Pressure Washer Losing Pressure

[JohnW 14]

Hello all,

I've had my trailer mounted pressure washer for approx. 4 years. I'm a part timer and a couple of weeks ago while working a job, approx 1.5 hours into the job I lost 90% of my pressure. I was x-jetting and doing a residential. I shut everything down for approx. 10 minutes and brought it all back up and began washing again, worked fine for approx. 20 minutes and then I lost all pressure again.

Two weeks later I had my pressure washing rig out in the driveway and was doing some xjetting, to assist a fellow pressure washer and it was fine for the 30 minutes I had it going. The engine seems to run fine, but I was curious if someone could point me in a direction of things to check. I have no problem bringing it to the local pw shop to have it looked at, but I'd like to know that I checked out everything I could before I do that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Being a computer tech, I'm not as mechanically inclined as I'd like to be.

Thank you,

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

It could be an unloader problem. Something impeding the unit.

If it was the pump, the packing would be the first thing to check...but I would recommend a knowledgeable service guy myself for either situation.

Rod!~

[COOPER 14]

Hello all,

I've had my trailer mounted pressure washer for approx. 4 years. I'm a part timer and a couple of weeks ago while working a job, approx 1.5 hours into the job I lost 90% of my pressure. I was x-jetting and doing a residential. I shut everything down for approx. 10 minutes and brought it all back up and began washing again, worked fine for approx. 20 minutes and then I lost all pressure again.

Two weeks later I had my pressure washing rig out in the driveway and was doing some xjetting, to assist a fellow pressure washer and it was fine for the 30 minutes I had it going. The engine seems to run fine, but I was curious if someone could point me in a direction of things to check. I have no problem bringing it to the local pw shop to have it looked at, but I'd like to know that I checked out everything I could before I do that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Being a computer tech, I'm not as mechanically inclined as I'd like to be.

Thank you,

More than likely, its an unloader problem.

[Tmrrptr 164]

A computer tech, huh ?

Do YOU think you gave us enough info to suggest a fix ?

r

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Belt slippage could be a problem. They get hot and they slip more, it cools and you are fine for a little bit until they get hot again. Qucik and easy check, but often overlooked.

[Ron Musgraves 240]

just pinch the bypass hose. if no water then its likely not unloader.

could be a o-ring , something in the head. water flow problem and the list goes on and on.

Do you tank feed? is it direct? wheres Russ of Wiz??????

[JohnW 14]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Yes I'm a pc/laptop guy and yes I know I didn't provide tons of info. to go on, I was in a hurry when I posted, my apologies. I'm including a pic or 2 so you can see my setup. I'm a visual person and maybe it will help you to see what my setup looks like.

I do tank feed, I usually buffer about 80 gallons, since I'm pushing 5.5 gpm. I'll try your suggestion this weekend Ron.

Thank you again,

[Scott Stone 604]

Check the inlet filter.

[Tmrrptr 164]

4yrs old... have you ever adjusted the belts?

...if part time, how long has it been since used?

easy enough to pinch that return line to see if pressure picks up, when it drops off...

Inlet screen would most likely escalate quickly...

My bet is with Allan and loose belts.

r

[Ron Musgraves 240]

Check the inlet filter.

Scott, you still use inlit filters????

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Ron,

How are your units set up? Why not use an inlet filter?

[JohnW 14]

I think I figured it out yesterday while working, looks to be an unloader problem. The unloader looks to be getting 'stuck' every now and then. I'll probably buy a new one and install it, any ideas on a which to buy? I've always read that people prefer the K7's.

Thanks again all,

[One Tough Pressure 580]

The ZK1 is also a flow unloader and lasts longer than the K-7.

[squirtgun 122]

The ZK1 is also a flow unloader and lasts longer than the K-7.

We replaced our K7 with a ZK1 and couldn't be happier.

[Paul Kassander 26]

A flow unloader is a good way to go, I have always liked them and they seem to make hoses and other parts of your equipment last longer. However keep in mind that if you use tips to change your flow or pressure you can only go to a larger tip size with a flow unloader you cannot go to smaller tip (than where you initially set up your unloader) without having to readjust the unloader.

[dpaull 80]

Wow that's it in the pics and it's 4 years old? That's in really good shape...you take good care of your equip.

[JohnW 14]

Thank you all for the recommendations, I'll be looking to get something else to replace it soon.

David - That picture was taken a couple of weeks after I purchased the equipment, however, I keep it in the garage and out of the weather, so it doesn't look too bad even 4 years later.

Thanks again all!

[Russ Johnson 141]

John, I did notice a couple of things that may help the pump last longer. The see through filter that's on it is fine for garden hose pressure feed. It's kind of restrictive on a suction line. I recommend and use brass "Y" strainers for skids pulling off tanks. It's like a straight piece of pipe with a "turn down". The screen goes into the flow at an angle, so the dirt drops down out of the normal flow. Or use a good sized canister filter at the tank outlet.

The elbow, too...gotta go. A straight flow into the head is best. Any 90* turns on the pipe cause turbulence. A 3' arch of good suction hose would be preferred over a 90* pipe elbow. I've even used 2 - 45* street Ls where nothing else would work to straighten the flow...at lease it lessend the turbulence in the suction line.

From your pics, it appears thaat there's enough room in front of the belt guard to switch the suction line to the other port...would be almost a straight shot from the tank.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

oooo that really is a nice cleanly setup unit!!.

Russ you never disappoint. Now I got to go get rid of some elbows . ;(

[Gary Day 14]

John, I did notice a couple of things that may help the pump last longer. The see through filter that's on it is fine for garden hose pressure feed. It's kind of restrictive on a suction line. I recommend and use brass "Y" strainers for skids pulling off tanks. It's like a straight piece of pipe with a "turn down". The screen goes into the flow at an angle, so the dirt drops down out of the normal flow. Or use a good sized canister filter at the tank outlet.

The elbow, too...gotta go. A straight flow into the head is best. Any 90* turns on the pipe cause turbulence. A 3' arch of good suction hose would be preferred over a 90* pipe elbow. I've even used 2 - 45* street Ls where nothing else would work to straighten the flow...at lease it lessend the turbulence in the suction line.

From your pics, it appears thaat there's enough room in front of the belt guard to switch the suction line to the other port...would be almost a straight shot from the tank.

Where do we find these "y" filters. I am actually looking for the least restrictive filter. I am using a skid unit sucking straight out of a tank. I would like to get good flow and I'm having trouble deciding which filter to use.

Edited July 14, 2008 by Gary Day

[Russ Johnson 141]

I have them available...

1/2" - $6.81

3/4" - $9.30

1" - $13.29

[JohnW 14]

John, I did notice a couple of things that may help the pump last longer. The see through filter that's on it is fine for garden hose pressure feed. It's kind of restrictive on a suction line. I recommend and use brass "Y" strainers for skids pulling off tanks. It's like a straight piece of pipe with a "turn down". The screen goes into the flow at an angle, so the dirt drops down out of the normal flow. Or use a good sized canister filter at the tank outlet.

The elbow, too...gotta go. A straight flow into the head is best. Any 90* turns on the pipe cause turbulence. A 3' arch of good suction hose would be preferred over a 90* pipe elbow. I've even used 2 - 45* street Ls where nothing else would work to straighten the flow...at lease it lessend the turbulence in the suction line.

From your pics, it appears thaat there's enough room in front of the belt guard to switch the suction line to the other port...would be almost a straight shot from the tank.

Russ,

Thank you for taking the time to write all of that. I will look at re-arranging and replacing that per your suggestion. I need to do some updating to the trailer. For some reason, when I want to dump water, I'm restricted by such a small outlet coming from the tank, so I hope to enlarge the pipe leading out of the tank so that I can dump water much faster.

As for the problem, I figured out it was the unloader, thanks guys and gals for all of the suggestions. A tap on the unloader causes it to go back and function properly. I will be replacing it soon though.

[JohnW 14]

Wow that's it in the pics and it's 4 years old? That's in really good shape...you take good care of your equip.

That pic was taken after about 6 months of owning the equipment, it was the quickest one I could pull up at the time lol. It's still in pretty good condition though, I take good care of my stuff. I keep it garaged kept and I'm also a part timer. I'm sure if I was full time it wouldn't look near that nice.

[JohnW 14]

oooo that really is a nice cleanly setup unit!!.

Russ you never disappoint. Now I got to go get rid of some elbows . ;(

Thank you!