Neil

Hey :) Sorry , I confess I haven't posted in like a year. Maybe I'd hang around more and contribute , but I doubt I would know very many answers to posted questions. I think I'd be one just asking all kinds of questions. But we all start somewhere right? :) Anyway, I am finally getting around to upgrading my gear from a prosumer level PW I bought from Costco to a nice 5.5 gpm , 4K one from Pressure Pro. ( cold water for flat work-surface cleaning) It is not portable It is the type that has a kind of role cage around it that is also used to mount things to. I just mention that because to my delight, this machine can fit very nicely in my Chevy van either side to side or just taking up the side double door area with all the controls and so on facing out when the doors are open. so, if this machine is facing out like I just described, I think it will work out OK to mount a couple of hose reels to the top of this cage structure. And, I am debating with myself about whether I am willing to shell out the high prices for electric ones or just go with hand crank for now and upgrade later. Electric ones seem to be in the 500 - 1000 dollar range each ! So, how well do these electric hose reels work? And might it be a good idea to go cheap now and just keep an eye out for used electric hose reels ? Or do guys just wear them out? And are these things reliable? What kind of life span do they have? If you don't think electric is worth the cost, is there a make of hand crank hose reel you think is worth it? Thanks so much for helping me out. I promise I searched quite a bit before posting this :)

It's gettin kinda fun here. Thanks to your recent recommendations, I just bought a nice Hanney electric hose reel that has a capacity of 325 feet. I figure the more hose the merrier since I am doing residential flat work here and who knows how far I will need to go. Anyway, from reading some things here, it sounds like the preferred hose diameter is 1/2 inch. So... I am thinking 1/2 inch high quality custom sized hose at 325 feet since that is the capacity of my hose reel. What would you suggest ? Who do you like that custom sizes ( length) the stuff? thanks I am going to buy very soon . I will appreciate your input. On a side note, I just talked to a local salesman who suggested I go with a "storage tote" like from Home Depot for my buffer tank. And then I could get what I need from him to adapt it to PW use . Does that sound a bit crazy or what? I assumed I would be buying a tank designed for this that would have all fitting installed in it already for around 175?

I ended up with more hose than I need LOL let me know if you need hose PM me and I will give you the details Neil FYI guys and gals , if you ever make an order of hose from Florida Hydraulic Industrial Supply CO and your experience is anything like mine was, you will not be able to cancel your order with them even if you give them PLENTY and I mean PLENTY of time to cancel with their wholesaler . They would not give me a tracking number , the salesman went on vacation and did not forward his email to a surrogate, on and on. Then when confronted with these issues they totally stonewalled me by screening my calls and not responding to emails. In my opinion, this company is the worst company I have EVER dealt with .. You know.. I forget about simple ways to check companies out. The Florida BBB gives this company an F on a scale of A to F.

Do I know about not cheap? Yes. Already with a fairly simple setup installed in my van I will spend over 5 grand . I love being self employed , so I am willing to pay the price and work hard to stay self employed. The main thing I am trying to do is maximize the effectiveness of this equipment for the use of the Hammerhead surface cleaner I own ( and probably other surface cleaners I will buy) So, for example, if I use hose that robs the pressure I have paid good money to create, that doesn't make sense. But I hear that this won't be a problem at the flow rate I have 5.5 @ 4k with 3/8 hose. I have been influenced here with regard to thinking in terms of the hose as disposable so I should spend less . And probably have only what I need on the reel so that I minimize pressure drop In fact, most likely I will call Russ on Tuesday about his hose special and see how that goes.

Not sure who you are talking about Christopher. I can see your viewpoint since it may seem like I am not listening. I did ask for help and have been given it here. I have thanked those who did so and tried to be fair and polite about it. It may seem like I am not listening, but I am. And I am learning :) Part of what goes on is that as a beginner one has no idea where the truth is, so we listen to everyone including experienced pressure washers and sales people alike, giving equal weight to everything without understanding it yet. I think something that could help would be the data on pressure drop with different size hoses at different lengths for example. Or how long different quality hoses last . There would be quite a few variables involved in this. I value the input from the pressure washers here because you know a lot about this obviously , but a part of me still wants to understand why these things are true . Anyway, I do appreciate the time guys have put into responding to the thread.

some online research I did today turned up a blog article where the writer mentioned Goodyear ( non- Chinese made. how would we know? ) as a quality brand. I do not know how the quality of that compares to the Eagle brand Russ has on sale linked earlier here by AApaint in this thread , but the Eagle from Russ looks like a good deal to me Maybe I'll be able to switch to that hose from Russ

and it's your time , spend it as you wish :) great to know about thinking of the hoses as disposable .

Well, hopefully instead of wasting anything, I will do the best thing which is why I am asking. It took quite a while to even find prices on 1/2 hose. I did finally find some Legacy Ultima 1/2 Inch Pressure Washer Hose 5000 PSI from PowerWash.om at about $2.30 per foot for 100 feet. the 3/8 I have on order was $194 for 150' of blue 6000 PSI rated hose shipped. so, 3/8 would be $388 for 300 feet and 300 feet of the 1/2 inch would be $690 plus shipping. almost twice the cost

Thanks for taking the time Guy. I appreciate it. Over time I might try both sizes. I think I need to go look at 1/2 hose to see how big it is. By the numbers it doesn't sound much larger , but when I see it, I may change my mind about that. Price: I'll have to get on the Google magic carpet today and do an exhaustive search for pricing. Yes, I am concerned about price, but if a larger size hose can save me repair dollars down the road, I'm feeling that that cost is no big deal. (And right now I have my window income :) ) But obviously if the 1/2 stuff is totally not doing any of that, I'm wasting my money and lugging around heavy hose for nothing. So, it would be interesting to see the facts , so I will see if I can find the data. Yes, I am a window cleaner primarily but there is more money in pressure washing and I am in my fifties with diminishing years of being able to climb ladders safely, so pressure washing is going to be much more important to me in the future. So this is why I am trying to understand these things so that I can leave avenues of opportunity open rather than thinking only in terms of what is happening today for me. I do have some 3/8 stuff on order. Maybe I'll let it ship and see how it goes. I'm sure what you say is true. I do respect your opinion . And I am open to all opinions here and from the sales people I talk to as well

I just tried the link and they don't have 1/2 inch in stock . 100 feet of 3/8 costs about $130 WEB ORDER FORM

Jim , thanks for bringing up the stuff about the 1/2 inch hose saving your pumps by making them work less . That advise sounds really important to me and a top notch reason to buy 1/2 inch hose. would be great to find a source of 1/2 inch at a reasonable cost . two 150 lengths :)

Thanks for your thoughts John. So, your post makes me wonder how big of a deal the connections ( joints ? couplers? ) are between the hoses on the hose reel? Is there a way to minimize how messed up this makes the hose on the reel? Is this a minimal issue that could just be ignored? I probably will end up having extra capacity on my hose reel anyway , so if the hose is a bit sloppy on there because of the connections, I'm guessing that won't be a big deal ? BTW- I just found 300 foot hose ( Neptune) on Southside's site for $394. I see 200 foot lengths of the same stuff on there for $259

I'd like to know where you get this hose too. I will carefully check Southside Equipment's site for it asap though. I got the bit about longer lengths generally costing more from a salesman at a Seattle supply company. His explanation , which I mentioned in an earlier post here seemed to make sense. And would there be less pressure drop with larger diameter hose? Like 1/2 inch?

interestingly, Hanney electric reels go from a capacity of 300 feet down to 175 of 3/8 stuff. And since most of the lower priced stuff seems to sell as 100 foot or 50 foot lengths, I would end up with only 150 feet on a smaller reel. AND, the shorter capacity Hanney hose reels ( 175 feet) are hand crank only . I wanted electric. So, I guess if I needed more I go add to the end manually. That makes sense I guess now that I see how expensive the hose is. I guess i just want to maximize length if possible and I would hate to have to buy a larger reel later if I ever needed it at the cost of those reels. I am thinking long term here. ( Not going to go work at Walmart LOL )

OK, I just talked to a salesman who told me he would stick with 3/8 hose since I don't need more diameter for my 5.5 @ 4k machine So the capacity of my new hose reel @ 3/8 diam is 450 feet -wow. I can't even afford to fill this reel. ( Hanney electric - the next smaller reel was the same price) I also learned from him that hose manufacturers can't make them longer usually because of manufacturing flaws - they just have to cut the hose as different lengths depending on where the flaw is. And rarely can hose be found longer than 200- 250 feet because of this he told me. And the longer it is the more expensive it is also. He is right? Noone sells longer lengths? You will ask why I need longer. I MIGHT need longer . So I am just trying to learn about what is possible. Obviously I will have to compromise at some point.

Hey, I appreciate the responses guys. Two of you mentioned the Hannay brand which I find interesting, especially Alexy's comment that in 7 years there have been no issues , wow :) I will do some research on that brand tomorrow. I don't mind paying more if the quality deserves the higher price. No, my reels will be mounted inside my van, all the gear will be. So it won't be out in the weather at all . But I do think it sounds like a good plan to keep the reels to one side of the PW - I guess stack them Again, I appreciate the insights from experienced guys- cheers :)

I know. I'm new here and have no cred. Go ahead and think that if you want to. And this is not some sort of venting thread. I really do wonder what is going on in this industry? I have been shopping among the many sources of pressure washers and systems lately. And I'd say only about half of the sales people I have contacted and talked on the phone with or exchanged emails with have ended up following through by getting back with quotes they promise. Or they seem to not give me shipping costs on those items as I request. Or they just plain don't respond to emails and phone messages. One theory I have is that it's the time of year. I would imagine at this point in the year these pressure washer supply companies are swamped with orders to fill and requests of various kinds. I know it's like that for me as a window cleaner now. So, this must be a very seasonal thing since pressure washer companies are all buying stuff . So, my guess is that if a guy like me is asking for a quote, and the sales staff has only so much time available , guess what gets the time? Sure, the guy that says, please ship me these things and here is my credit card #. So. I'm just doing this in the wrong time of year and I should just either walk into my local store and buy what they have or I guess wait until November ? :) I'm not going to name company names here. My point is not to drag company names into this. But I wanted to get your impressions and experience on this. I've never really found it this hard to shop for something before. thanks Neil

Oh well, my trailer deal fell through. But there will be others I'm sure Neil

Apparently this is the season these pressure washing supply companies can only hope to keep their head above water with the number of calls they get. I guess it's just the wrong time of year for a newby to get involved. I like the idea of contacting Pressure Tek and I was about to and then I found a complete trailer for sale in Vegas for 5 grand - a Hotsy. The seller is going to California to meet me. Now that's service. I know- it's a private sale and he's motivated to sell. I found that the thing that worked was to just visit each and every craigslist for the distance I was willing to travel and do a search on pressure washers in both the tools and business sections. I found quite a few opportunities that way. If you are on the East coast, there are lots of them back there I have noticed. here is a photo of my trailer:

On Monday I'm going to contact Pressure Tek and see how that goes. I see they sell Pressure Pro products. I have tried and tried, but I can't find a local Pressure Pro dealer in the Northwest. Neil

Yes Atilla, I remember you mentioned Pressure Tek and I haven't ruled them out. I see another here mentioned them too. Thanks guys for indulging my question on this. Sounds like I'm not alone in this experience of non responsive sales people. By the way, another thing that is happening right now is that I had to email Pressure Pro directly to find out a local distributor of their product. I can understand them wanting to sell through distributors , but please put a list of said distributors on your web site so I can call the one in my area ? That is starting to be the way I am leaning - the idea that I might be better off buying from a local company since I think I want to put together more than just the pressure washer ( water tank, plumbing, etc. ) I sort of need to put together a kit for my van with a cold water machine. I love the road warrior thing btw. Intuitively, I would think that makes quite a bit of sense. And I probably can get by for now with my current gear. I definitely am not in the road warrior camp :) Pressure washing is easier work than window cleaning and better paying as well. I plan to be around with it for several years probably. Oh, and I looked at Delcos and they look interesting but expensive, but to know the price I have to bug another salesman for the price. What kind of $ do those go for? Bottom line, I'm looking for a quality machine @ 4K psi and 5.5 gpm for residential surface work .. Thanks for the feed back guys! Oh, and yes, Lake Stevens is about 30 miles North of Seattle. I live about four blocks from the lake. Neil

Hey guys, Thanks for clicking on my post. This is my first ! I'm a long time Seattle window washer. Sort of crazy how long I've been doing it- around 30 years. I didn't mean to make a career of it, it just kept going Summer after Summer. Anyway, a couple years ago I ventured into offering pressure washing. I purchased a 4000 psi 3.6 GPM karcher at Costco. By now it has at least paid for itself and I'm starting to see that I can make pretty good money in pressure washing partly because of my established customer base. I don't advertize it. I just let my customers know I can do it now. So , so far I get asked mostly to clean exterior surfaces. The usual decks and patios and driveways are the thing they want. That's fine with me since I'd rather play it safe by not doing much risky work. ( so far anyway) I have a Hammerhead surface cleaner on order and I have no idea if my 4K PSI machine will make that thing perform the way it can. So, I've been looking at the various equipment options to improve my capabilities. I have the budget to buy even a Powerline trailer rig I suppose. But I'm not crazy about dragging a trailer around . For the residential work I do, it would be hard to find parking with a trailer. For this reason I'm thinking in terms of something I could put in my van. I have a Chevy Express van. And realistically , I don't really think I need a water tank set up anyway since I always have access to customer water here. So, thinking in terms of spending the budget on a nice self contained unit-ideally with hot water capability. One unit I just recently noticed was a Landa unit : PGHW5-50524E here is a link to one web site that sells these : LANDA PGHW5-50524E - Williams Cleaning Systems I haven't had a chance yet to get pricing on this one. I'll be working on that soon. If anyone knows a source of good pricing on Landa gear, please let me know. No web sites show price on that one. Or, another way for me to go might be to go with a much less costly but cold water unit from Northern here: NorthStar Gas-Powered Cold Water Pressure Washer — 5000 PSI, 5 GPM | Gas-Cold Water | Northern Tool + Equipment That one costs about $3200 I'd really like your opinions on either these ideas or maybe suggestions on other machines I could buy. Thanks much Neil

Thanks for filling in on a bunch of stuff today on the phone Attila. Much appreciated. Now I have a lot of thinking to do :) Neil

Thanks for the PW suggestion. I do like that one except that the one I think I'm going with has a much bigger fuel tank and 500 PSI more pressure and I took a look at the dimensions of the Pressure Pro today and how it would fit in my van and wow, it's no big deal. I easily have the room for it plus a small buffer tank as well. I really want to set this up with things like that and the hose reels to make work life as easy as possible. I know this is going to work since i already get PW work from my window customers. This is such a cool thing, I wish I had done this a long time ago :) I will call you this week at some point when I have time. When is a good time to call? Thanks for that offer :) Chow Neil

I think my plan is starting to jell a bit for what I want to do. I've realized that for what I do, since the demand for my PW work is nearly all residential and just doing things like decks, driveways , and patios ( mossy Seattle stuff :) ) , a cold water machine will be fine. Then, I have noticed that most of the surface cleaners are rated for max pressure of 4000 psi , so I don't need any more pressure than that. But after using my new Hammerhead a few times lately with my 4000 @ 3.6 machine, I find that it doesn't rinse very well sometimes and I have to pass over areas more often than I'd like. Yesterday using it on mossy concrete , it felt like using a lawn mower on too tall grass and having to make more than one pass at it. So I think I'm going to go with a 4000 @ 5.5 machine. This one: PWMall-HDCV5540HG-4000PSI Gas Pressure Washer 5.5GPM GP, Honda GX630 E/S I envision putting this in my Chevy van sideways near my barn door style doors with the gas fill port pointing outward. Then I would put the hose reels to the right of that stacked. Behind the reels would be the buffer tank I figure. I don't want to drive around with a lot of water or maybe non, so it would be good if the tank had a drain that could quick connect at the door to a large diameter hose for drainage. And of course, it would be good to set up the tank as both a buffer tank and a supply tank with the tank having a float shutoff valve. I would want to go with a minimal size tank so that it would fill quickly enough but act as a good buffer tank. Since I do mostly residential work, I almost always have water access. The question is flow rate. As I discovered yesterday, Seattle has the potential for around 15 GPM since my 5 gallon tank filled in 20 seconds at my house. But I'll go with a buffer tank in case I end up using a tap with bad plumbing at some point ( and I get that not having to trigger the gun so the pump doesn't over heat is a good thing too. I have asked the company that gave me the best price on this machine to help me with the plumbing for the buffer tank and the tank itself. I searched on buffer tanks yesterday and didn't find anything specific on how to set that up. I'll look harder soon, but is anyone aware of a file somewhere that details that? Any comments or suggestions are welcome :) thanks much Neil