I bought this thing but am strongly considering doing some jobs for people around my hometown. I will be insured and licensed and all that. I’ve read on these forums for about 8 hours straight. My question is why would the equipment I have NOT work? I mean sure it will be slower. It’s a 3400 psi 2.5 gpm dewalt brand I scooped up at Home Depot. Seems like no one on here runs less than a 4 gpm machine. What will the disadvantages be with the 2.5 gpm machine? I cleaned my front porch, the front of my house and my drive way with this thing in about 4 hours. I understand that’s a lot of time, maybe, compared to some of these super power washers out there. But can these sized machines not yield a man some extra bucks?? Enlighten me.
GPM is the name of the game my man. You COULD get away doing small residential jobs around your area to get you started, a lot of guys started out that way. It’ll come to a point where you no longer want to spend 4-5 hours for a driveway and still not have the results you could with a surface cleaner. 4 GPM minimum for residential and driveways. Good luck and keep reading!
Thanks for the response I’m just kicking myself in the butt kind of if I woulda known that 1.5 more gpm would be the ticket I woulda spent a couple hundred more dollars and woulda been done with it…
What exactly is a surface cleaner? All I know is a pressure washer with a gun.
Looks like a tile scrubber, but for concrete. It’ll change your life. Search it up on here.
If you were to just do a few of your neighbors for a few bucks your machine will work. But i would not try to start a business with it. Like chad said, you are going to hate the work after a few jobs takings so long. Also your profit margin will be very low due to taking 4+ hour on a standard driveway. You also have to consider the overhead expenses of starting a business so you have to factor in all those cost and be able to charge accordingly. For me its also about looking professional, you dont want to have the same machine your customers have sitting in their garage. Also only using a wand will leave stripes everywhere, so being able to run a surface cleaner is key to being efficient and professional quality work.
Keep reading on the forum and do a few neighbors driveways and think if this is something you really want to pursue. If you do INVEST some money into a larger machine and start a professional business.
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I have a feeling I know the answer to my question, but let me ask anyways… They have a 4 gpm dewalt up there where I bought mine would that suffice would that be better than what I got or not really? I understand that what most of y’all use are probably really high end commercial units. I was just wondering if going from the one I have to that 4 gpm model would make that much of a difference?
Is there a decent surface cleaner attachment anyone could recommend that would be compatible with the unit I have even though it isn’t the biggest and the baddest I still feel like if there is a decent surface cleaner I could buy that would help me cut down some time till I could get me some “real” equipment, TIA.
I wouldnt buy anything from Home Depot unless i just absolute had to get a machine out to a job site. The machine at home depot is a direct drive, probably with a comet or AAA pump. Not the best but way better than what you have now in terms of gpm and efficiency. You can use a direct drive but they cant suck water from a tank, and are harder on the pump due to the vibration. As for a surface cleaner for right now, the only thing you can run is the $70 dollar one from home depot. Its not very good, leaves lines, will break after a few uses, but its the only size you can really run with your current machine. Again you have to determine if this is something you really want to do and get professional equipment. There are guys who started with your machine but all of them will tell you that it not that much fun to work for hours to get the same results a larger machine can do in minutes. Its not all about pressure, and their is a lot to learn and know. Use the search tool, as everything about starting a business has pretty much been said.
Thank you. I will utilize the search bar. You answered my question. I understand what you are saying, makes sense. That helps tremendously.
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Where is a good place to start looking for a good unit?
Any brand that has Honda GX 390 engine and a Cat, General, Udor, or AR pump with minimum 3k psi and 4gpm. Anything above 4 gpm might require a buffer tank depending on the water flow at the property.
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Thanks!
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Contact Bob at Pressure Tek, http://pressuretek.com/index.html
Or check if there is a fairly local Hydro Tek pressure washer dealer in your area. A bit pricey, but well worth the dividends in build quality, and longevity. If you are in business, cheap is costly.
OP, I’ve been through the same thing. I purchased 3 crap PW. I decided that I was going to spend a bit more and get a good entry pro level PW - Honda 4gpm 4000psi unit. I don’t do this as a profession, but I do some work for neighbors, me and my family. Some said it was overkill for residential, but the money I paid for those 3 crappers could’ve got me the 4pm Honda. I was adamant that I would not get another Lowes or Sams Club PW.
Below is where I got mine. The price is definitely competitive when compared to some of the others of the same brand.
http://store.spraymallstore.com/pressurewasher.html
I got my wands, guns and nozzles from pressuretek.
Thanks for the tips Methodical!
Makes me not feel so bad to know I’m not the only one who made the mistake of doing something that I already knew that I probably SHOULDNT do.
Yeah, this was one of those things where I did not know too much about. The 1st unit served me well until it no longer wanted to start, the other 2 were pure crap. When I decided to clean my house and began my research, it was then that I realized, I could’ve gotten a really decent machine with what I had already spent on lesser machines. Granted the discretionary funds are more plentiful than back then - haha!
Are you still deciding which way to go? As someone mentioned, I would not get anything less than 4gpm. I looked at the 5gpm, but the price jumped quite a bit for that 1 extra gpm, but again I am not in this business full time. If I were, I’d step it up a bit.
Well I bought it so I guess I’m stuck with it unless I can sell it. You know I really liked doing my driveway and all the concrete at my house. May not have been the fastest but it’s clean. Looks a lot better. But doing my house was more of a pain imo. I broke my front porch light (totally my fault) and tripped a breaker on a receptical on my back porch and I got to thinking man there’s so much to tear up on a house with a PW. Sort of discouraging. I was wanting to really get out there and get some business but cleaning my house got me second guessing myself. I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Im in no bind I have a job but I have lots of days off too where a side gig would come in handy. I need to study up on the dos and donts of house washing before I run out there and tear up some stuff. Concrete, no problem. Again not sure what I’m gonna do about my pw guess just keep it till it craters or if I can sell it. 4 gpm is what I’m thinking about for the next one…
Im gonna guess and say you pressure washed your house with the tips/nozzle your machine came with.
Read up on soft washing.
