been planning on machining a shaft for one and and fixing me up a kind of a show rig to pull around on sales calls on a small trailer. Put a thumping cam in the motor and a buncha chrome on the engine :grin-square:
 
A guy around here used to run off a motorcycle engine. Actually it looked like a stripped down motor cycle mounted to a trailer. Not sure of the specifics, but it caught my eye as something unusual.
 
dollarspa said:
when i thought about it before i had a hard time with gearbox transmission etc how to fabricate. Has to be a easier way.

What about adding belts to the crankshaft harmonic balancer ?

Run it off the the front of the engine no fabrication needed
Click to expand...


hmmmmmmm!
 
figure cost.., Motor, Time for fabricating, extra parts, electrical work, machine shop, trailer weight, noise, coils/burner and pumps. sounds to me like alot of time and money to build somthing that you would constantly be adjusting in the field. 2- new 5.5 gpm PW with hot water would be about the same or cheaper. and look better than an engine block on a trailer. good luck.
(it would be fun to build if you had the time though)
 
I know it can be done but one thing to tink about too is, doesn't a power unit have a different kind of govonor to control the throttle?

In a car when it bogs down you just push the peddal harder, in a power unit application it has to be able to do that itself.

I would go diesel for a power unit, more effeicent. I have 2 diesels, and love them.
12k hr on the Duetz and 14k hr on the John Deere.
 
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