My game plan

By smaller do you mean degree of spray? Say 25 to 15? 15’s will damage more than 25’s will.

If you mean smaller nozzle size as in orifice, you will damage your pump if you don’t use the correct orifice (or bigger) to match the pumps GPM.

You should always remove the injector, it restricts flow.

Two bar nozzle should be fine, have you checked the height of it?

Don’t go 16” with that set up, such a waste :open_mouth:

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I mean oriface. 25° is all ive used. Off top of my head, 25025 to 250255? I went from “standard” 4 nozzle oriface to .5 larger. Not smaller as 25025 still occasionally scar. However, I rarely get it right in 1 pass even washing slowly. Kinda bummed cause id really like to not post treat and rework. Kept me out late a bunch of times.

We have 4 nozzle on our 24” little big guy and it does great

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Geesh. Thats what i wanted to go to but going slow with 20" gives me reservations.

25025 is too small for a two nozzle surface cleaner running 8GPM.

25040 is the right nozzle to get 8GPM and the correct psi.

You should be able to walk pretty fast with that and not damage anything?

Did you look at the bar height? Mine is adjustable, so if it’s too low, the 25 degree tip becomes more like a 15 degree tip.

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I run a 4 nozzle not 2. Im not sure about bar height?

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Ohhh sorry. My bad.

Bar height still applies though. Worth a look.

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I get a lot of driveways. I make great money with them too, just want it done right the first pass. Appreciative of any words of wisdom tho.

Maybe i should have listened to @Innocentbystander with the eagle 16"… back in the spring. Just kept reading about washers flying with 20"ers

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Most of ours have some lines but after post treating everything looks great with no lines.

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Yeh, he’s pretty knowledgeable I’m finding. I personally wouldn’t dream of using a small 16” with an 8GPM machine though. It doesn’t make sense. If it was a 4GPM, sure - then it does :slight_smile:

I’m sure you’ll get the right help here.

I’m only using a 4GPM with a two nozzle 20” SC and the quality is the same as an 8GPM, it’s just slower.

I always pre treat and post treat driveways. The pre treat is vital, makes the mould etc let go. The post treat is to ensure a uniform finish and leave a residual.

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Thats how mine go too. Just trying to save time and sh. Always looking to improve.

I have found pretreat a waste of sh and time but just my experience. Post treat always.

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I have lurking local competiters here so no names, but i got quite a few jobs this year fixing driveways that looked like tic tac toe boards. Post treat a must! Our concrete gets really bad here tho.

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I guess the mould here is worse? I can run a surface cleaner over an area that hasn’t been pre treated and the mould is still partially there. So I either go even slower, plus increase the risk of damage from staying in one spot to get the mould to lift - or, I pre treat and it all comes off nicely.

Pre treat also contains surfactant, this helps the water and dirt run off easier I find.

Again, different side of the world to you my friend :wink:

Oh, and post treat - THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY - isn’t to fix stuff. Throwing chems down etc to finish the job.

My concrete (or whatever) is already clean, it’s really just to get a nice even look and even help with a first rain rinse off.

We all have our own ways :blush:

I simply see it as a surface. So like a car for example…

You could just get plain water and pressure wash the dirt off, then polish it. But to pre treat with soap, loosen the dirt, then pressure wash it - makes for a cleaner surface. Then add the polish or wax (post treat).

It’s always a three stage process for me, always.

Even if it’s not that bad - it’s a system/process I stick to. Consistency is key. No corners cut. They all get the same treatment :slight_smile:

(I batch mix, so it’s not really a hassle or much of a cost increase usinga little of the post treat as a pre treat).

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Your system is good! I do see better results that way. Maybe Ill just go that route. Im still not satisfied with my SC tho. Still go too slow.

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Been good chatting to you mate :+1:t2:

I wondered, in your original post - did you mean lines as in circular or back and forth like lawn mowing?

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Back and forth.

Lol, yeah. I wont say im not happy with my WW 19” and 5.5gpm, but i imagine that 16” i could fly with.

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Some surface do, some don’t. The softer the surface, the more likely in my experience.

When it’s wet, it’s more noticeable, it seems to fade when it dries though. The post treatment definitely blends the lines together.

I do wonder, if it’s the nature of the beast so to speak? I mean, mowing a lawn makes the same pattern - due to the rotation of the blades one way, then the other way makes the opposing line.

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Yeah, im sure my results are similar to most running 8gpm and 20"ww. I just kinda expected more speed. A hundred driveways later… i guess without heat im getting standard results.

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