Hi been told by my supplier he sells many power washers and you don’t need a buffer tank. He further said anybody who told you that you do because you will burn out the power washer motor doesn’t know what they are talking about. Your thoughts?
He’s right, you’ll never blow your motor.
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Is your supplier selling 2gpm machines? If so, he’s spot on.
Please elaborate.
I’m saying if he’s only selling machines that put out 2gpm like residential washers then there’s no need for a buffer tank. Sorry. Sarcasm is hard to read through text.
You need a better supplier
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Invite him to the forum and tell him to post that nonsense. I’ve been on jobs where they had a well and I was lucky to get 3 gpm. No way would I be able to wash with a supply like that. How do you think an 8 gpm pump is going to act with 3 gpm? Heck, even 5 gpm? Even if it didn’t hurt the pump I’d still have to be constantly switching out nozzles to get the psi I want. Talk about a pain. Not to mention another reason to have a buffer tank is so you don’t have to worry about squeezing the trigger every 30 seconds to keep the pump from overheating. If a customer comes out or, the phone rings, I don’t have to keep squeezing the gun or run back to the truck to shut the machine off.
Don’t buy from that store.
Just to add. Most houses in my area put out 8 gpm which I think is pretty average. That 8 gpm machine might be okay straight from the supply as long as it’s not too far of a run. Although, the second the homeowner decides to jump in the shower or wash a load of laundry I’m down to 5 or 6 gpm.
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I guess he must have worked as a used car salesman before selling power wash equipment. So then what you are saying is if the water from the house is not able to keep up with the gallons per minute on power washer then yes I can burn my power washer’s moter up is that correct?
You won’t hurt the engine. Water doesn’t run through the engine though. It’s the pump itself you have to worry about.
If all that place sells is 4 gpm washers and below you can get by without a buffer for the most part so maybe that’s where he’s confused. Some places mainly sell to the industrial sector or maybe car washes so they’ll have access to high gpm supply than most residential houses do. Maybe that’s what he’s thinking of. If not, he just doesn’t understand the reasoning behind it.
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Well it seems some here on this thread say it will harm the pump/engine and others say it will not. Confused more than ever
They’re all saying the same thing. You won’t blow the engine. You will blow the pump.
And then they’re clarifying that if it’s a small pump, like 4 gpm, then it’ll be fine (but even then you’ll have to squeeze the trigger every minute or so and relieve the pressure, so as to not blow the pump.)
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As Mike just mentioned you didn’t say pump you said motor so I said you wouldn’t hurt the motor. There are two main parts to a pressure washer. The engine or electric motor and the pump. Low water supply won’t hurt the motor or engine because they’re air cooled. The pump is another story because it’s cooled by water coming from your water supply.
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Either way, you gotta keep reading on here. I wouldn’t think of buying any machine without at least 8-10 hours of read time.
Guaranteed if you buy one any sooner, you’ll be kicking yourself. You’ll see for yourself As your read other guys kicking themselves for purchasing too hastily.
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Wow! So my supplier wasn’t lying but then again he should have known the pump would not take a lag time of water. I definitely won’t be buying anything from him as he comes off as a used car salesman. He needed to have been upfront and honest he wasn’t.
Oh yes I agree with you 100% and all too familiar with making hasty decisions
When I was first getting started out, my 4/4000 got stolen and I didn’t have the money to get another so I got one of the ■■■■ Simpson washers that was 3700 psi and 2.5 gpm. Worst decision I ever made… it would take me 4 hours to do a normal drive and it still ended up looking awful
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How did your power washer get stolen? Was it on a job site? Hard to believe anyone would want to steal a power washer unless they were in the same biz. Let me ask you this, for softwash on a house just doing siding and/or gutters what is the minimum gallons per minute and PSI can I go with?
I always bring my pressure washer in overnight as it’s not bolted down. Forgot one night and it got snatched
Dam that sucks. My condo has an indoor garage and I leave all my window cleaning ladders on top and my 9ft werner A frame. been 5 years nobody has ever stole it. Even went to bike trail and parked it there several hours. I don’t think anybody except another window cleaner would steal my sectional ladders albeit they are pretty expensive
