Do I need a Pump with my Pressure Washer?..Going Mobile

fivestardetail · 02-11-08, 05:55

Hi everyone, I'm new here. My name is Peter and I am going to be running my first mobile operation once the weather up here clears up a bit. I've always detailed as a hobby so this will be my first time doing it for profit.

My question is:
Do I need some kind of pump to get the water from my water tank (in the bed of my pickup) to my pressure washer? Or will the pressure washer suck the water out?
Im not sure what type of PW it is but I bought it from Home Depot for a couple hundred dollars and it is electric. Im not looking to buy anything else, just looking to make this setup work. This is not going to be a fullblown business, just something I will be doing on the side during the warm months of the yr. So I need to do this as cost effective as possible.

Thank you all for any help you can provide!

mhadden · 02-12-08, 06:21

I think you'll need a CAT pump or similar, unless your electric PW was made for a static source. Some are, some aren't. When I looked at PW's from HD, Lowes, and Menards, I didn't find anything that specifically mentioned that it was able to pump static water...With that said, CAT pumps are usually ridiculously expensive and the "professional" PW's that are able to take static water sources are usually a grand or more...

BigJimZ28 · 02-12-08, 06:55

if you can tap into the bottom of the water tank
and the PW is below that level I don't see why it would not work

brwill2005 · 02-13-08, 09:13

If it is just part time, and you are trying to keep costs down, why not just run the PW off of your customer's water source? In addition to the cost of the tank, you have to factor in the extra weight of the water which will lower your gas mileage. You may want to look into a higher quality electric unit, as those cheap units tend to fail easily. Anyways, if the tank is big enough, and the water outlet is at the bottom, the 'head' of the water should be sufficient for the PW.

JRock10 · 02-13-08, 09:19

i have a 125 gal tank and no external pump. gravity works

Showroom Shine · 02-14-08, 07:55

I have a similar hook up in my truck. I have a 60 gal tank, and a Husky 2200 preassure washer. On the first try I realized the pressure washer would not suck the water from my tank consistantly. I did not want to risk burning the pump. So I went to Harbor Freight
and bought a small utility pump. eg: (a waterbed pump) Since I carry a generator with a dc plug ,I just hooked the pump to the generator while washing and rinsing. This has worked fine so far. The pump is 2.4 gpm. Plenty! This will be my 4th year doing this. I think some pressure washers will pull hard enough to keep a steady supply to the washer, but mine would not. The pump is about 25$. I carry a new spare just in case. I needed the power source anyway to run my vac, heated extractor, Flex, rotory. I was to far in to turn around. I'm glad the God given idea worked. I take no credit for this one!

Gravity did not work for me!

I own Showroom Shine Auto Detailing LLC in Ohio
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toby tyke · 02-14-08, 01:46

I too have a 60 gallon tank in the back, coupled to a 6 foot hose which feeds my pressure washer. The atmospheric pressure is more than enough to feed the PW. As the PW does not have a foaming attachment I bought a small 240v pump used for large fish tanks etc. I now use this with my Gilmour gun. The PW came from Wolf and uses 6ltrs a minute.
John Auto Care Nothern UK.