Patrick at HMSGA

Sure beats what a lot of us seem to do when we get busy - "There a place for everything, and everything is in here someplace"....lol

Like I already said in post#2 of this thread - when you mention HVLP so many people first think of Graco, Titan, or Devilbliss, and they cost LOTS more than these little Wagners... But for what you would NORMALLY use one of these for, can you really see, much less justify the difference in the cost between these and more expen$ive ones? Great little sprayers, aren't they? If I didn't already have what I needed before I found out about Ken's deal I would be ordering one too! I am not trying to be a shill for Ken - I just think that they are plenty for what we usually need to do - so you can go spend the diff. between these and the high priced sprayers on something you need more than to have $1,000 invested in an HVLP sprayer...

She has you do work for them that she obviously KNEW AHEAD OF TIME that they have NO MEANS with which to pay you??? Did she mention this ahead of time, express any concerns about the price you would be charging, ask you about making payments or anything like that? Maybe she was intending to cheat you all along... At the very best totally unethical and extremely poor business practices... You did all this hard work for them, and her knowing all along that she was gonna cheat you??? You deserve to get paid, NOW! and NOT in delayed payments unless YOU agreed to that beforehand. I would go to HER boss, then their boss, then theirs... "Largest Property Management in the State" huh? No reserves, or anything like that? Doesn't appear to be very sound financially, or else they are just intentionally cheating you. Next time get a deposit for any large project, at least you won't be out for expenses. From now on - set up a contreact that calls for a deposit and a draw. Get the deposit, do some work, finish 50% of the work, draw 50% of the money. 75% - ditto, then all you would be out was a little at the end, or would know to not finish the work if they are not paying you promptly.

Sometimes the same pump will give you different pressure ratings if the HP of the motor is different. 20hp might be 3,500psi, while 24hp might get you up towards 4,000psi running the same pump. For most pressure washing, I don't see much need for any more than 3,500psi unless you are cleaning concrete. Hot water is also nice to have, as well as necessary if you ever plan to be doing any commercial work. 4.0 gpm is the minimum you would even want to consider for almost anything you would do in our exterior pressure washing business. You wouldn't believe the difference you will get by going with a higher flow setup. 3,500 psi @ 4.0 gpm is manageable, you could normally even control it with one hand if you were so careless to do so, but when you go to 3,500psi @ 5.6 gpm and you have a firehose that you need to hold with TWO hands at all times.

What trade are you searching for a BB for?

I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale during the 1950's - 1960's. Back then it was a GREAT place to grow up, I don't think there was EVER a better time to do that and to be that age. Good schools, GREAT music (Rick Shaw - WQAM), neat cars, a 14 year old could legally operate a motor scooter or motorcycle (REALLY!), most families had both parents who had time for us, what else could a kid need? Even when we were like 8-10-12 years old, we used to go out right after breakfast, we knew the boundaries we were allowed to stay within and those we dare not cross, and were pretty much told to "Just be home for dinner". Nowadays - NO PLACE IS SAFE FOR KIDS without adult supervision!!!! The world, and society has changed, and not all of it has been for the better...

Just because THEY say the parts are interchangeable with a Honda, doesn't mean that they really are. I would rather have a REAL Honda motor even if I got a used one at a pawnshop for about the same price as this (by the time you also add shipping costs). I did get a Honda 13hp with electric start at a pawnshop for $275.00 awhile back.

I already sent one through the "TGS" email message process. Must be lost somewhere, and doesn't give me option to resend it. Won't even try sending an email that way again... Will re-type and send you another one now that I have your email address.

Blackjack - Check your email. I have some info for you that I don't want to post in such a public place as here.

Like I said earlier, it's gonna be like an "E" ticket ride - Good Luck and hang on!!!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love said to me - “Take out the garbage, Clean up the basement, Go get a haircut, Then get the oil changed, Throw out that old shirt, Pick up your workbench, Go by the cleaners, Then, wash both cars, Spend more time at home, Don’t complain, You are getting fat, Not tonight! Dear, I have a head ache!”

PLEASE go back and read my post again - I'm on YOUR side....

Why would a p/washer from Lowe's or HD where what they sell is usualy geared towards a d-i-y'er, but still sold with a Honda engine last only 200 or some other small # of hours, while a Honda engine on a commercial-grade p/washer (even with the same hp ratings) run for thousands of hours if it is maintained properly? I don't believe that Honda is ever going to intentionally build anything that is intended for such a short life, and that their overall reputation is worth more than that to them. I agree that there are places we really need heavy-duty hot water skid mounted equipment, like for commercial use or flatwork, but for residential work, house, deck, even driveway, anything more than 3,000 psi is more than one would normally need for most residential work. You can and maybe should p/wash houses and decks with a lot less pressure than 3,000 + psi anyway. Let the chemical do the bulk of the work, use the machine to apply chems and rinse and detail. I think that most of that is marketing. Remember those 10-15-20 water heaters, when the ONLY thing different between them was the price??? All marketing. It would have been too expensive for them to produce so many variations of the same thing. Get what you need, sure, but most residential work can be done with a nice (and preferably belt-drive) 3,000 psi machine. Maintain it properly and it will last for years. The first thing to go bad will probably be the unloader or pump, and those are affordable enough to buy another one, or rebuild the bad one if you are handy enough. I have small both direct and belt drive Honda (I like their 13HP and less) machines that I have had for close to 10 years, and they still run just fine. For commercial work I agree that hot water and higher psi is a must, and nice to have for all the time, but for residential work (where ALL of us should start off anyway) an affordable machine, and some well-spent $$ for marketing should help you get started. As you progress and can and should buy better equipment, then these little cold water machines are great for backup use so you are not totally out of business when your big machine is down. Many people are terribly underfunded to begin with, maybe to the point they should not even try to start a business, but that doesn't stop most of them. Try not to be so strapped financially just trying to get into business that you cannot afford to stay in business until business picks up for you and you are profitable and successful. I have also seen many nice machines at reasonable prices at your local pawn shop where someone else was maybe underfunded and didn't make a go of it. Maybe not new ones, but once you know what to look for goof machines that will last a couple of years for a tight price are plentiful. You can also find reposessed equipment at finance places... Just one (very practical, sometimes maybe too much so) man's humble opinion... Happy P/Washing!

I didn't say I cleaned drives, although I was referring to cleaning concrete. Yeah, that works too. I do pre wet-too, but don't always use bleach, or enough of it to remove these kinds of stains. Neither Sodium or Potassium Hydroxide will totally remove berry and leaf stains, but bleach will. My work is 99% commercial, and mold and mildew aren't what I am focused on cleaning off the concrete. I mostly clean restaurants, use hot water, and remove things like oil, grease, gum, tobacco spit, crayons, throw-up, etc. Bleach wouldn't help any of those appreciably. I clean off the other stuff, then go back to get leaf and berry stains if there are any. I wish I could post a sign for customers to read - "When you are finished with your chewing gum, cigarettes, and crayons, if you cannot dispose of them properly, will you please be so kind to swallow them?" Haven't done any residential concrete in years. I do some wood cleaning and refinishing when people are willing to pay my prices for it. I think that I am pretty good at it, but definitely not cheap. I didn't mean to mislead anyone, and I don't strip topcoat off concrete either, unless it is intentional.

In Georgia, we get a LOT of leaf, berry, acorn, and other similiar stains left on concrete that will not come off with most cleaners or pressure. Bleach gets almost almost all of them almost every time. I keep a pistol grip bottle with 6% full strength Clorox. After I have cleaned a concrete area, go back with sprayer and spray stains. By the time I get back to rinse they are usually completely gone. Almost kinda hate to tell the customer that they are so easy to remove.