5/3000 machine with a GP 18" HammerHead surface cleaner.
I know I will have some loss from the hose and fittings.
But theoriticlly on the chart, I want to be at 1500 PSI. So 2504 nozzles will get me there.
The factory-installed tips are 2502. Wouldn’t that be 6500 PSI??? So around 6000 with friction loss. Am I looking at something wrong?
Also, I bought the tips at northern tool today and they seem slightly bigger. I’m guessing meg and NPT arent the same.
Supposed to go back over a job tomorrow and wanted to lower my pressure…
I’d recommend 3.0 nozzles for a 5@3000 pump for most surfaces. That’ll push around 2700 psi.
The 2502 nozzles are meant for a smaller pump, typically a 4@4000. On a larger pump, you’ll only get as much as your unloader is set to. The rest of the flow will be bypassed.
Uh just to touch on a few things here. I don’t know what “tips” are??? NPT threads will vary coming from one lathe or another. Two 1/4" MNPT from different manufacturers will vary in how deep they will thread. Don’t worry about it just crank it on there. Even if it’s BSP like on our pump outlets it will accept NPT
Every vendor calls their flat fan spray nozzles a MEG nozzle if it’s threaded with a 1/4" or 1/8" MNPT. Ask one what MEG stands for? Lol It might be IMEG, MEG or a Wash Jet with a vein or without. I only ran Spraying Solutions Wash Jet in the surface cleaners as “MEG” nozzles do not have an even spray pattern. There’s more force/volume on the outer edges of the spray than in the middle. The WashJet nozzles have more consistent force throughout the length of the fan.
Thanks for the replies! I know this is one of the topics that gets beat.
Those are what I bought but I swear they are slightly bigger in diameter when side by side. The factory ones start and screw in by hand. The new ones seem like they don’t want to go with out force. I just don’t want to have to order a new bar with a busy week coming up.
I did a new construction job last week. Told them that the driveway that was caked in mud would not come out perfect. I rinsed the bulk of the dirt off with my ball valve then let some onerestore dwell, rinsed and put a 3% coat of SH down. It looked worlds better but they aren’t satisfied. Still some clay stains and tire marks.
I told them I did not feel good about taking my surface cleaner across their month and half old concreate. The builder told me they do it all the time but are behind, which is why I was hired.
So with a signed letter waiving liability of damage I will be back out their Monday to do as they wish. I thought it would be a good idea to lower pressure to reduce the chance of damage.
I have yet to damage anything, maybe all the reading i’ve done just has me worried and over thinking the job.
I was hoping the one restore would do the trick since I had it on hand and they was eager to get the job done. I did order some groundskeepers. Hoping it will be here in time.
Next time, get pics of what it looked like after, will make it easier for us to help. Also, putting SH down on new mud stained concrete did absolutely nothing to help you. You can safely run close to 2000 psi on the concrete usually. Just go slow and make sure you’re not taking any of the creme off. A fair amount of degreasers will remove tire marks. I use EBC.
The surface washer was ran over at the job before this one (an expensive lesson that was my fault). So I had to rent one since no one in driving distance had one in stock. So I moved the job from Monday afternoon to Wednesday morning, which gave me more time to source some stuff. I ended up with a 20" and used the nozzles that came In it.
I used the greased lightning from lowes. It worked great. The tire marks didn’t come out completely but I was not really focused on them. I had some aluminum brighter and one restore but not enough for the entire driveway. I was afraid it would take out the marks but leave noticeable spots if I just did the tire marks.
My original logic on the SH was not to remove the dirt but to brighten after.
The builder and the homeowner are both happy with the results.
What I learned from this job and from the group here:
*Don’t mess with the nozzles.
*My washer does fine with 20" with little difference in speed and level of cleaning.
*I need to get more comfortable with and branch out to other chemicals.
*Don’t lean the surface washer up on the street side of the trailer while you walk around to make sure you got everything.
