pressure washer

[redneckbillybob]

I have been thinking of purchasing a pressure washer but im not sure which psi I should get. I am planning on using it for washing my bike and also, I have my dogs in a dog run on the side of the house, half of it is concrete the other half is grass, they like to poop on the concrete side for some reason, so after I clean the poop up, tiny peices stay stuck or smeared on the concrete. So I wanted to get a pressure washer to also clean the concrete area over there to keep it sanitary. I figured a pressure washer would make things alot easier than a broom and a hose. Anyways Im not sure wich psi I should get and i figured you would need to know what I plan on using it for before you could give any advice. oh ill probably use it for the car as well.

 

[_JOE_]

Go for the strongest one you can afford. Gas or electric? I have a gas one, 3000psi. It has different tips that spray in patterns from pinpoint to a wide fan plus a soap applicator tip. You can use engine speed to regulate pressure for use on the dirt bike/car. Crank it up for the concrete. The pinpoint tip and high rpm is enough to damage the plastic on my bike while low rpm and fan tip is as gentle as the garden hose. It provides a nice range of usefulness. (also works good on dog poo stuck to my back deck)

 

[redneckbillybob]

i found a used pressure washer for only $50 and its 1900 psi, do you think that would be strong enough?

 

[Patman]

I had an electric one back in the day and it worked OK. Zoomer hooked me up with a deal on a big daddy gas powered one and I can honestly say it's way more betta'! The down side is that it's pretty easy to blast a hole in your skin that takes a while to heal since it's wider than a cut LOL! (Super Glue works wonders). There are hose end attachments that can dive similar results to a low poer electric for a lot less $$ and no cord.

As far as bike washing I stick to a low pressure hose and some good bike cleaner so I don't contaminate suspension & steering bearings and other areas that don't need water forced in to them.

 

[2strokerfun]

I rented a pressure washer years ago to clean a wood-siding house before I painted it. I stupidly left the "0" tip on it when I fired it up to clean the siding. I could have written the Gettysburg Address in the side of that house. Wow! I quickly filled in the damage with Bondo and switched to a "2" or "3" tip before the owner came home. Also, don't try to use a belt sander to remove paint on a wooden garage door. Nothing good can come of it.
Joe is right, you'll need adjustable pressure and/or tips since your two tasks are very different. I seriously wonder if that pressure washer I rented with the "0" tip could actually damage concrete. With patience, I tend to think it would.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Yes, a pressure washer (mine was only 2,500, maybe 3,000 psi) will damage concrete.

As Pat said, if you use it on your bike, there are many areas you need to avoid with high pressure water.

 

[Patman]

Concrete is easily blasted away with 2500-3000 psi, I actually blasted a hole in a piece with mine. Consider that a waterjet cutter cuts stainless steel and it's easy the right pressure is all it takes.

 

[Wolf]

I use a relatively low pressure (1900) electric "Karcher". I had a bigger gas powered unit, but didn't like hauling it around. wanted something lighter, and it has plenty of power to do everything...including my dog pen. Downside if you are looking for one...you need a poweroutlet or generator.
I will also point out that the electric PW is much quieter, so I don't feel bad firing it up at night.

 

[_JOE_]

Yes, noise is an issue with a gas unit. Mines very loud at high rpm.

 

[rmc_olderthandirt]

Gas pressure washers are the noisiest things! Everyone buys a pressure washer for the cheapest possible price so you can't even find one that has any attempt at making it quiet.

Electric pressure washers are much better but they have a limit based on the power they can get out of a 110 volt socket.

Pressure washers always put the pressure they can deliver in big print but the volume they can deliver is also an important number. In the example of cleaning the concrete: you really won't want to hit it with 3000 PSI. What you want is probably 500 PSI with a wide of a spray as possible. The electric model may give you a one inch wide pattern at that pressure while the gas model will give you a four inch pattern. Cleaning goes a lot faster when you can cover four times the area in one pass.

Rod

 

[truespode]

I like a pressure washer for certain things but not my dirtbike unless I am cleaning it before a tear down.

I have seen too many seized suspension bearings from pressure washer overuse. Don't get me wrong... I had a lot of fun with my friends removing those bearings but it was a lot of work too :)

Ivan

 

[redneckbillybob]

i thought most guys used pressure washers to clean their bike. I have just been using a hose.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Most people do you pressure washers to wash their bikes.

Most people also do damage to various bearings and seals by spraying where they shouldn't.

 

[_JOE_]

i thought most guys used pressure washers to clean their bike. I have just been using a hose.

I use a very low pressure tip on the bike. I like the pressure washer 'cause it works a Simple Green premixer. Just drop the tube in the jug and it mixes it with water. I use a rag as well and gently rinse at low rpm. I haven't had any issues with water getting into any bearings yet. Just be very careful.

 

[oldguy]

also be sure to keep in mind what your water supply will be. Not many tracks by us offer a water supply so you are carrying it in with you. A 2 gallon per minute hooked to a 35 gallon barrel will last a lot longer than a 4 GPM.

 

[Joburble]

To wash my bike I just use a 2 litre hand pump weedsprayer with some Dynamo (liquid washing stain remover) in it. I spray the bike, come back 10 mins later and wash of with a garden hose. The dirt just falls off without much scrubbing at all. I love the cheap options, weed sprayer ten bucks. Not sure how it would go cleaning up the dog poop though :-| When I waterblast my house if I touch a bit of dirt on the ground it fires it up the wall of the house, gotta hope it doesn't do that with the poop ;)

 

[sx2504life]

we use them at work with vaccums to dig holes in roads to find gas, power, and all other types of piping and the 1's we have will go though concrete in about 2 seconds get a lower presure washer to clean your bike or you will end up doing damage to the bike like splitting the fork seals and contaiming the bearings as patman said before.

 

[redneckbillybob]

whats a high psi and a low psi? i dont want to ruin my bike but i dont want to buy something that is essentially a hose.

 

[WaltCMoto]

I have a small gas one, 2500 psi. (sears $220) Its more than I need to wash my bike or patio. If I had to do it again, I would buy a big electric one. 1800 psi or so. It should have the power to do what I need and not have to deal with the gas issue.

 

[_JOE_]

Yeah around 2k psi should work well. Look at flow rate too. Higher flow will rinse the patio better.