[davetherave]

i was pressure cleaning a drive and some slabs today, and it was an absolute nightmare because the customers water pressure coming out of their tap was stupidly low.

I had to do say, five minutes of actual cleaning and then stop and wait around for what seemed like forever for the water tank to fill up

And like an idiot the first thing i did was go and let the water tank feeding my pressure washer run dry while i was using it.

I know you aren't supposed to let the water run dry but how much does it actually damage your pressure washer if you do. It seemed to work okay afterwards, it is the first time this has happened. 

[Roger Oakley]

Dave,
Unfortunatly it happens to all of us at some point or other, you should be ok though. You say it worked ok afterwards, pressure seemed to be as it should?
If it does happen again, try to get the engine revs down quick as possible, then shut down. When water tank is full fire back-up and let the water flow through the pump a tad longer then usual, shut side valve and away you go.

[steve doyle]

I have done this many times myself when starting out and no immediate damage occured, I believe your washer should be absolutley fine however each time it runs dry you will get a little closer to a problem.

sadly everyone has jobs like this from time to time and you just need to stay alert so as you are stopping before it runs dry, but as roger says, get it turned off asap. 

steve

[Kleen Machine]

Why don't you have an automatic water shut off float installed
in your tank. It is the same type that they have in toilet bowls
tanks. This way you can have the tap water feed the tank at all times and when it reaches a certain level it shuts off automatically. We install these floats in every trailer that we build with a tank. It only cost $20.00 USD. You should not run out of water doing it this way.
Hope this helps please let me know

Regards
Hal
General Manager
Merrill Fox Enterprises

[John Kelly]

As Hal says stick a ballcock with a hozelock fitting onto your tank and just keep the hose attached, about 9 quid from B&Q. Most pumps will run dry for quite a few minutes before any damage occurs so wouldn't worry.

[drivewasher]

A standard ball cock won't alow enough flow past as the oriface int he valve is really small. You can get a special shut off valve from a p/washer supplies, a high flow one that passes up th 25 litres a minuite.

However this won't stop you running dry if the supply is very slow, it will only stop yer tank overflowing!

I am just fitting a level SWITCH. A tiny float switch that goes near bottom of tank. i will have a 2 core fly lead to it that will have bulet connectors on the end, 1 female, 1 male. On my Honda 13.5 hp engine,s stop switch is a junction that can be seperated and this fly lead plugged into it (not rocket science) when the water level falls and shorts the float switch bingo engine stops just before I run dry. Or plan B is to connect via van electrics to a 12 volt siren to sound, let go of trigger and in a couple pof secs float switch rises and stops siren.

[davetherave]

i'm glad to hear that there probably wasn't any damage done to my machine as i did get it turned off pretty sharpish. And like i said it seemed to work fine afterward.