I am new to the forum but have spent the last month searching and researching this forum for about 50 hours. Hopefully I won’t get jumped on too much.
I am starting a very small residential driveway and sidewalk pressure washer business. I have a 4 GPM 4000 PSI Pressure Pro Belt Drive CAT Pump. I gave in and got the Northern Tool 20" Hammerhead Surface Cleaner on sale. I researched and got the ball valve and mosmatic swivel which are amazing. I have Elomanator from Pressure Tek and have the 10% HC mix Pool Essentials.
When using the Surface Cleaner on my driveway i cannot get the streaks to go away. i have gone perpendicular to line of sight and gone back over vertical. i have post treated as well. The driveway was very dirty. I did not pre-treat.
I called General Pump to ask why the streaking is left and he said because of clogged tips (which they are not) and also the spray bar being bent (which is not). The unit comes with stock 2502 tips. For cleaning the Residential driveways and sidewalks should going with 25025 or 2503 tips with a pretreat solve my problems?
Also, should i be running the unloaded at 4000 PSI?
There are nozzle charts you can use to target specific psi. I don’t remember the ones I settled on but I basically reduced psi to 2500 or 2750 using the orifice size. I had the same thing happen with the stock plugs.
That’s limited equipment to work with if that’s all you’re doing is flatwork. I’d save up for a 16 inch Eagle Wash since it will work better with your machine. 4 inches per gpm. 25025s will put you under 3kpsi which is good for residential…as mentioned get 4 of them. I had same set up as you…4/4 and Northern Tool 20 inch. Is that concrete still wet? Sometimes the lines are still present when wet but when it dries the lines are gone. That concrete is definitely dirty enough to pre and post treat. Post with a stronger mix. If this is a regular problem you may need to set up a small 12v pump system with 35 gallon tank to post treat at 3-4% and that will definitely eliminate the lines.
Idk if this was touched on or not, but it looks like you’re going side to side on the driveway. Ive always been told to go N to S, go vertical on driveways. Looks nice and seems faster to me. Even if you’re going to post-treat, it’ll still look nicer in the end.
thanks for the info guys. this is all i have to work with until i can make my money back and move up and this will become my backup unit. i went E to We on the drive. Racer said to go parallel to the sight lines. i am going to post treat with a more agressive mix and also pre-treat. i think not pre-treating let me down. i am headed to get 25025 tips and will post back with results!
Hook, i went verticle on the section before and it looks like nails dragged on chalk board!!
To avoid getting the lines don’t walk back and forth with with the surface cleaner. The over lapping of the tips causes cleaner “runs” which become more apparent over time.
While standing still push the surface cleaner forward, move left or right 6 inches the pull it back. Move over 6 inches again, push forward, repeat. Do it all the way across then move up to a new section and repeat. You can move the cleaner faster forward and back than you could if you walked up and back. The tips over lap each other constantly making it easier for really dirty surfaces. It’s not as slow as it sounds. I got it from a guy on here years ago and it works great. Great results withZero lines.
I was using 25025s (four tips) with my 8gpm/3500psi machine and it was stripping the cream off the top. I have ordered four 2503s, but yet to try. If you are putting 4000psi on the concrete, that may be too much.
Also, try a post treat, it sometimes helps.
Thanks @Infinity for the straightforward explanation. I hope that I can give the neighbors some 1/2 off driveway cleaning to dial this setup in. What unit did you start out with? I first got the money eyes when I was 12 years old running a Sam’s Club Honda 2500psi 2.3 GPM.
My first detail was about a 6000 sq ft driveway and 1500 sq ft pool that I cleaned with a WAND. Didn’t have this forum back then that was over 15 years ago. The family felt so bad for me after being out there all week for 6 days 10 hours a day that they have me an extra $100 tip. Made $350 on it. I’m surprised they didn’t tell me to go home after working full tilt irritating them with that Honda engine running from sun up to sun down. HA!
I dove in near the deeper end of the pool, after dipping my toes in with a rental machine.
Got the 5.6@2500 pressure pro. I’m less inclined to recommend it after all the negative feedback I’ve been reading, but so far it has been a solid little money-maker for me.
I have the cheapo Ridgid 18” sc from homedepot. Used it like twice. Stays home most of the time. Flatwork isn’t really my thing
