Water dragon

Doug Rucker said:
Agree...never will have another Briggs....Honda or Kohler all the way...
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Agree to disagree.. I think there is no difference between Birggs, Honda, or Kohler but the price....(maintenance your equipment and all is good) its all personal preference and past experiences.
 
CP Pressure Washing said:
Agree to disagree.. I think there is no difference between Birggs, Honda, or Kohler but the price....(maintenance your equipment and all is good) its all personal preference and past experiences.
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Yes....mine is based on years of past experiences.....with all of the above brands....
 
Keep us updated an when that thing starts puking oil let us know and i promise we want say told you so.There is a reason that engine was put on your machine reason was to make more profit off the deal period.
 
Back in 1987 I purchased a used(7 year old) Wisconsin powered machine and ran it until 1992. The pump was getting ready to go and the engine was starting to burn more oil so I replaced it with a Briggs powered machine. What a huge mistake that turned out to be. In 1995 I purchased a Honda powered machine and with the exception of replacing the pump six years ago, It has been outstanding. In 2002, I purchased a second Honda powered (Cat pump) machine so I would have a back up machine. Both of the machines will run all day long without skipping a beat...

Kohler is a good engine and I wouldn't hesitate purchasing a machine powered by one however, At this point, I'll stick with my Hondas... At least the Hondas connecting rods stay connected to the crank and the pistons stay "inside" the cylinder walls...
 
Honda #1 undisputed . Own a 18 h.p. Runs all day and a 13 year old 13 h.p. A bazillion hours on it , still runs great !
 
This is all good to know. I really do appreciate all the feedback. haha, I will definitely keep you updated with how it goes..if its starts spitting you can be the first to tell me "i told you so" i like that. The Vanguard came with a full 3 year warranty.. if it craps out after that i will have at least got my money out of it, then replace it and keep on rollen.
 
Keep extra air filters with you. I had one throw so much oil that it plugged up the air filter with only 10 hours on the engine. The response I got from Vanguard was "it's normal, they all do it".
 
CP Pressure Washing said:
This is all good to know. I really do appreciate all the feedback. haha, I will definitely keep you updated with how it goes..if its starts spitting you can be the first to tell me "i told you so" i like that. The Vanguard came with a full 3 year warranty.. if it craps out after that i will have at least got my money out of it, then replace it and keep on rollen.
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Warranties are nice....but when they start leaking and have to go in the shop and your down....well like I always say...if you got a Briggs, have a back up...
 
Just a quick response. I'm starting up a company currently with a plan soft launch in late july. I ran a fleet rig 30 years ago.
I've been researching equipment the last 2 years. bought a small 3.5 hot water unit and went around and did work for free for clients. And I belive one thing in theis business. It is a waste of time to set up a "do it all" rig. a perfect set up for one type of work is what you want. Then you can throw on the stuff you need for another type of work; powerfull, hot and simple is what you want in a rig.
You are already talking about unit 2 and 3 which means you are wasting money. A great flat work rig, a great house rig ec.... will make you more money than fleet of do it all machines. If you workers 90 percent of the time one is the lead flatwork guy, one is the house guy, one is the roof guy and one the hood guy. So why do they all have a roof rig on the trailer

I'm thinking:
20GPM+ for parking garage work.
Dual 5.5GPM that I can link into a 11GPM for a 2 guy city route work rig. Resturants and retail in the urban core. ( just did a resturant where we did wood decks on the roof, patio, sidewalks, dumpsters, dumpster pads and alley all with out parking.)
8GPM solo rig for route flat work. gas station, banks shopping centers ec..... in a hundred mile radius

Specialization in equipment is as important as in skills.
The infantry all look identical, but for the color of their gear special forces teams look like a bunch of teenagers going to a rave.
 
Whoops, my post was mostly a response to Brians thoughts on his custom rig. But also relevant to the water dragon question.
 
I think there is no difference between Birggs, Honda, or Kohler but the price.
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Thats like saying their is no difference between Ford, Chevy or Dodge...or Honda vs. Toyota. Im willing to bet if you look at 10 pressure washing rigs at least 8 are honda motors and thats not being generous.
 
CP Pressure Washing said:
Briggs and Stratton Vinguard is a sold engine and ill take it over a Honda (pay more only for the name). Maybe i was misunderstood. The reason i chose my trailer unit is that it being my first unit, i wanted no limitations. I do see great value in Water Dragon truck skid units, and i will look into them for my 2nd unit here soon, and dedicated it strictly to residential. I will elaborate here in depth. 1) frame work. i wanted a fully metal welded tralier unit..on wood ( to me that is a no brainer) 2) water tank supports. fully welded steel cage. (no ratchet straps, or metal tie downs...think you have 330+gallons of water and you have to stop on a dime on beltway 8...where is tank going, yep right in your lap 3) water reclaim system and 4000 w generator(with hoses and a vacuberm) 4) all cleaning accessories included 5) There is not one loose hose on this unit. all hoses are secured to the floor or on reels with lock pins.
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My gosh, someone has gotten to you. I currently have, working very day, more rigs than most contractors will own over the life of their business. A small idea of my volume is that I have two full time mechanics. That means I see a lot of what does, and does not work.
1) Briggs are nowhere near the engine that Hondas are. Every one that I have owned has started leaking and weeping oil within one hundred hours. The starters we would buy by the dozen because they went out so frequently, and usually at 400 hundred hours they were due for a rebuild. Mind you, we change oil at 50 hours and it is a regularly scheduled event.
2) a wood floor rots. Even the most conscientious contractor is going to overflow their tanks, or splash water out of the tank when they are driving down the road. Wood rots quickly. Really quickly. In 25 year, I have never replaced a steel or expanded metal floor. Not one time. The two times I have had a wood floor, even water treated, etc. I have had to do it within a couple of years. Every time.
3) the full metal cage is someone giving the least expensive tank possible. A lot of people use them, I don't. I have never liked them, because I have seen the thin plastic crack and leak, usually at the least convenient time, and often at a time that it cost me more than buying a quality tank would have cost me in the first place. I do agree with you on the nylon straps. They are not the best way to secure a tank. Because of our use, and location and being in the sun constantly, they dry rot, and eventually fail. Truck drivers use them all the time, but usually it is for no more than a week at a time and they are inspected, even though it may be a very brief inspection, every time they are used.
4) Recovery system with a 4000 watt generator. Funny story, when I bought a recovery
System, I was told that I needed a 5000 watt generator. It was only powering the sump pump in the recovery tank. It was a 5 watt start up pump. At 120 volts, that is 600 watts. I was surprised that the "engineer" did not know how to calculate wattage.

5) Be careful of hoses that are too secure. Mine are loosely secured, but there are a lot of vibrations on a pressure washer, which necessitates a bit of hose movement, otherwise you might see premature wear.

Warranties) in my twenty five years in business and the scores of engines I have bought, I have never had a single one where a warranty was honored, and in addition, even if there was a discussion of a warranty being honored, it always had to wait for the rep to come approve it, and he had just been there the day before and was not due back for two weeks. I can lose a lot of revenue in two weeks.

Of course, I might not know anything, and your mileage may vary, but that is what I have learned from twenty five year in business, and having had over 40 different units on the road at one time or another.
 
Engines with spark plugs cost too much to run, Isuzu or Yanmar are the only 2 I bother with. It takes about 2 years to pay for the difference with our crazy fuel costs, but after that it is all profits and way less down time. Another positive is my engines are typically good for 10,000 - 15,000 hours no problems with oil changes being the maintenance item that needs to be done.
 
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