Upgrade Choices

[dperez]

@DisplacedTexan

I watched a guy with a 4/4 wheeled unit do one of the local gas station canopies with one of those things. Broad daylight, no reclaim, customers around, nothing tarped or taped off and just going to town.

And here I am shopping for pieces to put together a 20 plus gpm rig with hydraulically driven pumps. Man I may be doing things wrong!

[marinegrunt]

@DisplacedTexan

I watched a guy with a 4/4 wheeled unit do one of the local gas station canopies with one of those things. Broad daylight, no reclaim, customers around, nothing tarped or taped off and just going to town.

That’s insane. I’ve never used one but, from seeing them in videos, one big gust of wind and things could get ugly fast. Why would anyone wash anywhere around a gas station during the day? That’s more of a 4:00 a.m. or earlier kind of thing.

[dperez]

@DisplacedTexan

4gpm is cool for washing cars at a dealership

Believe it or not they run 2.5 gpm pumps.

[DisplacedTexan]

What in the wide world of sports are you up to now?! 20gpm? Are you going to have Master Blaster running that wand? That’s going to be a workout!

[DisplacedTexan]

Exactamundo amigo.

[DisplacedTexan]

No kidding? That was actually my first foray into the pressure washing industry during college and we ran a 4gpm. We did over 2000 cars a week. I couldn’t imagine doing that with 2.5.

[qons]

@marinegrunt

A lot of people just starting out have no idea about gpm. Be glad you stumbled upon this forum. You might as well just get a 5.5. They don’t cost that much more than a 4.

@marinegrunt But if I get a 5.5 I’m definitely going the water tank route, correct?

[dperez]

Stadiums baby stadiums and a mess of other stuff

[Infinity]

You’re going with the buffer tank, regardless. We’ll make sure and badger you until you do

[Hotshot]

@qons

But if I get a 5.5 I’m definitely going the water tank route, correct?

Correct.

[DisplacedTexan]

Even with a 4gpm you’ll definitely want to go with a buffer tank for all the reasons we’ve already covered. A 65gal leg tank is a pretty small footprint and the peace of mind will be more than worth it.

This has got me to thinking. @Innocentbystander what size tank do you run on your service body trucks? You don’t do concrete if I remember correctly so you’re not worried about running a surface cleaner but you still have to run a big enough tank to keep up, right?

[Hotshot]

I think he runs 2 8s on each truck, supplying it via hydrant.@displacedtexan

[DisplacedTexan]

Ah, I see. I’ve never done any stadiums so I would have no clue what would be best. A local competitor ( I’m not much competition because he’s very well established) does all of the University’s stadiums before the season starts and I’ve always wondered how he goes about it.

[DisplacedTexan]

I thought he ran two 8’s. Just running like a 125gal and dump filling that thing in 40 seconds or something?

[Hotshot]

I Dunno. He’s a crafty one. Probably brings in a fire tanker in to use as a buffer tank for all I know. Hes got plenty of 8’s running side by side. @DisplacedTexan

[qons]

Just being real…it makes me really nervous to buy a 5.5 since that means I can only use it with a water tank. But I’m trying to warm-up to it.

[DisplacedTexan]

Crafty and grumpy. Sly as a fox. Faster than a speeding bullet. Sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel. He is…The Innocent One. DUH DUH DUH!

[marinegrunt]

I don’t think he runs a very big buffer tank. I could be wrong but it might only be a 65 gallon. He always hooks to hydrants though so it’s not much of an issue. They’re probably never off the gun so it doesn’t matter as much.

[DisplacedTexan]

I mean, you can go with a 4/4 and not run a buffer tank but when you burn up a pump you’ll have more than the 5.5 with a 65gal tank would’ve cost you out of the gate. It’s not a question of “if” you will ruin a pump, it’s a “when”. No buffer = more down time for repairs and 4/4 = slower job completion times and limited scope of jobs you can take on.

[qons]

^Great points.