What is your least favorite pump??

M

midstateclean

New member
buying my first cleaner, need some opinions on what is the best and worst pumps out there based on field experience

is the cat pump worth the extra $$

thanks greatly,

Mark Thornsberry
MidState Cleaning
 
I have only used AR and Cat pumps. I have had no problems with either. The only major problem I have ever had is a gear box exploded on me. Other then that I have only had minor problems and nothing to do with the pump. I have 3 years on a AR pump and it had run great. Has went way beyond what everyone said it would and I have put it through hell. I have ran that thing for a 16 hour shift before with no problems.
 
thanks gunn man

appreciate your story, thanks also for help on pwna board regarding surface cleaners and the amount of area i could realistically cover without one. i just ordered a surface cleaner

on the pumps, as i have been asking around, i am being told that the cat is expensive to have worked on. a large pw store that does alot of repairs claim that the comet is a great pump, they said they fix AR all day long.

i'll probably go with the comet or general, just trying to limit the amount of "buyers remorse" that is always to some degree inevitable in the beginning.

if anybody has an other experiences, would like to hear.

thanks,


Mark Thornsberry
MidState Cleaning
 
Just some of my experiences.
I have used the four pumps in question.

The AR pumps I have used have had the head bolts break within a week and blow off. When the head is off, it is really hard to get pressure.

The comets last me about 8 months, then I get small cracks in the plungers and get water in the pump oil. That is a very bad thing.

Cats are expensive to repair, but, I hade one that all of the oil drained out of it while I was washing, and I did not realize it. It ran for what i guess to be two hours that way, judging from where theoil spot was when I started washing and when I finished. I went home, tightened up the bolts on the pump, and ran it another two or three years.

Generals, are cheap to fix, and reliable for me. The parts are easy to get. I can usually run a General at least two years before I have to repack, and a year at the minimum. I do run my machines at least 40-50 hours a week, week in and week out, so they do get run hard. Just to verify, my machines get 2800 hours a year put on them.

Scott
 
I have tried many different pumps, Scotty right on about Cat. The best pump is a cat for double or triple the money. You however can buy two generals or two and a half for the money. One simple repair on a Cat you can purchase a new general TS2021.

Generals are inexpensive and very reliable. Not the best but good enough to be used on my stuff.

I have had success with certain models from other manufactures. There are many good pumps on the market depending on what application you want to use. Talk with reliable manufactures. Call their techs at the factory and ask them. They see the bad ones coming back. Establish a relationship with an engineer at a major production facility. Don’t be afraid you’re a customer and that’s what they are there for. 800-547-8672. That’s landa’s main number. Call and ask for assistance from a tech not a sales person. Delco would be another honest route, talk with Larry…. He could tell you about some lower ends stuff that has been proven and possibly what he has seen come back.



A general TS 2021 should cost you about 300.00,, some guys pay more others will pay less. (BALLPARK)
 
qppreciate the input

funny, just got off the phone with a distributer, he said essentially the same thing your'e both saying... general would probably be the best buy for my money and amount of usage, went with general. scott, the amount of times he gave me for lifes were less than yours, you seem to really be getting your moneys worth.

ron, just a side note, been digging through some of the old posts, and came across some your comments on awning cleaning.
i have been cleaning awnings for 6 years, primarily vinyl.

you are one of the first pressure cleaning guys who is right on, for the most part awnings should never be touched by a pressure cleaner. i know one guy who blew the seams out. it is possible to use low pressure (under 300 psi) to do some fabrics, but your still run the risk of expanding the fibers and causing it to leak like a sieve. just finished a strip center last week that had vinyl awnings, they had been pressure cleaned as they were doing the wall above it. permenanetly affected the awning. we gave it a good cleaning and sealing, but that could only do so much. the pm was blown away by the improvement.

all the sources you gave were excellent, ARS and doitrightonline.com, those guys are great, another is winsol.com, they are a manufacuturer of great awning cleaning products.

Mark Thornsberry
MidState Cleaning
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top