I have a briggs and stratton 3000 PSI, gas powered. Is this good to start out using on residential properties, most of my jobs have been patios,decks, fences, and I have 1 tomorrow for concrete around pool.
Your going to hear no but it will get the job done, will just take you longer. I’d get a small surface cleaner if you can for your concrete jobs if you don’t already have one. Best of luck, there’s a ton of great info here
2 Likes
4” per gallon for sc
1 Like
thank you so much, yea i see the surface cleaner are great, do u have a reco for one?
Not sure about the smaller ones but I’d look for a 12”. I’m guessing your washer is 2.5 or 3gpm?
yes. 2400 PSI, I have a 14 inch SC, Briggs and Stratton that will fit
What’s your gpm? That’s what counts the most. Then 1/2 the psi.
1 Like
From a noob that is researching his ass off. Is your setup anywhere close to ideal? NO! Is it enough for you to get a taste of PWing and make some money to upgrade to much better equipment? YES! Look at Dan’s Vlog on YouTube. (Be careful of Dan’s advice because there are things he gets very WRONG.) You could start with a pump up sprayer and a garden hose. (Not a very good start mind you.)
The standard advice here is 4gpm as the very least to start with and preferably 5.5gpm. And, they’re right. That’s the least that will get you in a good position to complete work quickly and profitably.
But how do you know you really want to do this as a business? Does it make sense to sink thousands into this before you know for sure?Take what you have and find out if it’s for you!
4 Likes
PS concrete work is extremely tough with low powered equipment. You can do it but results will be less than ideal and take much longer to complete. If you are starting with low powered equipment focus on house washes. Fences and decks take experience. Read up here by using the search feature. I would pass on those to start.
1 Like
He’s right. Search, read, and you will find it all.
1 Like
I appreciate all your responses. I have a 2.3 GPM, Briggs and Stratton Professional grade. just to give you guys a little backround. Im not trying to kick off a huge company. I have a full time job. Im just using this as side hustle money. My goal is to have 3-5 houses a month, and I would be happy. Can I get away with having this type of PW? Would a turbo nozzle benefit me, with having this lower grade PW?
2.3 gpm… I been pricing out PW and would like to upgrade to a 3.5 gpm. I saw a simpson 3.5 gpm at Loews for 849.00, but I also found a briggs and stratton 5 gpm for 379.00. why would this be so much less with a greater gpm?
Stay away from the big box stores, you will be disappointed.
Not sure… I’m not familiar with those, sorry
Hey Ryan
So have you done house washes with your current equipment? What’s your experience been? Jumping from 2.5 to 3.7 would be an improvement but why not wait until you can make the jump to 4.0 or above? You can wash houses with your current equipment. Even driveways but they will take longer. Just trying to understand what you want to achieve.
It is probably a 2.5 gpm not 5 gpm for $379. If it’s just a regular Briggs and not a Briggs Vanguard it’s not professional grade. If you’re going to buy a new machine buy one with a Honda GX and not a GC. Honda developed the GC in order to compete with the lower grade homeowner quality Briggs. Professional grade will be a Honda GX, Briggs Vanguard, Kohler Command Pro, etc. I’ve never owned a Kohler on any equipment so don’t know anything about them. Even if you have to wait a month or two and do 10 house washes to save up you won’t regret it.
What are you wanting to use the turbo nozzle for? How are you currently washing houses? What nozzles or tips are you using to wash houses? You don’t want to use pressure.
1 Like
If you got a better machine, you could easily wash 6-10 houses/month, or maybe every weekend, and be even happier. Just a thought.
@SchertzServicesLLC is one part timer that is completely crushing it because he invested in good equipment. Maybe he can chime in on how many houses he’s washing after work and on the weekends.
3 Likes
I can wash a single story home in an hour with my 8gpm machine. I think with a 4gpm I would be an hour and half or 2 hours. Most 2 story homes take me about an hour and a half to two hours with setup and tear down.
I washed 8 homes by myself 3 weekends ago both in two 9 hour or so days. I quit booking homes a week before my daughter was born so it’s been slow! I have 6-10 in the books right now that I’ll finish up this week.
Having a larger machine does multiple things for me as a “part timer”
-Gives me the professional look
-Lets me feel confident bidding commercial work
-Shortens my wash times leaving more time for family
-Increases profitability not buying and ruining residential machines
I started with a residential machine and looking back it was rough on me! I did what I had to do, but having at least 4 gpm is a must. You can’t really “cannon” a stream of water with 2.5 gallons and expect the wind not to blow it all away when doing 2nd story.
5 Likes
thankyou!! yea and just learned my lesson yesterday to never do a blind estimate, learned the hard way, thanks for your responses
See I flat rate ALL my houses. I have a set price for 1 story and set price for 2 story. But with my machine I can do about any 2 story in 2 hours or less. Still hitting my $100 an hr mark. I don’t bother doing estimates because once you factor in drive time and estimate time for a job you will be hard to hit your hourly goal. Not to mention if you only get 1 out of 4 jobs you did estimating on then you have to figure all the time spent estimating for that one job. You’ll be down below minimum wage in no time.
I estimate commercial work and deck add one to house washes. But I’m already there washing the house.
1 Like
