I've got a Husky 1750 psi power washer. Want it for my carpet cleaning wand. Too much psi? hot water okay ?

pressure washer with cat pump image

paulj0557-

Alright, I know many of you might be saying 'why in the heck do you want all of that pressure for a carpet wand which usually only needs about 300-500 psi even from a truck?! Well, I do have a nice Cat brand truck pump and yes, I run it at about 300 psi. Anything higher wastes water, and when switching to a hand tool for steps and upholstery you really need even less pressure.
So after all of this why use a 1750 psi? Well, it's all I have and I need to clean a high rise building so I have to use portable equipment. I DO have plenty of suction power so I'm sure that the extra pressure I'm putting down will get extracted fine. So this is not an issue.
Soooo my questions are these:
1. Can the seals in this pump ( typical cupped rubber seals X 4) handle the hot water supply from a typical hot water tank?
I do have a post inline hot water heater that I will heat the water further AFTER it leaves the pump.
2. Is there an inexpensive ( cheap DIY way) means to reduce the pressure from the pump? Also, since I have 4 jets on my wand will this pressure of 1,750 psi be reduced by 4, thus about 425 psi per jet?
Thanks for any help. No answers will be too far fetched considering I am on a budget here, and there is a short time frame in which I have to get this put together.

Answer
If I were you i would look at your insurance policy very carefully. You are using equipment outside its designed parameters, and if anything goes wrong you will be completely on your own.

Need Help purchasing pressure washer for commercial/residential work, decks primarily?

Mike

This unit will get approx.10-20hrs a week usage. Here's what I've been considering:
1} Simpson taskmaster PS4000 3.5gpm 13hp honda gx,simpson tri pump. approx$1400
2} Landa 3200 3.5gpm 13hp honda gx,landa tri pump . approx.$1600
3} Pressure pro 4000 psi 3.5gpm 13hp honda gx w/ general pump ez4040 approx.$1200
These are direct drive units / OR is there a better option ?
Thank You

Answer
Mike,

Good question. I use a 3 GPM 3200 PSI machine for decks - 9hp Honda, Cat pump.

I also own several 4 GPM machines - 13hp, but tend to use them on other surfaces than wood. The reason is, the extra force of a 4 GPM machine will make the wood 'pill' much easier. If I am going to stain a deck after stripping the wood and there are a lot of pills on the wood, I have to sand the surface.

Sanding also closes the pores of the wood and I need for the stain to be absorbed in the wood. Kinda a 'Catch 22'.

Yes, I know other pressure washers who use 4 GPM machines on wood and do just fine with it, but there is always some degree of pilling. A 3 GPM does it just right using the white tip (40 degree).

Note: I've always had luck with Landa, General and Cat pumps. Other machines with Simpson and AndoReversibi pumps blew up within a year or two.

You might check out Craigslist for machines that are one year old as they will be much less in price than what you have quoted and still have plenty of life in them. Always good to buy it when the weather is cold. Just my opinion.

Feel free to contact me if you need further help. I've made most of the mistakes that can be made and don't mind helping someone out of my local area - no competition.

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