Hot Pressure Washer

[NotOrganized]

I’m on the hunt for a hot water pressure washer for my shop. Don’t need an industrial model. Just something reliable that can last for years of occasional use.
What brands should I consider?

 

[sberry]

Go to pressure washer direct. They have a house brand, very generic.

 

[sberry]

4000 to 6500$ Considering the depreciation to a couple new cars could pay for itself. I would be lost without it. Would replace it with 6500$ model tomorrow if I had to but mine still works great and I bought it in 84. I have it plumbed in, flip a switch and it will do things that havnt even occurred to you. If I was doing it again would have LP vs diesel.

 

[lilredex]

Hypros are always good for smaller jobs, if you can find one. They handle 180*F water which will clean off most junk. Mine, with a 1 1/2 HP electric motor, direct drive.....

 

[NotOrganized]

What is pressure washer direct's house brand? There are two Hotsy dealers close enough to consider them. Are they worth looking at?

 

[Wanna Ride]

Not sure what your budget is, but this is a very nice unit, and reasonable priced. We had several of them at work, and they produce great results.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200322212_200322212

 

[NotOrganized]

A price like that does not scare me away. I am not that knowledgeable about them. I just want one that I can easily get parts for should it fail in some way.

 

[gnpenning]

What is pressure washer direct's house brand? There are two Hotsy dealers close enough to consider them. Are they worth looking at?

I don't know about newer ones, it use to be in my area that's what everyone used and they worked great.

 

[Jsf721]

Look on the dirtkiller site. We sell those and as Long as you get a kranzle pump (German) they are bullet proof. Costs are reasonable given the competition and quality of the unit.

 

[sberry]

Hotsy is good. My shop unit is Alkota. I remaned an old Hotsy for a truck.

 

[NotOrganized]

I have a gas cold water brand x unit that is noisy as heck. Are the electric ones noticing you quieter?

 

[kctyphoon]

I have a gas cold water brand x unit that is noisy as heck. Are the electric ones noticing you quieter?

Yes electric models are very quiet.

North Star (I think) makes hot water add on units for machines capable of hot water temps.. I had a post recently asking if anyone used a standard water heater to feed their pressure washers. Seems like its not all that uncommon.. if you wanted too, it looks like you "could" buy a tankless hot water heater, mount it to a wall - and supply a good pressure washer that way as long as it was capable of handling the temperatures. Seems like a decent option especially if you didn't need one that often, and warm/hot water would be beneficial instead of a hot/steam model that is very expensive.

 

[NotOrganized]

Hmm, this Heater unit might be a good match to a cold pressure washer.
http://www.shopbizmart.com/product/bizmart-commercial-do-it-yourself-hotbox-water-heater-1346

 

[LXCam]

I've had my Landa now for close to 15yrs and she gets used pretty regular. I've never had one single issue with it. What I like best about this model but I'm not certain if this is typical of other brands is... once up to temp you can open the injector port on the handle and it just dumps out low pressure steam. That's really handy for certain tasks where you don't want a massive amount of pressurized water blasting everywhere or when removing decals and stuff. BTW, this one is electric and my other non heated one is gas. The sparky unit is sooooo much quieter to use, I much prefer it over the other. But it's not an option if I need to be a couple hundred feet away from a power source even with 10ga. Extension cords.

 

[NotOrganized]

Ya, I hear you. I would love to have a unit that can do low pressure steam on occasion. I wear ear plugs for just about everything, so maybe I should just go gas and not worry about the noise.

 

[Wanna Ride]

A price like that does not scare me away. I am not that knowledgeable about them. I just want one that I can easily get parts for should it fail in some way.

We had six of them, and I don't recall ever needing to replace anything on any of them, other than a wheel one time, when an idiot hit it with a forklift.

 

[NotOrganized]

We had six of them, and I don't recall ever needing to replace anything on any of them, other than a wheel one time, when an idiot hit it with a forklift.

It's tempting to get. I will be calling the Hotsy guys tomorrow to see what they have to offer. Fortunately I am not in a rush. Thanks for the help!

 

[sberry]

I have never used steam on mine, would have to read the directions to even know how. 1000s of hours on hot pressure. These are very reliable.

 

[Wanna Ride]

I have never used steam on mine, would have to read the directions to even know how. 1000s of hours on hot pressure. These are very reliable.

I've never used steam either, but one thing's for sure... when cleaning any kind of mechanical equipment, a good pressure washer with hot water capabilities will make you throw rocks at one without.

 

[JD3020]

Heated pressure washer is one of the best investments i've ever made. Bought an old Alkota diesel-fired 240v unit this winter on CL for $250. Put another $300 in new hose, 2 guns, fuel injector/line/filter, capacitors on the motor, thermostat, and gave the burner a tune up. Bet we've put 150 hours on it this winter and spring. Our pump is rated for 4.75gpm at 1900psi. I love the high flow/low pressure for washing trucks and equipment. Can blast off salt and oil without having to to worry about tearing up wires or paint. Only real issue we're having is i think the coil is about plugged. Once the thermostat cuts the burner off we lose hot water in about 30 seconds and you're back to cold water till the thermostat cools down and the burner fires back up. With how big the coil is it should be able to store several gallons of water and not cool off instantly. May try to de-scale it but i'm afraid to open up a bunch of leaks and destroying the coil.


Still cheaper than buying a new one though.

 

[JD3020]

 

[NotOrganized]

Is that hot water only or with soap/detergent added?

 

[CGT80]

It is better to heat the water after it is pressurized, that way the pump stays cool.
The commercial units I used professionally were around 20+hp and 3500 psi 5.5 gpm and we ran the boilers at 200 degrees or so. The have gas engines and burn diesel in the boiler, and even have a 2400 watt generator run of the engine as well to power the boiler and recovery units, although we used separate generators for recovery. The machines were fed with water tanks that were around 300 gallons. When they go into bypass mode, the water goes back into the tank. If left on bypass long enough, they would heat up the tank.

Hydrotek is the manufacturer. With a dual nozzle lance, twisting the handle would send water to the second nozzle which would reduce the pressure. With the hot water and variable pressure, we could easily clean restaurant equipment or delicate areas in buildings and still get the oil and grime off. The biggest job I worked on was cold washing the roof of a petsmart and toysrus building. It was at least a 3 day job and we had three units with 200-300 feet of hose on each. Of course we used surfacers to cover the area, just like we did with concrete.

 

[JD3020]

Is that hot water only or with soap/detergent added?

Hot water only, think i had it set at 180*. No need for degreaser or anything, i just scrapped off the big stuff with a putty knife and blasted the rest off in 10 minutes. Wish i had some more before pictures because it was a mess, was doing the water pump and painted the frame on our dump truck.

 

[NotOrganized]

Nice. I’m scanning CL in hopes a good used one surfaces.
I like the idea of heating water after pressurizing to keep the pump cool. Is that a common feature?

 

[sberry]

Waiting on a used one is going to be painful. Some guys are lucky, I waited on a hoist till I bought a new one. That was a mistake. I looked for giggles at dealer used units, dam, mine is about 30 years old and buffing the paint it would be worth about what I paid for it. A new one is double.
I had to put a couple minor parts on it but they are like welders, they last a long time. As you can see, others in this thread vouch the same thing. I sold one on an install about 25 years ago, saw the guy a while back said,,, never had a seconds problem with it, not once, used daily. Never even tuned it up, mine has the original nozzle in it, changed a couple fuel filters. Finally put a common furnace filter on it.
Mine is built in, I installed it. I use it a lot in the winter, I have 5 gpm and it makes a lot of hot and works for deice. Its on a reel, port in the wall, switches outside, connect the wand in winter and hit the switch and above freezing the wand is on it for the season.
I never put things away muddy or salty, don't work on them dirty, wash the car in the day even after short tips if salt is really bombed on it, park inside warm sometimes in bitter weather and take the time to clean it off. I never really separately wash windsheilds, I clean them with pressure wash and it doesn't take but another minute or 2 to knock the mud off the whole thing. Its just easier.
I keep up on brake work, clean wheel wells before bringing in, so much less sand down shirt.

 

[Wanna Ride]

Mine is built in, I installed it. I use it a lot in the winter, I have 5 gpm and it makes a lot of hot and works for deice. Its on a reel, port in the wall, switches outside, connect the wand in winter and hit the switch and above freezing the wand is on it for the season.
I never put things away muddy or salty, don't work on them dirty, wash the car in the day even after short tips if salt is really bombed on it, park inside warm sometimes in bitter weather and take the time to clean it off. I never really separately wash windsheilds, I clean them with pressure wash and it doesn't take but another minute or 2 to knock the mud off the whole thing. Its just easier.
I keep up on brake work, clean wheel wells before bringing in, so much less sand down shirt.

Nice set-up. I hate dirty vehicles too. Partially for appearance, but equally for maintenance. I mean, sometimes you have to get them dirty, but they don't need to stay that way. Especially here in the midwest, where salt and calcium-chloride is used on the roads often and excessively. A couple times a year in the warmer months (or "road-construction season", as we call it), I go through the difficult and labor-intense process of thoroughly cleaning all the salt and debris from the undercarriage of my vehicles. Makes a big difference in their life and longevity too.

My next shop will be large enough to clean the vehicles inside, with a hot-pressure washer. Wait... no it won't. My next shop will be built in a state that doesn't get several feet of snow and ice in the winter. But it'll still have an indoor hot-pressure wash area.

 

[sberry]

I don't wash inside. I have a good place for run off. I scrape up and gobs of grease first but a grass raceway with a slope takes it away and wicks any oil up and burns it off in sunlight. Dirt, road salt settle in the driveway then the water runs off to grass and hay.
Not every place would have that option but I get rid of the ice and grime outside, brought in about half a bucket of road dirt all last winter. It's clean and ready to let dry when it comes in the door in the winter.
I got buds work on dirty stuff, one can't help rolling on the floor at first opportunity, filthy every day. I could wear work cloths for 2 weeks and still not dirty. I don't like getting I car seats like that, sitting in my office etc.
I am not spotless but it takes a long time before it's a mess, buy paper towels by the case and have utility sinks and urinal outside the bathrooms to keep dirty traffic out.
I bought my pressure washer a long time ago, at the time portable seemed like a good idea. If I was getting a new one for the shop it would be lp fired instead of diesel.

 

[NotOrganized]

I am fortunate to live far enough south that salt is not an issue. I do however live on dirt roads of red clay covered (somewhat) in gravel. Any small leak becomes a huge mess. I also seem to travel when it rains so road grime is everywhere. I use my cold pressure washer but i would be happier if it was lower pressure and HOT.

 

[sberry]

Hot helps a little with clay and some grime, film,,, but dirt removal is about the same cold. Grease is another matter. Mine is 5 gpm, not real high pressure but lots of water. It really cuts ice and removes a lot of dirt fast.

 

[sberry]

I live on grimey roads. It's about impossible to keep a nice finish and I really don't am not pretentious about it. I also drive real beaters but I hate them covered I mud. Brushing up against them, it's so noticeable even on a rust bucket, makes it 2x as bad. See them pulled over on occasion mainly cause they are old and filthy.

 

[NotOrganized]

I hear ya, I bought a shiny new car a few years back with the intention of keeping it super shiny. I would clean it all day and one trip slowly down the mile of dirt and it was covered with dust. I finally gave up and traded it for something I was not concerned with keeping as clean. I keep hoping they will pave in my area. I will then be more concerned with keeping things clean and shiny.

 

[JD3020]

One thing i LOVE about our pressure washer is being electric/diesel i can run it inside all day. The burner is pretty clean on both kero and #2 so soot and smoke isn't really an issue, but my dream is to either convert it LP or vent it outside, just a 6" outlet so it wouldn't take much to do.

But with the electric motor for the pump all i have to do is plug it into a 240v outlet, hook up water, and flip a switch. No filling up a gas tank. No dealing with a choke or crappy governor. No noisy *** engine to listen to. Its got a 40ft cord and 50ft hose so reach isn't an issue. It has a spot up against the wall it lives in, always hooked up and ready to go. The walls in the shop are metal and the burner is 2-3ft away so we don't have a fire hazard. Nice part is its directly next to a main door so we can wash inside or outside and never have to move it. Currently looking for one of the swinging arms out of a car wash to mount outside over the wash pad, or a nice reel. Use it a lot to wash farm equipment so keeping the hose up off the ground would be awesome.