DaveVY

I agree, love how all our data and information can be setup to automatically appear on all the different devices and the consistency of the user interface across the various device formats.
 
 
  Still using the 4, been holding out but am now going to move on this...I think.
 
Totally agree! My daughter has a galaxy S3 unit and I love to tease her about the size of the screen. Too large for me, don't want to lug around a phone that large, more prone to breakage and too clumsy feeling. If I want a larger screen I use a full size tablet or a laptop, depending on the task and application needed.

Two things:
1) I don't like the sun/heat. Around the beginning of the year my neighbor across the street cut down his humongous oak tree that shaded my house and driveway every morning... Made detailing very nice until around 11:00 or 11:30 on Saturday mornings. Now the blazing hot sun hits me by 7:30 or 8:00 am... And as a result I haven't done much detailing for the past 6 months. And when I do a have some therapy time it is in the evening after the shade has been on the car long enough that the paint isn't 150 degrees, unfortunately the blood sucking mosquitoes are then starting to come out for dinner. Sigh... I need to put A/C in the garage ... Also need a larger garage so I can have more than one car in there.
2) Water restrictions - water restrictions kicked in again this year and am assigned one day a week where I can water the lawn and/or wash the cars. Unfortunately my day is not on a weekend and this coupled with my work schedule and the mosquitoes I have really slacked off this year...
 
Now that water restrictions have lifted and temps are due to start cooling to something less than 90 degrees in another month I am looking forward to getting some therapy time.

I'm guilty of detailing rental cars... usually results in a really odd return process too b/c they think you're trying to hide something LOL 

Squeeze it in paper towel. I like to use Scott's shop towels or similar. It removes all the excess and does a good job cleaning. I don't bother with using a cleaner anymore.

I'm currently working on An Authorized Detailer Program...

I am a small engine mechanic/power tool repair technician/certified pressure washer technician, certified by BE Pressure in Abbotsford, Canada. So, I may be able to help you out.
 
Unfortunatly, there are virtually no Made In USA pressure washers left on the market. Almost every pump on the market is made in Italy. If it isn't made in Italy, it was made in China.
 
There are two styles of pressure washer pumps, Axial, and Triplex. Axial is much like it sounds. You have 3 pistons in a circulator pattern, that are driven by an offset wobble plate. This style of pump is the cheapest of the cheap, and designed specifically for low manufacturing cost, and high profit for the big box store selling it. The life expectancy of this style pump, regardless of brand, is around 300 - 400 hours. This style of pump is also seen on vertical shaft pressure washers. Always avoid vertical shaft pressure washers. These are the type of machines with a lawn mower type engine on them, and the pump mounted underneath the cart itself. These pumps, literally, are designed to last 20 hours. Yes, JUST 20 hours. The pumps themselves cost $22 to produce in China.
 
Triplex pumps are the real deal, heavy duty. They are designed like an internal combustion engine. There is a crankshaft with large bearings at both ends, connecting rods, and pistons. These pumps are a lot more money, but the life expectancy of a quality Triplex pump is 3,000 hours. 10 times that of an axial.
 
You have belt drive, and direct drive. Direct drive is like it sounds. The pump is bolted directly to the rear of the engine. This cheaper to produce, much easier to maintain. The downside is pump life. Because the pump is bolted solid to the engine, it is now absorbing vibration and heat from your engine. It decreases the life of your pump. Remember how I said Triplex pumps are rated for 3,000 hours? Yes, on a direct drive. On a belt drive, that same pump would last 4,500 - 5,000 hours.
 
What is the downside to a belt drive than? Cost, maintenance, weight, and size. Belt drive pressure washers are a LOT more money. For example, a 13HP GX390 with a General EZ4040 pump, 4,000 PSI @ 4GPM, will cost you about $1,100. Take that same unit as a belt drive, $1,600. Because the entire belt drive system needs a lot more room, the cart is usually a fair amount larger. This adds weights and increases the unit size. Even with 2 big guys, it is difficult and very hard on the back to lift a belt drive into and out of a truck. The maintenance aspect is also an issue. You need to keep a constant eye on the belt tension and condition. The belts stretch and loosen frequently. Once the belt starts slipping, it will chew through rubber in no time. It can be a PIA to tighten these belts, especially on a regular basis. For a time sensitive commercial operation, it is a time waster. The advantage is, like I said, you get an average of 1,500 hours extra life out of your pump. This is because the pump is not mounted to the engine, so it does not absorb engine vibrations or heat. The pulley on the belt drive pump also has cooling fins built into it, so it blows cool air over the pump as it is running. Belt drive pumps run 25% cooler than a direct drive on average.
 
As far as engines go, nothing can beat a GX Honda engine. All pressure washers with a 7HP or smaller engine, will have a 3/4'' key shaft. All engines larger than 7 HP will have a 1'' key shaft. The two best engines on the market is the 6.5HP Honda GX 200, and the 13HP Honda GX 390. When a 15 year old Honda GX engine comes into my shop and the pump is shot, we test the compression, find it is 85% of a new engine, slap a new pump on and you go another 15 years. STAY AWAY from Honda gc series engines. Honda gc engines have plastic internal gears, GX engines have steel gears. I throw at least 4 or 5 GC160/GC190 engines in the scrap bin per month, because of broken internal gears.
 
The 3 most popular brands of pumps is Comet, General, and Cat. Cat pumps have the reputation of being the best out there, but I disagree. From my experience as a Technician, General has the best system, here is why. General pumps generally have half as many parts as a Comet or Cat, and last longer. Parts are cheaper, and easy to find. Cat parts are VERY expensive, and can be hard to locate. Cat pumps have a 1 piece cast body, which is good to prevent oil leaks. However, it makes the pump more time consuming to rebuild when you do, simply because lack of space. Comet makes a good pump, it is a good balance between being cheap and still having some quality to it.
 
Unloaders, internal or external. Cheaper pumps come with an internal or "Built-In" unloader. This is NOT the way to go if you want a machine to last you for 20 years. They are more difficult to repair as they are located inside of the pump manifold. When your pressure washer is running, and you are NOT pulling the trigger, water is recycling, looping, inside of your manifold. Let's say you stop for a minute to move your ladder, but do not shut off your unit. Water is looping inside the manifold, obsorbing heat from your pumps metal components. In just 90 seconds, you will melt down your seals, and there is a good chance your pump will need a rebuild after that. Pumps these days come with a Thermal valve on them. Once the water reaches the temperature of 172 degrees F, it will trigger this valve and start spewing water. This is NOT a system designed to save your butt. Like a low oil pressure light, once this valve triggers, it is almost always too late. These valves can not be reset. Once it goes, it must be replaced. Normal cost is about $15. The reason they cannot be reset is because of warranty. Manufactuers started doing this because people would claim warranty on a burnt out pump, and they had no way to prove it was the customer abusing the product. This way, as soon as your unit goes in for warranty, and they hook it up and see your thermal valve leaking, it is an instant decline, you idled too long.
 
External unloaders are just like they sound, mounted on the outside of the pump manifold. They usually come with a 2 foot piece of rubber hose on the unloader, that is hooked back into the low pressure feed where the garden hose is connected. This will still loop water in your manifold, but gives you a larger window of time to idle, because the water has 2 feet of hose to go through. This gives it some time to cool down. Still, this is not ideal. You extend your time from 90 seconds to maybe 3 minutes at best. The best way to configure an unloader is to discharge water to the ground. What I mean by this is when you let go of your trigger, water will run out of the unloader hose, onto the ground. This happens at garden hose pressure, not 4,000 PSI. This means your pump is always getting cold water. With an external unloader setup configured to discharge to the ground, you could literally leave your machine running for hours without pulling the trigger, and it will not hurt a single thing.
 
A lot of people think the unloader with the big knob on it, also controls the pressure. You turn this knob and you increase or decrease pressure, wrong. The unloader knob controls volume, which in turn controls pressure. If you decrease your volume, you have less overall water to make pressure with. So while you may think you are decreasing your pressure, you are also decreasing your volume as well. Volume, or Gallons Per Minute, is what really has the cleaning power. GPM is more important than PSI.
 
Last but not least, do not leave old fuel in your machine over the winter. Fuel these days is loaded with ethanol, which breaks down very fast. After just two months, regular gasoline will start to form a hard varnish in your carburator, and the jet inside of it. The holes on the jet will plug solid, and the unit won't run. 7 out of 10 pressure washers that come to me because of no-start are because the machine was left with old fuel in it, or someone put old fuel into it, thinking it was still ok.
 
Do not confuse the degree pattern of your tips for the orifice size. I see people everyday who are looking for new tips, and they just purchase tips by the color. "Oh I need a yellow tip" I say, ok but what orifice size. Than I get the look like im speaking another language. The degree of your spray pattern, is only how wide it is. The orifice size of the tip, is how large the hole is in the tip. THIS MATTERS. You need to know your PSI, and GPM, to determine the correct orifice size tips for your pressure washer. Also, replace your tips every 500 hours or so of use. Water may look crystal clear but it isn't. Water out of your hose has a lot of minerals, and abrasives in it that the human eye cannot see. These are being forced out of your tip at high pressure. They will wear out your tips and enlarge the hole, slowly but surely. If you increase your orifice size, you will gain volume, but lose pressure. If you decrease your orifice size, you will lose volume, but gain pressure. Some people think they can just buy a tip too small to get an increase in pressure. No, you can't. If your tips cannot flow the GPM of the pump, water will be recycling inside of your manifold, even while the trigger is pulled. If your tips only allow a maximum of 3GPM to get through, and your pump is a 4GPM pump, you are recycling 1GPM of water without knowing it. Your pump will slowly start to overheat. One thing you can never, ever change, is the volume of your pump. You can never change the GPM of your pump.
 
Some people decrease the throttle on the engine to lower pressure, if they need a lower pressure for a specific task. Never attain lower pressure this way. The cooling fan for a small engine is bolted directly to the flywheel. The engine is designed to operate at full throttle, and to maintain proper temperature with the flywheel at max RPM. When your throttle your engine down, it is lugging, working hard to turn your pump. It is actually creating more heat at 50% throttle than 100%. Now you have twice as much heat, and only half as much cooling as the engine needs. Always run at full RPM.
 
Try to get as much water as possible out of your pump before winter comes. Blow through it with an air compressor. Any large water deposits left will freeze, and crack your manifold wide open. Your pump is now garbage.
 
My advice, always remember that you get what you pay for. I have people who walk into my shop and they are actually mad that their $300 pressure washer is junk. They just bought it a year ago. What did you expect? You purchased a $300 machine in a category where quality does not start until $700. Do not buy garbage. Buy quality products and they will take care of you. Spend the money once, maintain your things, and forget about it for years and years.
 
I hope this helps all those who want to know more about pressure washers!

Adam's is proud to announce that we have joined American Made Matters. 
 
http://www.americanmadematters.com/index.php
 
As a company so deeply dedicated to our Made in the USA philosophy we have teamed up with American Made Matters and to help promote the importance of buying American. 
 
The American Made Matters mission is to help educate consumers that buying US-made goods strengthens the American Dream. This is a mission and an idea that the team here at Adam's is proud to support. 
 
Did you know? According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, for every $1 that is spent in manufacturing, another $1.35 is added to the economy.
 
Did you know? If every US consumer spent just 5% more on US made products we could create 1,000,000 new domestic jobs. 
 
Did you know? That for every new manufacturing job created, an additional 3 jobs are created. 
 
 

I use 3/4", makes a noticeable difference for the Adams Fire Hose nozzle.
 
But I have a 1" main and 3/4" pipe running to the outside faucet, and can fill a 5 gallon bucket is less than 40 seconds..

A friendly reminder that any attempt to misrepresent yourself, deceive the members of AF, create multiple accounts, soliciting business via private message, and threatening the forum moderators or Adam's staff in any way will result in an immediate and permanent ban. We want AF to stay the harmonious and fun place to hang out and discuss detailing, cars, and anything else that goes along with the hobby.
 
Recently a member decided to become a disruptive presence here on the forum. The moderation team received multiple complaints about this member, but did our best to steer them in the right direction. After all we want everyone to enjoy the experience here, so giving guidance to a relative newcomer about appropriate behavior is just part of it. We do appreciate the feedback we get from the members, so thank you to those who sent PM's about the issues. We try to read every post in every thread, but thats not always possible so your helps is appreciated. 
 
Thanks to some information brought to our attention by a member on another forum, it was discovered that not only was this member a disruptive presence, but he was actively deceiving the members here. Posting identical content on another companies forum and stating the details were performed with their products and within minutes doing the same here, but changing the product names to Adam's products. 

Not entirely sure what the motivation is or was, but in the end its an active attempt to deceive the membership, and given the complaints it became necessary to remove this member from the forum. This individual also chose to resort to threats against the AF staff as well as creating multiple user ID's here to attempt to subvert the rules. 
 
I post this purely as a reminder and an example of what we DON'T want here on AF. I'd like to think we are a generally harmonious and easy-to-get-along with group. Most forums I'm a part of have members banned on a regular basis, and luckily our little corner of the net is generally an easy place to be, full of people from a variety of backgrounds, age groups, industries, and car cultures. 
 
I thank all of you for your continued participation here and the great contributions you all make. I think our community is truly a unique one here on the web and its thanks to the quality of the character of our members that it stays that way. 
 
Thanks for reading and thanks for being a part of AdamsForums.com, I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

You asked for advice on taking amazing photographs...for me, it starts with composition...best advice is "rule of thirds"
 
With today's camera, almost any camera can take a great photograph...
 
I currently use a Canon Mark III, IV, 50d, wide variety of lenses from a 400mm to a 15mm, plus I have a Nikon V1, and a Leica V-Lux 4 here in Afghanistan...you just need to know how to use it...
 
For explanation of the rule of thirds...check out these two links...
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/rule-of-thirds.htm
 
http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds
 
Here is a link to my webpage, I am by par no professional...my father was before he passed, but he taught me everything I know...and I have made some money on the side as a freelance photographer...
 
www.photoshelter.com/user/SFPHOTO
 
But it is not about making money off your prints, it was about capturing amazing shots...look into the rule of thirds and you will impress yourself and your family!  We can do amazing things with just a camera body and a 50mm lens.
 
Scott