no pressure from pressure washer

[ragin_cajuns]

i bought a craftsman 2800 psi / 2.3 gpm gas pressure washer (briggs and stratton engine) and the foam cannon / snub nose attachment from adams.  when i first got the pressure washer i used it a few times for a couple minutes with no issues.  i was finally able to wash my truck for the first time using the foam cannon today. 

 

hooked it up and started the pressure washer and installed a 40 degree 2000psi tip to the adams snub nose attachment.  pulled the trigger and the tip shot off the gun in one pressure release then the water dribbled out slow.  put the tip back on and the same thing happened.  stopped the washer and made sure everything was hooked up correctly and it was.  restarted it and everything was fine.  used the 40 degree tip to rinse off my truck then connected the foam cannon and everything was fine.

 

i washed my truck them installed the 40 degree tip again to rinse it off and the tip shot off in one large pressure release then low pressure.  i could not get it to produce pressure.  i made sure everything was connected properly and none of the fittings were leaking.  checked the inlet screen and nothing there.  still no pressure. 

 

finished rinsing my truck with the regular hose and tried the pressure washer again with different tips and still no pressure.  it shoots the tip off with the first trigger pull with one big pressure release then it goes to low pressure.  you can hear the engine picking up when i release the trigger and the hose stiffening with pressure but when you pull the trigger there is one pressure release then low pressure.

 

any ideas what may be happening?

 

thanks,

[ragin_cajuns]

tried it again this morning with the same results.  ruled out the snub nose attachment by using the wand that came with the power washer and had the same issue.  i also removed the inlet screen to make sure that wasn't clogged at it was clean.

[Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin]

Only thing I can think of here is that the nozzle isn’t in correctly. You may have the wrong sized nozzle, or it may just not be snapping in. When I insert my nozzle into the nose, sometimes I have to pull on the female part to make sure the ball bearings lock into place.

[ragin_cajuns]

1 hour ago, Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin said:

Only thing I can think of here is that the nozzle isn’t in correctly. You may have the wrong sized nozzle, or it may just not be snapping in. When I insert my nozzle into the nose, sometimes I have to pull on the female part to make sure the ball bearings lock into place.

thanks but not that.  have used multiple nozzles on 2 different guns. 

[red94chev]

Check the nozzle.  Mine gets little pieces of sediment stuck in it from time to time.  I use a safety pin to push it out.

[ragin_cajuns]

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 7:23 AM, red94chev said:

Check the nozzle.  Mine gets little pieces of sediment stuck in it from time to time.  I use a safety pin to push it out.

thanks but not that either.  i've used multiple nozzles with the same result and all are brand new.

[RayS]

 

3 hours ago, ragin_cajuns said:

thanks but not that either.  i've used multiple nozzles with the same result and all are brand new.

My old pressure washer had a screen on the connection to the unit itself.  What I don't remember if it was on the inlet our outlet side, but I remember it got plugged up once.  I had to take the hose off, clean out the screen and put it back together and then it was fine.   I wish I could remember the what and where, but it was many years ago.

[ragin_cajuns]

1 minute ago, RayS said:

 

My old pressure washer had a screen on the connection to the unit itself.  What I don't remember if it was on the inlet our outlet side, but I remember it got plugged up once.  I had to take the hose off, clean out the screen and put it back together and then it was fine.   I wish I could remember the what and where, but it was many years ago.

first thing i checked. thanks,

 

 

[Dan@Adams]

Hi there, sorry you're having issues with the pressure washer! I've had an electric Craftsman pressure washer going on about 10 years now with no issues that I've since given to my dad. It sounds like you've done a good bit of troubleshooting on the unit so far, so I would wonder at this point if it was defective from the manufacturer or possibly damaged during shipping to the store. 

 

Does it sound like the engine is surging when it's powered on? Did you make sure to run only cold water through it? I've witnessed two pressure washers fail very quickly from someone hooking up the hot water line to them by accident at a friend's shop.

 

I would recommend taking it back to the place of purchase and/or contacting them about a warranty replacement if you just bought it. The different tips shooting out of the quick connect is very concerning, especially if they're locked in place properly. That would indicate to me that there is some sort of blockage, air in the line, etc, and that tip as a projectile could do some damaged to a vehicle!