Building My Own SW Kit

Soft Washing
1

Hey guys, So I’ve been thinking and I want to build my own! I have a local company who can sale me any size any shape tank I need… Pretty cheap too…

I have space in my rig for one, so what the hell! My pressure washer already has a deep cycle battery that the pump can feed off of.

Plans is to run a 25 gallon tank. Strapped down. Not sure what pump to buy, and what size inlet/outlet is should be and also what size hose to use…

I intend to use this for applying sh on driveways ect… I don’t do roofs… and soft wash homes of course.

Suggestions

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Your plan is 12volt pump correct?

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Yes, Hell I can even run a 110 I do have a generator as well, But I want to keep it simple and save on gas, so 12 Volt to me makes sense.

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I get a fat boy and 200ft of 1/2 AG hose . Since your not planning on doing roofs bigger is better. And 800psi AG hose is almost impossible to destroy pump is about $200 on eBay. Hose is also about $200 decent reel $300 fitting poly gun and nozzles $75 since you already have a tank and battery . You could probably do it for half that number buy getting cheaper stuff but it wouldn’t be built to last.

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Great Info, I think the only thing id skip on for would be the Reel… Just for now

I just saw the specs on the fat boy pump, and I like it… Can I reach high with only 60 psi?

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If your dealing with AG hose you will NEED a reel. No way your throwing 200 ft of that nearly anywhere

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I was gonna ask, Never dealt with AG hose… Got it!

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I hate 12 volt but I was very surprised at how far and how much that fat boy could shoot. It’s every bit as far as my aodd pumps. If you want to max out the pump use 5/8 or 3/4 hose . But that’s some heavy stuff to drag around. A fat boy with 200ft of 3/4 hose will shoot further than my air pumps. I had one as a backup pump once I couldn’t believe the distance on that thing

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9

shooting straight up you’ll get about 30-35’ with right nozzle. But you don’t want to rinse with it. It actually is only pushing about 4 gpm at 60psi. You’ll probably want to turn it up to about 80. That seems to be the sweet spot.

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10

Don’t forget an accumulator.

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11

What you mean ?

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Flojet Accumulator it reduces cycling of the pump. Makes it last longer.

https://pressuretek.com/flojet-accumulator-tank-model-305730001a/

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13

@Chesebro i thought about building my own softwash unit but bought the bandit instead. Like you I don’t do roofs and use it primarily for concrete, stone and pavers. If you can afford it it’s a nice setup with the pump under the reel and everything contained in a small foot print. My accumulator didn’t last a season but I was able to change it out in seconds.

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15

Dont take this the wrong way brock, but this is bad advice. He wants a softwash system, something to go hotter than an xjet is even capable of… so it doesn’t really help him.

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Although the xjet is great dont get me wrong, but I’m in the same boat as him and I already own an xjet. I also want to build a softwash system in the spring.

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There’s lots of different ways to get to the same spot. You can get as hot as 50/50 with x-jet I believe. That would put you at roughly a 6% solution hitting the target. That’s pretty hot in most situations. :+1:

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19

Me too. :slight_smile:️

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The only way your getting a 50/50 mix with an xjet is to either use a 2gpm machine or throttle down a larger machine.
Also its not practical to clean a roof with an xjet so having a “softwash” system/machine is still beneficial.

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21

Having a 12v or other SW system is definitely a good idea. It’s just not the only way. I know of at least one veteran here that uses an x-jet to wash roofs.

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