I read all of this. Definitely a huge help for us newbies. I have a 5gpm and just installed a general pump High 20% Draw Adjustable Chemical Injector. My question is, do I premix the sh or can I just pull sh straight. I know the water dilutes it. I don’t know much about % or ratios of what I need. If anyone has suggestions on roof, or driveways. I will take all the knowledge you all are willing to share. Stoked to start this as a side job and hopefully turn it into a full-time gig. My set up is a 16hp vtwin vanguard with a 5.5 gpm general pump that is belt driven
Depends on how strong of a solution you want to hit the surface. For a typical vinyl house, most people run either 2-3 gallons SH, rest water + surfactant, in a 5 gallon bucket. Start low and work your way up in strength as needed.
You’ve got a nice washer there, it will work really good for you. Search this forum and google for the answer to any questions you have on the basics for surfaces/percentages/whatever, then come back if you need more help. All of the basics have been answered ,many times, saves everyone some time if you check those out first.
A good way to do it is to google - X pressure washing forum - where x is whatever subject you want to learn about (roof mix, house mix, downstream percentages, biggest knucklehead, etc.).
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In regards to the measurements, this may seem like a super stupid question, but are you measuring with the chem tip that you would be using?
I don’t think that it’s a stupid question. The mix is the mix and it shouldn’t much matter what tip you use to apply it.
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If measuring injector, you want to use tip/gun/hose that you will be using to downstream.
Lots of different ways to test draw, but like Tim said, if the green starts dissolving in a few minutes, that’s about what you want. Too fast, reduce bleach content… too slow, add some. You could start with 2 gallons SH, 3 gallons water plus some surfactant, and see what happens. That’s a common mix, but some bump it up to 50/50 or more.
Here is a method for testing injector, described by Andy Vickers.
Copied and pasted from his website:
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR INJECTOR
(or anything that mixes chemicals)
SAVES MONEY AND TIME
TESTING YOUR INJECTOR
ON YOUR MACHINE
1 gal jug ( marked at each cup totaling 16)
5 gal bucket ( marked at each gal)
…
Put everything together how you use it to ds…
Fill the jug with 16 cups water.
Put the chemical line in the jug.
Pull the trigger for 60 seconds
Measure how many cups left after 60 seconds. …
Take the chemical line out of the jug. …
Pull the trigger into the 5 gal bucket for 60 seconds. … measure how much you produce in 60 sec.
Then we can do the math. …
Example
If you pulled 8 cups in 60 seconds
And
Produced 4 gallons in 60 seconds. …
It would take 2 mins to pull 1 gal.
So
2 mins = 1 gal chemical pulled
2 mins = 8 gal water produced
Results = 8/1 injector
#dragonjuice
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Bingo!
That is all that counts…
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Hey bill my name isRonnie I am just starting out in CA and am trying to get my calculations down. I am trying to do a wash at my kids school for experience it is stucco. I did a 50/50 mix and downstreamed it did nothing so trying to figure out my mixtures. just read you comment above and your figures are very detailed so thought I would ask. I have a 4400 4gpm unit with a downstream of 7-1 with my calculations if I did straight 10% that would give me roughly like a .78 of bleach on the wall right. Seems everyone is saying.8 to 1% on wall is what you want. Could you help me out sir
Except for brick and stucco. For those you’ll need 2-4% actually hitting the wall. If you don’t have a 12v you’ll want to use a 2 gal pump up sprayer.
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Thanks for the response Sasquatch. Ok a 12v would be something I would have to build or can I buy prebuilt? I have seen setups people have built not sure I know enough yet. I can use a pump sprayer on one but the others are 2-3 stories
Do you have any more pictures of the exterior walls? You can built a 12v setup for a decent price or buy a x-jet for even cheaper for the time being.
You can build one for about $400-$600. Prebuilt ones are around $1300.
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@RonnieM, listen to @anon37135677 and @Sasquatch. I am on the east coast of Canada, Nova Scotia to be precise.No stucco homes where I am at, but I would go with an X-jet for starters. If you are going to be doing a lot of stucco, get a dedicated pump. Good luck, let us know how you make out.
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Yes, that would be tough with a pump up but possible if you put enough time into it. A 12v would be much much better!
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Thank you
I will look into an xJet for now and definitely advance to a dedicated pump thank you
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Yea it’s pretty bad but the paint looks good just needs a strong cleaning
