My Craftsman 6.5 hp Gas Pressure Washer Lessons

[Steelfan]

About a month ago, I bought a Gas Pressure Washer from Sears. The washer was a snap to put together, and easy to operate. I used it to washer my Rototiller, and TC21D Tractor off without a hitch. I moved onto my next job washing the deck. The first thing that I learned is, that you can have too much pressure. The wood surface can be splintered if you have too much force. The next thing that happen was even worse, the pressure hose coiled, and got against the hot muffler [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] This I think is a flaw in design, but in my overzealous state, I was also a bit careless. A new hose costs around $30 with tax. After getting the new hose, I tried out the soap feature, it did a nice job, but I had a rough time keeping the hose in the soap solution. The hose is coiled from shipping, keeps curling up out of the soap. All this being said, for my first time using a washer, the Craftsman Washer is great for what I bought it for. I got it on sale for $399, that same price as the medium duty washer. I think I did OK. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Gomez]

Good post Steelfan,

Another point worth mentioning is not to let the unit idle for more than a couple of minutes without pulling the trigger. The water trapped in the pump will heat up and damage can occur. I had my 1750 PSI unit from HD for about five years and had to put a new pump on it in the spring. Not sure if some of my friends that borrowed it let it idle and cooked the pump, or if 200 hrs. is the lifespan of these pumps.

I have a few areas where the hose got a little too close to the muffler as well [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] .

BTW, where is that big inflatable dam?

[Steelfan]

Hi Gomez,
Great addition to the post. My Washer has a automatic shutoff for heat. That being said, I still will be very careful idling. I'm not sure about pump life. The dam is in Sunbury. Pa, its about the only notable thing around here. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] Thanks for the reply.

Kent

[tdog]

Steelfan - - just want to strengthen the comment about damage your machine can do. I also have a Craftsman pressure washer, rated 1750 psi. You need to be very careful, especially when you narrow down the stream & concentrate it, rather that let it fan out. I was washing my truck one afternoon, when I noticed a nasty stubborn bug splat on my windshield that wouldn't come off. So I narrowed down the stream to a water-laser beam & got up close & personal with that bug residue. Only trouble was, it wasn't the remnants of a bug, but was instead, a very small chip from one of the many dump trucks on my road into town. Well, the water managed to enlarge the tiny nick into a major chip out of the windshield. I felt a little foolish at the time. Got a feeling it won't be the last.

BTW, I never use it with the soaps they try to sell you. If the pressure alone isn't enough, I pretreat with area with a solution of bleach [1/4 clorox, 3/4 water] from a pump sprayer.

[bigbukhntr]

as far as the soap line goes, just tie on a little piece of weight, such as a large nut or a few heavy washers to the hose to weigh it down and keep it in the soap bottle

[Mike_Dumond]

[img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Well, my experience wasn't the windshield, but the grill on one of the ambulances. Without going into a long story, just let me say that one rig doesn't have chrome on the grill any more. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[GaryM]

My Ford Expedition is missing some paint on the plastic bumper for the same reason!