Been in the game for a few years with a 4000psi/4gpm machine. I’m ready for a upgrade but have a limited budget.
In the end I’d like to have the option of a burner but don’t have the money to drop 5+ grand on it at the moment.
I’m looking at a 3500/8gpm machine.
Anyway, my question is if there are machines I can buy that are hot machines without a burner? My thought is I just run it cold for a little while until I save up the money to add a burner to the machine.
No money for everything I want in the end but don’t want to limit my future options by just buying a cold machine!
You can add a heater to just about any cold water machine. Look at the hot link by hydrotek. It’ll heat up to 5gpm. Also look at largo, they’ll heat higher gpms
Evaluate what type of business your in - most of the time people don’t require a burner. I have purchased 3 hot water units from people who spent a ton on them and didn’t need them for their business structure.
A “Hot Water” machine is nothing more than a regular power washer. On a power washer you have a high pressure out on the pump. On a cold water machine, this out goes directly to your pressure line and you use it.
On a “Hot Water” machine, a short line from the high pressure out on the pump goes to the heater. The water flows through the heater and it has a high pressure out the goes directly to your pressure line and you use it.
On a hot water machine, you do not always have to run hot water. You just don’t turn the burner on, but the water still flows through it but is not heated since the unit is not running. The water just flows through and out to your pressure line.
You can buy a 8 gpm cold water machine now, and then in the future add a burner unit when you have the money.
And get 3 of everything when upgrading to a hot H2O unit, fuel filters ,electrodes ,fuel treatment, fuel nozzles,viton o rings and plastic coated tip ( lots more) … thermostat, etc.
I know the answer might change depending on individual experience, but is there any noticeable reliability difference in buying a premade hot water unit vs adding on the hot box?
Since they’re are no dealers remotely close to me, I know I am going to have to learn to service and repair a lot of my stuff, and just evaluating which route to take. I will have to add in hot water since cold washing work is not high enough to keep me fully busy, and fleet/heavy equipment/commercial will get added in.
I think an added hot box to your current set up would be pretty much the same maintenance and trouble shooting as a whole bought unit. I bought both of mine complete on a skid mount. I occasionally take 1 of mine and drop the unit on site with a large buffer tank to do heavy equipment at the local quarries ,then take my other to do other jobs @ the same time. But usually I have them both on the same trailer. If you put one together by yourself, Imo ,have it transportable @MPS .
So maybe setup my cold water and roof setup truck mounted like I was planning to, and then add on a hot water and tank on a trailer setup. That makes sense. I was going to just go with one unit, that being the hot water, but now I will just dig in deeper to get the money for an 8gpm cold as well.
In my personal experience, It’s always best to just buy what you want at first and at once! Sometimes shops don’t like working on machines that are pieced together per say…
They like to diagnose, search for part numbers, replace and out it goes…
I’d just buy that hot skid now and move on! It will easily pay for it self
