How to make plumbing easy to disconnect

Newbie Questions
1

Hey, Newbie here

Im located in Australia and starting a pressure washing business! (I have wanted to run my own business for a long time, I currently have a physical outdoor job and am well aware of what im getting into. I will be doing residential flatwork and house washes to start)

I have a 5gmp 3000psi Honda belt drive and Comet pump and a 20’’ Whirlaway surface cleaner.
( Im hoping this SC wont be too slow based off the 4gmp per inch formula).
Setup will all be on the back of a Dual cab ute.

I am currently working through the plumbing, the guy at the PW shop told me ¾” plumbing would be fine. Based of what I have read on this forum its better to go for 1”.

My current plumbing plan is based off the Texas pressure washing. com diagram

  • Everything will be 1’’ non collapsible hose ( I may need to go down to a ¾” hose between filter and pump depending on what fittings I can find to get down to ½’’ pump inlet)
  • Downstream injector with QCs off the unloader (eventually a DS bypass once I make some money)
  • ½’’ Bypass hose from unloader to buffer tank
  • PVC hose barbs except for Brass on the pump
  • Camlocks on water supply to buffer tank

Diagram
Diagram1117×741 89.9 KB

My problem is that this is also our recreational vehicle so I need to take all the equipment off approx once a month for camping trips.

  1. Any suggestions on what fittings to use adjacent to the buffer tank and pump so that I can separate the plumbing line without wrestling with hose barbs every time? (I was thinking camlocks but have read they are no good on a suction line)
  2. Banjo is the only decent water filter I have been able to find in Australia, I believe it’s a NPT thread whereas everything else I have is BSP (Banjo hose barbs are out of stock everywhere) not ideal but can I just smush them together with some thread tape and hope for the best?

Thanks in advance!!

1 Like
2

I’ve had no issue using cam locks on the low pressure side. Only thing I recall reading about was to not use plastic parts on the pump itself, too much vibration/chance of cracks and parts getting sucked in. I only have 1 plastic fitting after my filter, which I have tried to find a metal alternative for, but it’s far enough away from the “moving parts” that I’m not too worried.

My set up is:
Buffer tank → ball valve → cam lock → filter → non-collapsible 1” → metal barb on machine.

This way I can close off the buffer tank (especially if there is water still in it and I need to fix something downstream). I can easily replace/fix parts as necessary since the cams give access to various sections without undoing everything. If I need to remove just the machine to work on it, I only need to wrap up a little bit of hose to do so.

1 Like
3

can you post a picture of that. i understand but i like seeing things

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4

It’s currently tucked into the corner of my garage, so hard to get a decent shot and I have the pump pulled off to do some maintenance on it, but hopefully these give you an idea…

IMG_5869
IMG_58693024×4032 1.58 MB

IMG_5870
IMG_58703024×4032 1.42 MB

2 Likes
5

I like that Cam lock idea for sure.

6

Highly recommend, makes quick change outs/servicing easy.

2 Likes
7

Hey thanks for the reply. I do like the camlock idea but have read a few posts on the ‘New rig whatcha think?’ thread about camlocks causing cavitation on the suction line - have you ever had an issue with it?

8

I have not, but everything between the buffer and machine is at least 1”