Connecting a pressure washer / power hose to a water butt

frog_bounce

Is it possible to connect a pressure washer / power hose to a water butt?

The pressure washer im planning on using is this one:
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?isSearch=true&fh_search=0000005240395&ecamp=eml-wk30-CROSS-BQEVENT-a005


thanks

nathan

knowloads

Yes no problem, but check the LPM rate (Litres per minute) and do not run dry. Also an inline filter is advisable. We often used a butt if water pressure was low.

frog_bounce

cheers
i dont have an outside tap so need to connect the pressure hose to the butt, do you think the pressure of water getting to the hose would be good enough to run the washer?

totalsolutions

Knowloads seems to think so.

keystone

As long as you can get your water butt higher than the washer to create a head and make sure you bleed the hose first there is no reason why not. Think of it like a pumped shower - the butt is the CWST, the washer is the pump and the lance is the shower head.

I'm thinking you might struggle a bit with the first requirement though unless you have one of these:



where the barrel is your butt just before you lift it up to create the head.

Cheers

ormus

you only need gravity to supply the water. the pump inside the machine does the hard work.

keystone

Yes - thats my point exactly.

Cheers

ariba10

We run a Karcher PW off a water butt.

The water level needs to be above the top of the PW.

knowloads

I once ran a 15 lpm/3000psi washer off a washing bowl in the kitchen sink. Any overflow goes down the plug, and the sink is higher than the power washer outside. You need to prime the hosepipe first (ie make sure its full of water). Gravity does the rest.