What the minimum gpm for power washing houses i have a i now 2.5gpm I’m new and didn’t know till I talked to a friend that told me about gpm i don’t have a ton of cash so anyone recomend what gpm i found a karcher hd 3600 hd 4.0gpm but it has a pressure issue he wants 500 is that to much
I’m definitely interested in this same topic. That does sound really good for a 4gpm machine as long as everything is working correctly. I’m currently working with a 2.5gpm machine but it’s not enough to drive a longer hose than 25-50 easily. I’m hoping that 4gpm will help speed things up for house cleaning as well as allow me to easily run everything off of our trailer.
5.5 gpm should be bare minimum. 8gpm is ideal
I did pretty well with a 4gpm starting out, rinsing just took a bit longer. What I really wish I had done was get a belt drive unit instead of direct drive.
I ran a 2.5gpm machine for a whole year. Must of washed 200 houses with it. Ran 100ft of hose no problem. Reached most of what I needed it to. Sometimes had to get on a ladder to reach a couple peaks.
Upgraded to 4gpm. 2nd year with it and no plans to upgrade. Don’t want to fool with a buffer tank. Works great. Feeds 200ft of hose no problem. Reaches everything I need it to.
Wash most houses in 1 -1 1/2hrs. Runs a surface cleaner great.
I never have 90% of the problems I see on here.
I never even had a problem with the 2.5gpm machine. Was a little slower but it cleaned houses just fine. I do residential only though. In my opinion I see no use in most of the big setups I see but I’m not one of those guys who need the biggest this and the best that and mines bigger then yours blah blah blah.
I just use good chemicals and go wash houses. I wash an average of 10-14 houses a week.
2 a day. 4-5hrs a day. $600-$1000 a day. I pay a helper $100 a day just to hang out with me and make sure hoses are safe and do little things. We have fun with it. I don’t want it to be like work. I like to enjoy it!
I don’t know why guys make some of this so difficult. I’m on my 3rd year. I get all the work I can handle and then some. I’m actually getting ready to hire a guy to do 4-6 houses on the weekend because I can’t keep up and I don’t want to work long days.
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I’m sure you’re honest and do fine like you’re saying but I’m gonna say this isn’t the best advice… 100ft of hose will definitely not cut it unless you plan on pulling your machine around… I run a 4gpm and I feel like I could still use a lot more because of the time it takes to rinse. It’s not a competition who has the most GPM… it’s about efficiency and getting the job done in a timely manner. The quicker and more efficient you are, the more jobs you’ll be able to handle per day. Lots of people set up buffer tanks with a 4gpm just incase they are at a job that doesn’t have sufficient water flow, which is quite common in some areas. I’m not trying to knock you down and like I said I run a 4gpm, I’m just saying that the majority of jobs require more than 100ft of hose and the more GPM you have, the more efficient you’ll be. Time is money and efficiently is everything.
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I agree. When I ran 100ft of hose I def had to move my machine around to reach. I still didn’t mind. I do understand the buffer tank reasoning but in my area water pressure never seems to be an issue thus far. I don’t wash houses with well water. It states that in my ad. The few I have done I just used my 2.5gpm. Its not the pressure that worries me. Its the running out of water that worries me.
Also on a house wash I don’t care how big the machine is, there is only so much time you can shave off a house wash. On a 2hr house. The Most time your gonna save with a bigger machine is maybe a half hr. Maybe. Ive watched guys soap with bigger machines and I feel you waste so much chemical. Even me with the 4gpm I can tell I’m wasting more chemical then I need to. In my honest opinion I think applying soap with the 2.5gpm machine is pefect. Now rinsing is slow and sucks, Ill admit that but its beyond doable. I know I’ve done it. Lots!
Hey its how I built my business. I now have 4gpm machine. Roof pump. 4 hose reels. 400ft HP hose. 300ft water hose. Multiple wands, guns, surface cleaner etc. And it was all purchased with the money I made with the 2.5gpm machine. And those who say those machines will only wash 5-10 houses and be dead are not correct. I ran my machine like crazy. Scared to death it would die at any second before I could make enough money to buy a new one, and it still runs today. Never skipped a beat. Never even shut off one time. Simpson 2.5gpm from home depot. Love that little machine. Must of made me $25,000 easily!
Now I use a Dewalt 4gpm direct drive. Second year with it and same story. Never skips a beat. Just runs and runs and runs.
If and when it dies Ill just buy a new one. 1-2 days pay. No biggie in my eyes.
Different strokes for different folks. I get some of the bigger guys need the bigger equipment. But just a single guy out washing houses I know for a fact you need very little.
You need more knowledge then anything.
Heck you could prob do house washes with a pump up sprayer and a garden hose. Wouldn’t want to but I bet you could if you really wanted to.
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I currently run a 3gpm machine, and had the opportunity to try both a 5.5 and 8gpm this weekend.
Sweet baby Jesus. The difference is incredible and I really understand what people are talking about now. If you can, try to intern at another company for the day that has higher end equipment and see for yourself, even if you are experienced.
I don’t regret it, had some fun, learned some more and found a supplier I didn’t know about.
But for sure I ripped out the equipment section of my business plan and am putting in pricing for at least a 5.5-ish gpm unit over the 4gpm. Cost difference will be about 1k and adding a small buffer tank, but worth it in my opinion.
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*Must have or must’ve
Most of the big guys will probably bill that or more every month. Can’t do that with a 2.5gpm machine. If you’re wasting chemical using an 8gpm then you’re just not moving quickly enough. You can probably wash a house with a ladder and a pack of Lysol wipes but most people want to make money doing this and I don’t believe for a second that you made $200/hr using a 2.5gpm machine that you had to pick up and carry around a house.
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Also your math doesn’t add up. You say you washed 200 houses with your 2.5gpm machine but then say it made you $25000 but also are making $600-$1000 a day washing 2 houses which would mean your average ticket is $400 which would mean you should bill $80000 washing 200 houses and should have minimal expenses.
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Lol believe what you wish. No sweat of my back. I didn’t charge as much when I first started. Now $375 is pretty much my minimum for a house wash and most are $500+.
I’m telling you the more I raised my prices the more work I got. Now I get so much referral work I can barely post an ad. I post an ad and I fill a month of work. Then I barely have room for referrals. Prob lucky I’m sure but I’m surrounded by some upper scale neighborhoods. Once I figured out where most of the work was coming from I just targeted that area. I also have areas around me that I get No or almost No work. You just got to find what works. I have 2 large areas that I haven’t even touched yet that I know I can get a bunch of work from. Both Large cities and I Dont want to go into that mess unless I have to. I haven’t had to as of yet. Im actually thinking about starting a crew of 2 guys Just to those areas. I put so much time and research into this before I started (2 years learning researching reading planning repeat repeat repeat before I spent 1 cent) that once I did start it was like I been doing it for years. Ive built a name for myself already so much that it almost blows my mind. To the point I’m now looking into starting a roofing business next spring for my son. If that goes anywhere near as good as the house washing has…Oh boy!
PS don’t assume because your not kicking ■■■ and taking names that others aren’t. Personally I’m killing it! Not wanting to brag but if you want to accuse me of lying then screw it Ill brag. I can get 3 times the work I can do. With very little effort. I feel for the guys who can’t. But that’s not been my experience. I don’t know what else to tell ya. Other then focus on the marketing not the equipment. I like the KISS METHOD on pretty much everything I do in life. I’m just a simple man that way.
Yeah I just straight up don’t believe you. Sounds like you’re just bragging to brag and make yourself feel that you’re somehow better than crews running 2x8gpm machines with your homeowner grade unit. And you keep contradicting yourself. You spent 2 years learning and researching and settled on a 2.5gpm machine? Ok.
It’s whatever though carry on.
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In what sense? I started at 1.3 gpm. Then went to 2.3. Then had 1 4gpm, now I’ve got 8 gpm.
Minimum to get done quickly? (~ 1 story ranch done in 45 minutes?) 4 gpm.
Minimum to impress resi customers with how big your machine is? 4 gpm.
Minimum to get an average 1 story ranch done in less than 3 hours? 1.3 gpm and a pump-up sprayer with bleach/chlorine, if you don’t care how you look doing it.
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I can do a 2 story house with great results in under an hour.
Why did you ask this question if you are just going to bash everyone and talk about how much of an expert you are? Sounds like the typical “I got answers that made me feel bad and now need to compensate for my worsened self esteem” kind of response. 2.5 gpm is simply not a professional grade machine. That may not matter to you (and it doesn’t need to) but stop acting like you are the expert because you somehow don’t believe that a 5.5 gpm is faster than a 2.5 gpm. It is, and it’s way better. Get over it.
Well he’s not the one who asked the question.
Yep. Saw that after I commented. My bad. His comments still scream “compensating for hurt feelings” though.
Goos-frabah.
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Still need the LMFAO emoticon for that picture!!! 
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