My Pressure washer is hotter than Coaches, way hotter

[Douglas Hicks 128]

I have a vertical burner Delco, 16 hp Vanguard, TS 2021 pump. My pw was running terrible today. It started by missing, but I had a job to do so I kept using it. The pressure kept changing, a problem I have not had previously. But, I had a job to get done so I could do my chinaman this evening. My smoke pipe kept smoking, even when the heater was not on. The engine kept getting worse, and I knew I could not do a chinaman with the low pressure the pump was putting out. I could not even get teh filters clean. I finished my job and replaced the pressure switch. I flipped the burner switch and the fan came on so I figured I could leave.

I got home and the smoke pipe was still smoking. I opened the trailer and there was lots of smoke. I closed the trailer up and went to the garage and got a 10 # Halon and a ladder. I climbed on the roof and dumped the halon down the stack. I opened the side door of the trailer, gaackk! Halon smells horrible when it decomposes in a fire. Then I could see the glow through some old screw holes. I got another 10 # Halon. Then I removed the smoke stack and put more Halon on the coil. The coil was red hot and the insulaltion was glowing. I closed the trailer and waited a bit. The Halon cooled the coil.

I think the insulation got oil soaked with dsl vapors. Driving down the hiway, air was drawn in the bottom of the coil and out the smoke pipe. The draft kept the fire going.

Is the fuel pump leaking? It is about a year old. Do I need to replace the fuel pump? With the coil glowing red, I am afraid the temper is out of the steel. I do have a new coil and after after 13 years, it is time to replace it. My pw puts out 3,000 psi and am afraid of an explosion.

I think the ceramic pistons are coming apart also. My tip kept plugging. Time to get a new TS 2021.

[Russ Johnson 141]

The engine stumbling around robbed you of a good electric supply, causing erratic burn, and most likely slobbering raw fuel on the insulation.

And the iron pipe is not tempered.

[COACHS 14]

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:

[centexpw 16]

If the motor is stumbling and running erratic check the air filter. Raw fuel is being dumped because the igniter is not working correctly. The flow switch is working letting fuel flow to the burner and it isnt igniting, thus raw fuel in the coil chamber and fuel soaked insulation. Clogging tip is from lime buildup in coil and it is breaking loose and coming out in little chunks blocking the tip. The pump is probably ok, if the ceramic plungers broke it wouldnt run at all. It also could be the igniter tips are out of wack and need adjusting. When you do get it running it is going to smoke like crazy until it clears out.

[Douglas Hicks 128]

Halon is a clean agent. It does not make the mess dry chemical does. And I did not want to use ABC dry chem. Dry chem interupts the chemical reaction that makes the fire, and it melts at about 150°F. Then you have to scrape it off. I keep a 5 # Halon in the trailer and a 1.5 Halon in the Sprinter. Halon is a poor choice for flammable liqueds, as it turns to a vapor and evaporates. And it is expensive. But, I have a bunch of Halon FX. They were removed from service because some one at the corporate level heard that Halon was an oxygen depleting agent and that they would harm you if you breathed the gas. True, but dry chem is listed as an irritant, and fire depletes oxygen. So, I put $300.00 bucks on the pw, it cooled the coils and got into the insulation and the halon vapors are disapated by now so I can work on the PW and not have to clean up the powder. As a cost comparison, we sell a 2A10BC commercial grade FX (Not a Kidde POS with a plastic valve) for $65.00. A reconditioned 10BC rated Halon is $300.00. The ABC FX controls more fire.

I never thought about the electric supply. I will charge the battery and have the charging circuit tested.

Russ, I do not need to worry about the coil, even though it was red hot?

Michael, I have had the ceramic pistons crack and pieces plug up the nozzles. But, I have not had any success replacing the ceramics. I found it more cost effective to get a new pump. I find they make me about $250,000.00 and that is a good return on a $500.00 investment. I do need to get things cleaned up and put some hoses and the 110V pw in the van. I have a hospital and a McD scheduled tonite.

[Alexy 85]

I'm with mike on diagnosis and cure. I have a Mi-T-M 3405 series that uses a spark generator driven by the engine to fire the unit and when the air cleaner ges dirty it drops the RPM and the burner fires terrible. Pull the air cleaner off completely and run it for a few witht he burner on in a area that won't call the fire department and let it burn off the excess in the coil insulation.

[Douglas Hicks 128]

Russ and I had a conversation yesterday. His thought was when the coil got hot, the expansion of the metal caused rust to flake off. That is what was causing the nozzles to plug. He said to run the pw and flush out hte metal, about 5 minutes. I did, until the hose from the pw to the hose reel plugged. I cut the end of the hose and had a new end put on. Then the downstreamer plugged. I replaced it, but did not install it. Then the pw hose plugged. I ended up getting the 110V pw out and backflushing the pw hose. Five hours later, I had flushed the coil, the jumper hose, the pw hose, all several times. And it still plugs up. I did run the water into a white plactic bucket, I could see the rust flakes. I cancelled both jobs and left the coil filled with water. When I get back on Monday, (family reunion this weekend) I will try flushing the coil again. Or install the a coil if I have time.

Russ was right, lots of rust. But a 5 minute flush was optimistic. I should have just replaced the coil. But that would mean takeing the pw out of the trailer, renting a lift, replaceing the coil, putting the pw back. But, I would have been faster. Win some, get educated sometimes. Maybe I will try some coil cleaner when I get back.

[Russ Johnson 141]

Coil cleaner might just exacerbate the problem. You may find that it will continually slough off particles of rust. The coil change may be your best bet.

Another option is to install one of these on the coil outlet before the injector. It'll catch the crud, so you can clean it out later.

Y Strainer, High Pressure, 3/8 In NPT - Y and Basket Strainers - Filtration - 3CFR8 : Grainger Industrial Supply

[Douglas Hicks 128]

I never thought about the y-strainer. I will take on off the shelf anf put it on the outlet of the new coil.

[Russ Johnson 141]

Doug...if you install the new coil, there won't be any crud to catch...

[Douglas Hicks 128]

Doug...if you install the new coil, there won't be any crud to catch...

Sometimes you gotta customize the equipment, because you can.

[Douglas Hicks 128]

OK, changed the coil. Too bad it was not an exact replacement. I took the coil to a local welding shop, see it they could heat the inlet and straighten it. They did and the ends matched very well. Or at least nothing that could not be fixed with a step bit, and a Saw A All and some pipe fittings. There was some room for a small amount of insulation, on the pump and battery side. Then 2 trips to the sheet metal shop for new smoke pipe. It all fit and I started the PW. Lots of brown stuff came out the hose.

I turned on the switch, no heat, just a rattling noise. The noise was traced to the fuel pump. Of course, it is a 12V pump, so no one around here has ever heard of a 12V pump for a pressure washer. I cancelled the next 3 jobs. Tommorow I will drag the trailer to my local repair guy so he can listen to it. I should have bought a new pw. Bovine by product happens