PLD

Most belt drive pumps are spec'd to lift 18-36 inches. At <=0" you should have NO problem. Both my machines are at 6-10" of lift no problem. Triple check for air leaks and garbage in your lines/trash filter. My 4gpm machine looses suction when the filter gets trashy. In some cases you may need to clear the line of air to get things rolling. Put a QC at the pump and disco the hose until it runs clear of air. Then connect and pump away. One last thing. Don't overlook bottom feeding. Use the same line to feed your pump and fill the tank from the bottom. This will ensure that the pump feed has a slightly positive pressure.

My father in law (and several other big boaters), purchased similar devices for washing their fiberglass boats. They are just super sized water filters and softeners. Apparently they are quite successful, and will function at full hose bibb rate. As for longevity, they hold up fine under 2-3 washes/week. 4000 gallons/day, however, is a whole different animal...

I'm not a burner mechanic, but I would tend to agree. The coil head end is the only place that air can exit the coil and yours looks pretty well stopped up. No air out = no air in. Also, an injector sprays the fuel and then the air column helps to vaporize it. Restricted air flow means that the fuel becomes less atomized in the same period of time.

Use your regular wash and don't fear the dryvit. You only need to be concerned in a few situations. Place a ladder VERY carefully on dryvit. It's very easy to punch the small points through. Since most if us do not use ladders, this is not a big problem. Also, look for cracks/joints and do not high pressure (1000psi+) them. You could expand the cracks or push the dryvit away from the wall. Bottom line, treat it like vinyl (cracks) and drywall (ladders) and you won't cause any damage at all...

81, sunny and hot here! Only bad thing here is the March wind. It's low level all day, but at 4pm each day it starts 15-20 till dusk...

Black smoke = fuel rich exhaust. Start there. Either it's not getting enough air, too much fuel,or experiencing incomplete combustion. Not enough air: Air bands, blower problem, power/connection problem (slow blower), air flow restricted by soot. Too much fuel: Mixer screw, injectors, fuel pump overpressure. Incomplete combustion: Clogged injectors, ignitor problems (replace or power issues), coil clogges with soot.

Well, since 120V AC batteries are tough to come by, that makes perfect sense! ;)

Thanks. It's actually machineS. I have a 4.0 and a 5.5 ganged together for 8.? gpm. And yes, it is a beast. Two hands on the gun is NOT an option. FWIW, a #10 tip yields 2500 psi!! One more thing. PLEASE educate your vendors that the xjet orifices are gpm dependent. I asked 3 vendors (two of whom should have known better) and was told 3 times that 3000psi = #9 orifice....

Every time I even mention burner issues, my rep hops up on a soapbox about the battery being fully charged. Apparently, a low/dying battery is a very frequent cause of burner problems.

Can you PM/email/post a number? I'm due to renew now.

Ken, I completely understand what you are saying, but I cannot understand why you would do this. The unloader is like a circuit breaker. If it is set for 1000 psi, it does nothing until 1000 psi, then it opens. If the nozzle you are using generates a line pressure of 1000 psi, it makes no difference if your unloader is set at 1100psi or 5000psi. In both cases, the unloader will sit closed.

I have a $10k bond. It costs about $80/yr above my liability. And I sell it to my customers. Very few PW here are bonded. So, I explain how integrity and honest are important to me and I go the "extra" mile to protect my customers and bond my employees. I also sell the fact that I perform a background check and a credit check on every employee. Alot of sales is trust, and I sell the fact that buying PowerHouse is buying peach of mind.

non bleach stable soaps (most dish liquids) outgas chlorine when mixed with bleach. Inside, this can be very dangerous. Outside in our environment most of the gasses are dissipated w/o incident. The best thing to do is switch to a bleach stable soap. I think you will find that most pw specific soaps are as cheap and more efficient than Dawn. Philip

One important note: When doing this, the unloaders may be in various states of bypass during normal water flow. Because of this, it is imperiative that your unloader bypass into a tank of sufficient capacity or spoil the water to the ground. DO NOT plumb two pressure washers together if your unloader bypass is plumbed back into the pumps H2O inlet port or the bypass line inaccessible like the combo unloaders/pump head found on consumer pressure washers. If you do, you will likely cook your pump seals and never know why.

Yes, they are just plumbed together after the unloaders. Actually, "plumbed" is a little more permanent that what I did. I took a 3/8" galv T and put in to female and one male 3/8 QC's. A whip from each unloader feeds the union, and the union feeds the hose. I have presssure unloaders, so this info may not apply to a flow type unloader. When not in use, the pressure rises above 3500psi and both unloaders bypass. When using a tip that is too small, the pressure rises above 3500psi and the unloaders unload some of the volume until the line pressure matches the set spring rate. This is exactly what happens when you use a proper size tip and use the knob on your unloader to lower the pressure. As for being rated the same, it is a good idea that they be really close. I you mate a 2500 and a 3500, the smaller pump will likely be in bypass constantly (yielding no volume gain). Also, the smaller pumps internal check valves will be holding back 3500psi which may be beyond their design spec. You could use a gauge and dial down the larger unit to the smaller units psi specs. Then, the "big" unloader would bypass any water above 2500psi. You wouldn't get full volume, but you would get more than each seperately. As for Tom's thoughts about a #4 tip, it is partially correct. In an incompressible system, line pressure is line pressure is line pressure. Each unloader will open or close, relative to it's own threshold pressure. If the line pressure is greater than the unloader's pressure, it will open. A #4 tip would result in both unloaders being partially open.

I am interested. I need a tri-fold brocure. Call me at 770-460-0469.

IIRC, under armour is 100% polypropylene. Hence, no bleaching. Never thought about it as a work shirt, but that's a good idea. I have two blue button down oxford shirts that I got from a prev employer. They are 60/40 and do not bleach at all. They are into season 2 and look as good and when I got them (except for ground-in dirt) I have taken them to 3 different suppliers and not been able to replicate them. If any one can suggest how to get more of these, please speak up. We could ALL benefit as this is a shirt you can work in AND do quotes in.

Lighter triggers are a must. Carpal tunnel is a b***h. Philip

Ron, What's the correct x-jet orifice for 3500psi/9gpm? Philip

Excellent link Jeff. I've been buying dickies for $21/pair. Any tips on buying shirts that hold up (color) to bleach like Dickies pants?

I missed that one, but that was one of my shows so I must have inherited some of that "New Yankee" spirit!

Ditto. I use them till they annoy me, then I toss em. I keep 1-2 leakers around as emergency backups.

I found this pump FAQ and thought someone else might find it useful: http://www.interpump.com.au/faqs/

The parasitic drains are a good thought. I'll look into additional lossy components. For electric, I have a tiny 12v generator. Actual output unknown but I would doubt that it is 500w as that would equate to 40-50A output. Perhaps 60-100W As for the pump, it is definitely a WS202. I posted TS2021 because lamda and hotsy list the WS202 and TS2021 as equivalents. They also list both at 3000/5.6 Obviously that's not exactly correct. I just checked interpump, and they call it 5.6/2900 As for partially loading the engine, constant velocity engines like ours are different than a variable output engine like a car engine. 18hp is not "max". It's the nominal output under normal usage conditions. i.e. the engine is designed to run for years continuously at 3600rpm/18hp output. It's design max is probably more like 22hp/4500 rpm. To compare your pump engine to a car engine, think of running your car at 2500rpm/45mph and not 4500rpm/85mph.

Find an inconspicuous place on the house. Remove a piece of siding and replace it with the new one. Take the old weathered siding and replace the damaged piece.