[Ian101]

Expanding into pressure washing next year ... not as an add on to the windows but seperate "proper" business.

Will be offering commercial as well as residential so with that in mind I have dismissed all the lower priced petrol washers and now looking at a choice of 2.

http://www.malcleanse.co.uk/zeta-200-bar-30-lpm-petrol-pressure-washer-zt30200pbe-p-4546.html

http://www.malcleanse.co.uk/zeta-250-bar-23-lpm-petrol-pressure-washer-zt23250pbe-p-4545.html

Appreciate its not just the pressure that matters but the LPM as well so of the 2 above can any of the experianced operators point me in the right direction.

The 30lpm has option for second operator which Im assuming will drop the flow to 15LPM per man ?

Any other makes out there I may want to consider ?

[david washbrook]

Try asking rob from m- clean uk I'm sure he has just brought something simular

[BDCS]

I'd consider the cost of fuel first and foremost. A diesel on red will cost about £15 against about £60 or more for a days work. A 30 ltr machine will be quite thirsty on petrol

[richywilts]

ian are you sure you can setup a "sepearate" business to the window cleaning im not sure you can

[Ian101]

ian are you sure you can setup a "sepearate" business to the window cleaning im not sure you can

you saying im fick and not capable or summitt  .... no I know what you mean from tax point of view

will be seperate so far as banking, accounts, staff but no doubt tax man will see it differently 

[Ian101]

I'd consider the cost of fuel first and foremost. A diesel on red will cost about £15 against about £60 or more for a days work. A 30 ltr machine will be quite thirsty on petrol

Hadnt considered fuel .... £60 that much for a full days use ... blimey ... gonna look at diesels ... love this forum

[Griffus]

Business wise cleaning is cleaning (unless there is a specialist aspect) and so I very much doubt that you'll be able to set up seperate businesses. That said, why would you want to?

As a first machine I'd go a bit cheaper. For the market I'm guessing you're aiming at then 15 lpm / 200 bar will be plenty. Speak with Malcolm at Malcleanse, he'll point you in the right direction.

Fuel wise, it's just a matter of working out your costings againt proposed usage. Higher initial cost of diesel won't be recovered in a hurry if rarely used.

Have you considered a used machine? There are some great bargains to be had, especially this time of year.

[Ian101]

Business wise cleaning is cleaning (unless there is a specialist aspect) and so I very much doubt that you'll be able to set up seperate businesses. That said, why would you want to?

As a first machine I'd go a bit cheaper. For the market I'm guessing you're aiming at then 15 lpm / 200 bar will be plenty. Speak with Malcolm at Malcleanse, he'll point you in the right direction.

Fuel wise, it's just a matter of working out your costings againt proposed usage. Higher initial cost of diesel won't be recovered in a hurry if rarely used.

Have you considered a used machine? There are some great bargains to be had, especially this time of year.

Thanks you make some good points ref used purchase.

I think to garner its full potential I ought to not treat pressure washing as an add on but totally sperate business all together .. tax man will see it differently no doubt but when I used the term in OP it was from a concentration effort point of view not taxman ... if that makes sense 

[Ian101]

As a first machine I'd go a bit cheaper. For the market I'm guessing you're aiming at then 15 lpm / 200 bar will be plenty. Speak with Malcolm at Malcleanse, he'll point you in the right direction.


Have you considered a used machine? There are some great bargains to be had, especially this time of year.

would this be up to heavy duty commercial use though I know this be good for residential stuff but aiming at bigger stuff from day 1 (maybe running before I can walk but big beleiver in just getting out there and going for it)

[Griffus]

As a first machine I'd go a bit cheaper. For the market I'm guessing you're aiming at then 15 lpm / 200 bar will be plenty. Speak with Malcolm at Malcleanse, he'll point you in the right direction.


Have you considered a used machine? There are some great bargains to be had, especially this time of year.

would this be up to heavy duty commercial use though I know this be good for residential stuff but aiming at bigger stuff from day 1 (maybe running before I can walk but big beleiver in just getting out there and going for it)

As long as you buy one with a good engine, pump and reduction gearbox it should last a fair few years. When you say commercial, it depends exactly what you are aiming at, increased flow tends to be the way forward rather than increased psi. For commercial work you may well find a bigger issue is water supply, therefore it's worth considering a trailer set up or even a bowser.

[BDCS]

going back to the OP. Consider psi to be speed and ltrs/min to be the weight. You hit a wall on a push bike at 30mph and you might scratch the wall - drive a lorry into the wall at 20 mph and you'll smash the wall. The difference between a 15 and 21 ltr/min machine is quite noticeable.

[Ian101]

going back to the OP. Consider psi to be speed and ltrs/min to be the weight. You hit a wall on a push bike at 30mph and you might scratch the wall - drive a lorry into the wall at 20 mph and you'll smash the wall. The difference between a 15 and 21 ltr/min machine is quite noticeable.

Cheers ! ... great analagy ! ......... now I can understand it 

[richywilts]

ian i have a couple of setups im considering selling honda engines full lance hose etc ideal for first machine

[Tony Edwards]

Richy

Any details please

[chris scott]

I would go for a smaller machine. 3000 psi 15 litres per min. These machines are plenty big for 70% of the work.  It might only be the areas i work in so please take this advice and do some homework. Sometimes we struggle to draw enough water from the mains supply to keep up with our machines,early morning and evenings being worst.
Even "industrial " jobs you could be working off a "tap on the wall".
People will say IBC but do the maths  1 IBC @1000LITRES X 3000psi@15 LITRES PER MINUTE it don't go far.
Nothing looks worse to a customer as men stood around doing nothing! (waiting on reservoirs filling)
Stand pipes are an option.

[BDCS]

So a 21 ltr machine running less revs with a .4 nozzle uses about 12 ltrs but if the water supply is good then you can use the full revs. I only ever use a .55 turbo nozzle but use two .4 on the FSC. I also have a 13hp Honda sat in the container - why are there so many of these machines for sale ? because if you do any amount of pressure washing they are not cost effective. Buy what you need in the first place.

[chris scott]

There are so many for sale as they are very popular with hire/plant/roof-driveway  companies . Lots of them have been built hence loads of secondhand ones around. As you say you run yours at half throttle for water conservation.18" Flat surface cleaners run ok at this, telescopic lances are way past there useability at half throttle looking like a snake on MDMA!! My 11hp petrol uses about £10/15 worth of fuel a day with none of the oil slicks associated with diesel machines. Manoeuvrability is not compromised ...through gate ways and on more than one occasion through customers homes.  So i stand by my original statement that 15lpm is enough ..granted there are times when i need more but if it was that bad i would have bought bigger.

[BDCS]

Have you read the posts from ian1o1 ? He said he wanted to run a proper business and was aiming at bigger commercial jobs from day 1 - so if you think an 11hp petrol would suit his needs then you have a very valid point but obviously its would'nt be one I share. He firstly looked at a 30 and 23 ltr machine so he seems to want to avoid the granny patio type of customer 
If I were to use my long lance I would obviously use a smaller nozzle which would allow me to retain full control of that piece of equipment, this would have been covered in the rams which would probably not be asked for when cleaning granny's patio.
 If you cannot fill a machine without causing an oil slick might I suggest one of these :-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFT53ViNctw

[chris scott]

I have one of those for my Gasser ! Smaller nozzle We obviously have a different way  about  looking at things 

[BDCS]

Which gasser do you have ? I have a couple of the smaller nozzles but the bigger ones fill quicker.