Pressure washer question

[HighTechRedneck]

Don't worry about the paint, this Tim Taylor edition pressure washer will take the metal off the bus.  

24 HP, 7000psi, 4.0gpm pressure washer

Not enough for you?  Need more gpm's to wash the steel chunks down the driveway?  Or maybe like most of us bus nuts you just love diesel engines!

36HP, 6000psi, 8gpm diesel powered pressure washer

What's that?  The neighbors are complaining that the pieces of steel washing down the gutter are too big?  This bad boy will turn the average MCI into 15 tons of radiator stop leak in 30 minutes or less.  

360HP, 36,000psi, 16gpm Cat Diesel powerd pressure washer

[DrivingMissLazy]

Stan, although you may technically be correct, a 5 hp 230 volt single phase motor full load amps is 28 amps and the rated branch circuit fuse rating needs to be 90 amps. Few, if any, have that type of power available to operate a power washer. To get any higher rating motor you must go to three phase service which is not available in a residential neighborhood. A 1 hp 120 volt motor is rated at 16 amps. These are published NEMA ratings, not the fake hp ratings that you sometimes see on small appliances.
Richard

Gumpy: Since you live in Minneapolis, I guess you have lots of experience crankiing  gas engines in cold weather. I am sure you know that for many years the Lincoln 200 (a very popular portable) had a 4 cylinder Wisconsin with a hand crank.

Pressure has nothing to do with the type of prime mover.  The pressure and volume are determined ny the pump and you can buy either gas or electric motors to power it.

[Stan]

Richard: I don't know anyone that use a branch circuit breaker rated for motor starting current. The heaters in a mag starter are rated at 100 percent of full load run current. Farners in this area use lots of 3 and 5 HP motors on 240 single phase with a 200 amp service entrance. On dairy farms, they have three of these motors cycling on and off when milking.   I use a horse and a half motor on my bench saw rated at 120 volt 17.5 amps and it starts happily on a 20 amp circuit.

We are having temperatures in the 50's these days and snow is rapidly disappearing so I am at the local car wash a couple of times a week. The next time I go in I will ask about their wash pump. I know it is electric and it is supplying 12 wash stalls but I am quite sure it is 3 phase for the HP they need.

[Jerry Liebler]

Richard,
    Aparently not all motors are rated the same.  I have a 5HP single phase Marathon motor on an irrigation pump.  It is nameplate rated at 23.5 FLA @ 240 v.  I've been running it on a 20 amp breaker for years and never had the breaker 'pop' even though it runs continuously for days at a time.
Regards
Jerry 4107 1120

[Busted Knuckle]

OK guys I'm putting on the fire proof suit and jumping in the fire! I have an old antique electric powered / kerosene fired steam cleaner that works awesome! But for what Johnz is doing I hardly ever even fire it up! Theres this great place called "Wally World" that sells a product called Spray Power! It is should in quarts or gallons in the regular cleaning supply area it's comes in a white bottle with red/blue lettering! It's great stuff! The quart bottles have a built in spray nozzle which is handy for keeping around to spray the rear of the bus with while stopped anywhere (I use it while fueling) then just take a plain old garden hose put yer finger over the end of it and "rinse/spray off" the "Spray Power" Works like a charm! We've been using it for yrs and it's never damaged the paint! And as I said spray it on and rinse, and the area looks good as ever! I will say we do cheat and buy it by the gallon for the shop and pour it in a garden sprayer whick is alot easier to use than the quarts as much as we use it! But for no more than ya'll would probably use it, I'd think the quart spray bottle would be perfect! Now for those greasy nasty jobs in the engine compartment or under the bus I fire up the ol' steam washer! (go to Sears and ask if they have one of those! They'll probably tell ya they don't which ones are steamed! LOL!) FWIW BK  

[Runcutter]

OK, I was a little worried about discussing heresy, but Bryce beat me to it.  My first job in the bus industry was cleaning/fueling buses, and we washed everything by hand, outside, with a garden hose and a truck-length washing brush (although, I still remember getting yelled at when I missed a spot).  The only time we used a steam cleaner was for enging cleaning.  If there was a very oily back, some cleaning mixture in a 5-gallon pressure sprayer for pre-treat.  I do remember the owner's son mixing up some new chemical, and fading the paint on the rear of a 4106 - but with whatever we used (late 1960's to mid-1970's) there was usually no problem.

So, I think the first question is whether a tool (pressure washer in this case) is needed (no, please don't look at my workshop that way, and never, never tell my wife I made that comment - by definition, if it's a tool I don't have, it's needed).   

Arthur

[dwbruner]

I prefer a gas powered pressure washer.  I recommend a unit with a commercial Honda engine with a CAT pump.  My pressure washer produces 2800 psi and I've not removed any paint.  I do have to pay attention to select the proper spray tip for the job.

Darrin