05-05-2019, 07:16 AM
I haven't read the thread, so maybe this has all been said, but...
1. Before I bought mine, I solicited advice from some online forums, and several people advised me to spend the extra money to get one with a Cat pump. Supposedly they are superior, and (I believe) can be rebuilt. I bought one from Northern Tool with the Cat pump (I think 3000 or 3500 psi) and Honda engine and I've been real happy with it.
2. If you're not familiar with pressure washers, I would advise reading and underlining/highlighting your owner's manual thoroughly before first using your unit. Why? Because there are about eleventy-bajillion ways to ruin a pressure washer in no time flat, and if you do so, chances are, they're going to deny a warranty claim. In fact, I called Northern Tool for advice on mine, and the first thing out of the guy's mouth was that if I didn't follow the instructions, warranty was void. You could tell he was well-rehearsed and prepared for this drill after going through it many times.
Specifically:
- Make sure your garden hose delivers water fast enough to keep the pump sufficiently wet. Your manual should go into how to test for this, by timing how long it takes to fill a 5-gallon bucket. If your hose doesn't deliver water fast enough, the pump can burn up.
- Don't start the engine until/unless you prime the pump first, by squeezing the trigger on the wand until water – and no bubbles – comes out of the wand. Running the pump when dry can burn it up.
- Be sure to winterize the pump with anti-freeze, because if it freezes and cracks, the pump is toast (and replacing the pump is almost as expensive as buying a new pressure washer).
- Don't leave the unit with the engine running without spraying water for longer than about a minute or two, because the water in the pump gets hot when the engine is running but water isn't going through the pump – eventually it gets hot enough to burn up the pump.
- If the water in your garden hose gets burning hot in the summer (as mine does), be sure to run the spigot long enough to get the hot water out of the hose before hooking it up to your PW. The pump depends on cool/cold water to cool itself. Again -- hot water could burn up the pump.
I believe there were other things you should or should not do, but those are the ones I remember off the top of my head...
Good luck in your purchase.
1. Before I bought mine, I solicited advice from some online forums, and several people advised me to spend the extra money to get one with a Cat pump. Supposedly they are superior, and (I believe) can be rebuilt. I bought one from Northern Tool with the Cat pump (I think 3000 or 3500 psi) and Honda engine and I've been real happy with it.
2. If you're not familiar with pressure washers, I would advise reading and underlining/highlighting your owner's manual thoroughly before first using your unit. Why? Because there are about eleventy-bajillion ways to ruin a pressure washer in no time flat, and if you do so, chances are, they're going to deny a warranty claim. In fact, I called Northern Tool for advice on mine, and the first thing out of the guy's mouth was that if I didn't follow the instructions, warranty was void. You could tell he was well-rehearsed and prepared for this drill after going through it many times.
Specifically:
- Make sure your garden hose delivers water fast enough to keep the pump sufficiently wet. Your manual should go into how to test for this, by timing how long it takes to fill a 5-gallon bucket. If your hose doesn't deliver water fast enough, the pump can burn up.
- Don't start the engine until/unless you prime the pump first, by squeezing the trigger on the wand until water – and no bubbles – comes out of the wand. Running the pump when dry can burn it up.
- Be sure to winterize the pump with anti-freeze, because if it freezes and cracks, the pump is toast (and replacing the pump is almost as expensive as buying a new pressure washer).
- Don't leave the unit with the engine running without spraying water for longer than about a minute or two, because the water in the pump gets hot when the engine is running but water isn't going through the pump – eventually it gets hot enough to burn up the pump.
- If the water in your garden hose gets burning hot in the summer (as mine does), be sure to run the spigot long enough to get the hot water out of the hose before hooking it up to your PW. The pump depends on cool/cold water to cool itself. Again -- hot water could burn up the pump.
I believe there were other things you should or should not do, but those are the ones I remember off the top of my head...
Good luck in your purchase.
