Advice on buying new hot water unit

[jakeman 14]

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting anything so I hope I am doing it right. I've been browsing this site for a couple months and have learned alot . Thanks everyone. Ihave been doing mostly residential cold water washing for about 5yrs full time and I am upgrading from my cold water machines to a hot water unit and have recieved alot of conflicting information from different salasmen trying to sell their product. Right now I am leaning toward an Alkota 5.3 gpm, 3500psi, 600,000 btu machine with a 20 hp Kohler engine. It is a gas engine with a deisel fired burner.

I will be putting it in a 14ft cube van with a 650 gallon water tank. I am planning to use it to wash heavy equipment and trucks etc... Any advice or tips would sure appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. What do you guys think of a 2 gun system running off 1 machine?

[Russ Johnson 141]

5.3 GPM won't net much flow per gun with 2 hooked up...need at least 8 or 9...2.6 GPM won't do much cleaning.

[jakeman 14]

That's what I thought. Thanks Russ.

[Jeff 232]

WELCOME. Sounds like a nice machine, just remember the more GPM the better. Post some pictures when you get your rig. Enjoy TGS Welcome

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting anything so I hope I am doing it right. I've been browsing this site for a couple months and have learned alot . Thanks everyone. Ihave been doing mostly residential cold water washing for about 5yrs full time and I am upgrading from my cold water machines to a hot water unit and have recieved alot of conflicting information from different salasmen trying to sell their product. Right now I am leaning toward an Alkota 5.3 gpm, 3500psi, 600,000 btu machine with a 20 hp Kohler engine. It is a gas engine with a deisel fired burner.

I will be putting it in a 14ft cube van with a 650 gallon water tank. I am planning to use it to wash heavy equipment and trucks etc... Any advice or tips would sure appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. What do you guys think of a 2 gun system running off 1 machine?

We currently use a Hydrotek SC30008KAF 3000psi, 8gpm 2 gun unit (4gpm/gun) and it works great.

Rod!~

[jakeman 14]

The Hydrotek 8gpm 3000 psi was my first choice but the salesperson told me that a two gun system never works very good and that the maintenence would be frequent and expensive. I would still love to get it if it's a good machine. Any comments?

[jakeman 14]

Also the salesman said that when only using one gun the second one would still draw chemacal and bypass it back to my tank contaminating the water. he said there was no way around this and that was the main reason for not getting the 8gpm hydrotek.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

:2eyes: What??..that don't sound right...bypass is before downstreamer aint it?

[John Orr 206]

I too have an 8/3000 HydroTek and love it. Though it will work for 2 guns, there is only one of me, so I have a downstreamer on one side and use the other for drives/walks. For "normal" pressure washing, as long as you use equal tips, it works fine.

As to maint, I don't think I have had any abnormal expenses. Oil change every 50 hours or so on the engine and 100 on the pump. Wear items have been normal. It could use a tune-up, but after over 1000 hours (one year), I suppose it has earned it.

[jakeman 14]

I wouldn't be downstreaming. I would be drawing my chemicals before my water intake so that water and chemicals are both hot and high pressure.

I have only seen one hot water unit and that was how his was set up. He was cleaning trucks and excavators etc...

[jakeman 14]

We currently use a Hydrotek SC30008KAF 3000psi, 8gpm 2 gun unit (4gpm/gun) and it works great.

Rod!~

Do your chemicals run through your pump and if so how do you stop the chem. from bypassing back to your tank?

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Most folk don't want to risk strong chems going through their pumps via upstreaming as they believe it hurts the packings.. I would tend to agree, better be safe then sorry.

Design and sales of equipment for to upstream weaker chems is common though.. i.e- Hotsey

P.S.- I think maybe the bypass is reverted to either a float tank or after the float tank in a small simple loop.

[jakeman 14]

Most folk don't want to risk strong chems going through their pumps via upstreaming as they believe it hurts the packings.. I would tend to agree, better be safe then sorry.

Design and sales of equipment for to upstream weaker chems is common though.. i.e- Hotsey

P.S.- I think maybe the bypass is reverted to either a float tank or after the float tank in a small simple loop.

I'll check that out. Thanks for the tips.

[Russ Johnson 141]

The SC30008KAF is not set up to draw chems before the pump, but could be modified to do so. You would have to route your bypass back to the pump and install a chem valve on the suction side of the pump.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Also the salesman said that when only using one gun the second one would still draw chemacal and bypass it back to my tank contaminating the water. he said there was no way around this and that was the main reason for not getting the 8gpm hydrotek.

We went two years before needing any service and it was due to my error. Otherwise, it would not have any problems. Just repacked the pump after year 3 and the unloader is still going strong. Just a bit of actual field experience with ours for your consideration.

If the 2nd gun bypass is the main concern then I would defer to others who downstream. We don't do any and the 2 gun unit doesn't come with a downstream injector anyway.

Hydrotek does sell another unit with an upstream injector but it is a single gun unit (I cut the hose off mine).

Depending upon what type of chems you are going to be using...Food for thought.

Rod!~

[jakeman 14]

The SC30008KAF is not set up to draw chems before the pump, but could be modified to do so. You would have to route your bypass back to the pump and install a chem valve on the suction side of the pump.

Thanks Russ, I am going to call Hydrotek and ask them about this to make sure it can be done without harming or overheating the pump. Sounds like the Hydrotek is a pretty good unit and would be good for what I will be doing.

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Alkota has small fuel tanks. I hear excellent things about Hydro Tek, from everyone who has one, and as much as I love my All American (built by Alkota) with the 18 gallon tanks, I will most likely not buy another one.