Pressure washer problem

[robertearl]

I have a Sears 5hp gas pressure washer. Most of the time now, the pressure coming out of the nozzle is not much more than the inlet water pressure. Every now and then it seams to catch and I have good pressure. Most of the time it is just very low. The inlet screen is clear. Any help on diagnosing this?

I priced just the pump and it is $285. I did not pay that much for the whole thing!

Reb

 

[Az Scooter]

Sorry, but they are throw away machines. It does sound like the unloader, or pressure regulator is bad. It is the little knob that you adjust the pressure on. You MIGHT be able to rebuild it with some effort, but you will need to look at it and see if yoga re comfortable taking it apart.
A quick and easy way to check is to run water for a set amount of time in a bucket with the tip in, and then run it for the same amount of time without the tip. If there is a difference in volume, it is the regulator.

 

[6768rogues]

I destroyed a couple of the low cost pressure washers before I bought a decent one.

 

[haulna]

This is what I do with mine:

Start the engine
Take the nozzle tip off the the end of the wand
Pull the trigger for 30 seconds with the nozzel tip off to bleed the air out of the system
Put the nozzel tip back on
See if it works