Pressure washer hose size

[GarageGuy89]

Have the Subaru power stroke from Costco. Comes with a very stiff 25' 1/4 hose that likes to stay coiled up so I fight it every time I use it.

Want to buy two 3/8" diameter, 50' rubber hoses and be done with that stock one.

Is upgrading to 3/8" worth it for 100' of hose? It's about twice the price. Would like to hear if anyone has experienced a difference between the two sizes. I can see the theoretical difference, but wan't to know if anyone has actually made the switch and noticed it.

Most of my washing is concrete, getting mold/scum off of stuff.

 

[jeffer949]

Will not make a difference if the nozzle on the end is the same size. The 1/4" hose is not a restriction. You will just be pulling a heavier hose around that has more water in it. On second thought. It could hurt performance. You will be pushing a larger quantity of water for the same length of hose with a larger diameter. The tips are what makes the pressure. Make sure your machine can handle a 100' hose. Many of the residential units can not.

 

[MarlynOC]

Be sure they have psi rating of at least pump output.

 

[Kaizen]

A quality power washing hose will be stiff like that. When it starts to be flexible is when it will start failing. Never seen a rubber flexible one that takes that much pressure


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[GarageGuy89]

Thought I would follow up on this. I ended up getting a 3/8" hose. Works great!

No loss in pressure, no surging from larger hose, and much easier to deal with than the crappy stiff one that comes with the washer. I could not find much info on this sort of thing and everything I did find said that the home owner pumps could not sustain the volume from the larger hose. I didn't understand were they were coming from on this since everything is controlled at the orifice.

Curious to see how a 100' of 1/4" hose vs 100' of 3/8" hose would compare, since 1/4" is so much cheaper.

I did notice with the nozzle off there was quit a bit more flow coming out of the bigger hose. Didn't notice a difference with the nozzle on though.

 

[jeffer949]

The issue is that you have more water in the hose itself and it puts more back pressure on the pump. Sure it may be ok now but you are putting a strain on your pump. No way to measure it but it could shorten the life of your pump.

 

[GarageGuy89]

The issue is that you have more water in the hose itself and it puts more back pressure on the pump. Sure it may be ok now but you are putting a strain on your pump. No way to measure it but it could shorten the life of your pump.

Sorry, not following...

 

[jeffer949]

Its all about the volume of the hose.

A .25"x 100' hose will hold 1.19 gallons of water
A .375"x 100' hose will hold 2.29 gallons of water.

So by running a 3/8 hose you are pushing 1.1 more gallons of water. I know it may not seem like much. And your machine may be able to handle it. But you are pushing more weight. It may or may not cause an issue. It will make the biggest difference if you go up on a ladder or on a roof. Even commercial units have limits on how high and how long of a hose you can run.

 

[GarageGuy89]

Still not following...

Isn't everything controlled by the orifice? Whether you have a 1/4" hose or a 10' diameter hose your still only able to push 2.5 gpm out of that orifice nozzle.

On start up, yes you are requiring more volume, but I don't see how that effects the performance. Your not pushing more weight, your pushing the same amount of weight for a longer period of time. Which means you're just running the motor that much longer on the pump cycle, which is well within it's specifications.

Or am I missing something still...

 

[sberry]

It will work better with a bigger hose. A longer hose is way more convenient. I just put a new 100 on mine not too long ago. I got it from pressure wash direct. I had a Northern one, about 3 or 4 years in would blow the end off. going in. The guy said at direct they used to have some problems but found this better hose.

 

[Chromdome35]

My wife keeps telling me a bigger hose is better, My response has always been it's all about how you use it.

 

[kctyphoon]

I have a 50' PW hose, and a 75' garden hose.. between those, I only have to move the machine minimally.. if your not going enough distance to really utilize that 100' hose - gallons and pressure aside - it's just gonna be a huge pain in the *** to move around, clean up, etc.. more is not always better. Not mention it's twice as heavy as a 50'.

 

[gooseman80]

In your situation where you are using a bigger (3/8"inside diameter) hose for an orifice only requiring a (1/4" inside diameter) hose and assuming the hose is on level ground, you will have less pressure loss per foot using the larger hose. I ideal of increase pressure due to the amount of volume pushed only holds true for a specified velocity and higher elevation at the end. Since you are using an orifice which is limiting your volume's velocity, this ideal does not affect you.