Hello all been reading on the forum for about 6 months I have a very specific question I do residential concrete cleaning and I bought the briggs and Stratton surface cleaner…after three washes it is broken I believe I have a 2.3 gym 3200psi machine what recomendtion surface cleaner should I get? thanks.
Hello.
I started with a similar machine and soon realized it just wasn’t going to work as a money maker.
I strongly advise you save your money and at the very least get a 4gpm/4000psi BELT drive before you consider doing any residential concrete. You’ll want an Ultra Wash 16" to go with it.
why wasn’t it going to work? I’m not doing anything other than concrete no houses
Not enough flow. Pressure is so-so, 3500 is better. 2.4gpm is much less than comes out of the house faucet. It would take FOREVER to clean a driveway with that kind of flow. High pressure and low flow equals frustration. GPM is king.
I used one of those Maxx 15" cleaners for a couple small jobs and soon realized it was just not working. It left really bad concrete stripes.
Heck even my 4/4 machine is really slow. I’m saving for a bigger machine.
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what would you recommend machine and surface cleaner wise
Whisper Wash Ultra Clean, and a MINIMUM of 4gpm belt drive machine. 5.5 is better. Please don’t get a direct drive, it’s a real PITA.
I’m only saying this because the guys on here really helped me get the correct equipment after an exhausting buy/sell cycle of substandard nonsense. It’s still a work in progress.
Here’s a good starter unit.
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Heres one for WAY cheaper. Ask for lori and she will customize your order sending you non marking grey hose, suttner gun and what ever size wand you want 
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what now?
2.3 max size would be 16 inches and you already over extending your machines capabilities… You might as well go get a 14 or 12 inch surface cleaner. Rule of thumb is 4 inches per 1 gpm.
4 gpm = 16 inches MAX to run it nicely. Alot of guys get a 20 or 19/18 inches and they have to go real slow. The smaller diameter the faster it spins, the faster you go. And avoid tiger/zebra stripping. The more gpm you go the bigger size surface cleaner you can get up to a certain point.
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There is a place for various machines. I have a 2.3 gpm/3600 PSI, a 4 gpm/4000 psi and an 8 gpm/3500 psi. You all may laugh, but this week I have been using the 2.3 gpm all week on a backyard limestone restoration and sealing job. Why? I don’t want to flood the backyard and minimize the amount of water. The backyard is also 200 ft from where I would be able to put my trailer. I just take the little unit, hook up water with 100 ft of 3/8 pressure hose and move it around as need across what is probably a 2 acre area (several feed hoses). It has been great!
I will also use this when cleaning fence for the same reason. Minimize the amount of water. I have not noticed any real difference in time to clean between 2.3 gpm and 8 gpm when doing these types of jobs.
Now on concrete, you will be a glutton for punishment with 2.3 gpm. I know - try doing 20K sq ft of flatwork with that. Nothing but misery. Took days (seriously) to complete the job. Same job done a couple of weeks ago with 8 gpm and was done in 6 hours.
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Same, I use my 4gpm a fair amount of time when I don’t need a lot of flow or for small areas w/o good drainage.
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If you are going to use your current machine for the time being I’d go with this unit. You should be able to get it at your local Lowe’s. Good luck. 
https://www.lowes.com/pd/SurfaceMaxx-Pro-Pro-PW-Surface-Cleaner-4500-PSI/1000382309
Should I keep my 2.3 gym machine and get the surface cleaner the dude recommended or upgrade to a 4gpm or 3.5 gym keep in mind I’m only doing residential
Absolute minimum is 4gpm. Make some money with the Surface Maxx if you can’t afford the Ultra Clean, then save up your money.
And please be careful cleaning concrete, type ‘cream’ in the search bar. Also type ‘stripes’ in there too.
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Is this your full-time job or some kind of side gig for extra cash?
