DIY Pad Washer

BlueBeast14GT said:
I actually made a splash guard for this. I guess I never posted the instructions for that...

As far as the center piece, that would definitely be nice to have. I made a cad model of it that I was going to print, but then everyone gave me crap about legal issues.
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BlueBeast14GT said:
Hmm... I know what you mean about the cones, but how would the extra width would make a difference?

Also, how far do the cones move down? I think mine move farther since I had to get those big springs from Lowe's, so that means more water volume spraying out.

The smaller holes could actually be part of the problem. Smaller holes => more pressure => inject more water into the pad.
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Read my mind with the end. The same goes for the cones. Water displacement is greater creating more pressure as well. Maybe try modifying your design and cut the springs to create less pressure.
 
You guys are lucky down south. I was into a Home Depot, canadian tire and a Rona and haven't been able to find pvc small enough. Everybody has 4" stuff.
 
CanuckCleaner said:
You guys are lucky down south. I was into a Home Depot, canadian tire and a Rona and haven't been able to find pvc small enough. Everybody has 4" stuff.
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Some stores here will stock the smaller PVC on the next aisle. Have you talked to an employee? They might be able to tell you where you can buy smaller stuff if they don't have it. This stuff is used in homes all the time, so I can't imagine it's just not available where you're at.
 
jhn said:
Here's my pad washer. I'm left handed so I have my wingnut on the right side. Thanks for posting this guide.

I had trouble with the Genova CPVC 3/4" male adapter because it was too big for the spring (23/32" x 3-1/2"). I bought qty 4 -- 3/4" MPT plug instead which works great.

DURA 3/4 in. Schedule 40 PVC Plug-C450-007 - The Home Depot
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Nice job! Did you add that handle? The Home Depot buckets in my area just have basic plastic handles.
 
I bought a fancy bucket at lowes, but cracked the bottom shoving the pvc pipe to the bottom lol. Ended up sanding all 4 corners of the pvc pipe so it would fit. I replaced the HD bucket handle with the good one.
 
hey guys so first i only read up to page 8 so if some one said this already ....my bad........but i just got all parts going to start assembly tomorow yesterday i also called "GRIT GUARD" and i saw some people saying they want that lil insert that goes in the middle of grit guard well it is called "the grit guard extender" and i just ordered one for 5$ (also got the big grit gaurd) and it ships quick orderded yesterday and should be here tomorow ....so let ya know how project turns out but for any one that wants that middle piece save 5 $ up and call grit guard
 
dbreeze225 said:
hey guys so first i only read up to page 8 so if some one said this already ....my bad........but i just got all parts going to start assembly tomorow yesterday i also called "GRIT GUARD" and i saw some people saying they want that lil insert that goes in the middle of grit guard well it is called "the grit guard extender" and i just ordered one for 5$ (also got the big grit gaurd) and it ships quick orderded yesterday and should be here tomorow ....so let ya know how project turns out but for any one that wants that middle piece save 5 $ up and call grit guard
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I ordered one from them too, but I don't think I ever posted that here. I haven't used it yet. They also sell the splash guard separately for $15. I picked one of those up just to compare to the homemade version, and I actually like mine better.
 
hey guys quick question. i am having hard time finding "1" x 3/4" Tee (Snap X Thread)" (number 11 in the "parts and prices section")....now if i read the instructions correctly this piece isnt used for any actual water distribution. it is just a suport piece to hold up the rest of the contraption..i am sure i could think of something but any one have any other ideas for a subsitute
 
jhn said:
I bought a fancy bucket at lowes, but cracked the bottom shoving the pvc pipe to the bottom lol. Ended up sanding all 4 corners of the pvc pipe so it would fit. I replaced the HD bucket handle with the good one.
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Lol, was it this one? I busted out the side of this thing trying to fit a Grit Guard.

Yeah, I had to sand the corners as well. You should try the fittings at Home Depot. They vary by region, but the HDs here changed some of their fittings. The tees are now about a quarter inch shorter, which means no sanding needed. The thing fits perfectly. More recently, I've seen shorter fittings at Lowes as well. Another option is to cut off a small amount of from the tees. It's a lot easier than sanding.

dbreeze225 said:
hey guys quick question. i am having hard time finding "1" x 3/4" Tee (Snap X Thread)" (number 11 in the "parts and prices section")....now if i read the instructions correctly this piece isnt used for any actual water distribution. it is just a suport piece to hold up the rest of the contraption..i am sure i could think of something but any one have any other ideas for a subsitute
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Yeah, I have moved away from that part in more recent versions. I'll post some alternatives later, and I'll shoot you a PM so you don't miss it.
 
Yep that's the bucket. The hardest part of the build was cutting a hole in the gamma lid. I used a Dremel 8220 with a plastic cutting wheel. I swear, it took me like an hour to cut through all of it. My battery died like halfway through.
 
jhn said:
Yep that's the bucket. The hardest part of the build was cutting a hole in the gamma lid. I used a Dremel 8220 with a plastic cutting wheel. I swear, it took me like an hour to cut through all of it. My battery died like halfway through.
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Yeah, that's a giant PITA. The cutting wheel wouldn't get into the corners, and I was too cheap to buy the cutting bit (the thing that looks like a drill bit), so I used a box cutter. I'm surprised I didn't seriously hurt myself.

dbreeze225 said:
hey guys quick question. i am having hard time finding "1" x 3/4" Tee (Snap X Thread)" (number 11 in the "parts and prices section")....now if i read the instructions correctly this piece isnt used for any actual water distribution. it is just a suport piece to hold up the rest of the contraption..i am sure i could think of something but any one have any other ideas for a subsitute
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Ok, so I got your private message. I'm not entirely sure what you were describing, but it sounds overly complicated. The original design I posted was based on something I saw on another forum, but since then I've decided I'm not too fond of the original brace design. I've come up with two alternatives (both involve cement):

1. No Braces. Cement all the things.
The whole purpose of the braces is to keep the vertical pipes from tilting so they stay aimed where you want them, but this is only an issue if they are allowed to move. The solution: Cement everything together. I don't have a picture, but it's just the same thing, sans-horizontal braces.

This is the simpler solution, but I don't really like this method because it makes it harder to clean. I would prefer to be able to take the thing apart to clean (periodically, not every time), so I can be sure I'm not injecting anything unwanted into my pads.

2. Braces hold water
You're right that the support braces don't hold water, but there is no reason they can't. The snap tees are more expensive, those threaded piece increase the cost as well, and cutting the snap tees is a pain. So for my most recent build, I used regular tees with a cross tee in the middle. There is no need to cut the tees to make them level, it looks much cleaner, and it's less costly. Unfortunately, with those shorter tees I mentioned, the 1" cross tee is about 1/4" longer than the 1" tee and doesn't fit. You could cut the cross tee down to make it fit, but I didn't like that idea. So I bought reduction tees and used a smaller size cross tee that would actually fit.

You can use 1/2" or 3/4" but 1/2" is going to be cheaper.

Here's the parts list:

For 1/2":

For 3/4":

You'll also need some 1/2" or 3/4" pipe to connect the pieces.

Assembly
These need to be cemented together or else they'll just slide apart and defeat the whole purpose of the support.

  • Measure the lengths of pipe you need to connect the tees to the cross tee, keeping in mind that the cross tee needs to be in the exact center.
  • Cut the pieces
  • Cement them together.
    Do this on a flat surface so you can make sure the tees are flat and level. I would do the first 2 tees at once, and do two that are adjacent, not across from each other. You have to be quick doing two at once since the cement dries quickly, but doing two will allow you to get both axis level on the flat surface, rather than doing one and hoping it comes out level. So slide both on, and make sure they can sit ont he flat surface without rocking, then you know they're level.​

In the end it'll look like the picture below (I used 3/4" because HD was short on 1/2" parts). Mine is currently disassembled for cleaning, so this is the only picture I got. You'll also need to adjust the height of the vertical pipes since the tees add height where the snap tees did not.

20150319_181403.jpg


Hope this helps, it was kind of rushed. I think eventually I'll to a new thread with all my updates, "DIY Pad Washer 2.0". Someone recently suggested adjusting it to spray less, so I'd like to get that out there as well.
 
does this new update have any positive or negitive results on the actual preformance of the washer as w whole? since there would obviously be more water in the system does this effect the spray either way good or bad?
 
dbreeze225 said:
does this new update have any positive or negitive results on the actual preformance of the washer as w whole? since there would obviously be more water in the system does this effect the spray either way good or bad?
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It shouldn't make any difference. Plus, you don't want to spray a ton of water, then the pads will take forever to dry... an issue I'm still working on...
 
nice by the way the idea i had that sent to you in email with cutting back end of tee and zip tieing and all that ended up being simpler that expected.....the tee (the snap one with the piece missing at back end) i couldnt find so got the same tee but slip (w/o the snap missing section) and just cut it. i thought if i cut it it would fit over the other pipe but not "snap" into place so i was planning on using a zip tie or glue to hold it into position....but if you cut it right it works just like one in store and "Snaps" into place you just gota imagine where the missing piece would be and cut it out i put it in a vice with the smaller part of tee in the side edge of the vice and the other 2 sides orented so one circle opening on top and one on bottom
so if you look at it from birds eye view you se the cirle opening i found the sweet spot to cut is straight down and you want to cut off just less than half and wallah snaps in place just like the one in store keep in mind if you can find the snap tee get it! i couldnt find any any where around locally.....ill post pics if any one wants i know i am not best aas descriptions...but i got the thing about half put togather finishing in morn.
 
ha couldnt wai till morning just finished and works great awsome idea! beats spending over $100
 
dbreeze225 said:
ha couldnt wai till morning just finished and works great awsome idea! beats spending over $100
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Cool man, glad to hear it! And yeah I think I get what you're saying, but would need to see pics lol.
 
I'm a little unclear because for some reason water doesn't come out as much as it seems you guys are saying. I cemented everything except the tubes going to the springs, but it doesn't seem to have a lot of pressure. Any ideas to make it squirt more water?
 
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