douseahouse 21 Report post Posted October 5, 2006 well, i'm getting so many more calls to do driveways and sidewalks that i'm going to have to invest in a surface cleaner. i've got a 2800psi with a 3gpm output. any suggestions or recommendations? thanks gang, rando Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 R. Williamson 14 Report post Posted October 5, 2006 I would not go with more than a 16" surfacer with that pressure washer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 A and J POWERWASHING 64 Report post Posted October 5, 2006 yeah you need more pressure for bigger surfacers cleaners Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 douseahouse 21 Report post Posted October 6, 2006 has anyone tried the north star ones from northern? thanks, rando Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 One Tough Pressure 580 Report post Posted October 6, 2006 Steel Eagle makes 2 floaters that are reasonably priced and work well. They have a 12" and a 16". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 taselton2 14 Report post Posted October 6, 2006 yeah you need more pressure for bigger surfacers cleaners PRESSURE IS A LITTLE LOW, BUT WILL BE FINE WITH MORE "FLOW". WE CLEAN WITH 8GPM @ 3200 AND I WANT MORE "FLOW"! MORE WATER EQUALS MORE CLEANING POWER @ EQUAL PRESSURES. SPEED, SPEED, SPEED, TIME IS MONEY. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 freemanspressurewashing 14 Report post Posted October 9, 2006 Hello Douseahouse I have the general hammerhead surface cleaner from northern tool. The surface is great I haven't had a problem out of mine its around 329.00-349.00 great for the money but that is my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 TNT Pressure Washing 14 Report post Posted October 9, 2006 has anyone tried the north star ones from northern? thanks, rando Yeah I had one. It was a piece. I am saving up to buy a whisper Wash Classic from Bob @ Pressure Tek. Dont waste your money on a North Star one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 douseahouse 21 Report post Posted October 9, 2006 good thing i didn't. i started to but got a decent deal here in town on a "steel eagle" floater. it works great...i highly recommend. thanks for the tip anyway. rando Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Mathew Johnson 123 Report post Posted October 9, 2006 has anyone tried the north star ones from northern? thanks, rando I had one.... "had" being the key word... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Adrian 155 Report post Posted October 9, 2006 you will probably need to insert new tips to match you pw out put. i don't think there is a 1.5 tip ( x2 to =3gpm) so you may have to go with the 2gpm tips. when it is matched to your machine you will get better results and might be able to move a little faster. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Tom DeFrancesco 23 Report post Posted October 15, 2006 I agree with Tim, time is money. You definately need more pressure and GPM for a decent size surface cleaner. I went from a 16" to a 28" and it cut my time in half. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 taselton2 14 Report post Posted October 15, 2006 you will probably need to insert new tips to match you pw out put.i don't think there is a 1.5 tip ( x2 to =3gpm) so you may have to go with the 2gpm tips. when it is matched to your machine you will get better results and might be able to move a little faster. ACTUALLY, I "THINK " 3.5 IS WHAT HE WOULD NEED FOR HIS GPM AND PRESSURE TO GET IT PERFECT. I HAVE RAN TEST ON ALL MY WASHERS WITH PRESSURE GAUGES AND FLOW METERS. I HAVE RAN TWO DIFFERENT TIPS IN A SURFACE CLEANER TO REACH THE MAX OUTPUT (FLOW/PRESS) WITH NO PROBLEMS, BUT I ALSO CAN'T FIND A 1.5 SO HE CAN RUN 2-2'S, HE WOULD JUST LOOSE A COUPLE HUNDRED LBS OF PRESSURE. I RUN 2- 4.5 TIPS IN MY SURFACE CLEANER TO GET A FULL 8GPM AND THE MOST PRESSURE AT THAT FLOW. TIP ORFICE SIZE DOSEN'T ALWAYS EQUAL GPMS, YOU HAVE TO EQUATE PRESSURE IN THERE TOO. BELOW IS MY "FLOW/PRESSURE" TESTER! HE'S THE BEST IN THIS AREA! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 McMoo 14 Report post Posted October 16, 2006 Rando..... If you go cheap like me Try thr Whirl-A-way 16" worked good with my old low vol. toy and real good with "Sweet thing" my new to me 5.5 gpm. If you can, spring for the whisper wash classic/(16"). Got my w-a-w from Bob @ pressure tek, don't know if he still sells them, he does have the Whisper wash. Call him he will treat you right on price and customer service. My .02 Good luck! Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 David 14 Report post Posted October 23, 2006 quick question, I have a 16" whirl-a-way, and everytime I use it on a customers dirveway/sidewalk, I get 'streaking' on the driveway... Anyone have any thoughts as to how to overcome this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 douseahouse 21 Report post Posted October 23, 2006 first off....are you jogging when you do it? that streaks. seriously, let these guys know what your psi and gpm's are so they'll better understand your problem. thanks, rando Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 RyanH 14 Report post Posted October 23, 2006 Streaks are caused by either walking too fast or by overlapping your path when you aren't cleaning sufficiently with one pass, which is also related to walking speed. Having an adjustable deck is helpful too as some surfaces (like pool decks, tennis courts, patios, breezeways, tile, etc.) are not very porous and can be cleaned without much force. You would raise the deck in these situations to distribute the force over a greater area and (as a result) clean faster. For more porous concrete you can drop the heads down to focus on a smaller area, but you'll have to walk slower. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 David O'Connell Jr. 14 Report post Posted October 23, 2006 Let us not forget that sometimes they streak no matter what you do. I assume by streaks you mean those white lines that are in the direction of your travel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 RyanH 14 Report post Posted October 23, 2006 Let us not forget that sometimes they streak no matter what you do.I assume by streaks you mean those white lines that are in the direction of your travel. What are white lines but the absence of dirt? They are cleaned areas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 David O'Connell Jr. 14 Report post Posted October 24, 2006 The white I'm talking about are the ones that no matter how slow or fast you go and even if you go in another direction they are still there. In other words the concrete won't get any cleaner, but the lines are there in the direction of your travel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 David 14 Report post Posted October 25, 2006 Hi all, yes the streaks are in the direction of travel. I have tried moving at a crawl, speeding up, etc. & doesn't seem to matter. The machine I am using for it is a smaller one. It is a Honda, 2700 psi & 2.6 gpm. If anyone has any thoughts on how to overcome this problem, I would appreciate it. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 David O'Connell Jr. 14 Report post Posted October 25, 2006 I looked for a picture to help better explain. We are not talking about the tiger stripe or brindle look. Maybe you have a picture Oasis I think that my machine is cutting the concrete. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Washaway 64 Report post Posted October 25, 2006 David that's what I've been thinking aswell. Could be that the concrete is in bad shape and he's scoring it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 RyanH 14 Report post Posted October 25, 2006 I understand what . If you think about how the nozzles travel with respect to your travel, they spend a greater amount of time in these striped regions. Basically, the stripes appear at the perimeter of travel tangential to your direction of travel and is inherent (and necessary) flaw in the rotational design of a surface cleaner. Look at the attached picture....it shows both the swirl pattern and a focus at the outside perimeter tangential to travel direction. I've only noticed it on very old or dirty concrete. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Keth 15 Report post Posted October 25, 2006 I have had this happen. My best guess is that my surface cleaner uses pressure to remove dirt and mold on the concrete but there is a fine line between removing what you want and taking a smal bit of the concrete top surface at the same time. The streaks are caused by the fact that your overlap is an area where the top surface of the concrete has been blasted twice. Take a look at it with a magnifying glass and will see that a slight bit more of the concrete has been removed in the overlap areas and leads to a streaked appearance. I have a 4.8 GPM machine driving my WW Classic. It came standard with 2520 nozzles. I changed to 2525 nozzles and the streaking was diminished but on some "softer" concrete it reappears. Was thinking of going to 2530 nozzles to see if I can reduce the streaking even more yet still get the mold, dirt and mildew up. Doesn't happen on all driveways. just the "soft" (for lack of a better term) ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 David O'Connell Jr. 14 Report post Posted October 26, 2006 Finally, someone with a picture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
well, i'm getting so many more calls to do driveways and sidewalks that i'm going to have to invest in a surface cleaner. i've got a 2800psi with a 3gpm output. any suggestions or recommendations?
thanks gang,
rando
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