Pressure Washer pump

[fishinfool]

I have an old devilbiss excell 2600 pressure washer that has a pump for the water that needs no oil,but it says you should not leave it run without running water through it or it can burn up.When you stop pressure to the trigger after about 30 seconds it starts making sound like a slipping clutch.I see pressure pumps that have an oil lubrication reserve on them and was wondering how much longer they might run that this pump as i like to work in between pressure washing and not have to shut it off for five minutes between spraying with it.Does it hurt the sealed pump to run without the pressure trigger engaged and water flowing through to cool the pump?If the pump with the oil reserve would be better,i might look into changing out the pumps instead of burning this one up.Any thoughts or experience in this matter would be appreciated

 

[ARB1977]

My briggs is the same though it doesn't make any noise with the trigger off. I flip the kill switch with the water running then squeeze the gun trigger to release the pressure.

 

[Donald]

Most pressure washer pumps have an unloader, part of the pump or plumbed separate. When you let go of the trigger the pressure builds up quickly and the unloader releases the pressure back to the inlet of the pump. So the water goes around in a circle. But it heats up quickly and that is what damages the pump. There are plastic or nylon parts in the pump and they melt if this goes on for too long. I would not let it go more than 5 minutes.

Small electric pressure washers turn on and off the motor. Its actually not a bad idea. I have a used $25 one that is good for many things.

 

[abycat]

Yes the pump packings will be destroyed. On the pumps with unloader on the head you have about 2 minutes until damage will quickly occur. If you buy an external unloader u could pump water through the machine when the trigger is not pulled. If u had a float tank like me u could make the return water go back into the tank. Let me know if you want to know more.

I run a pressure wash truck and am the mechanic for the business and i also own my own pressure washing business.

 

[fishinfool]

the thing I was curious to know was do the pumps that have an oil reserve have that so they don't burn out? Or are they there just to lubricate the pump? I didn't know which pump you liked better,the sealed no oil pump or the one with an oil reserve,which do you recommend for longer life? thanks for you help.

 

[abycat]

The crank case is seperated from the water pump side by the packings. If the packings wear out or are damaged and oil will get into the water or worse water in the oil. I dont use any pumps with a sealed for lige sump. I change out my big pumps every 400 hours and my small trailer mounted one every 100 hours. The trailer pump is a direct drive so it spins at 3500 rpm.

I would reccomend to get one that is servicable. I cant see the oil lasting more than 600 hours. After that the pump will quickly wear out.

You should be able to find a chinese pw for under 800 that will be rated for around 4 gpm and 4000 psi. Any less flow than that is useless.

 

[fishinfool]

Thanks

 

[abycat]

No prob. Let me know if u have any more ?'s. Also dont get an axial pump make sure its a triplex pump. They put out more flow and pressure and are more industial rated.

 

[SteveSRT8]

OUCH!

I have a fleet of CAT 5CP pumps in service vehicles. We typically get over 3 THOUSAND hours out of one pump.

That's right, I said 3000!

 

[abycat]

Oh yeah im running the big hotsys and one of mine has over 7000 without a rebuild and the other has 6500 with one packing change. I usually dont have to open one up for at least 6000 hours.