Hi all,
I am looking at making a pressure washer trailer for washing/disinfecting tractors etc. and am hoping to obtain some input from the community here on the preference between oil burning vs. electric burner hot water pressure washer? In addition, why would you choose one over the other? I haven’t been able to find any information on the pros/cons for the two items.
Kind regards,
Matt
Do you plan on having access to power at every location you’re washing at? I would go with oil so you’re able to wash anywhere.
I’m not sure I have ever seen an Electric burner… I’ve seen propane burners.
I might have been confused about the 12V burner designation. I believe they are all 12V but oil fired (at least the models I am interested at, as opposed to 120V). So does that mean that the system requires diesel fuel (oil) and generates 12V to power the burner from that?
There are electric hot water machines. They use an electric motor to spin the pump but they are still diesel powered burners. Those are typically 120v.
There are gas powered hot water machines. They use a gas motor to spin the pump but they are typically diesel powered burners. Those can come in 12v or 120v.
Some people like 12v due to less cost and less worry about belts slipping, motors going out, etc.
Some people like 120v because it offers more reliable burner operation and is essentially a built in generator which allows you to run other things off of the machine such as lights, trash pumps, etc.
Both have their pros and cons. The price difference between the two is roughly about $500 depending on the manufacturer.
Thanks @DisplacedTexan, that helps out allot.
How long would you typically be able to run a 12V diesel burner for? I am looking at hooking a 200 gallon tank up to it, so I am hoping the diesel fuel will last quite a while if I am out in the field. The engine is a 13HP gas Honda with a 12V diesel burner, 4GPM.
That depends on a lot of things. How long you’re on the trigger, how well your burner is adjusted, etc. I’d recommend always having extra fuel on hand if you intend to do this seriously. Is the 200gal tank for your buffer? Will there be water on site?
For you I’d figure around 1.5 gallons of diesel per hour
All depends on how hot you want your water to be and how warm the incoming water supply is ,We go through twice the amount of diesel fuel in the winter months. We generally try to keep it between 110 and 120 degrees during the winter, less in the warmer months. If we’re degreasing a rig ,I’m 160 and over. You get it to hot for long periods of time,You’ll be changing Orings more frequently. Welcome to the Forum bubby.
Whatchu talking bout Willis? You run Viton rings right? I thought they can run up over 400 degrees. You best find some better rings 
I do , And yes they still burn up if you run at 170 ish or higher for a length of time. Get an undercarriage cleaner and spend hrs under a truck , then report back to me your findings lol.
They mainly burn up right after the coil were it’s the hottest
Bounce your so called Viton o-rings on a table and see if they have any rebound if they bounce they’re fake lol If they do that quick disconnect coming off your burner is trash and it’s chewing up the rings not the heat
I get um from pressuretek, bought a ton of them little high dollar things last year before you enlightened me about EBAY, as for the QC , you might be right, they do get chatted up pretty good , When we run that undercarriage cleaner, I ramp up the unloader to 3500 psi and the temp at 200° , Thats when the orings start leaking and get trashed.
If you can remember get a close up pic of a bad one that you pull out.
