so my pressure washer is acting up. anyone knowledgable with them? here's the deal:

start the engine and it starts just fine. pump sounds like it kicks in and puts the engine under load like normal when operating like it should, but it sounds a little strained. pull the trigger on the wand and the engine bogs.. an instant burst of water comes out but then no more than a trickle after that. hold the trigger in and the engine will bog until it stops if you keep it pulled. let off the trigger and the engine RPM's come back, but still doesn't sound quite right.

my non-technical theory; it would seem the pump is being supplied with adequate water and is pressurizing, but for whatever reason the pressurized water isn't making it out of the high-pressure side of things, and the engine is slowed due to the pressure build up (the pump gets HOT to the touch in no time). but why.. i haven't the slightest clue.

i pulled the bottom part of the pump off and disassembled it and nothing looks grossly out of place or clogged; now i'm not familiar with these things at all, but my mechanical inclination doesn't see anything obviously wrong.

any idears?

 

plugged/collapsed pressure hose

 

happens with the hose off.

 

well, ya got me there

 

Seems to me there would be a valve/gate in there somewhere that would release the pressurized water when opened...

 

How expensive is the pressure washer and how old is it? Many of them have rebuild kits available for the pump. There are many small parts, plastic bushings, etc. in the ones I've rebuilt. Some places will let you order just a new pump and attach it to your existing set up. The down side is, the rebuild kits or pumps are usually expensive, and then you're left with an old motor stuff.

That's one of the down sides to the disposable made stuff that comes out of PRC today.

 

In my experience, there are two types of pressure washers: those with belt-driven pumps and everything else. Many in the "everything else" category do well to make it to 50 hours of use.

That said, there are a few things that can help prevent problems. For one, put an inline filter on the water inlet--doesn't matter whether you're using city water or well water, filter it. Second, don't let it run for more than a minute without pulling the trigger on the wand. There should be an internal pressure relief, but the pump relies on water flow for cooling, and we all know that heat is generally bad for mechanical devices. Third, don't ever, ever let it freeze. Fourth, don't ever, ever let it freeze.

Jason (pro painter by day)