Power washer pressure question?

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Pipelion

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Hello all,

great site you people have, learned alot already, thanks.


Was wondering what would be the best pressure level in a home electrical power washer unit for washing the car? Whitout spending a fortrune.

Is 1850 enough?


One self wash I go to has such a pathetic pressure a garden hose could do the same, the other car wash has a very good high powered spray. But I don't know either's pressures.

Thanks,

Allan
 
Pipelion said:
Hello all,

great site you people have, learned alot already, thanks.


Was wondering what would be the best pressure level in a home electrical power washer unit for washing the car? Whitout spending a fortrune.

Is 1850 enough?


One self wash I go to has such a pathetic pressure a garden hose could do the same, the other car wash has a very good high powered spray. But I don't know either's pressures.

Thanks,

Allan
Click to expand...

Hey Allan ...

Any pressure washer with a rating of 1500 psi will do well for you. I happen to use a trailer mounted Honda rated at 2200 psi. With the different attachments available the spread pattern helps to lower the psi when dispensed. Wider = less psi.
 
Shaede Tree,

wow that's interesting. Thank you.

Menards, a big store nearby, has a sale for a few days, an 1850 for $120 and a 1600 for $95. I'm trying to decide.

Other opinions welcome.
 
Pipelion said:
Shaede Tree,

wow that's interesting. Thank you.

Menards, a big store nearby, has a sale for a few days, an 1850 for $120 and a 1600 for $95. I'm trying to decide.

Other opinions welcome.
Click to expand...
Personally, I think the features of the two machines would be more important that the pressure.
Decent hose and wand for instance.
Ease of connecting the water supply.
Easy access to the switch.

As far as pressure needed, mine is also 2200# pressure and all you really need to do to reduce the effect of the pressure in addition to varying the spray pattern is don't hold the wand so close. :)
 
CharlesW said:
Personally, I think the features of the two machines would be more important that the pressure.
Decent hose and wand for instance.
Ease of connecting the water supply.
Easy access to the switch.

As far as pressure needed, mine is also 2200# pressure and all you really need to do to reduce the effect of the pressure in addition to varying the spray pattern is don't hold the wand so close. :)
Click to expand...

as then it becomes a sand blaster. :dblthumb2:
 
Pipelion said:
Shaede Tree,

wow that's interesting. Thank you.

Menards, a big store nearby, has a sale for a few days, an 1850 for $120 and a 1600 for $95. I'm trying to decide.

Other opinions welcome.
Click to expand...

Not sure if your choices are electric or not so........ keep in mind that electric pressure washers while convenient; rely on a decent amount of water pressure being fed to them. Without adequate water pressure they will not dispense, period.

Gas powered aren't handicapped as such.
 
Whoops!
Just realized I was in the "Ask the Expert featuring Mike Phillips" forum.
I'm not Mike Phillips and I'm certainly not an expert.
Cya. :bolt:
 
CharlesW said:
Whoops!
Just realized I was in the "Ask the Expert featuring Mike Phillips" forum.
I'm not Mike Phillips and I'm certainly not an expert.
Cya. :bolt:
Click to expand...
I'm no expert either but, I can share a little personal experience. I have a coin op pressure wash very close to my home that I frequent a lot and in the process got to know the owner well enough to look at the equipment. The bay I usually use was running 1100psi at 3.8 gallons per minute. He further told me that when the pressure drops to 1000psi he replaces the nozzle which boosts it up to about 1200psi. He also told me it is absolutely essential to have clean water going into the system for which he had filtration. He said that even at a 1000psi you should keep the wand back a few inchs and keep the wand close to perpendicular. I would be careful with 1850psi. If I had one of those 2500psi+ gas operated ones I would be looking at some larger nozzles.
 
Feslope, WOW,

I can't believe it's that low, wow.

thanks,

Allan
 
Pipelion said:
Feslope, WOW,

I can't believe it's that low, wow.

thanks,

Allan
Click to expand...
I was pretty surprised too. I had done some looking around in pressure washer sites and noticed that car washing was rated at the bottom of the pressure scale, this prompted me to ask. Another real big advantage that the commercial washers have is upstream chemical injection, simply stated high pressure soap. Home or prosumer units have downstream chemical siphon, detergent will be applied at low pressure. Putting detergent through the pump requires special detergent, filtration and a pressure injection system, complicated and costly. Poke around online, there is a lot of pressure washer information online.
 
feslope,

So electric units we can buy, don't spray soap at high pressure? They dribble the soap, then one turns up the rinse at high pressure?

Allan
 
The electric pressure washer I have is able to flow soap at the max high pressure of 1600psi. It has a reservoir just for degreaser/soap detergents that it feeds from.
 
Shade Tree said:
The electric pressure washer I have is able to flow soap at the max high pressure of 1600psi. It has a reservoir just for degreaser/soap detergents that it feeds from.
Click to expand...
You have my attention. Which pressure washer do you have?
 
feslope said:
You have my attention. Which pressure washer do you have?
Click to expand...

This one:
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]1600 PSI Electric Pressure Washer[/FONT]
99741.gif

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]High Pressure Cleaning Power[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]Pressure washer with built-in ground fault circuit interrupter included for added safety.
[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]
  • Adjustable spray wand lets you cover wide areas or do fine detail cleaning
  • Turbo nozzle boosts cleaning performance
  • Built-in detergent tank
  • Safety lock trigger
  • 19 ft. high pressure hose and 34 ft. power cord
  • ETL certified
  • 1.6 GPM flow rate
  • 120 volt, 60 Hz[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT] [FONT=arial, sans-serif]Overall dimensions: 10-3/4" L x 10-1/2" W x 31-1/2" H
Weight: 18.4 lbs.
[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, sans-serif] [/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]ITEM 99741-2VGA[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, sans-serif] [/FONT] [FONT=arial, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]$99.99[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
 
The spray & soap are adjustable at the end of the nozzle. However, if you have soap/degreaser within the reservoir then it is going to feed until the reservoir is empty. I don't believe there's a way I have found to turn it off when not needed. Then again, I've only used it twice.
 
Shade Tree said:
The spray & soap are adjustable at the end of the nozzle. However, if you have soap/degreaser within the reservoir then it is going to feed until the reservoir is empty. I don't believe there's a way I have found to turn it off when not needed. Then again, I've only used it twice.
Click to expand...
I have HF nearby. I'm going to take a look at this one. Great looking website Tony.
 
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