I’ve been reading on this forum here and there for about two years now, very little in the beginning but I’ve started to read an hour a day to try to expand my knowledge before starting next season. With that being said I have a pretty ironic question, but I’d appreciate some different opinions.
I have ruled out anything 5GPM- & anything 8GPM+. I only have room for a 65gal buffer tank and I’m having a really tough time choosing between a 6.8@3500 and a 5@3000. I’d be losing PSI with the 6.8 but I’d still get more water flow for flatwork.
I’m in the North where there’s a lot of algae growth and the majority of houses have siding, not that it matters and I’m using an air diaphragm in the beginning to apply my mix. I know I need the hazing ritual so please go easy on me, I’m fragile. lol
I’d say get an 8gpm machine if you have the funds and the water supply in your area is decent enough, i wish I had started out with a 8gpm… now I’m going through the extra work of rearranging my rig! just my opinion
Plus one for an 8gpm machine. I have a 55 gallon buffer. Water supply is a constant balancing act in my area, but my approach is to idle the machine down to 2500 rpm for around 5.5 gpm anytime I’m working off a slow water supply.
Most motors are fine running anywhere from 2500-3600 rpm. If you slow it down more than that, you risk overheating the motor. You probably won’t have full pressure at the lower speed, but if you’re mostly washing houses that shouldn’t be an issue.
Just an FYI: a flow actuated unloader is a really good idea if you plan on adjusting your throttle on a regular basis. I like the General k1/ zk1
Im running 8gpm with a 65 tank. For general house washing and some residential drives and walks, it’s fine. Between dwell time, pulling hose, turning off chems, checking phone, etc the tank has some time to refill. Even on the wells that I’ve been on, over the course of the job, the water level drops but I don’t run out.
If your doing a lot of flat work with an 8 gpm I would go with bigger buffer tank. If just residential driveway/house wash you should be fine with smaller buffer. Just my opinion.
I have an 8. I’ve used it with a 65, 125 and 275 buffer. Most of the houses I do have city water and it’s pretty. Good. I had issues on a third of the houses. I moved up to the 125 and it was maybe a 5 houses a month. I don’t know your area but a 50 gallon buffer in my area wouldn’t cut it. I do most fairly big houses and I like to rinse really well. Maybe that is my issue.
Hm, I think I’ll hold off on even buying the tank and see how much room I have with everything else and then see if i can get a 125, if not I’ll just have to stop and refill which will suck but it’s fine.
Why have you ruled out the 8? Your talking 1.2 gallons difference between the 6.8 your looking at, that amount won’t change the way you wash or a crappy water situation.
There’s no strict rule for matching a buffer tank to a pump. You need to know the flow rate of the water source that will be filling the tank. If you have a 150 gallon buffer tank but the hose feeding it is only flowing 1 gpm, the tank will be empty in just over 20 minutes using an 8 gpm pump.
Where my parents live they’re practically right on top on an aquifer, and the flow rate from the spigot on their house is over 10 gpm. With that flow rate you could use a tiny buffer tank and it’d never run dry.
Built it. There’s not much to it, outside of all the other plumbing you’re going to end up doing. Get a pump with a gearbox, bolt it to your motor, and bolt that to your skid (or thick piece of plate steel). Then do the other stuff lol
I want a little more than a 5.5 but not another 8. I have a 275 tote and my 5.5 and 8 running together can drain it on some houses. I try to use 2 spigot when that’s the case. I figure if I add another gallon per minute it won’t change much. I want more psi. My 5.5 is 2500. I was looking at envirospec.com. They have the odd size pumps, like 6.5. I’m not sure if I should go with a Honda or Kohler. Envirospec also sells the U-build them kits.
