COACHS

In today's ever changing business world. Businesses need to adapt, improvise and educate or they will be left in the dust. Is customer service a necessity for stability or can it be drowned out by low prices that undercut the competition? Recently, I started doing business with a well known pressure washing website retailer. The retailer is envirospec which is operated by John Allison. While shopping for my expanding pressure washing business I noticed that envirospec had great prices when compared to its competitors. I did some superficial checking on the web to see if they were reputable and found nothing that jumped out to me, negatively speaking. So, I thought I would give them a shot. In my first order I ordered a hot water pressure washer and other accessories that totaled, all together, about $5000. The pressure washer and accessories ordered arrived in a timely manner, but from there onward customer service from envirospec and John Allison was extremely negative. To start with - the pressure washer would consistantly shut down after a few hours of operation and trying to get a hold of someone to help at envirospec was like pulling teeth. I would call and call, and would either get no answer or if I did get a human being they would take my phone number down and tell me someone would get back to me in the next day or two. But guess what? No phone calls. So I would call again. This repeated itself over and over. The same thing occurred when I asked for paperwork, or parts list, for the pressure washer, so I could maintain it and order parts. I received a Kohler manual for the motor and that was it. No other paperwork was given on the pump, gear reducer or water heater - nothing. So, I tried getting that information. Same thing - "I will have someone get back to you by tomorrow," the lady on the phone would tell me. Guess what? Never a phone call. By this point, as a business owner, I am frustrated and angry. So, I figure I am going to take this issue to the president of envirospec, John Allison, and get things handled. But guess what? He sends me an email saying that all pressure washers sold today "don't come with paper work" and that I am incompetent at maintaining a pressure washer and he recommends that I have my pressure washer serviced by a professional - instead of me. So hold on, I have three other pressure washers, purchased locally, that came with complete manuals. Paperwork on the motor, pump, gear reducer, water heater, maintenance schedule and so, that I do all of the work on, and John tells me that I can't do the work and pressure washers don't come with a parts list or manual. I could not believe how rude his email was to me - I was shocked. Needless to say, I will never be doing business with envirospec again. With good reason, I am really angry now, but you know what? There is not a thing I can do about it.... but tell anyone that reads this blog so that they don't have to go through the same thing that I went through at envirospec. How does a website retailer stay in business for so long with poor customer service? I guess cut throat pricing can work in today's society. After all, if a business keeps selling and offers horrible customer service, pricing must be the driving force???

I got started on concrete cleaning this year, so I am still new at it, but it has been a successful move for us. I have been using my classic whisper wash for some driveways and sidewalks with good success, but I would like to get some more business with restaurants and gas stations that have degreasing concerns. My thoughts are that I should invest in a good surface cleaner with reclaim system to be able to vacuum up the oil and grease that is loosened from concrete, but I don't know where to start. Or am I way off here, and reclaim is not necessary? There are no water reclaim laws in our city but I am thinking the reclaim would make the concrete look better, especially when the dirty water has no where to be washed off to. I have searched the forum and the web and there is information overload going on in my brain. Can anyone give me a great website or tell me what works for them for reclaiming with concrete cleaning. My current trailer is really full because of the large water tank - it is used mainly for mobile truck and machinery washing. So putting a reclaim system in it may not work....unless I do some rearranging. With this in mind, I am open to investing into another trailer that is prerigged with a reclaim system or building my own - if that is highly recommended. But where should I go for this, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated?

First time taking out my new general pump surface cleaner and it would just stop spinning at times. It had a ton of water coming out of the nozzles but would not spin. I would give it a spin to manually try and get it spinning and it would work for a while, stop spinning, and then I would repeat the process. I double checked and I am meeting all of the gpm and pressure guidelines. I had it connected to my small backup 3gpm 3500psi pw. The nozzels are 2.0, that should be a good match for the little 3gpm machine right? Is the swivel defective? It was the first time using it. I can take it back and swap it but am I missing some obvious thing?

Chirs, I sent you a PM.

My new 18 HP pressure washer, installed in front of enclosed trailer, a month ago has been working great until yesterday (it was 90degrees) and it kept shutting off on me. I have troubled shooted many options, but the only thing I can think of is that it is too hot in the trailer and it is over heating. I have a side door, rear doors and roof vents open, but I think it is still too hot. Any help or suggestion?

Thanks a lot for everyone's help. Hope this thread helps someone in the future.

I wanted to post again an update... Since changing the oil to straight 30W and running no ethanol gas I have not had any issues with the Kohler engine shutting down.(Hopefully this is not some cruel fluke) I stopped using the fan as well. I am 99% sure that it was the ethanol in the gas that was the problem on hot days and the oil change was just a bonus. Something with how the Kohler engine is constructed makes it not run good with ethanol gas on a hot day. Even though I was only using a low ethanol gas it was enough to be a problem. So, if anyone else has a problem with their Kohler engine try using no ethanol gas and see if that helps. Hope this helps someone in the future and they don't have to waste so many hours like I did.:distrust:

After further inspection it appears that the swivel is bad. When on its side it will spin freely sometimes and other times it will kind of grab and not want to spin very easily. There is plenty of water coming out of the nozzles, so they are not plugged. I am going to return the unit and get another one. Anyone ever use a general pump 20 inch surface cleaner model number 157451? Do you like it? Off the topic a bit what temperature water do you primarily use when cleaning concrete?

Craig, Yes it spins easily. The nozzle tips angle are not adjustable. They are welded. Tips are removeable though. It would spin when tipped on side with a kick start.

Kohler recommends up to 10% ethanol. Most all gas stations provide 10% and greater ethanol. Only a few stations have ethanol free. I hope the gas was the problem.

Hotter then heck today. I thought my pw would die for sure. Last night I changed the oil to 30w. The gas tank was nearly empty...heard using no ethanol gas might help too so I filled it up w no ethanol gas. I put a larger fan inside the trailer too. With these three new things the engine did not quit once on me today. Now was it just luck? We will see.

Manuf. recommended moving engine fuel intake to ignition side and rerouting carb line there too. see pics from above posts. could that help? Got a huge fan and new 30w oil in engine see how it does today?

Russ, Could the fuel solenoid be bad and that is causing it to kill the engine?

Sorry I can't help with your problem. I have never heard of fuel leaking like that around the burner. I am curious.. What is 10 # Halon? Is that a powdered fire extinguisher? Kind of makes me think about what kind of fire extinguisher I should carry in my pw trailer.:worked_till_5am:

I am curious as to how many of you members use an enclosed trailer or enclosed box truck and if you could tell me briefly how it is rigged. Tell us is the pw in the front or rear? Do you have the engine exhaust out the floor? Do you ever need to blow a fan on the engine? How many doors are open for ventilation? And what ever else you can think of. I am just really curious as to how many of you use enclosed trailers or box trucks and if overheating or fuel line cavatation has ever been an issue.

I have not tried that yet. It would be worth a try. Today I am going to move the fuel intake the other side of the engine, away from the muffler. This was recommended by the manufacturer of the pw skid. If the fuel is cavatating this should fix that problem.

Paul, I just read a couple of articles on 30W oil. Now I understand the differences. I see what you were talking about. It sounds like the straight 30W would be worth a try.

Paul, Here is a picture of my unit. Do you see a thermal sensor? How do you disconnect it if you see it? Also, the straight 30W oil... I don't think I have used it before. I have only used 5w-30 and 10w-30. Why would the straight 30W be better? thanks

I have spent many hours talking to John Allison from e-spec and others he works with via email today. Some think it is getting too hot in the carburetor and vaporizing fuel. They are sending me a heat shield to put between the muffler and engine, also we are talking about moving the engine's fuel intake to the other side of the engine away from the muffler to see if that fixes the stalling problem. Other I have been talking to don't think it is a heat issue... maybe a pin hole leak in the fuel line or something clogging the fuel line. He thinks I should put a new fuel filter on the line and run the line into an external fuel tank to see if it stalls. My head is spinning. I just want my new pw to work.

The pw died on me tonight after a short use so I hooked a spark plug tester to each spark plug wire and there was spark from each wire... so I guess that means it must be a fuel problem. right? The spark plug wires were quite hot though. I felt the fuel line and it was just warm so I don't know how the fuel could be evaporating and causing the engine to starve. I did see pockets of air in the fuel line. Would this point to fuel getting to hot and cavitating in the fuel line? I just don't understand how this could happen with the engine exhaust being exited out the trailer floor, all trailer doors open and a fan pointed directly at the engine. John from e-spec had me email him pictures of my trailer and my pw setup. He said he has a theory on the engine problem. I'll let you know what he says after he views my pictures I emailed him.

I am going to make some more calls today. What is most upsetting on this is the wasted time on a NEW PW....and time is money.

Jerry, Thanks for the input. I got a spark tester today..only $7... I have a big job on Tuesday so it will probably die then so I will try the spark test. My hunch is no spark. Would this mean a coil is bad? Can the service center do a test on the coil to see if its bad?

Ok. So here is a picture of the fuel line, fuel filter and how it sags. This is how it was built. One thing that Kohler manuf. said today is to have as straight of a fuel line as possible without any dips in the line. As you can see there is quite a dip in the line below the fuel filter before it leads back down to the fuel tank ( that is located at the bottom of the pw skid). Do you think this dip or slack in the fuel line could be a culprit? note: The exhaust pipe that runs downward by the fuel line runs out a hole in the floor of the trailer. When I first had the problem of the unit stalling I thought it was the heat from the exhaust causing a vapor lock in the fuel line so I cut a hole in the floor, had a tube bent and ran it out the floor....but obviously this did not solve the problem.

John gave me the phone number to the outfit that built the unit for him. I called them and they pretty much said that they were not familiar with the Kohler motor and directed me to Kohler certified shops in my city. I talked to one shop and they said it was going to be very hard to duplicate the problem since it usually takes 4-5 hours of use before it acts up. The shop went through all of the same stuff I have been hearing everywhere, gas cap venting?, is it old gas? etc. I called Kohler manuf. today and talked to them about it and they said it is either being starved of fuel (vaporlock or something) or no spark. The latter is what you were saying to test. Kohler said to get a spark tester and see if there is a spark after it dies, but your screwdriver instructions are pretty much the same. Talk about getting the run around... on a $4000 new pressure. If I had hair I would be pulling it out. I will try to test for a spark next time it dies.

Russ, I tried what you said and it would not start. It did it again today. I washed for 4 hours worked great and then it the engine started sputtering and it shut off. It wouldnt start for 20 minutes. It ran for 10 minutes and then the same thing would happen again. I would like to take a hammer to it! All trailer doors were open gas cap off and fan blowing on the engine. What now?