I (thankfully) had a client reschedule their driveway cleaning from Sunday to later next week. I already mixed the driveway batch and I needed to clean mine anyway so I took the extra time to get my driveway lookin right.
About 1 hour in I hear an awful grinding noise and instantly start running to my pressure washer. Cut it off and notice the pump spewing water. Look in the oil glass and I see a beautiful grey milkshake of water and oil. Looked back and the mixture had gone through my hose and into my surface cleaner. After about an hour of clean up with degreaser and the injector on my ryboi 2.3gpm piece of garbage, I got to take apart my pump.
For reference the PW i was using was a simpson 3.5gpm 4kpsi with a gx270 engine. The machine had about 60 hours on it total and i checked the oil (like always) before I started it. One thing I noticed that was weird was the pull cord was stuck for the first couple tries. I let the water run a little longer through the machine and it started on the 3rd crank or so. I’ve never run it dry or anything of the sort and treat it like my baby. Here’s a picture of the insides of my pump after it grenaded itself.
Now is the time to see Diego and buy an 8 GPM machine or if you don’t want to Shell out $4,500 I’ve got several used ones sitting in the shop I’ll sell you
I have little doubt that I did something I was unaware of. I did a little bit of research and it seems my unloader valve was most likely the issue. I hadn’t seen it working lately but didn’t think much because the engine wasn’t stalling. I recently installed a 5kpsi pressure indicator on the outlet of the pump because I was curious to see how it was doing. Everything was working perfectly until it exploded. Just thankful it was my driveway and not a clients otherwise this would be a much different story.
Yea i just spent most of my money on a new tractor. Tough time for my stuff to break but… I’ll get in touch with you in a few weeks when I have a truck and a buffer tank. Thank you very much for the offer.
I think my gameplan is to buy a new pump. Anyone know the biggest pump I can put on a gx270? I’d love a 4gpm/3500psi but I don’t have a clue how the conversion works. Smart thing to do would probably be just buy the same pump but thats not too fun.
You’re pushing the GX270 to the max already I believe. I also run a GX270 with the AAA triplex pump labeled at 3.5gpm /4,000 psi. I’ve never tested actual gpm or psi, and have been using it since January 2019 but I’ve put close to 60 hours on it since I installed an hour meter on it about a month and a half ago. No idea how many hours I actually have on it, but when it does die - likely soon - I’ll have no worries about paying $306 after taxes and shipping to get it delivered to my door. It’ll pay for itself in just a job or two and I’ll hopefully be set for another 3 years or so.
Yea i just did the calculations… the gx270 puts out ~9hp at 3600rpm MAX. A lot of these 3.5gpm/4kpsi pumps recommend around 11-13HP. Its a box store Simpson pressure washer… pretty ridiculous that a $1200 machine is underpowered. I got puuuunked. Woof.
I bought the same machine from Home Depot, buts it’s branded as a DeWalt. But same engine and same pump as the Simpson you have as they are both owned by FNA group. I paid about $800 or so for mine back in 2019 and I can’t complain one bit. I’ve also never used a true commercial machine so I can’t compare it to what most of the guys on here can. But I know I can wash one and two story homes like it’s not a problem and that’s just fine for me and my business.
They may die tomorrow but I have machines running every day with over 3k hours on them. I’ve got a bunch of tanks but they are all in use or going to my cabin. Either way, if you are planning on staying in business, washing houses with a 12v is not the way. Washing with the pressure washers you have now is not the way. This is the time of year to be knocking out tons of houses, not tinkering on equipment. That’s winter time stuff.
Youre tellin me… My Dog died, my truck’s trans broke, the AC in my backup yukon broke and now my PW broke in the same month . It’s alright though. Life wouldn’t be fun without the challenges and pitfalls. It’s quite the experience when everything goes wrong within the same 3 weeks but that just makes it more exciting! No point in doing anything if youre just gonna give up when the goin gets tough but all these snafu’s are costin me piles of money.
It’s my main source of income but I’m good for a while. I did well for myself when I sold firewood and worked as an excavator operator. I developed a product for those nicotine pouches and needed more money to fund it so I quit and started washing houses. This is just a means to an end so I can kick start my other project, but there is tons of money to be made in the mean time. I’m also 22 and just got tired of other fellas making money off my labor. Don’t have to worry about a family to support for now so im not too worried.
. It’s alright though. Life wouldn’t be fun without the challenges and pitfalls. It’s quite the experience when everything goes wrong within the same 3 weeks but that just makes it more exciting! No point in doing anything if youre just gonna give up when the goin gets tough but all these snafu’s are costin me piles of money.
