Well my old cold water pressure washer was causing me grief today, several trips to the fix it guy and came home with a loaner till mines back going again. I was thinking about updating, maybe not right now, but I update about every 10 years or so for either another new one or newer one, the last two were new when I got them, but all I've ever had was cold water electric motor driven pressure washers, all 110 volt units, todays loaner was a 220 volt 5 hp late model one, the guy that had I know and he went to almost a 10 hp electric motor cold pressure washer, needed more volume and psi to wash out livestock buildings. The sales guy was trying to talk me into a steam cleaner, used units smaller diesel powered 110, but all I've heard is the nightmare and headaches to keep them running, not sure if I want that much stuff, now I could buy a warm water pressure washer, he mentioned that as well, where I could run up to about 120 degree water in it without hurting it. I'd like to stay on the cheaper side of two thousand bucks, I don't use one a lot maybe 20 hours a year tops, but either more pressure or volume would be nice, not sure about a steam cleaner though, what's everyone else's opinions on this, what do you guys run and how much grief does it give you and how much do you use one each year. Brands, pressures, water volume's and hp of the units would be nice and also how many you've owned and how long you keep them. Thanks in advance.
I have a 2000PSI power washer that had steam or hot water, the steam part always give us problems. It also makes it hard to see anything with steam because it fogs up bad while your washing if the temps are cold outside. I only have hot water on it now and have no problems now that the steam is not operable. I have a 10hp cold water washer also that will produce 4-5K PSI but it requires 6-7gal of water per minute. It is seldom used except for heavy duty cleaning. For machinery cleaning hot water is a must.
I got a trailer mounted Northstar unit from Northern Tool, and, man, will it cook and clean. She'll do 4000psi, and 210F. It was $6k at the time, and gets used about 40 hours a year, but, to me, it's priceless. Going on year 4, and no issues. This one http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200317423_200317423 A little north of your $2k allowance, but, clean machines are happy machines. I started with a used Hotsy 110v/ 1500 psi unit, and it was fair, until going big.
Everyone locally is telling me to not buy another cold water washer no matter the pressure or gallons per minute. So that brings about a whole new set of questions, how big, how hot and what brands are best or is there really much difference. I've got hotsy, alkota, alladin and north star near me, from what I can tell hotsy is the only one different and all the rest I'm thinking are made by the same manufacturer. Just what does a 1500, 2000, or 2400 psi machines with the same gallons per minute do differently, is it critical to get the added pressures over a smaller pressure unit. I've never ran anything over about 1500 psi except the cold water washer we rented today that's got pressure of 2500 psi.
I traded up from a cheapo 7hp gas pressure washer(worked real good) to the 13hp JD model, works great. I had the smaller one for years and even sold it for more then what I paid for the JD, that's why I got the JD, crazy price. I use a regular shallow well pump(house style) running from my pond to power it, never had one problem and I believe the pressure rating is close to 4,000psi. I do know if I use the high pressure nozzle it'll peel the paint right off my machines. I have cut into boards with the high pressure nozzle. I also watched someone( not saying who) cut the crap out of their ankle using the low pressure nozzle. I allways wanted the steam machine but the price is too high, and in all honesty I doubt it would clean any better. I was worried that the little shallow well pump wouldn't have enough butt to run the JD but it seems perfectly fine.
We have the same pressure washer as maddog for heavy cleaning like dirt in the tracks or cleaning out belly pans. For washing off grease and general cleaning we have a Alkota hot water washer. Nothing is better then working on a machine that has all the grease and oil washed off first. Also using a hot water washer in the winter makes a crappy job a little more bearable.
I have a gas powered unit 4,000 psi at 4gallon a minute... I haven't found anything I can't clean yet. I'm sure hot water would work great on grease but I don't think I'm missing much either. I've removed glue from concrete by removing the concrete under the glue. I honestly would go for the most gallons per minute I could get up to 4gallon. that's the most a standard water line can produce in most situations.
I've been looking at dozens of used units in my price range, most are that 3 gallons per minute at anywhere from 1500-2000 psi hot water pressure washers, and for a little bit more I could go to a 2400 psi @3 gallons per minute machine, and once I'd spend that for 3500 I could go with a new machine of the same size. Found several used units in that four gallons per minute and 3000 psi hot water washer putting out 180 degree water that was in that 2500 dollar range, any idea's on any of them, the last machine even the sales guys are telling is overkill for what I'd need for washing off equipment. They all have a rating index they use for the cleaning capabilities, and of course the higher the index number the better job it'll do, but does anyone know how to read it and understand it, what's enough without going overkill? Of course each sales guy is wanting to sell their machine and everyone they have me talk to locally that bought one is happy, but most are like me, never owned one before or know anything about a different machine to compare to or a different size machine, when I ask their like me, it works good enough for me, some were even the smaller 110 units and only put out 2 gallons per minute at about 1400 psi and those guys were happy too, and I could buy a new hot water washer for about 2500 bucks with a warranty. Now I am confused as to what to do, even the last one is far bigger than my last two cold water washers I've used for 20 plus years.
I to use a 4 gpm 4000 psi 13 hp gas washer. We wash salt trucks all winter and equipment all year i would not have anything less as you can adjust the pressure down if needed. The gas unit lets you take it anywhere and I have a tank it will gravity run on. I would look somewhere like Lowes that is where I got mine it does not matter who makes it as long as you look for a cat pump and a honde engine it will last for years and be rebuildable. I paid around $1000 for mine about 7 years ago.
I've got some info for you too. My dad got his first Hotsy steam cleaner about 30 years ago, as a teenager, I spent a lot of time using it on the farm. I think it was a model 840, was kerosene fired with a 5 hp electric motor (I can spec it out, but I think it was about a 3000 psi, 4gpm unit). It would peel the paint off some cars, the heat did make a difference too. I stripped my uncles Porche in about 2 hours. I also steam cleaned a BUNCH of farm equipment for paint prep for a neighbor. Steam definitely helps when getting the greasy stuff off. Nowadays, I have a good friend who has 2 steam cleaners, 1 Aladdin and a new Hotsy, they have a ag/chemical application/custom farming business running about 5-6 of the newer 500+ hp Deere tractors, 4-5 transport trucks, etc. They spent about 10k on the new one installed in their shop. It is a propane fired one vs the old smoky diesel/kerosene one (they went propane so they didn't have the soot accumulate inside the shop like the diesel one did, that and since the 80x80 shop is heated by propane they just tapped into that line. He said he does not miss packing fuel to the old diesel one at all) The new Hotsy has a 7.5 hp electric motor and is a 1400 series with 4.0 gpm and 3200 psi. He also has a 11hp Honda / 3200psi / 4.0 gpm unit for mobile ops. As far as the balance of HP/Pressure/PSI, here are some of his comments. If you want to move alot of water and therefore dirt (like cleaning out mud caked tracks) go for the higher GPM. If you want to peel stickers off or peel paint, this includes peel grease off too I suppose, go for the higher PSI. He said soap helps on greasy/oily stuff, not really on dirt caked stuff. As far as the gas vs electric difference and performance the 3:5 rule pretty much applies to pressure washers like air compressors - ie, 3 electric hp = 5 gas horsepower. As far as making a reccomendation for you, for the most part, I would have to agree with 06Pete above, those 13hp Honda / 4000 psi / 4gpm units are impressive & hard to beat. I wouldn't really look at a 7hp or less gas machine, 8-9 hp, maybe, but either an 11hp or 13hp unit would serve you very, very well. As far as a comparison, I think the local car washes run 2000 psi pumps @ 2.0 gpm which would take about a 2.5-3.0hp electric motor. They definitely work better than the garden hose with a nozzle, but fall WAY short of the larger Honda powered units. As an aside, I picked up an 11hp Honda last year with a Cat (brand name of pump) pump for $150, used and working. Generally speaking though, if you wanted a used 13hp Honda/4.0/4000, they run about 400-600 in the used market, 1000-1300 in the new market. I can see how portability would be good for you too. A 275 gallon poly/pallet tank would make you portable. Portable would be better than the steamer option too (just guessing how you would use it), then if you are not happy with that you can always splurge on the steam later. High pressure/high GPM and steam are the ultimate combo, but it comes at a cost. Cat and General are the 2 most common brand names of pumps, I would tend to stick with those as they have replaceable parts in them and are not "throw away" pumps. Here is a decent site for parts too: (not me, just a site I order from) http://www.pressuretek.com/
Hey Randy I have a north star washer with a 13hp honda 4000psi @3.5 gpm with hot/steam and have had no problem with it. I have had it for 4 years and it was 2 years old when I got it. Like others said you cant go wrong with honda engine and cat pumps. I have a friend with the same washer without the burner and it works well but not good enugh for paint prep or good degreesing. I think my washer new is around the $3400 range. I put a dual wand on so I can switch to lo preasure soap injection without changeing tips. I have another friend with a hotsy and he has had great luck with it 20+ years in a hog building and no problems but I havent found a hotsy with the preasure or gpm that north star has. I also like the fact that you eliminate some electrical hazards with a gas powered machine. My wife had a neibor electrocuted washing out his hog building when she was a kid. My hired man left mine outside one night about a month ago got down to 18 degrees that night I brought it in warmed it up in the morning and it worked fine with no broken lines or pump I felt lucky that day.
I bought a used stationary Hotsey (970) with an electric motor (220v). It sat for while before I used it and now it does not work (I saw it work before I bought it). It is now in the hands of the local Hotsey dealer (relatively new to the area) and they want $2015 to repair it. I have been thinking of buying a new hot-pressure washer for some time, even before I bought this used Hotsey, and I am in the market again as the stationary unit is not very well suited for my needs (not as noisy as a gas engine though!). Anyway, the Hotsey dealer is trying to talk me into another new unit so I have some pricing info. To get a Hotsey that is similar to the NorthStar you will pay double the price. The nice thing about the Hotsey is that you can get service and parts from a factory authorized dealer. I'm not sure what you'll get from Northern (NorthStar) beyond customer service through the telephone. Still, at 2x the price, I'm not sure that it's worth it. Especially if the unit only supports your business vs it being the business. I'm seriously thinking of just selling the old unit, to the Hotsey dealer, and using the cash to buy a NorthStar or a Mi-T-M. I also think that the Honda Engine, and the Cat pump, will be reliable and have a support network too. The only unknown would be the burner mechanism. I would like to hear from more users.
I went and ran a few aaladin's yesterday, I thought the four gallon a minute was by far better than the 3 gallon a minute machines, the dealer had a few used stationery lp fired units in that 4 gallon 4000 psi I think, but after some thought, even though the price was right I'll probably go with a portable unit, in case I'd ever want to move it to a down machine in the field after a hose blew, I've done that a few times. My wife came up with this idea yesterday, take a 7.5 or 10 hp electric motor we have around here not being used anymore and make up my own cold water pressure washer, just buy a general pump or cat pump and build my own for dirt and mud removal, higher gallons per minute somewhat lower psi and then go buy a smaller diesel fired unit to wash grease and oil and stuff like that. I'd have to give it some though, but never say never, I have priced the pumps and components and the major cost is the price of the motor. I'm going to make a few calls today to find out how many gallons per minute I can run off a motor that size. I was quoted a 7 gallon per minute at 2300 psi on a ten horse motor yesterday, anyone have any experience with anything over 4 gallons per minute machines? I know about the electrical hazard issue's, but I don't think I'd buy a gas engine unit either, I've already got too many small gas engines to keep running now, I don't think I want anymore, my bobcat generator can run at least a five hp electric motor so it could run about any hot water washer I'd buy. Now are you guys saying a hot water washer [180-210] water temps is as good as a steamer unit [220-240 degrees] for taking off grease and oil. And the next question is the dual wand where one tip runs the soap at low pressure and the other one runs high pressure water, I've never seen those before, most hot water washers run the soap through the pump and spray it through one gun, how does the twin gun work?
I have never used a dual wand gun before so I cann't be any help there. I did use a Steam Jennie once and it was nothing but problems. The darn thing broke down three times and we ended up returning it back to the rental house for a hot water washer (a Shark I think it was). For what you are looking for I would go with a hot water washer. I wouldn't spend the money on a high GPM hot water washer. Get a 1200-2000 psi hot water washer and a higher gpm cold water washer. When you need to remove lots of mud and garbage you don't need hot water, just pressure and flow. Removing oil and grease needs heat and modest pressure.
On the dual wand question, Every washer I have been around uses a Venturi type valve with a built in check valve so when water preasure is high with normal tip you can not inject soap you have to switch to a low preasure tip to get the soap injection to work. The dual wand just splits in to 2 pipes with a valve on one so you can open it and drop the preasure to get the soap injection to work. The Idea behind soap injectors like mine is you are not running the soap through pump, I worked at a place right out of college that had a hotsy unit with about the same soap system as mine but they also ran acid through it for cleaning aluminum before welding and also on truck wheels. I think the MityM washers are good they make the biger hot water Deere washers, I used one at the deere dealer when I was there and never had a problem it was over 10 years old when I left.
I went to look at the mi-t-m line of washers, the version where the burn chamber lays down instead of upright, does anyone know anything about the difference between the two heat chambers configurations, I've only ever really seen the upright version where the burner was on the bottom pointed upward. Mi-t-m makes two different burner chamber versions, the upright one has the burner on top and the vents also on the top, and their industrial versions where the burn chamber lays down, has the burner on the end, they had a 4 gallon per minute @ 2000 psi with little use and only 6 years old, also had the dual wand, after using one now I understand how they work and yes I think that's the wand to have. The dealer was checking over the used unit and was going to call me this coming week, any input on the burn chamber would be appreciated, I thought an upright version would be far better but after running one, I don't know if it matters any.
As far as the burner chamber orientation, about the only thing that comes to mind is which is easier to winterize, aka gravity drain?
Just bought a six year old harldy used mi-t-m industrial series pressure washer, where the burner chamber lays down instead of upright, new dual wand, new hose, checked over and warranted and 220 volt motor on it for about what my price range was, it looks and runs like new so hopefully I'll get quite a few years use out of it and in the mean time allow me to figure out what it was I should have bought instead, this one is 4 gallons per minute at 2000 psi pressure, with both options of pressure injection for soap along with downstream injection too which ever I want to use. Time will tell how it all works out, thanks to everyone putting in input and suggestions on what to look for in a washer.
Randy- mine is a lay down burner like the unit you purchased, I have had excellent luck with it and it is on the second pump and still going strong.