Surface Cleaners with more then 2 spinning bars

Clean County PW

Clean County PW

Active member
What would work best if you take this example. A 30" surface cleaner with 2,3,or4 spinning arms under the Bell Housing if the Pw is rated @ 3000psi@5gpm.

IF its 2 bars the psi would still be 3000 at 2.5gpm coming out from the tips and the 3 bars/tips would be same psi with 1.67gpms per tip and the 4 bars also would have the same psi with 1.25 gpms per tip if I understand this correctly.

So which one would clean better and why? Thats the part that I can't figure out because in the big picture of things you are cleaning no larger of an area because the surface Cleaner is still 30"round and the PSi and total gpm's have remained constant.

Help me out here with the answer to this cause my brain is heating up and not producing the desired results.:)
 
Hello,

I believe that the production rate would remain pretty much the same, no matter how many nozzles are working, for the same reasons you pointed out. X amount of GPM and PSI over the same area.

What will make a difference is that with a 2 arm rig, you will use an .03 size nozzle. (Pretty Small). With a 3 arm rig, you will use .02 nozzles (even smaller). With a four arm rig you will need to use .015 nozzles, very small if available and very subject to clogging with the smallest debris.

I personally believe that a 30 inch unit is too big for a 3000X5 washer. It will do the job, but you have to move so slowly with it. An 18" to 24" is better suited for the 5 GPM. It is lighter and more manuverable.

I have worked both side by side and prefer a 21" with two arms much better.
 
rick

where was your opinion when i posted "the big guy" a couple of days ago?
2 tip and up.
it was my understanding that for 5 gpm you use the 2 tip.
7 gpm 3 tip, and 10 gpm [2 units running together] a 4 tip.
or you get a larger diam. surface cleaner.
There has to be a certian amout of friction loss when you add weight and restrictions[going from 2 to 4] so when adding things you increase energy consumption. You need to replace that extra energy to make it better. You cant with just your wash unit, so i feel the 2 tip is still best.
Can you hook 2 machines together that have diffrent GPM and psi?
Jon runs the big guy and loves it.
Rick has run the 21 and the 28 and likes the 21.
Rick were they the same brand surface cleaners
Were they your homemade ones or commerical type?
Did they both have wheels?
Chuck was trying to swap his 28 for a smaller type.
Now that i have invested my $500 for the 28[not got it yet] you guy's got me worried.
3000 psi and 5 gpm hot water 28 inc big guy What tips do i buy?
 
I see some disadvantages with more nozzles. They are smaller and will plug up faster and easier. Also the impact of two nozzles will clean better because the flow out of each one will be twice that of a 4 nozzle system. The bars are spinning at 2,000 rpm and the coverage area will be the same since they rotate covering any space in between. There would only be one advantage that I can think of with the 4 bar system. You may be able to walk a little faster without causing the swirl pattern on the work area. If you do get the 4 bar system make sure you get an inline filter for it so you have less tip plug problems. I personally like a 24" to 27" better than a 30" or 36".
Here is why;
(1) A 27 inch has bars that are only 12 inches long without the ends or swivel. You can replace them with a standard Stainless Steel nipple from any pipe supply. If you get in a jam a galvanized pipe can be used from any hardware store.
(2) If the arms are longer than 12 inches they will bend slightly as they spin. This weakens the metal and will also cause the unit to become unbalanced, this will cause the bearings in the swivel to wear out prematurely. In other words your repairs will have to be made twice as often as a smaller unit.
(3) For smaller areas you will have to use a smaller unit anyways because some walkways are not 3 feet wide. The manuverability of the big unit is somewhat limited. Kind of like using a riding lawnmower to cut a yard that you can't turn around in.
 
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Hello Ron,

I'm sorry I missed your earlier post. But it seems that we pretty much agree on the two nozzle unit as the most efficient for a 5 GPM machine.

You can't trust anything I say about surface cleaners!

To be honest the only surface cleaners that I have ever used are the ones I make and a 30" commercial unit made (or sold) by Elite. I looked at a lot of them before I designed mine. I made this comparison after using my units for several years so I was used to a certain rate of movement with my units. With the bigger unit, I had to move so slow that I could feel my beard growing. It took two guys to load and unload it from the trailer. I forced several crewmen to use the bigger unit to try to get a true opinion. They each came back within 30 minutes begging for their regular cleaners.

There was nothing wrong with the 30" cleaner. It is a very well built machine and uses the same spinner that I use on mine. It did a great job cleaning. It just had to move so much slower to get the same quality. I believe that with 8 GPM it would be "the bomb", as my kids would say.

I have four of my "WashPro" units in service now. All of these machines were built in 97'. Some have 1000's of hours on them. I replace casters, arms, nozzles and rebuild the spinners from time to time. I can do all this maintenance for about $125.00 and in about 25 minutes.

I didn't want this to turn into a commercial for my units, but I guess it did. I just think I have stumbled onto a good, cheap design and it works well for us.

BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER.

See ya,
Rick
 
flat surface cleaners on decks.

I've heard a few guys talking about using their flat surface washers on decks without any damage. They said they used a larger nozzle on it so there was less psi.

Have any of you tried this out? If so, is there a way to set it up to change quickly from deck use to concrete use?

Henry
 
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