pto pressure washer

[ampsucker]

maxfli, if you don't mind me asking, where did you get the giant pump and what is the gpm it's rated for? sounds like just what i need.

amp

 

[Maxfli]

I bought it on Ebay about some time ago. I think it is a model P315, and I don't think Giant makes it anymore. It might be a rebuild, but it looks Brand new.

 

[ampsucker]

well, here is exactly what i want.

Amazon.com: Comet PTO-Driven Cold Water Pressure Washer - 3000 PSI, 5.5 GPM, Model# PTO SW 5540: Home Improvement

not sure i can build it for much less.

new pump: 450
gear box: 200
steel for frame and weld time: 200
hose, wand and nozzles: 100
drive shaft: 100
my time to figure out why my cobled together system doesn't work: ??


My minimum cost to build would be around $1,050 and may end up costing more if I have alignment issues or don't get the gearing right. This unit comes with a warranty and looks like it has a good, solid pump by Comet.

Anybody have any experience with one of these?

amp

 

[RobJ]

Yep that's pricey, and you still have to have pressured water to feed it.

 

[ampsucker]

my pressured water will be garden hose in most cases which i already have, so i'm not seeing this as an issue unless i'm missing something???

amp

 

[RobJ]

my pressured water will be garden hose in most cases which i already have, so i'm not seeing this as an issue unless i'm missing something???

amp

Not really, you just have to have water. I guess an ideal system would be a suction/pressure pump. So you could pull water from a tank, pond, ditch, etc.

 

[RoverPilot]

Amp,

It doesn't work like that. Ignoring frictional losses, if you gear the SPEED up by three, your new TORQUE is 1/3 of the original torque but the HORSEPOWER remains at 17.

With that extra power in mind, you could probably gear it up by 4 or 6 and let your tractor run slower.

John

Thank-you , I was going nuts thinking people are idoits . HP does stay the same .
The best reason to use the PTO pressure washer is Volume
Northern sells a ready to hook up version thats 4500PSIA and 4.5 GPM
A stand alone unit with that kind of capabilities would likely require a trailer .
Now that will get a lot of work done fast . and I drive my tractor on the road from time to time so moving it from place to place is not a problem .
My tractor is far quieter than my Dewalt 3750 PW even with the Honda engine
My tractor will run all day on 7gal under full load in the field (12 hrs)
The power washer would likely require a little above idle on the tractor
The dewalt has to be refilled 3 or 4 times at 1.5 gal each
By the manual the dewalt is suposed to have the oil changed every 8 hours of operation
Refilling the fuel on a gas pressure washer when it is hot can be dangerious

Now that having been said I have a dewalt , and 2 Mi-T-M steam cleaners 2000PSIA 3GPM (Electric) and a craftsman 120 volt electric (I only loan out this one ) and a John Deere 3800 . If the dewalts breaks or gets stolen I will likely replace it with a PTO driven unit . Much less likely to be stolen (I had a previous Dewalt stolen)
I might soon get a PTO driven Cement mixer ( think of how EZ it would be to move around)

so if you only need a small pressure washer , a PTO one is surely not for you , but we all have tractors here . If we only needed a lawn mower we would not have bought our tractors Right ? It is all about the work we do -- or at least want to be able to do .
So if you all will excuse me , my BMC is calling me ,

Cheers

 

[slowzuki]

Would anyone use a pressure washer all day? I've never run one for more than an hour.

Re the sucking water from a lake, make sure you have a good filter or your pressure washer will be toast in no time.

 

[jenkinsph]

i think my biggest problem may be in the gearing of the motor. with 540 rpm at max speed on the rear pto and 1,000 on the mid mount, that isn't really close to what a small 5 hp motor spins the shaft at on a regular pressure washer. so, a gear box might be involved. i can see that working. i have about 17 pto hp so a 3:1 gear box would get me 3 times the speed, or around 1620 rpms, at 1/3 the power or around 5 hp at the output shaft considering some gearing losses.
thanks for any help all you build-it-yourself experts can provide!

amp

Just because you have increased the speed of the output shaft 3 fold does not mean your horsepower is reduced to 1/3rd. You will still have the 17 hp available minus the gearbox losses. What you have reduced is the torque on the shaft to 1/3rd of the original amount. Compare this setup of yours to a
Cat pump and you should have no problems running about 4000 psi @4 gpm.



Steve

 

[RoverPilot]

Yes pressure is important! It's what gets the stuff loose.
Those cheap little pressure washers you see that are getting 1000 to 1500 are using a tiny little tip that makes the pressure but does not put out any GPM (volume), so you have power but in a very small area. This makes work go very slow!
By using a larger GPM ( volume) pump you can use a larger tip which puts out more water at the same or higher pressure resulting in more area covered/ faster work time!
Many companys have used belt drives for years.
Yes you have to cover them and keep the water off!

This is all very true but I offer up this as a brain cookie , Some times you do not need or want high volume and I will give you three situations where this is true .
#1 you are washing your old fords engine , you want to be able to control exactly where the water goes and want a minimum of back blast ( Water back in your face )
you do not want to get some of the parts soaked ( ignition )
#2 Boat hulls , I put my self through school by cleaning out the engine compartments of boats while still on the water San Diego. I rigged a Wagner paint sprayer with a .411 tip to feed hot water and a low sudsing soap at 1 pint per minute and a 5 gal shop vac to pick it back up and dispose of legally
#3 you want to clean an area of algae off of the house but you do not want to disturb the flower bed underneath or make a mud hole doing it
And I will even go one more
#4 You you are pumping from a tank and you want it to last more than 20 minutes

Note this trueisum
Just because you double your water volume does not mean you cut your time in half . You will cut your time , but never by half
I have a long list of pressure washers
Surplus military 1 HP unknown
MiTM steam cleaners 2 electric , 1 gas
Hotsy steam cleaner 1 (Not currently working)
John Deere 13hp gas 1
Dewalt 13hp 1
Dewalt 6.5hp 1
Delta electric 1
Craftsman electric 1
and I still have the old wagner