I've started thinking that I need a pressure washer, but it seems silly. It will just sit around unused 360 days of the year just like my roto-tiller. Now why can't I just buy the pump and mount it on the roto-tiller?
I wondered the same about the snow thrower: why a snow thrower when they make snow thrower attachments for the ride-on mower? But the attachment for the mower costs three times as much as the snow-thrower -- although of course the separate snow-thrower has a much smaller capacity.
If you only need to pressure wash a few times a year, you can buy small electric ones that are not much bigger than a one gallon can of paint. They're not expensive. I've used them for even some bigger jobs on my farm and they work. Not as powerful as the big ones, but they do work.
One tip. Dont leave them in an unheated garage in winter. Any water left in them will freeze and damage them. I had to toss one of them that was ruined from freezing, and would have cost too much to repair.
That's what I did but learned from a neighbor that an efficient washer has not only good pressure but good volume. He had an extension on his and was doing a good job washing his siding but mine won't be adequate for that type job. OK on small stuff like plastic patio furniture.
Well there is the spray wand and hose..... And they have a small venturi type suction gizmo screwed on to the pump after the hose, so you can suck up some cleaner if you want to use the pump with low pressure to spray it on.
I agree with Jerr that if you want one for occasional light to med duty work, an electric one is small and works. That's what I use to clean patio, sidewalk, prep siding for painting, etc.
Perhaps the newer models have elite safety features, but the ones I've owned and currently own have a pump attached to a siphoning adapter, powered by a motor and controlled by a hand valve. Pressure regulators are the tips. Different tips offer different widths and pressure. It is that simple. If one knew how to adapter a pump to a motor, they could then connect a hose and wand, then have the same results.
How do you suggest doing that? You cant blow all the water out from just running it dry... Nor can I see how to get anti-freeze in it. And in all honesty, I cant remember to do all these things in time. Fall is a very busy time trying to do hundreds of things to prepare for winter, then one day the temps drop and stuff begins to freeze. I just found an exploded can of soda in my car. I thought I had removed all of them, but missed this one.
Hi, It is easy like winterzing camping trailer(I sed to have). Run the pump (burp burp using hand gun trigger) to draw in plumbing anti-freeze from jug, when you see it coming out at the nozzle, stop and it is done. I only do it for the one out at my cabin.
Gee , sounds like all you need is a well-equipped machine shop ... in that same vein , I'm wondering just how hard it would be to tap into my JD 317 tractor's hydraulic system to power a wood splitter . They make a hydraulic
3 point hitch for it , and there are a pair of capped tubes coming out of the pump , so ... Oh , and I DO have a well equipped machine shop . And an aluminum foundry ... and time .
If you had read what I said, it's electric. No gas tank! Im not real sure how one would pump antifreeze thru it. It connects to a garden hose when used. The hose fitting is on it;s side, so about all I might be able to do is turn it on its side and try to get some in it with a funnel. I highly doubt it will just suck the AF into it, if I was to try. I dont think they pump anything when they are dry, they need a prime!
Tractor hydraulics can power anything if you can connect the hoses to it. But some tractors only have one way hydraulics, others have 2 way (one way = pressure only) (two way = pressure and suction OR reverse pressure) For example, my Farmall M only has one way. I can lifr the bucket on my loader, but it dont have the reverse pressure, or suction to lower the bucket. Of course on a simple trip loader like I have, gravity lowers it. I just need to lift with the hydraulics.
Since they make a 3 point hitch for your tractor, I suspect you have two way hydraulics.
On sometimes devices, the cylinders are made for only one way, or for two way. (2 way have 2 hose attachments).
You can plug the second hose fitting on a 2 way and use it as a one way, but cant do the opposite. Then you would have to change the cylinder.
There are some devices that will turn a one way hyd system into a two way. It has a lever that flips from left to right and reverses the power. They're very costly. I've never been able to figure out how that can work, but I've spoken to old farmers who used them and said they worked fine on the old tractors that lacked 2 way hyd (like my Farmall). But the price of a new one is more than I paid for my tractor and used ones are hard to find and still very costly.
Anyhow, I've seen hyd log splitters in use, but I never used one myself. But I do think you'd need 2 way hyd for it. (PUSH and PULL the power wedge). If your tractor has 2 way hyd, all you need to do is get hoses and couplers and it should work fine. You might have to do some research to find which hose does which though. Any JD shop should know.
Maybe not every last drop, but I think you can get almost all of it out, to the point that it can't break from freezing. They one I have uses some kind of piston type arrangement and I would think almost all water does come out. I don't see the need to draw in antifreeze or similar. All I do is run it without any hoses connected for about 15 secs, and spray some WD50 into the intake near the end.
This little tractor has 2-way to both the front blade and the mower deck , I can lift the front end off the ground with the front blade - but if I push the lever all the way forward the blade floats . I have a double-acting cylinder , but I don't think it's big enough to work well as the piston diameter is only like 1.5" . I think the 2-way action is actually a function of the spool valve you choose . This isn't likely to happen soon , I'll probably save up and buy a used splitter when I get too old to do it manually .
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