Pressure Washer Help

K

kubotafan

New member
I am just learning about pressure washers, and want to purchase one for residential house washing. I have an offer to buy a low hour used 13hp, 3500psi, 4gpm machine. I am not sure yet if it is direct drive, gear drive or belt drive but will find out. I have read that for some applications a direct drive is too fast for the pressure washer to draw chemicals. Could someone please give me some more help as to what setup I need for house washing for efficient cleaning?
 
Are you using it off a hose or a tank? Direct drives have work good for a start up. I had them for years, and Envirospec likes to build gear box drives. I prefer a belt, or gear box. Less revs mean longer life. The faster revs do not allow the strong suction of water from a tank that is needed for optimal operation. If you are downstreaming, direct, gear and belt are all basically the same. Upstream, then you are going to need a machine that sucks a little bit better.
 
I will likely be drawing water from a tank as in this area most of my customers would be running off wells, not city water. To have the necessary volume I think I will have to carry a tank.

How much water is normally used for an average single story, and how much water for an average two story? I will be using at least a 4gpm machine.
 
I do not know how much water is used in cleaning a house. I would think that you could probably get away with a 225 gall tank, and use it as a buffer tank. Hook up a hose to the house, let it run filling the tank, and use the machine hooked up to the tank. It will fill as you use the water. Incidentally, you might want to put a float valve on the tank so that you do not over flow the water.

With it being a tank, either get a gear box or belt. You will be constantly going through pumps if you use a direct drive.
 
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