Pressure washer Surging

[hot4rd]

I have a Brute pressure washer that the engine revs up and down the whole time it is running. The strange part is if I push down on the handle to put the engine on an angle the engine runs smooth. The engine does smooth out when using the sprayer. Maby its normal. Any ideas.

 

[boiler7904]

What kind of engine? Does it have a tank full of fresh gas?

 

[MFolks]

Gasoline engine? If so, are you using gas with Ethanol in it? The float may be affected in the carb. Ethanol will rot Brass, and plastic floats. and is tough on fuel lines too.

 

[sberry]

I always suspect engine issues if something isn't obvious wrong with the rest of it. Carbs that sit,,, had 2 last week, fired right up and run just till they got fresh gas thru. No way no how not to take it apart and blow out with hi pressure air thru fuel passages and ideally spray up with a little carb cleaner but they actually plug right off, I can hear a plug of it blow right out,,, same for steel old engine carbs, usually don't need any new parts.

 

[moparfreak]

Governor hunting / surging. Either something is out of adjustment in the mechanical governing system, or more likely the engine is running too lean or rich when the load is off (i.e. just idling, no trigger). In general small engines run a lot better when under load (i.e. trigger depressed) and are more tolerant of overfueling. sberry is right, if the mixture was compromised somehow with either bad gas, orifice plugging, etc, then a quick disassembly, cleaning inspection and reassembly is a good place to start.

Watch your exhaust too and see if you can observe any further clues. White smoke = lean and hot, black smoke = too rich, blue smoke = you're carrying over and burning oil which could suggest breather problems.

Thanks,
Adam

 

[NIS240SHU]

I had the same issue with my Campbell-Hausfeld pressure washer with a Briggs engine. It only ran correctly when I tilted the pressure washer back on its wheels while in use. That was about 5-6 years ago.

Just a month ago, I finally pulled the carb off and cleaned it and the tank out thoroughly. Once it was back together, it worked and still works great.

I used a carb cleaner soak and then ran it through a few cycles in a Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner.

Good luck!

Helder

 

[theoldwizard1]

The engine does smooth out when using the sprayer. Maby its normal.

If it runs smooth "under load" I would not mess with it. Add a triple dose of your favorite "fuel system cleaner".


P.S. Homeowner pressure washers don't like to be run for more than 30-60 seconds without the water coming out of the "wand". The pump will quickly overheat.