Jump to content
Customer Service 866.965.0400
  • 0

American Made Power Washer?


liquidred

Question

Looking to buy a foam cannon but, I need to buy a power washer first. Any reccomendations on power washers? Never bought one, prefer it to be American made. What is a good pressure I need for a good foam?  Appreciate the help on a rookie question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recommended Posts

  • 0

Looking to buy a foam cannon but, I need to buy a power washer first. Any reccomendations on power washers? Never bought one, prefer it to be American made. What is a good pressure I need for a good foam?  Appreciate the help on a rookie question.

 

Find a used one!  look for one with at least 2.3 gallons and 2600 psi.  If you plan on doing any house cleaning, the bigger the better.  3.0g - 3000psi is perfect, but I couldn't justify the cost over the used one I got.

 

-Carl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I know that Hotsy is US made, they have very nice products, you get what you pay for with them. I picked up their foam cannon (made in Italy) for $99. I think it is close to the same as an MTM for $59 (China). I have a 2600psi, with a 3gpm pump and it works great to wash the toys. It can be a little hassle dragging out the washer & all the start/stop as you shouldn't leave them on without water flowing through, a small electric 1800psi with a good pump would be very convenient & quieter if you have close neighbors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

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!

Edited by LaserBlueSilverado
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I have a Mi-T-M 3000 psi 2.4 gmp pressure washer. I thought I heard they were made in Iowa. Of course the Honda GX200 engine on it is made in japan, but I think it is a really nice unit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I have a Mi-T-M 3000 psi 2.4 gmp pressure washer. I thought I heard they were made in Iowa. Of course the Honda GX200 engine on it is made in japan, but I think it is a really nice unit.

"Made In" is a conflicting term these days.

 

What they really mean to say is Assembled In. It's the new rage. Companies have the parts made overseas, shipped to the U.S, and than they are assembled there. A lot of people mistake it for made in the U.S.

 

3,000 PSI at 2.4 GPM sounds like a Karcher pump rebranded to me, but I would need to see a picture to be sure. Whatever happens, keep that Honda GX200 engine. It is THEE best 3/4'' keyed shaft engine available today, anywhere.

 

For a home owner it is perfect, you don't need more than that. We actually have to stop home owners from renting our 13HP GX390 that has a General EZ4040 pump on it. They want to clean their deck and house with 4,000 PSI at 4.0GPM. You will have one heck of a furry deck and no siding left on the house when you are done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

There are a few small, independent, builders that can assemble you a pressure washer from a mix of parts to make it 100% in the US. 

 

We've been working on this for some time, just not a projects thats had my full attention. 

 

Essentially every single part of a pressure washer can be sourced here in the USA, the challenge becomes getting all the parts you need and getting them to work together. 

 

We currently have a fully functioning 1500psi electric pressure washer in our warehouse that is made entirely using USA made and sourced parts. 

 

Its not easy, but it can be done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Thank you for your excellent post LaserBlueSilverdo.

 

In your post you talk a lot about gas powered pressure washers, can you talk about electric powered washers and what to look for in them.

 

Can you, and all forum members, recommend some electric pressure washers for car and general home use.

 

I was looking at the MI-T-M GC-1400-0MEH   http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/MITM-Pressure-Washer-1TDK4?Pid=search

 

 

 

Thanks

Edited by uberdetailer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Thank you for your excellent post LaserBlueSilverdo.

 

In your post you talk a lot about gas powered pressure washers, can you talk about electric powered washers and what to look for in them.

 

Can you, and all forum members, recommend some electric pressure washers for car and general home use.

 

I was looking at the MI-T-M GC-1400-0MEH   http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/MITM-Pressure-Washer-1TDK4?Pid=search

 

 

 

Thanks

I will try and do a write up on electrics sometime this week. Some of the information carries over from the Gas write-up, but definitely not all of it. Stay tuned!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I appreciate all the insight and information. Is there a certain PSI I should look for? or GPM that will not ruin the paint? I am a rookie... appreciate all the help. I do not want to get something and blow the paint off the car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I appreciate all the insight and information. Is there a certain PSI I should look for? or GPM that will not ruin the paint? I am a rookie... appreciate all the help. I do not want to get something and blow the paint off the car.

 

The key aspects are:

- pressure dislodges the dirt

- GPM washes it away

 

For automotive cleaning, a common electric (1400 to 1800 psi) should do the job and very safe on paint in fan spray mode so GPM is actual more useful in car work.   You should need to worry removing weak trim, etc.  Of course, for serious cleaning (like concrete, etc) higher pressures are needed so if you want it to do other way you can get a more powerful and just not get as close.  

 

I have a 1400 psi / 2 GPM and it works fine even with a foam cannon. I also have a gas 2700 psi and can do damage to paint if not paying attention.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

My F-I-L "just had to" go to Costco and get a Simpson made in Cheena special for power washing the house this year, I'm not complaining as the $250 wasn't out of my pocket and my house got power washed as well, but I'll be very surprised if we can get it running well enough to power wash both houses again this year, definitely an axial pump which is probably one of the ones designed to last 20 hours LOL.

 

I was going to plunk down the grand on a quality unit and have it for 20 years but I'll wait until his "freebie" kicks the bucket and get a real quality unit for power washing the house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

The key aspects are:

- pressure dislodges the dirt

- GPM washes it away

 

For automotive cleaning, a common electric (1400 to 1800 psi) should do the job and very safe on paint in fan spray mode so GPM is actual more useful in car work.   You should need to worry removing weak trim, etc.  Of course, for serious cleaning (like concrete, etc) higher pressures are needed so if you want it to do other way you can get a more powerful and just not get as close.  

 

I have a 1400 psi / 2 GPM and it works fine even with a foam cannon. I also have a gas 2700 psi and can do damage to paint if not paying attention.

 

:iagree:

 

great info... i laugh when I see people on other boards talking about buying a 2500psi pressure washer to clean their car... its completely unneccessary to go with a super high PSI machine unless you want to try and find out at what distance you can make that rock chip bigger. Most 'cannons' recommend a minimum of 1000psi so something in the 1200-1400 will be more than sufficient and its also got enough power to do light cleaning around the house as well.

 

If you want a unit that will take the paint off your deck then look at something with more power. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Great write up LBS. I'm a painter by trade and have a couple PW in my stable. Have had a Honda powered 2600 DDrive for 10 years now... Bolts have rattled out of it a couple times but still pumps and starts on first pull. 89 octane no-ethanol seems to work well for me. My most recent purchase I've only used for 8 hours... A Pressure Pros 4000psi belt drive. Holy...... What a hoss!!! The smaller of the two works fine for a wash on the vehicles, I just use a wider tip and keep my distance.

 

I use 5/8" hose, max pressure out of the spigot and 89octane ethanol free in all of my small engines. Can you tell me your professional opinion on that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...