Pressure Washer newbie

[racerboy]

I picked up this NorthStar 3000PPW from a local garage sale of sorts. It has a Honda GX340 engine and a CAT pump. I know it’s an older model but the price for my budget. Anyway, I have never used a PW before and no manual was included. Can somebody walk me through the correct start up process? I looked for a user manual online, but couldn’t find anything.

Thanks





The guy I bought it from said something about loosening the red cap when I was running it so the pump could ‘breathe’. He also said not to run it unless I had it hooked up to the water. Is this true?


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[mikegt4]

I have no experience with a CAT pump but my PW (bought in the 1990's) requires water flow before starting and dumping any pressure at the wand before pulling the starter rope if I want to keep my wrist intact.

 

[Firefighter1406]

I would change fluids, fill with gas, make sure water is flowing to pump, choke engine, start engine and turn off choke as needed. Should be ready to rock at that time.

 

[JoeMcGov]

Here you go.

- Hook up the water first to the PW.
- Attach the wand hose and the wand.
- Turn on the water.
- Press the wand trigger so water flows and hold the trigger.
- Let the water flow for 2 minutes.
- Release wand trigger (stopping water flow).
- Start the engine.

Now you're ready to operate.

 

[unslow1]

JoeMcGov basically covered it. Don't forget to winterize it or the pump will probably freeze.

Is this the manual?

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/725006/Northstar-M15781120f.html

 

[MJK]

A Honda Engine and a CAT pump are as good as it gets. Take care of that thing.

 

[demarpaint]

Nice machine, I'd service all fluids and check the air filter and spark plug before I ran the machine.Unless the prior owner did it recently. I have an hour meter on mine, that eliminates any guess work when it comes to servicing the unit.

Make sure the engine oil level is full and it has fresh fuel. Check the oil level in the pump. Connect the hose to the power washer, connect the garden hose to the water inlet. Turn on the water and bleed the air out of the pump and hose. Turn off the water supply and connect the wand, turn the water back on. Flip the off switch on the engine to the on position, make sure the fuel supply is on, that is the lever below the choke, choke the engine, slide the throttle lever toward the carburetor slightly to give it a little more gas than a slow idle. Trigger the wand and pull the starter cord. Open the choke to the full position. Ambient temperature will vary the speed of how fast you can open the choke, in a well tuned engine you can get it off full choke pretty quick. I listen to the engine and know how fast the choke can be moved to the full open position.

 

[zendriver]

If it's like many other pressure washers, don't try to remove the spray hose if it's under pressure, even if powered off.

Most of the time you can't, thinking something might be stuck.

It's just under pressure. Relieve it first and things will come apart easily.

 

[racerboy]

Appreciate all the feedback! Thanks so much.

Does this look like the oil fill ‘window’ and what oil do I run? Straight 30W or is there a special oil for pressure washers?


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[racerboy]

I followed everyone’s lead. Changed the oil and the spark plug. Ran water through it before I started it. Everything worked great for about 30 min. Then when I was putting the nozzle back into the wand, I may not have seated it all the way. I pulled the trigger and the nozzle popped off, but so did this o-ring. At first I thought it was from the 25° nozzle that popped off, but I think it came out of the coupler at the end of the wand.


This is the disassembled coupler. I think it goes down in the barrel. Am I right?





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[MJK]

Dunno where the rubber bit came from, but those quick connects seem to like being replaced on my PW every 5-10 years. They are cheap enough I don't bother rebuilding. Yours looks like it might be due.

I don't know about yours, but the PW and hose are 3/8" QCs on mine and the nozzle QC on the gun is 1/4". Stainless can be a nice upgrade.

Cat pump sells an oil for their pumps. Google the manual for your model pump, but on mine the sight glass is supposed to be just over half full.

Lots of cool upgrades are available to make pressure washing more enjoyable, depending on what you are trying to do. A foam cannon is <$10 and handy for washing cars. MTM makes some guns with stainless fittings that swivel that are quite nice. I upgraded mine to a 50' hose. They also sell turbo and floor cleaner attachments that do a nice job cleaning concrete.

Spend some time on Amazon, if you have not already.

 

[racerboy]

Thanks so much! I did replace the o-ring to get everything working again, but am definitely going to some research on ‘upgrades’!


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[MileHighRover]

Don't let your pressure washer idle without periodically squeezing the wand trigger, otherwise pump damage may occur.

 

[MileHighRover]

So this is what I found. Your model is the 157818. Here is the manual.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/836825/Northstar-Mppwe.html#manual

This is a professional machine. Probably $1,000 new. It is 11hp, 4 gpm, 3,000 psi.

Made by Great Plains Manufacturers. Here is the spec sheet (model number is second line).

http://www.gpcatalog.com/pressurewashspec.html

Don't know what you paid for it, but that is a heck of a machine. Not bad at all for your first (and maybe last) pressure washer.