Turning down work

[Smurf]

I think many have bought a domestic type karcher electric washer and tried to do it themselves then realised it dosn't work very well and/or breaks.

One old boy last year I saw was actualy sat on a chair trying to clean his block paved drive a block at a time as the washer he was using was so slow./emoticons/biggrin.png

I've just got off the phone as another new customer I quoted 2 days ago wants to go ahead to get her patio slabs & block paved driveway cleaned. That job is now booked in on the 30th of May /emoticons/smile.png

 

[TolishAPurd]

Time to get myself pressure washer smurf, I've always hired until now. Smurf, do you have any recommendations in the £350 range? I don't get enough pressure washing jobs to justify spending more then that right now.

 

[Smurf]

I was lucky and picked up 3 decent used ones over a period of time for the cost of a new one and they all still work great.

This one will be next on my list http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRESSURE-WASHER-HONDA-GX390-13HP-PETROL-21LTRS-200BAR-INTERPUMP-WS202-GEARBOX-/180592394746?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item2a0c2541fa

 

[TolishAPurd]

That looks the business mate. Not sure whether I want petrol or electric yet.

 

[Smurf]

maybe something like this would do for starters? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/petrol-pressure-washer-/121334206811?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item1c4015115b

Time to get myself pressure washer smurf, I've always hired until now. Smurf, do you have any recommendations in the £350 range? I don't get enough pressure washing jobs to justify spending more then that right now.

 

[Smurf]

I would not buy an electric washer as they are too underpowered to do any serious pressure washing.

Min spec you should be looking out for is a honda gx340 or preferably gx390 engine, gearbox driven 15 ltr per min at 3000 psi interpump or bigger.

They normally go for alot more secondhand than £350 on ebay but you might get lucky.

That looks the business mate. Not sure whether I want petrol or electric yet.

 

[TolishAPurd]

Cheers Smurf. Maybe I should go for petrol then. The Karcher I always hire puts out a lot of, or at least a lot of power, but I'm not sure of the particular model, so I dont want to go buying it only to find out the casing is the same, but the guts undernieth are ****.

 

[Smurf]

Karcher do electric industrial ones too but the flow rate and psi is alot lower than you would get with a decent spec cold petrol washer.

 

[TolishAPurd]

Cheers smurf. Petrol it is then. I'll see what I can find.

 

[mr shine]

i agree with smurf , definitely a min of 15lpm and 3000psi , i made the mistake of buying a little honda which was only 11lpm and it took forever to do a job , that was a few years ago and im now using a 21lpm loncin which is an animal , a single car concrete drive use to take a couple of hours to do but now i can wipe them out in under 30 minutes , just to add make sure you get a turbo nozzle because this increases the cleaning power by 50% and makes a huge difference

 

[TolishAPurd]

Cheers MrShine. Would you guys say this one is a no then?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SIP-08923-Tempest-TP650-175-Petrol-Pressure-Washer-/380868652030?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item58ad8a6bfe

 

[Smurf]

defo a NO NO as would be wasting your money

Cheers MrShine. Would you guys say this one is a no then?http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SIP-08923-Tempest-TP650-175-Petrol-Pressure-Washer-/380868652030?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item58ad8a6bfe

 

[TolishAPurd]

Thats good to know as Ive had my eye on that for a while. Nothing worse then buying a POS that won't do the job you need it for. I'll look around some more. Thanks.

 

[Smurf]

I still have a small ryobi 7hp subaru driven 11 lpm 3000 psi washer I first used on patios/driveways when I first started. Now I just use it for the odd jobs like clearing awkward gutters using a telescopic lance that I can't reach by ladder or a guttervac that can't get rid of the blockages. Also is ideal to prespary chems onto plastics etc too so I've just purchased 10 x 9m pressure washer hoses for that washer as they where going cheap on fleybay for a fiver each plus delivery. Now who can resist a bargain like that /emoticons/biggrin.png

The other two washers I have is a honda gx340 11hp gearbox driven 15lpm 3000 psi 201 interpump and a 14hp loncin 3600 psi 15 lpm washer.

 

[mr shine]

hi tolish ,theres a loncin 3600psi 15lpm washer up for sale on the dark side , apparently its 2 years old but looks very new to me . id say it hasnt done a lot of work , hes asking 550 so might be worth a look

 

[TolishAPurd]

Cheers mrshine. I can't seem to find it though, got a link. It looks like I might be being unrealistic with my budget, but I just don't get offered enough PW work to justify a big spend.

 

[mr shine]

its in the for sale section , id offer him 400 and you never know , you will pick up loads of work from your existing window customer base , a lot of these then become regular annual cleans so theres no fear as you will recover your money back in a very short time. sorry ive no link because im useless on computers

 

[pfaemaster]

There is no point in doing a job which is not beneficial. Why take a great hassle when there are much easier ones lined right up. I would take a difficult if pays over and above my standard rate.

 

[abs]

Jet washing with a rubbish water supply totally does your nut in I've been on jet washing jobs before where the taps 200 metres away round the back and some git kept turning the tap off , I'd of done the same walked away leaving it for some other unexperienced mug to do

 

[Smurf]

Direct feed washers I've found are no good as you are reliant on how good the tap pressure and flow is. If you try to run a washer on a poor direct feed then it can take forever to do as the pump will not run at full pressure. Not only that but the pump gets starved of water so you may end up damaging the pump whilst doing so. However if you use a decent washer that sucks water from a buffer tank instead then it will make those sorts of jobs so much easier and quicker to do.

Jet washing with a rubbish water supply totally does your nut in I've been on jet washing jobs before where the taps 200 metres away round the back and some git kept turning the tap off , I'd of done the same walked away leaving it for some other unexperienced mug to do

 

[NoName]

Direct feed washers I've found are no good as you are reliant on how good the tap pressure and flow is. If you try to run a washer on a poor direct feed then it can take forever to do as the pump will not run at full pressure. Not only that but the pump gets starved of water so you may end up damaging the pump whilst doing so. However if you use a decent washer that sucks water from a buffer tank instead then it will make those sorts of jobs so much easier and quicker to do.

Hey Smurf i'm using a 'standard' external household plastic bin as 'buffer' tank - but it's a pain to move if full - was thinking of getting a 'nice' wheely bin (not really the look I'm after - not very 'pro'!) to use which would make it easier to move around - what do you use ? From what I've read I'm sure you'll have worked through all manner of containers and have settled on THE one?