Mountain View

I was in Northern Tools this morning (my new temple) and saw what looked like CAT's (as in CAT pumps) version of an X-Jet for $54. Has anyone else seen these or had experience with them. I was holding off on getting an X-Jet but for this price I may go ahead and get one. Picked up my 3700/4 cold water unit today for $700! Clearance unit without hose or gun (hence the visit to N. Tools). 13hp Honda direct drive with an AR pump. Think I got a pretty good deal.

Thanks Adrian. I'll keep what you said in mind. I am way stoked about getting Elite going. I think my wife and I can really make this thing work! :lgkick:

I live around the Precinct/Pipeline intersection. It is a nice area to live. Older established neighborhoods, good schools and very little crime. My place has over 20 oak trees on the lot. Everyone else's property is the same. Nice in the summer but a PITA in the fall. There is still a bowling alley in the strip mall on Pipeline but I don't know if it's 24hrs. Kinda tucked away in the back of the parking lot. My location is helpfull to sevicing the northern areas of the mid cities and other areas where there has been alot of growth of high end properties. If you haven't been here in awhile you would be stunned at the amount of growth.

As long as I have decent head pressure from a transfer tank it should be ok. As far as I know at least.

I'm in agreement with you on the belt drive.

Ok, I'll pass on the fishing weight. I know that direct isn't as good as belt drive, but this unit isn't a p.o.s. My water supply will be set up so that the pump has plenty of head pressure. I'll upgrade when funds permit.

I haven't even finished getting all of my equipment and I already have a neighbor asking me to do "paint prep" cleaning on his house (paid of course). From a power washers point of view, what does "paint prep" mean? What kind of chems can I expect to need? This is kind of an open ended question I know. I'll be using a 3700 / 4 cold water unit. All input and opinions are graciously accepted. Well, as gracious as a heathen can be. :taz:

This house is mostly brick. The painted wood is eves, fascia, and assorted trim around the roof line and porch area.

Somebody at my work used to drive one of those. Very impressive looking in person.

I am this close (holding thumb and fore finger together) to starting an anti-chinese web site! As far as the computer goes, BestBuy or Circuit City. I've dealt with both and had good deals. My current computer (Athlon processor) is three years old and still kicks a**.

Dude, you don't need to spend any where near $1500 bucks these days to get a nice home/business computer setup. Unless you're into gaming in a big way.

How many of you do pump rebuilds (change packing, etc) and how many take equipment to a service place?

I have a chance to buy a new 3700 psi / 4 gpm 13 HP Honda direct drive cold water unit with an AR pump for a good price. Does anyone have good or bad experiences with AR pumps?

Cool. I can pick this up for $850, which seems to be a pretty good price. Have I said how awsome this bbs is recently? :lgkick:

Thanks Larry. I'm pretty good mechanically (rebuilt motor cycle engines and done a couple of valve jobs on my cars, along with all the other stuff). P.S. I wish I lived where you do. Been in that area a couple of times.

What are your experiences with buying equipment from Water Cannon and/or Delco? Water Cannon prices seem better but Delco is less than 10 miles from my house. I'm assuming that I wouldn't have to pay sales tax on Water Cannon stuff because I live in Texas. No tax, lower price for the same unit...even with shipping costs I think I'll be better off going with Water Cannon. As far as I know they don't sell out of Texas. Any thoughts will be welcome.

If anyone can email me flyer, brochure etc I would be very grateful. I don't have a fax machine right now. Buying my equipment now. :lgkick:

I am a total newbie to the PW trade but I have been a project manager in other industries. There has been great advice so far. Don't let excitement cloud your judgment, pick one or two key employees and treat them very well (you'll be delegating to them), and remember that the client must be happy with your work or they wouldn't have presented you with this opportunity. Stay professional and remember that you provide a service that they need. Your skills at organizing will be a key factor to your success. Good luck!!

I think I’m about ready to put a unit together but I’m having “sticker shock” at the price of a utility trailer. I’m looking to start out with a 5x10 single axle unit. I will have a cold water unit, small water tank (around 200 gal. and used as a transfer tank for the pw i.e. I won’t be driving around with a full tank), chemicals, lances etc. I will be pulling it with a Ram 1500 so I’m paying close attention to gross weight, pulling capacity and so on. After lots and lots of shopping around they all seem to start out around $1200. Do I need to suck it up and accept that this is what I’m going to have to pay? I don’t mind buying a used one and doing refurb work on it. I’ve checked online stores, tractor supply co., ebay etc. Also, where is a good place to shop for the square water tank with the cage around it (by the way, what is the actual name for those)? Will this even be a less expensive and still viable option to the normal tanks used? A used tank is fine as long as it’s clean and can be used for water. I don’t want to take short cuts but I don’t want to overspend in the beginning either. There is a lot of experience out there…..HELP.:)

Excellent! You folks are helping me save mucho denaro. I just took a huge leap forward today in getting Elite going (financially that is). :lgmoneyey

Thanks Celeste. Something tells me the gas cost just might make it impractical to drive out there and get it. I still need to come out and see you guys

How do you folks deal with the runoff from stripping a deck? What happens to the waste material that runs off onto the customers property? Some of it must be pretty soupy stuff.

Great info, thanks again.

As a follow up, do you have many clients that raise the question of the effect of chemical runoff (i.e soil or ground water contamination)? If so, how do you deal with this question? Awsome answers as always, thanks to everyone.

Shane, Is it cool to call you now? Pete