MotoUtah: Motocross and Off-Road Riding in Utah

So for a couple years I’ve had a pressure washer at my house but i'd like to set something up more permanent? I'm sick of dragging hoses out every time and fighting with the stupid stiff hose! Does anyone have any pics of your set up? i need some idea=)

Thanks

Good idea. I'm curious what a 'permanent' set up would be like too. I have a transportable setup with a 30 gal trashcan that I put in my truck and then fill it with water.

I'm in the process of setting one up right now. I haven't figured everything out yet, but here is what I have planned so far.

Next week I'm having a wash pad poured with some other concrete work behind my house. The wash pad will be right next to where we unload the toy hauler and will be 12'x14' with a 2" slope to a center drain box. Right now I'm planning on putting a hook-up for my pressure washer right by the house and the wash pad. I've already got plumbing close by so I can just leave it hooked up all summer, but turn the water off when not in use. I'm also planning on putting on a hose reel with 50 feet of hose.

I was also going to put a 50 gallon drum next to the pressure washer that had the soap. You can buy a 5 gallon bucket of the concentrate that mixes up to 60 gallons for around $40 bucks. That's probably an entire summer's worth.

Here is the stuff I'm looking at:

Hose Reel: www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200347878_200347878
50ft Hose: www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200335649_200335649
5 gallon concentrate: www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200324807_200324807

I stopped washing the machines on the driveway because it looked like crap and took me forever to rinse off the driveway. Now my yard is always covered in dirt clods and alkalie chunks from Delle and the Knolls. I'm hoping this will solve the problem and keep then mud and dirt all in one place.

I'm curious of what a "permanent" setup would be too. But, last year I plumbed an industrial sink in my garage with hot and cold water. That was one of the best things I ever did (along with putting in an RV dump on the side of my house). I can use my pressure washer with hot water which is really nice.

I have a lane on the side of my house with crushed rock (separate from the driveway) and I wash all the bikes on that so it doesn't leave such a mess with the residual dirt and grime. However, last week I went to the car wash to get all the Knolls gunk off....there was just way too much of it to do it at my house.

I've got hot water by my pressure washer also, but have always hesitated to run it through there in fear of it overheating. I thought the water was used to cool the engine. Have you ever had any trouble? Hot or even warm water would be so nice.

I'm still trying to figure out how to bridge the distance gap between my RV and a sewer connection I have in the basement. That would definitley speed up my cleanup process. Luckily we have an nice & free RV dump close to my house.

I have hot water plumbed in my garage for washing cars/bikes. I connect my pressure washer and use the hot water, and hvae never had a problem with overheating but now you're making me wonder if I should be carefull how hot I run it. I usually have pretty hot, but yesterday I ran it full hot. Any one know if this is a problem?

Slowdad wrote:


I've always just used it straight hot and never had a problem, but to be honest with you, had never really even considered it.

Dane...with those pressure washer hose reels, are you mounting that on a wall near your water source and then to your pressure washer?

mknight wrote:

I haven't decided yet. They are meant to mount directly onto the pressure washer which would be nice for portability, but I don't want it moving around all over the place either. I was going to decide once I got it all here. I don't use the pressure washer for much outside of the trailer and machines, but I don't want a big deal to move it around either.

Here is some info I found on running hot water through the pump. Not sure if all pressure washers have this thermal relief valve, but it sounds like most do and that it would have "popped" if you were running it too hot. Looks like 140 degrees is the standard. I don't let my pressure washer sit and idle either for fear of the same thing. If I'm done washing for a minute, I just shut it off. Kind of a pain though.

Here is the content from this other website:

I have a hot water supply outside, can I run this through my pump?

No, incoming hot water can damage your pumps seals. Our pumps have a max inlet Water temperature of 80 degrees with a max pump temperature of 140 degrees. If your pump exceeds 140 degrees the thermal relief valve will pop to protect your pump and it will need to be replaced. However you can add an optional Hot Pump Upgrade to most of our machines that will give you a max inlet water temperature of 140 degrees with a max pump temperature of 190 degrees to be used with hot inlet water.

What does by-pass mean?

This allows the pump to circulate water so there is no pressure build up however if you leave your machine in the by-pass mode for longer than two minutes you risk overheating your pumps. We use a thermal relief valve to stop this from happening.

What is a thermal relief valve?

This is a safety feature for your pump. It will keep the pump from burning up if left in the by-pass mode for too long. This valve is set to the max pump temperature rating. If the valve pops you will need to replace it.

in regards to the hot water question, if you're talking about a standard residential hot water heater, you should be okay running hot water throught the pressure washer. Most residential water heaters are around 135 or so when set at the standard setting on the dial. If you're supply hot water is more than 140, you're spending waaaaayyyyyy to much money on you're gas or electric bill every month. but hey, if that's that you want to spend you're money on instead of tires or tools go for it. If in doubt, open you're hot valve all the way and cold 1/4 of the way and you should be good.

I looked up some 2500 PSI pumps online their about $250.00 I have an electric motor already just need to see if the RPM and mounting frame will work with the pump. I'd like to mount the pump and motor in my basement by the water main and pipe out the high pressure to that hose real pictured above.

My elec motor