Any low buck ideas out there? Thanks.

 

If your washer doesn't have a built-in way of introducing soap (which it obviously doesn't), you have two choices: (A) either get the soap into the feedwater before the pump, or (B) get it into the high-pressure stream as it comes out of the wand. There is no "low buck" way of safely getting the soap into the system between the output of the pump and the spray nozzle at the tip of the wand because of the high pressure involved.

If your pump housing is aluminum or brass, you have to be careful about Choice A because certain soaps can eventually cause pitting of the internals. If you're connected to a city or a well water pressure line as your supply, there's no "low buck" way of introducting the soap. If you're feeding the pump from a gravity tank or container, just dump the soap in there or rig a 2-way valve to switch between clear water and your soap supply.

Choice B is very low cost ($5.00), but will require some experimentation on your part to achieve optimal performance. Go to your local hardware store and buy about 18" of 1/8" I.D. soft copper tubing - the kind used to run the water supply line to a refrigerator ice cube maker or cold water dispenser in the door. Also pick up about a 6' length of flexible rubber tubing that will TIGHTLY slip (aka, air tight fit) over one end of the copper tubing (for about 3/4" to 1") you buy (you may have to go to a hobby shop for this, or a medical supply shop for surgical tubing). Also pick up a hose "pinch clamp" that'll squeeze the tubing shut by pinching the diameter shut (also available at a hobby shop in their chemistry section). I assume you have 4 or 5 plastic wire ties available to you.

Slip the rubber tubing onto one end of the soft copper tubing. Wire-tie the piece of copper tubing to the barrel of the high-pressure wand with the rubber tubing coming back toward the handle. Position the other end of the copper tubing beyond the tip of the wand and bend the extended portion JUST ENOUGH so the outside diameter of the copper tubing is as close as you can get it to the high-pressure stream without it actually touching the main part of the stream (like 1/32" away). Keep the muzzle end of the copper tubing back as close to where the water comes out of the nozzle as you can, without crushing the copper tubing with a sharp bend. The end of the copper tubing shouldn't need to extend beyond the end of the wand by much more than just a couple of inches, if that.

Slip the "pinch clamp" over the loose end of the rubber tubing and move it up to a convenient place around the wand handle. This is how you'll regulate the soap supply. Stick the loose end of the rubber tubing into your gallon bottle of soap, and start your washer. If you've done everything right, the venturi suction generated by the high velocity water stream flowing very close to the end of the copper tubing should be suck the soap out of the bottle and into the water stream.

Depending on how good your design is and the pressure of your washer, you may not be able to suck the soap from the jug if it's on the ground and you hold the wand over your head (for every 2.31 feet you hold the wand above the liquid level in the jug, you need to generate 1 PSI of "suck", roughly speaking). If you're low on "suck", experiemnt by holding the jug handle in your fingers of one hand while you trigger the wand. Remember, though, you have 6' of hose you have to suck the soap through before it'll get to the stream. The shorter the rubber tubing you use, of course, the faster the reaction time for the soap to enter the stream. Each time you shut off the water stream the soap will drain back into the jug.

If you want to get a lot of "suck", punch a hole in the bottom of a very small-diameter steel can (like a tomato paste can) and slide it over the wand muzzle/copper tubing assembly with the bottom of the can closest to the wand handle. Seal any holes around the wand/tubing with duct tape. Keep the open end of the can a couple of inches ahead of the end of the copper tubing (experiment to find the best extension). The smaller the diameter of the can, the better ... and wrapping the muzzle/copper tubing end with a piece of wire-tied aluminum flashing material or shim stock would be ideal (again, seal the holes on the wand handle side).

Principle of operation (for those who care): Works the same way as a carburetor does. In this case, the water stream represents the air being sucked into the cylinders, and the soap represents the gas coming through the metering jets (the "pinch clamp") from the float cavity (the soap jug).

Please post back as to how this works for you. Or if you have any questions.

Thanks.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write all that. I will give it a try.

 

Mike W:

The muzzle end of the copper tubing sticking very close to the high pressure stream will have been cut off square to the tubing. To improve the suction on the soap line, slightly file, grind, or slice the end of the copper tubing so the cut you make is parallel to the water jet stream like this crude drawing:
===tubing=======\ \\ where the last two \\ marks represent the water stream
& this distance is ->| |<-- 1/32" away.

Please post back as to how this works.

 

I have an electric and a gas model, and neither will "suck" the soap solution into the line and pump if the wand tip is set to high pressure. Lower the tip pressure to its lowest setting, where its squirting out a lot of volume with little pressure, and it should suck the soap into the line. I think only certain manufacturers actually inject soap at high pressure. I would like to have one , too, that would inject the soap at high pressure, without damaging my pump. Does anyone know if the "Cat" pump injects at high pressure?

 

I just read about the low pressure nozzles for soap injection. This got me to think about just using a bug sprayer to spray soap with. Would the cleaning be just as good?