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Pressure washer ball valve

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mike93lx

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I need a ball valve so that I can disconnect my surface cleaner without shutting down the engine.

PW is rated 4.2gpm/4400psi.

I see lots of cheap ones on Amazon, but I'd rather get something higher quality. Any recommendations?

Paging @fatfillup

Maybe something like this on the end of the hose with a quick connect to attach to the surface cleaner or wand?


www.pressurewashersdirect.com

Pressure Washers | Fergusonhome.com

Shop Pressure Washers on Ferguson Home
www.pressurewashersdirect.com www.pressurewashersdirect.com
 
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seber

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Swagelok makes a full line of industrial stainless fittings. That's where I went when I needed fittings that absolutely needed to be 100% reliable. IE hexavalent chrome, plating acids, etc.
 
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Rinspeed

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Webstone makes quality valves that are very reasonable but I don't think even the SS ones are rated for more than 1000 PSI WOG.
 
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jblnut

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I have a regular ol’ brass 3/8” ball valve between my pressure washer hose and the quick connect for the handles. It has been in use for over 20yrs. Same ball valve and hoses. The hoses are some fancy grey rubber deals from an old car wash. I added the ball valve so I could swap to a foamer back when I used to own vehicles that I liked washing.
 
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mike93lx

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jblnut said:
I have a regular ol’ brass 3/8” ball valve between my pressure washer hose and the quick connect for the handles. It has been in use for over 20yrs. Same ball valve and hoses. The hoses are some fancy grey rubber deals from an old car wash. I added the ball valve so I could swap to a foamer back when I used to own vehicles that I liked washing.
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Wow. I just checked HD, but their 1/2" ball valve is only rated for 600psi. I'm not brave enough for that
 
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jblnut

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If you read the fine print it has a 6x safety factor. Maybe. I didn’t read the fine print but it seems like it’d say something like that. Like how the manual says that the fuel tank is 22 gallons on my van but I put 23 in it the other day.
 
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Ing3018

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I have had this one for a couple years. It adds some weight to my setup so I don't use it too often. I found it valuable when I had to run a jetter hose or when I want to rinse off something at a lower pressure.
It is advisable to reverse your quick-connects if using a valve like this for rinsing. Otherwise, you end up losing the O-rings in the female connector. After losing a couple O-rings, I reversed all of my pressure washer connectors. They are backwards from how a compressed air system is setup.
https://www.amazon.com/Ufixed-Hydra...e-Connect/dp/B0C7CHYP3T/?tag=atomicindus08-20
 
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mike93lx

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jblnut said:
If you read the fine print it has a 6x safety factor. Maybe. I didn’t read the fine print but it seems like it’d say something like that. Like how the manual says that the fuel tank is 22 gallons on my van but I put 23 in it the other day.
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That analogy is a bit of a stretch.

But even at 6x, it's less than the rating of my PW. Glad it's working for you, but I'm good
 
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mike93lx

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Ing3018 said:
I have had this one for a couple years. It adds some weight to my setup so I don't use it too often. I found it valuable when I had to run a jetter hose or when I want to rinse off something at a lower pressure.
It is advisable to reverse your quick-connects if using a valve like this for rinsing. Otherwise, you end up losing the O-rings in the female connector. After losing a couple O-rings, I reversed all of my pressure washer connectors. They are backwards from how a compressed air system is setup.
https://www.amazon.com/Ufixed-Hydra...e-Connect/dp/B0C7CHYP3T/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Click to expand...
Ah. Fantastic point.

When I did my driveway this weekend, I found using the chemical application tip on my wand worked great for sweeping the driveway. I feel like it works better than just the male QD fitting would do, but will have to test.

I dont need to share hoses or accessories with any other people, so swapping direction wouldn't be a problem
 
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jblnut

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If you’ve never used one of those turbo nozzles I’d also look at those. I almost exclusively use one of those when washing things now. Peels grime and **** off amazingly well even with cold water. I get the big stuff off, foam it and wash it off again. Works very well.

I tired a fancy $100 nozzle first and got an el’cheapo off Amazon for the 2nd washer and they work the same and look almost identical.
 
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mike93lx

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jblnut said:
If you’ve never used one of those turbo nozzles I’d also look at those. I almost exclusively use one of those when washing things now. Peels grime and **** off amazingly well even with cold water. I get the big stuff off, foam it and wash it off again. Works very well.

I tired a fancy $100 nozzle first and got an el’cheapo off Amazon for the 2nd washer and they work the same and look almost identical.
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I can hit basically everything I need to with the surface cleaner, so the need for a turbo nozzle hasn't come up yet, but I expect I'll have one at some point

The surface cleaner does a great job, but with a nearly flat driveway, the loose dirt doesn't wash away well, so a wash down is necessary.
 
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Tinkerer2

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Yep, I use a turbo nozzle for the tops and sides of our landscape blocks/pavers. You can't imagine how well one cleans. 1000% better than any tip that came with your PW.
 
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scooby074

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Another vote for 0* turbo tips. Mine lives on my 4000psi most of the time. Best nozzle I have. Get a good one, I think mine is a General Pump maybe, made in Italy.
 
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mike93lx

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Turbo tips are cool, but I must be missing something. Why do so many think I need one for this purpose? A turbo tip isn't the right tool to rinse down a driveway after surface cleaning

Or is it just a general recommendation?
 
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scooby074

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mike93lx said:
Turbo tips are cool, but I must be missing something. Why do so many think I need one for this purpose? A turbo tip isn't the right tool to rinse down a driveway after surface cleaning

Or is it just a general recommendation?
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General for me, but I do use my turbo to clean grass out of the cracks in my pavement as an example. 0* is the max press your washer can make and the turbo spin action really helps get the water where you want it, its constantly changing impact angles which makes a difference too.
 
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Tinkerer2

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General use recommendation. However, for major stains it can be used CAREFULLY on concrete. i.e. change pressure that water is hitting the concrete by increasing distance from tip to concrete. The turbo portion is that 0 degree tip spinning. They can spin from 3000 to 7000 rpms. They are very impressive to work with.

I would get one with a #3.0 orifice for your 2.8 gpm machine.

Here is a General Pump 3650 psi 3.0 one. $77

Or get a cheaper one if you aren't going to use it daily/weekly - Simpson 3600 psi with 3.0 orifice $28

Oh, be very careful especially with one of these as they can/will cut skin if a body part gets in the way.
 
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mike93lx

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Tinkerer2 said:
General use recommendation. However, for major stains it can be used CAREFULLY on concrete. i.e. change pressure that water is hitting the concrete by increasing distance from tip to concrete. The turbo portion is that 0 degree tip spinning. They can spin from 3000 to 7000 rpms. They are very impressive to work with.

I would get one with a #3.0 orifice for your 2.8 gpm machine.

Here is a General Pump 3650 psi 3.0 one. $77

Or get a cheaper one if you aren't going to use it daily/weekly - Simpson 3600 psi with 3.0 orifice $28

Oh, be very careful especially with one of these as they can/will cut skin if a body part gets in the way.
Click to expand...
My machine is 4.2gpm and 4400psi
 
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