finally bought a 'real' pressure washer...

[jvanick]

Yesterday, our harbor freight pressure washer blew up again... this was the 4th one in 2 years (which since I had the 2yr warranty wasn't so bad I suppose)... during the Hawks game last night, one of my friends who works for a commercial cleaning company and told me that they sell pressure washers to some of the other local screen printers, and said that they had a refurb unit that was just finished up, and that they could offer me a killer deal on it.

It's a Landa 3gpm 1000psi unit...
http://www.landa.com/viewCategories.aspx?pid=1051

I received it this afternoon, and I can't believe how much easier reclaim and even post-exposure rinse out is...  it's night and day over the old units we've had....  with the 25-degree nozzle you have to be at least a foot or so back from the screen to not be starting to blow detail out.

this thing is a beast.. it has to weigh over 150# (took 2 of us to get it off the truck)

one of the best things, is that is SO quiet... all you hear is the spray of the water, not the pump or motor.

I really wish I would have made the jump sooner.

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

My last (and current) Home Depot cheapie pressure washer has gone nearly 3 years. I'd never seen that before this one. But I too, need to buy a better one.

I'm puzzled by the pressure ratings.  My HD throw-away is rated @ 1450 and yours is 1000psi. I have had it 'splained to me before--that the GPM plays a big part, but I haven't quite gotten it through my head.

Can you get through my thick skull with a little more understanding?

I figure since I'm 3 years in already, this one's on borowed time.

Stan

[Shanarchy]

How much did that bad boy cost you? I've been telling myself for a while that I really have to invest in a big boy unit.

The PSI is the rating of the pressure.

The GPM is the actual measure of water flow coming out.

Both numbers are important, but the key is a to get a lot of water at pressure going through the mesh to clean it out. At least that's how I understand it.

[cbjamel]

Yesterday, our harbor freight pressure washer blew up again... this was the 4th one in 2 years (which since I had the 2yr warranty wasn't so bad I suppose)... during the Hawks game last night, one of my friends who works for a commercial cleaning company and told me that they sell pressure washers to some of the other local screen printers, and said that they had a refurb unit that was just finished up, and that they could offer me a killer deal on it.

It's a Landa 3gpm 1000psi unit...
http://www.landa.com/viewCategories.aspx?pid=1051

I received it this afternoon, and I can't believe how much easier reclaim and even post-exposure rinse out is...  it's night and day over the old units we've had....  with the 25-degree nozzle you have to be at least a foot or so back from the screen to not be starting to blow detail out.

this thing is a beast.. it has to weigh over 150# (took 2 of us to get it off the truck)

one of the best things, is that is SO quiet... all you hear is the spray of the water, not the pump or motor.

I really wish I would have made the jump sooner.

What did it run you?
Shane

[jvanick]

Just under 1000 out the door.

[cbjamel]

Wow, I guess I have been lucky. Lowes (Karcher) pressure washer 4-6 years old. Yes loud.
Under $150. So i have been luck, knock on wood!!!!!!!!! do 15-20 screens a week, 23x31.
Shane

[screenxpress]

I have an electric one for the booth and a gas one for stubborn screens and driveway cleaning. 

The nice thing about the electric (might be a Sears) one is it's an 'on-demand' system and only makes a whirring sound when the trigger is pulled.

[jvanick]

we're doing around 15-20 screens a day right now which is likely the reason for burning up the cheap ones.

To answer the PSI question, I really don't know... I do know that the harbor freight one was listed as 1.25gpm / 1650 psi... but I can tell you positively that this thing is WAY more powerful at 1000psi / 3gpm... with the 25 degree tip in, it's more powerful than the HF one with the wand set as a pin point.   I've read the gpm vs psi discussions, and I don't fully understand them either... these guys gave me a no-questions asked return policy if I didn't like it, so I had nothing to lose, she did tell me tho that I 'wouldn't be returning it' lol, as the other shops love theirs, and now I see why.

This washer does have a automatic start/stop feature... it takes a few seconds when it's shut down to start, and then stops roughly a minute or so after you release the trigger.  When it's idling, it's nearly as quiet as our bathroom fans, which is to say that it's REALLY quiet.

This one seems to have as much power as our gas 5hp 2400psi 2gpm model... so maybe the extra 1gpm makes that much of a difference?  No idea, but this is really nice.

Plus, the entire chassis is stainless steel, the pump is completely rebuildable or even replaceable if things go really bad, the motor is a tefc 2hp motor, also replaceable, so there's absolutely nothing 'throw-away' about this unit.

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Thanks for the reply!

I remember when I was a young audiophile shopping for stereo amplifier output wattage, that my takeaway was that they all pretty much lied about wattage. (I'm so sick of all the lying nowadays, but I digress....)

PSI and GPM are more objective metrics, but still, I think there may be some ways to tamper with those numbers also.

I don't have a physics degree, but "with the 25 degree tip in, it's more powerful than the HF one with the wand set as a pin point" is something I can understand.

[Zelko-4-EVA]

We have a similar unit - the SEA4 with 5gpm and 2000 psi

i put a different tip (with a larger orifice) on it to bring the psi down to 1000 - i was told not to use the pumps unloader to control the psi.

ive rebuilt the pump and replaced the motor.

most recently i replaced the pump so that i could pull the old one and replace the parts (bearing failed) and have it on the shelf when needed.

i have heard that there is a possibility to put two spray wands on it, weve never done it, but its possible.

the original pump ran for 10 years before i pulled it out.  the original motor ran for 8 years. 

we have a dedicated socket for ours - (208v model) so we cut off the GFCI and replaced the breaker with a GFCI.  reason was that the GFCI on the cord was breaking every few years and was expensive to replace.

overall its a fantastic pressure washer - the belt drive models last forever.

[Screen Medics]

Zelko, if an accident happens how do you explain to the court why you willfully altered the electrically approved (UL or equivalent) safety devise on your pressure washer?  If an employee were injured it's one thing.  If you are injured your insurance carrier may deny your claim on that basis.

You solved one problem and exposed yourself to a large risk...lawsuit, if there is any mishap surrounding the altered pressure washer.

We don't live amongst particularly smart people and that includes lawyers and judges as well.  By the book is the best you can hope for from them.  Those seeking money have no interest in you continuing in business or saving your property if you are not incorporated.

You may want to run this past your attorney for clarification of your state statutes.  Cheaper yet, have a new ground fault plug installed on your pressure washer and sleep soundly at night.

[jvanick]

Actually he's just fine...

we have a dedicated socket for ours - (208v model) so we cut off the GFCI and replaced the breaker with a GFCI.  reason was that the GFCI on the cord was breaking every few years and was expensive to replace.

2 GFCIs can cause trouble... so having the branch circuit on a gfci is actually safer for many reasons.

[ScreenFoo]

I was just going to say, I don't think SM read Zelkos reply all the way through... 

[screenxpress]

scratching my head too. 

[Zelko-4-EVA]

i appreciate screen medics concern - my electrician assures that its up to code.  its common to have the cheap on cord GFCI fail - after three times of replacing the GFCI on the cord, i gave up and cut it out and had our electrician install a breaker that is GFCI protected.

screen medic is correct in saying that we dont live among particularly smart people - one of our reclaim guys was trying to reset the on cord GFCI while wearing gloves covered in solvent.   having the GFCI on the breaker prevents employees from resetting it - we dont let our employees touch the breaker panels.