The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Pressure washer question.

What minimum pressure rating would you recommend for pressure washing a greasy old truck engine and frame? I would especially like to hear from people who have done this themselves.

The reason I'm asking, is that I tend to go a bit overboard with things like this, haha!

I plan to use a pressure washer to remove years of grease from my engine. I also want to clean the rear axle and frame. I think a garden hose and a stiff brush will not do the job well enough.

Rental units usually have around 2400 psi or higher. Cost ranges from $40 to $60 for 3 or 4 hours. The Walmart and Lowes units do not have good reviews, so I doubt I will purchase a unit.

Lugnutz,
Just my opinion, of course, but for general automotive and household use I wouldn't buy anything smaller than what I own. I have a 6.0 HP gas unit rated at 2 GPM and 2100 psi. I use a 5/8" garden hose with it, but a larger unit would probably need a 3/4" hose to feed it.
My next one is probably going to be more powerful. Again my opinion, but the electric ones are useless except for small jobs.

Dave Evans
52_3100

We have been using one at work that has a 13 hp honda, i think its in the 3500 psi range, but prob not nessecary for a one time use. Somewhere around 2500 would be fine, if you want it oil free i would recomened a good degreaser and scrubbing after washing the big stuff off.

If a setup like 52's eludes you and you have a home owner special hook it up to your hot water heater and run straight hot at it. (you might even turn up the temp if its on an economy setting) That will knock off a lions share even if its a bit slower. Then hit it with a mix of orig. Dawn and some green or purple power in a high test mix. let that set then hit it again with the PW.
I've lifted paint with a small one so care is still required.

I have both a gas type with 2500 psi(do not use 0 degree nozle it will bore holes and do damage)and a steam cleaner with 1500 psi. If you are going to rent a unit I would rent a steam cleaner. The job goes faster and you dont need chemicals. They are expensive to purchase but comparable to others as to rental cost. They outperform pressure washers hands down. They will make shorter work of a nasty job and you will be pleased with your results. More pressure may mean more damage.

where are you washing all this grease off to?

I have a 1965 C10 Stepside Shortbox.

Greasy motor

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt269/fastboatman29212/65%20Chevy%20C10/0920111838b.jpg

Dirty Frame

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt269/fastboatman29212/65%20Chevy%20C10/1021111655.jpg

Dirty Rear End

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt269/fastboatman29212/65%20Chevy%20C10/1006111509a.jpg

no lugnutz, he said off TO not off OF .... I was wondering the same

Bill

The Atlantic ocean, so you guys on the west coast don't need to worry.
And I'm already at the top of the hill so I don't care much.

Oh and don't I know this is going to stir up a hornests nest, but I'm just sayin, one of the car wash booths work good for this and they have to treat the water before it goes into the waste stream to avoid the minimum $10,000 fine. (I know this because I used to work at a place that somehow couldn't see fit to treat their waste water correctly and collected several of these fines) It isn't very responsible, when there is such a readily available (and cheap) alternative available. But in all fairness, some of the car wash places don't want you doing this in their place, but many don't mind. YOU may not care, but your children probably will.

MY BAD! IMHO, all of us are responsible for the way WE impact the environment. Not preachin', just sayin'.

I hope to pressure wash the rear end and frame without any special fuss about the waste water. It's mostly road grime there.

The engine is another story. What I'll probably do is pull the motor and strap it down good onto my small trailer. It has a mesh floor. I can then haul it off to a place where I can catch and treat the waste water. That would have the least impact on the environment and won't kill the grass in my own back yard.

not to be a * but why did this turn into a epa discussion. someone always has to bring some kind of enviromental thing into the mix. Lugnutz was asking for an opinion about pressure washers not on how to get rid of the waste water. as far as i am concerned pressure wash everything at home on you concrete drive way. let it dry up for a few days then sweep it up. the residue left in the water wont be enough to ruin the enviroment. as long as your not degreasing 50 plus cars a day for 30 years you WILL be fine. let the epa go after the real polluters not the small guy that does this once a year. MO

Thanks Mo. A little common sense goes a long way.

That's not really a greasey engine, it just has a nice patina

I use a John Deere 3000 psi unit for all my cleaning. A good presoak with heavy duty degreaser goes a long way.
If you decide to buy one, any brand, look for a Triplex direct drive pump. They are heavy duty rebuildable units. Most of the cheaper brands have a different type of pump and don't hold up well. They really heat up quick at idle which cuts there life span drastically. The Triplex well take idle time much better since they recirculate water for cooling.

Look for water usage, gallons per minute, most are really low so a normal hot water heater will keep up if you are not washing a house. Mine will wash two cars and still be pretty warm. High pressure does not mean high water usage. A normal 5/8 feed hose is all they need. Our 3500 psi steam cleaner at work, school bus washer, is only feed with a 5/8' hose.

For deep cleaning heavy steel, the red pinpoint tip will cut through anything, for normal cleaning, the green tip is best, for sheet metal use the yellow tip. The spray pattern fans out reducing the chance of damage or paint striping going from red to yellow. The white is the least pressure and black is for applying soap or degreasers. None of the ones I looked at had soap injectors but you might be able to add one.

Joe

OK, I have a 2 1/2 gpm,2800psi and 6hp commercial set up BUT most of the time I can get the engine hot and then hit it with some purple power and get it off with a Garden Hose with a good nozzle. I do this cause i hate getting out the pressure washer and even more I hate starting it. (my shoulder hurts)
I've cleaned some pretty nasty engines with a good garden nozzle but then maybe I have a little higher water pressure than some.

Anyone THAT concerned about washing one engine can put down a piece of plastic, wash engine then fold it up and dispose of it at the landfill. At least we don't pull a car across the ditch and let the oil drain out in a ditch as we did 50 plus years ago.
I'll also agree to the car wash thing but again, my garden hose has more pressure than some of them!

I have a heated pressure washer. It has a oil burner on it like an oil furnace has that heats the water then pumps it out at 2500 psi. Cant tell you the brand as I have it loaned out right now,but you talk about a grease getter it works.

as far as pressure washing is concerned. my answer is use what you got. doesnt really mater what kind or pressure you have. you just have to use some good degreaser, scrapers and time. i have used easyoff oven cleaner and gunk engine degreaser and many others but you still need to scrape and scrub to get it all off. take your time its going to take many many trys to get everything clean then you will find more that you missed. patience is a virtue when cleaning anything old. take your time and be ready to get really dirty and wet. i bet i pressure washed my 51 for two weekends straight and i still had grease and debrise to deal with when disassembly time came.

I've had about 5-6 of them over the years and the best ones were commercial heated units. The hot water (200 degrees) and a soap injector were more important than pressure. And they were 220V electric powered with CAT pumps. The type of pump is VERY important if you intend for it to last. Companies like N-H and the like advertise the hell out of HP and pressure, even engine brands. These are nothing more than come-ons for the uninitiated first time buyers. Not nearly as important as gpm and type of pump. Even 1500 psi is fine if the flow (gpm) is there and it makes hot water.
That is what I've learned over the last 35 years of owning these things so use an old man's experience and consider this before you buy. Buy it correctly the first time and keep it for a l-o-n-g time.

Triple d a non acid coil cleaner pre spray then soak before washing makes great cleaner 12.00 per gallon runoff will make local fish taste like beef .

I have a 4000 PSI 4GPM hot water washer it and a worley tip will take the paint, oil grease and anyhting elso off of a truck it comes in quite handy but is very expensive to just use once in a while I had it for washing hog barns and just kept it when I sodl the barns.