Pressure washer

[pete black]

Can I just drop a hose into the lake for the water
supply for a gasoline powered pressure washer?

 

[David G]

No,

You will need to provide some stuffing pressure for the pump, and should but a screen over inlet.

 

[pete black]

Thanks, thought that to be the case.

 

[jeffcat]

Another NO! The reason being is your pump needs pressureized water at several gallons per minute. If you try that hose trick there will be no pressure. The next thing is your pump will try to draw water. Then the tops of the ceramic pistons will cavitate and make minny steam explosions. Then if you are lucky you can get a rebuild kit. Not being a pain, just don't do it.

 

[pete black]

Thanks, never been inside those pumps. Guess I will start dragging out 300 feet of hose.

 

[kcm.MN]

There are a few pressure washers that are supposed to be able to draft from a pail or something, but the water source has to be nearly level with the pump. My Karcher electric is one of those that's supposed to be able to, but I'll never try it.

 

[T.R.K.]

Every negative answer is correct, but no one mentioned that lake water tends to have trash in it, and that's a no-no for those pumps too.

 

[Den N Ms]

Yes a lot of commercial pressure washers/Hot Water are set up that way but with the soap/water tank just above the pump with gravity flow to the pump.Such as a Cat pump.
Cat Pump

 

[Brad Buchanan]

Hey Pete.

Not exactly what you asked but I pumped several thousand gallons of water through a kaarcher electric pressure washer from a 250 gallon caged tank on the back of a pickup powered by a portable gen on a contract we did.

no problems with that water supply however it was clean water.

We did however wear out the small pressure washer (probably 4 times the design life of the unit).

Brad

 

[grizz02]

300 ft of hose not sure if your going to have enough volume and pressure you cold cavitate the pump by starving it

 

[Texasmark1]

Gotta filter out the particles that would clog the tiny hole in the nozzle. Second is you need to pressurize the water somehow to feed it to the PW.