First pressure washer use...unsuccessful

bairn7

So, I'm probably being stupid, but I bought a pressure washer and it was an ordeal to use (to clean my car).

By way of background, I had an outdoor tap installed and, being in a flat, the tap is c 20m from the street so a decent length of hose is required.

I researched the fixings required and got that sorted, I also bought a power extension and a 30m hose to reach from the tap to the street. However, upon attaching the hose, I noticed a couple of things.

1. Given the length of the hose, it kept kinking so that I had 5 or 6 kinks between the tap and the washer, meaning that the washer kept failing after just a few seconds of washing. I undid the kinks several times but they kept re-appearing.

2. When I finally managed to get the washer working for more than a few seconds, there appeared to be an issue after, say 6 or 7 seconds, whereby it looked like the hose entering the washer was sucked in (eg if you hold a straw at one end and suck on the other so it contracts). Possibly suggestive of not enough water flowing?

I'm a newbie to pressure washers and was hoping for the whole thing to be easier. Am I making some basic mistakes here? Should I be investing in a particular type of hose to run from the tap to the washer to prevent kinking?

Thanks in advance

greyteam1959

1)
If the hose keeps kinking its knackered....buy a new non kink hose
https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p33067
2)
Same applies buy a new hose.................
Or check that there is not some sort of a restriction in the water flow for example a pressure reducer
HTH

molerat

I run my PW on more than 30m of hose with no problems, I clean round the back of the house from the tap in the garage at the front. As above, get a proper rigid hose.

bairn7

Thanks. In all fairness it was a cheap 30m hose from The Range. It was first use so didn't expect it to have any issues. I'll splash out on a proper hose then!

Ruski

Be aware that you MAY be encountering supply issues too - the fact that you've noticed the hose collapsing means the demand by the washer is more than the supply from the tap as you've pointed out.

A rigid hose MAY help with this, but I'd be inclined to check the flowrate from the OS tap - is it very strong and blasts you wet when open at the tap - or just a nice controlled flow of water ?

HTH

Russ

Ectophile

If you can get a hose on a reel, then those seem rather less inclined to kink.

I'm not sure why it is, but unrolling the hose from a reel seems to give a nice straight hose, while trying to do it by hand off a manually rolled up hose causes endless kinks, even on "kink-free" hoses.

A_Nice_Englishman

If you do find the supply from the tap is less than the demand from the pressure washer you need to store enough water to wash the car in a container of some sort. Fill up a water butt or similar from the tap via the hose and then use that to feed the washer.

I collect rainwater from the roof in a butt for this but that's probably not possible in a flat.

bairn7

Thanks, I've bought a hose on a reel and it is noticeably tougher than the cheap crap I bought from the range. Will try at the weekend. In all fairness I haven't turned the tap on fully as I was nervous about it for some reason. Shouldn't be a flow issue if turned on fully.

Thanks again

road2manchester

hose to long.... pressure washers use 7-9 ltrs per minute , if the water supply is less, it sucks to hard and flat hose........

You can run off a large bucket or even a wheely bin.but you need to make sure there is water in the pipe between the bin and the washer before you start, feed the bucket with your hose, and fill it. Then the washer runs off the bucket like a resavior. If the bucket empties faster than if fills, your pressure is to low, Bigger bucket = longet before it runs out. DO NOT RUN THE WASHER WITH NO WATER, it will go pop.