Hey everyone! I’ve been reading for a while now and started up my business this past October. I have done around 30 jobs from house washes, driveways, patios to pool cages etc and it’s been fun.
I’m going to do maintanence this weekend on my GX390 with a 5.5GPM CAT pump and while at it I was wondering if this board had any guidance for me concerning what I should be cleaning/updating/maintaining etc that I might have overlooked or don’t know about as this my first true year being in business.
So far this is what I’ve done or will do:
Oil Change
Pump Oil Change (bought used so don’t know records)
New Spark Plug
Drain old fuel (noticed sediment in tank)
Purchased new DSI and will remove and clean old one (I have the spring and ball kit plus I wanted a second one just in case)
Remove Surface cleaner nozzles and make sure their clean
The main question I have is if anyone knows of tips or tricks that you guys use that make your jobs easier as well? I’ve noticed some mention the Drainzit oil hose that allows you to change the oil easier which got me thinking there must be a bunch of these simple things I want to find out about.
Below if it I did it right should be my set up if anyone has an idea they see that stands out to help me out!
That’s about the extent of simplifying oil changes. Pop a hole in the oil filter and drain it if it has one so you don’t spill oil everywhere by taking it off.
I’ve been away from the board for a bit, but I posted my entire winter checklist somewhere. I just don’t know where it is now. Lol I’ll try to find it.
Thanks man! I’ve followed a lot of your posts and appreciate the info you share.
I’m in Florida so it’s a cold week so that means I get to catch up on everything maintenance wise.
By any chance do you have a recommendation for a cheap hose reel for low pressure? I use a 12V pump to spray driveways that are badly stained with acorns/tannin. The pump came installed on the trailer already and I don’t do roof cleaning as I substitute that with pool screen repair so I don’t think it is going to last me much longer. Is it a good idea to use a spray pump (nice version) that people use to spray weeds etc to spray SH on driveways with those stains if my pump craps out?
Thanks for the kind words. We woke up today in the negatives so I don’t feel bad for your “cold week”. Lol
I wouldn’t even waste time with a 12v pump for spraying driveways if you don’t intend on doing roofs, but that’s just me. An x-jet and a bucket takes up less space and a 2 gallon pump sprayer has been more than enough for doing any driveway we’ve had to post treat.
That 12v is just taking up space unless you intend to learn to do stucco. But if you’re gonna keep it and use it don’t waste money on a cheap hose reel unless you like paying $50-70 a pop for frustration and underwhelming performance. Spend $300 one time on a good one and worst case scenario you’ll have it if your pressure reel goes bad.
I found a couple hose reels on craigslist for $75, reelcraft, which were garbage for pressure washing, but would’ve been just fine for a low pressure reel that gets occasionally used. Call around to pest control and other pressure washing companies since you’re in the land of them and find out if they have old, working reels they’re looking to get rid of.
If you weren’t in florida i would agree with squidskc, but florida has a lot of stucco and that 12V will come in handy. You dont really need it for driveways but if your ok with unrolling 2 hose, that so be it.
If you dont already have it, get a binder and get your SDS sheets in order, also get a fire extinguisher if you dont already have one.
Good idea with the used reel idea, I just want something to make it easier to get that low pressure hose rolled up and then I can get the second part of my ladder rack back.
I’m thinking of attaching the reel right over the trailer fender where the blue hose is rolled up now.
So far I haven’t run into too much stucco but mainly brick, wood and vinyl. I’ll keep the pump as long as it works and might find another if it dies for the right price as everything is already wired etc but I’m leaning towards just a 2 gal pump sprayer.
I don’t have a fire extinguisher so that will be added to the list. Didn’t even think of it.
Also had a simple question but wondering what y’all think. (I’ll post picture this weekend when I get to where the rig is stored)
The set up right now has a water filter after the buffer tank right before the machine which I open up to drain water after a job if I have too much left to drive. Is that normal or should I have a filter before the buffer tank from the spigot?
I’ve noticed some people put a splitter right out of the tank with one to drain water and the other straight to their machine which seems easier.
Also is there a difference with having the DSI right after the pump or at the reel? And is there a length of hose for the DSI to the chemical that is too long? I’d like to move my chemical tank in the future but that would require a long DSI hose and I think it might not pull if it’s too long.
Ok I figured I would add another filter right from the spigot to keep the buffer tank as clean as well. I’m definitely ordering a fire extinguisher, never even thought about it so I’m glad it was brought up.
That’s what I assumed, it’s a fairly big filter that was installed from the local shop that puts together these rigs so I assumed they tested them before hand but I’d like to remove it and have filters before the buffer tank.
I use Y trap filter with larger mesh after the buffer and they flow great. Ive had pine needles, and random crap get into the tank, the last thing i want is for it to mess up my check valves. Belt drives will pull the water anyway so its not like im solely relying on the gravity to keep up the the gpm. Having your pump sit above the water outlet also slows the water down, but a lot of hot water machines sit a foot from the floor because of the skid. As long as your not getting a pulsing feeling from insufficient flow it should be fine.
Sitting above tank doesn’t slow water down. Mine are 3 feet above bottom of tank. I was referring to keeping the tank filled though wirh my comment about removing filters before tank
But what hose reel do you have for inlet?
Im using a 3/4 metal garden hose reel but i cant stack it. Cant find anything larger than 1/2 in reel/manifolds with Hannay, summit and titan.
