After a few years downstreaming, i can instantly tell when one has crapped out. Yesterday i started soaping a really mildewy vinyl house with my standard mix and… Nothing happening to the green, even i could still see soapy suds coming out. I could tell as many times before, not enough detergent was getting to the surface. So, i replaced the injector and saw immediate cleaning power difference. When i got back to the shop, i did a post mortem just to determine the problem. Spring was fine, ceramic ball was fine, oring on barb was ok, but probably gummy. But the real culprit was the cone orifice insert. It was corroded away, as many times before.
Look at the attached pic you can see the difference between the bad one and good one. In case you ever wondered why these things fail.
It’s a general pump, fixed brass injector, from powerwashstore.com. I assumed this orifice is standard in every injector… Maybe that’s wrong. If you look into the end of one, you will see a hex head… Allen wrench screws out the orifice.
Mine are 2.3 size orifice for 5-8gpm. See picture.
Wow I thought that would have been the Super Suds Sucker from Allison. I know that they come with interchangeable orifices. Trey I had that happen to me the other day as well. I thought it was funny. But since we are on the subject of injectors what is the best one that you have used. I liked the Super Suds Sucker and it worked really well but i still get the ones from BOB.
Now you know why I use X-jet setups. I downsteamed for years. Rotted out all kinds of parts, even Hose connectors etc. The last 12 yrs we have X-jet tanks on handtrucks that we roll out to every house job, some roof jobs, wood restoration jobs etc. There 10 gallon tanks and easy to roll on a decent handtruck. We can put our solutions in there much stronger then a down streamer ever can. But we also can rinse at a higher volume then most.
Not knocking downstreaming. If it works for you then stick with it. I just never liked to be so limited on what I wanted to put on a house, Condo complex, bldg etc which a downstreamer does limit that. I know because I did Downstreaming for probably 5 yrs until I discovered X-jets.
Anyone who knows Jeff LaCours the Condo king he does 200’+ in heights when dealing with Myrtle beach hotels which most of us have been to. He X-jets them and does them fast. That should tell you volumes right there on what works fast and efficient if you know exactly what your doing…
Ok, those are the same we use. I’ve never taken the orifice out before. All of the problems we have are on the top side. Think I’ll take one completely apart tomorrow. Bob have you ever tried the 2.1…3-5 gpm Ds’er? We have been using those for a while and seem to draw more running 8 gpm.
We started out with the X-Jet, I guess it’s “Ford-Chevy” but for the majority of our work ds’ing is much faster and more efficient. X-Jet has its place and we carry them on our trucks, but we downstream the bulk of our work.
Difference of opinions and we tried both. That’s all contractors can really do. Try different methods and what works best for them and the type of equipment they have will help them find the right fit.
I have not tried the 2.1 injector meant for 3-5gpm machines… Though you are the 2nd person today to mention that the 2.1 will draw more on my 8gpm machine. The good orifice i used in the photo i posted is a smaller orifice from a 2.1 injector… I will try it out!!! See you in Nashville! Bring some shooter tips.
