I'm Pissed...at Myself

[alan802]

Let me explain, all this recent talk about saving a minute here, an hour there, CTS, film, etc., I just have to throw myself under the bus here so that maybe it will help someone else not make the same decisions.  I don't mind doing that from time to time, I've always felt better when I air out some of my mistakes for all to see.

Since December, our old (but great) CCI pressure washer crapped out on us and I've been procrastinating on getting it fixed.  We've been through 3 of the electric pressure washers from Lowes and one from Harbor Freight just to get us through till I got the good one fixed.  Well last week I had had enough, it was like the 5th week in a row that I had to stop something to go fix the pressure washer or get it replaced and I broke down and bought a new one from Grainger.  Sometimes you don't know what you're missing until you get it back.  Holy crap, how much time have we lost that we'll never get back by reclaiming screens with those junk pressure washers?  It was taking us an hour to do 12-15 screens and I just walked in from reclaiming a few screens and took 5 out of the dip tank that had been soaking and they were spotless in about 5 minutes.  So by not playing around with those lesser powered pressure washers I've gained at least 2 hours a week from at least doubling our reclaim production.

I know there are a lot of you (us if you want to get technical) that are using and loving your Lowes or Home Depot specials but I sure hope I never lose sight of the fact that I was lazy and I should have gotten the good one fixed or just bought the A.R. right away. 

Now I've got 3 of the Lowes ones that I have to wait until December before they'll let me return them and get a replacement.  I don't know how some of you have been able to buy them, use it for 3 months then when it breaks you take it back and get a replacement.  They won't do that here until the 1-year manufacturer's warranty runs out.  Even when you get ugly and start causing a scene they won't budge, they just ask if you'd like to be escorted out of the store in handcuffs (true story...twice, I thought a month later and with a different crew working I might have a chance to pull it off).

Oh, and this bad boy is adjustable so when we're developing screens I drop it down to about 1400-1500 psi then for reclaiming bump it up to 2100.  This thing makes quick work of those thick stencils that before we were spending 7 minutes straight spraying and trying to work all the emulsion out.

I would post a pic but for some reason it won't let me right click and post the URL, that's never happened before.  I'll try again after I post this. 

[mimosatexas]

I've had my $79 lowes piece of crap for almost 4 years, and it has only been turned off when I moved out of the garage into my current location.  Still works like the day I bought it.

Even my 2/2 round with no pressure coatings on 86 mesh with HVP blast out with a single pass after sitting in my supra tank for a few minutes.  Is the genzyme not loosening the emulsion that much?

[Frog]

I've been using AR, but not that one.
First thing I noticed when I fired up my AR cheapie was a very different sound.
Seems like even the low cost models are made completely differently.

My screen volume is going way down, so I can't justify the same stuff as you.

[Shanarchy]

This is an upgrade I really need to make at some point. Our volume isn't that high, but A) I always wonder when mine will crap the bed and I have to make another Lowes trip and B) I am sure that a better pressure washer like this would make a world of difference for me.

[GraphicDisorder]

We bought a electric one from  Northern Tool earlier this year when we went through 2-3 cheap ones in a row.  Was $700 bucks but boy is it nice.

[Inkworks]

We usually buy top end cheapies if that makes sense. but I sure get tired of the noise. Are any of the better ones relatively quiet?

[alan802]

I've had my $79 lowes piece of crap for almost 4 years, and it has only been turned off when I moved out of the garage into my current location.  Still works like the day I bought it.

Even my 2/2 round with no pressure coatings on 86 mesh with HVP blast out with a single pass after sitting in my supra tank for a few minutes.  Is the genzyme not loosening the emulsion that much?

I thought most of our issues were chemical related but with the new pressure washer our emulsion just blows right out like the old days.  It's night and day in reclaim speed.  We have the Easiway 500 in the tank now and it's been a few years since I used the Supra.  I thought the gemzyme worked better than the Supra and about the same as the 500 but I need to test out emulsion removers again, it's about that time.  It's been a few years since we had the Supra so maybe it's a lot better now but it seemed to lose it's power quickly.  I was thinking about dumping the tank last week since we were having issues but after today I think I would be wasting time and chems.

This one was around $1100 and they had a few different options in the A.R. in this range.  I was leaning towards a $700 unit, can't remember the brand right now and I'll never know if we missed out by buying the more expensive unit but I have no regrets really, this thing is a beast. 

[kingscreen]

We bought this: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200350514_200350514?cm_mmc=Housefile-_-RECEIVED-_-707-_-CONF
and never looked back. Worth every penny.

[Frog]

We usually buy top end cheapies if that makes sense. but I sure get tired of the noise. Are any of the better ones relatively quiet?

Well, as I said, my AR is quieter than any of the Italian ones from the big box stores, but I wouldn't call it quiet.

[ebscreen]

There is only a few MFR's of pressure washer pumps. AR makes their own. The cheapy pumps are mostly plastic
but we always had the pressure sensing switch go out before anything else.

[DannyGruninger]

I agree Alan, I never realized what we were missing until we actually put a nice washer into production. Up until this year I would do the harbor freight/home depot style pressure washers and usually go through 4-5 a year(on the exchange) until I finally had enough of the down time so I had one custom built for us here. What a crazy difference it was the very first day we put it into production. Not that we saw a huge savings in time(it's faster for sure but I didn't track how much) but overall quality was much better. I also have noticed we are not breaking near as many screens in the washout booth with the washer. All in all I'm a super big supporter of really good pressure washers now that I've used both good and cheap. Ours was custom built with a foot pedal, 2 sprayers, and a few other things I've forgotten by now but I want to say the price wasn't too bad around $800 or so but never again on the cheap ones for us LOL

[Gilligan]

We bought the same once we moved out of the shed.... I don't remember it being that expensive though, but I'm sure it's the same.

Just don't leave it running without the trigger pulled, the bypass will still over heat.

[Sbrem]

We've never had a crap one. The first one I ever used was an old Advance Process Supply that lasted for years, like 15. When it got sick, we replace the pump and motor from Grainger. When we started this place, we had a no name industrial model that was great, rebuilt it once about 10 years ago, still going strong. Cheap ones are, well, cheap...

steve

[Croft]

alan Ive bought 3 of those over the years good but hated that they had to be switched on and left on sometimes for guys having to get to there smoke break.

I switched to one of these Karcher units about 6 years ago and just bought my first replacement, we use daily for probably 20-40 screens at least. There $700 canadian so I bet you could get for less, they are Karchers smallest industrial units.

[Evo]

I (somehow) convinced my boss to buy one of those AR units awhile back. It ROCKS.

We bought the one with "TSS".. basically it has a pressure switch so it shuts down when you let go of the gun. $600 from here:
http://www.pwmall.com/p-140316-ar630_tss-ar-blue-clean-15001900-psi-electric-pressure-washer-21gpm-115v-tss.aspx

It's a fantastic unit and with the adjustable pressure it's great for developing too.

Change the oil after the first 50 hours and regularly after that. (a 5 minute ordeal) The pump should last a good long while before you need to rebuild it.