Water Pump Question

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CrxSiR-GNY

New member
I was wondering what some of your setups are in regards to getting water from a water tank to a gas pressure washer.



I purchased a tank and mounted it in the bed of my pickup. I have a gas pressure washer and am wondering what pump is going to be ideal to supply the water to the pressure washer. Would a 60 or 70 psi 12v water pump be fine to supply a standard 2600 psi pressure washer that can be found at home depot?



any suggestions and information you have to offer are greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
You could just gravity feed. The way I have my setup is I have a short hose custom cut with a male and female connection from Lowes (If you don't have a Lowes in your area, then Home Depot, etc.), and then connect it from the tank that is on my trailer to the pressure washer that is on the ground, that way I will get a good flow of water from the tank. This may not work too well if you have both your tank and pressure washer in the truck, and therefore you would then need a pump.
 
ajbarnes said:
You could just gravity feed. The way I have my setup is I have a short hose custom cut with a male and female connection from Lowes (If you don't have a Lowes in your area, then Home Depot, etc.), and then connect it from the tank that is on my trailer to the pressure washer that is on the ground, that way I will get a good flow of water from the tank. This may not work too well if you have both your tank and pressure washer in the truck, and therefore you would then need a pump.
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I have a 60 gallon tank mounted in the bed of my pickup. Since the pressure washer is going to be on the ground while in use you dont think I would need a pump?
 
CrxSiR-GNY said:
I have a 60 gallon tank mounted in the bed of my pickup. Since the pressure washer is going to be on the ground while in use you dont think I would need a pump?
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You shouldn't need one. As long as you connect a small hose from the tank to the PW, the water flow should be adequate enough. Also, I recommend that you get a full port ball valve for your tank (it has a better water flow and is easier to use).



C_x_C_Full_Port_Brass_Ball_Valve_with_UL_CSA.jpg
 
ajbarnes said:
You shouldn't need one. As long as you connect a small hose from the tank to the PW, the water flow should be adequate enough. Also, I recommend that you get a full port ball valve for your tank (it has a better water flow and is easier to use). ..
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Read “small hose� as short, not skinny. You want a short distance and a big diameter to maximize flow. That’s why you want the full-port valve.



If you aren’t sure if your setup will flow enough, get a stopwatch and a bucket and time how fast it can fill the bucket. It should put more gallons per minute into the bucket than your pressure washer can use at maximum output. If it can’t do that then it’s too small.





PC.
 
I have never seen any one need an external pump to get the water to the pressure washer. The pressure washer has a pump on it, otherwise it is called a gasoline engine, not a pressure washer.
 
I was looking for info on this setup as well. The hose does need to be large not small. and probably no more than 10 feet. You could also start with a large diameter hose about 3' in length that connects to a smaller diameter 7 ft hose. This will help increase the pressure. Anything longer and the pressure drops. As 'the other pc' pointed out you will need to do some tests on this by placing the end hose in a 5 gallon bucket and time how long it takes to fill up. If it fills up before a minute is up your all good. If your vehicle is near an incline make sure the pressure washer is downhill not uphill.



My setup is a 250 gallon tank and I will need the water to travel at times up to 150 feet. The pressure washer needs 3.2 gpm. I'm figuring at least 5 gpm pressure to be safe. So I will definitley need a pump. I have noticed that there are different types of pumps out there. I think I will need a transfer pump? I Have a 5000 watt generator but I also have (2) 6 volt Trojan golf cart batteries in a series I would like to use instead.



So a pump that runs off DC and would provide enough pressure to feed 5 gpm through 150' of hose. I suppose it would need a high pressure switch as well so that it shuts itself off when the desired psi is reached so I won't mess up the pump. Anyone know anything about pumps that can help me out?
 
Since I started in the business in '97 I've had four pressure washers.



The first one I bought from a detailer who was getting out of the business. It worked like a charm for 4 years and drew water out of a 100gal tank like no one's business until a family member got their hands on it.



Number two Isn't worth mentioning got it in a pinch to do some jobs and it was a POS



Number 3 was a good pressure washer, had to take it back to the shop where I bought it to get it to draw water. They always say it will work and it never does until i take it back to them and show them how it doesn't work.



Number four, same story. Took it back and had them re route the by pass back into the tank and some how that did the trick.



With the first three pressure washers I used a 100 gallon tank which I never filled to capacity and never used more than 40 gallons in a day.



With the fourth I used a 50 gallon tank and also never filled to capacity but ran out of water only once.



I guess what I'm saying is, is that there's a way to get it to draw from a small tank with at least 10 gallons to produce sufficient gpm. I don't think there is any reason to hump a pressure washer in and out of a truck or van every tome you get to a new spot or haul around a week's worth of water every day just to generate enough gpm for the pressure washer. Gas isn't getting any cheaper.





Just my two cents. hope it helps. I'm not sure if rerouting the bypass will help in your case but best of luck regardless.
 
beachcities said:
I have never seen any one need an external pump to get the water to the pressure washer. The pressure washer has a pump on it, otherwise it is called a gasoline engine, not a pressure washer.
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actually if you buy a pump, that is not a syphon style pump, you need to have adequate pressure behind it. a pump that most mobile detailers attach to a honda type engine is in fact a syphon pump. most pressure washer sold at lowes/home depot are not. that i think is why the OP is inquiring about a pump to flow water to his pressure washer.



to the OP, if you have a PW that you are using while on the ground and your tank is in the truck, that difference should supply adequate flow. i use a 60 gallon tank in my suburban and put my pressure washer on the ground next to the truck. i have quick disconnects that i bought at home depot along with fittings i bought at lowes and can connect and set up in seconds. i have been using this set up for about 9 months and all is well. if you need any help PM and i'll get you pics. if you want a pump because your tank and PW are level, check out harbor freight. they have a nice 12v pump that flows enough gpm and pressure. they are about $27 for the small one.
 
Thanks for the tip advs1.



The reason for the large tank is that #1 it was free. #2, I live on the beach and there are a lot of hotels. I am thinking of soliciting a group rate to some of the hotels for a quick wash and wax. Because of this I bought 150 feet of hose. May not need that much but it's nice to know I have it if I need it. I am just starting up the business and have exhausted my startup money so for now the trailer for the tank is on hold.



I don't know about you guys but I always seem to get my good ideas right when I'm about to hit the sack. I lay down. Check the alarm. Close my eyes and about 5 mins before I am about to zonk out. Eureka! Okay maybe not exactly a 'eureka' but definitley a 'Hey, thats not a bad idea' type of idea.



I took the tip of something I saw on youtube about using an aircompressor to blow the debris out from under the seats and hard to reach areas before vaccuming so I bought me a small 5 gal C&H from Home Depot. I'm going to try drilling a hole in the cap of the water tank and place a quick connect for the air compressor. Wrap some teflon tape around the screw cap. Connect the air compressor to an inverter that will be connected to my two golf cart batteries (Save on gas by not running the generator). The only thing that might foil this plan is whether or not the golf cart batteries will provide enough juice for the air compressor.



I will update tommorrow if this works or not.
 
I have my pressure washer and tank mounted in a trailer with the tank mounted a little higher than the inlet of my pressurewasher at 2.3 gals per min you should not need a pump as the water will flow out of your tank at approx 4 - 5 gals. per min
 
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