Dud Injectors

R

rick77

Member
I use General Hi-Draw injectors with my 8 GPM machine and when they work they are fantastic. Some last a while and some only for several jobs. I always flush after every job so usually I have pretty good luck with them. I had one go bad today that had lasted probably a month so I was pretty happy with the use I got out of it.

So today I put on a brand new one and it didn't work from the start. Just a complete dud. I've had at least 3 or 4 General Hi-Draw injectors over the past 13 months that were duds from the start. It's aggravating and costly (time and money) when this happens. Have any of you other guys had the General Hi-Draw injectors that were complete duds that never worked from the start?
 
"Red" said:
Still using the first one I ever bought (1.5 years now).
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I had General HI-Draw injectors that lasted maybe two years or more with my 4 GPM machine but with my 8 GPM machine I've been through probably 20 injectors over the past 14 months.

I still use my 4 GPM machine every once in a while and the injector on it has been on it forever. Something about the 8 GPM machine is causing "injector Hell" for me.
 
rick77 said:
I had General HI-Draw injectors that lasted maybe two years or more with my 4 GPM machine but with my 8 GPM machine I've been through probably 20 injectors over the past 14 months.

I still use my 4 GPM machine every once in a while and the injector on it has been on it forever. Something about the 8 GPM machine is causing "injector Hell" for me.
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sometimes the spring gets stuck- Try pushing a paper clip into hole of the barb - push up and down a few times. Loosens up sometimes
 
Guy Blackmon said:
What size injector are you using and how long is your Hp hose?
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I use 200' of hose and the 3-5 gpm (2.1 orifice) General Hi-Draw injectors. When they work they pull soap really well but even with thorough flushing (five gallons of water) after every job they just don't last long at all. Some of them don't work from the start.
 
Nick L said:
sometimes the spring gets stuck- Try pushing a paper clip into hole of the barb - push up and down a few times. Loosens up sometimes
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I've done that many times over the past year but it seems that once the ball gets stuck it will continue to get stuck after each use even if I flush the injector with 5 gallons of water.
 
rick77 said:
I use 200' of hose and the 3-5 gpm (2.1 orifice) General Hi-Draw injectors. When they work they pull soap really well but even with thorough flushing (five gallons of water) after every job they just don't last long at all. Some of them don't work from the start.
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I use the 5-8 gpm injectors and I get 2 to 3 months out of them. I had issues when using the smaller 3-5 gpm ones.
 
Kiloman said:
Get a super suds sucker and be done with injector problems.
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I quit using them due to the cost (currently $65). They do pull chems better than anything out there, but they didn't last any longer than the ones we are talking about here.
 
Guy Blackmon said:
Are you taking them apart to find why they stopped working? If we get a month out of an injector we're lucky. We keep rebuild kits handy. Some times it's an o-ring sometimes it's the spring
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I've taken them apart and rebuilt with rebuild kit a couple of times. Rebuild didn't last long at all both times. Every time they stop working it's because the ball is stuck. I don't mind when they last only a month, I just hate it when they don't work at all from the start, like the first brand new one I put on today.
 
Also what actually happens often is the orifice just wears out from erosion. Once that orifice gets too enlarged its just not going to draw. All the ball and spring is there for is a check valve so that when a high pressure tip is on it won't shoot water out the barb. Some injectors have orifices that can be replaced. I saw one with ceramic orifices online somewhere. I would like to try one of those sometime.
 
HighTide said:
I use the 5-8 gpm injectors and I get 2 to 3 months out of them. I had issues when using the smaller 3-5 gpm ones.
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I used the 5-8 gpm Hi-Draw injector when I first got my 8 gpm machine. It worked fine with 100' of hose but with 200' of hose it wouldn't pull enough soap. I always need at least 200' of hose so the 5-8 injector won't work for my situation.
 
Pat Norman said:
Also what actually happens often is the orifice just wears out from erosion. Once that orifice gets too enlarged its just not going to draw. All the ball and spring is there for is a check valve so that when a high pressure tip is on it won't shoot water out the barb. Some injectors have orifices that can be replaced. I saw one with ceramic orifices online somewhere. I would like to try one of those sometime.
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I'm sure that I've never had a Hi-Draw injector last long enough for the orifice to wear out from erosion. Every time I have an issue it's because the ball gets stuck. But I guess the ball sticks because the spring gets too weak to work properly.

It's a shame because the General Hi-Draw injectors are awesome until they suddenly quit working. I actually try to keep about 4 of them on hand ready to replace the ones that go bad.
 
Am I mistaking in thinking that these Hi-Draw injectors use to offer a ceramic ball for acid use? Either way though,..would a ceramic ball have better longevity and stick less than a stainless?

When the ball sticks prematurely and you know the orifice is still good,..I get in the habit of using WD-40 with the skinny red "straw" and push it up inside to unstick the ball and lube it up a little at the same time. The WD-40 doesn't last probably after the first pull of the trigger,..but I gotta unstick it anyhow,..and the little red "straw" works good. Once it starts sticking,..and the injector isn't that old,...I will do this before every job,..only takes about 10 seconds. Gets really old,...setting up and finding out the ball is stuck,..having to shut down, and then unstick the ball.



Jeff
 
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