Hey guys, I finished my first job and I had one constant issue. While cleaning the edges of concrete where my surface cleaner can’t reach I noticed that the pressure was too much. Mulch and loose dirt was getting blasted away by the pressure coming off my wand. I tried cleaning from different angles, different heights and using different tips (started with a turbo nozzle, then tried jrod, and finally yellow tip.) I’m guessing that the 4200 default psi is too much. What would you guys recommend for concrete cleaning?
Well most of the time you could ball valve it if you have a shutoff before your gun which I am hoping you do it also can make rinsing stuff that was splattered onto a wall or siding easier to clean up too. But knowing your machine and unloader settings and matching tips to it over time is part of the initial setup. I run my psi much lower to fit for my surface cleaner to do what it needs to and work around those settings for psi on the wand personally so unless you are working with commercial concrete on a consistent basis you should probably consider that into your normal pressure setup and tips.
Use a med pressure fan nozzle and just hit with edge of the fan along edge of concrete if too much debris to use ball valse. Need a steady hand. If you’re a good pistol shot, won’t be a problem.
You can also cheat by tilting the surface cleaner up on that side, especially if it’s against a wall.
I just have to ask though, what pressure are you getting at the surface cleaner? Should be around 2500, I hope you’re not blasting at 4000
1 Like
You should not be “setting” pressure on your pressure washer. The pressure needs to be determined by the nozzle used. For edges of concrete, I use a 2505 nozzle with my 4 gpm machine. That’s theoretically ~2500 psi. With 4 GPM coming out, you’re going to be blowing stuff around no matter what. I use a 0510 nozzle for rinsing (~650 psi) and even that will blow crap everywhere if you’re not careful. The best you can do is be steady with your aim and carefully cut in edges.
Side note, I don’t use any of the nozzles that came with the pressure washer. I only use 0510 for rinsing, 4008 for wood or new concrete, 2505 for anything hard, and a turbo for that stubborn stuff.
I set my power level to over 9000!
Those who get it will get it, if not, it is a meme from a cartoon/anime/manga
