[rb4no]

thinking of gearing up and considering a second hand jetter, not looking to go mad just 8 / 9 gallons a min at 3,000 psi. What engine / pump combinations are best for this range, it looks like the pumps are pretty similar to what we're used to on the p washers. Thoughts on unloader valves and engine makes please, may go dual wand?  cheers up front dickie

[Kenny83]

Ive just got a zeta, it's diesel, has an interpump 2030 pump on it, 200 bar at 30 lpm (8gallons), all on a nice trolley mount, I can put a small jet in for general pressure washing using around 15 - 20 lpm or I can put a large jet in for swilling off a 30 litres, or a large drain nozzle on for jetting, best of both worlds all on one tidy little trolley like a pw, Rob maclean has the thor which are made by the same people but more flow (41lpm)
They usually have the K unloaders on them but I'm going to be using an st 280 as it does what I need better 9regulates flow when a smaller nozzle in on), where as the K series unloader can pulse on and off if too small a nozzle is installed, this doesn't happen with a trapped pressure unloader
 
what budget you got mate?

[Matt Gibson]

Lee, the zeta i just bought has a pulsation dampner on the pump. I had to google "pulsation dampner" 

[Kenny83]

What's one of them matt? is it the little pressure relief valve on  the side with a 1/4 pipe coming off it?
I thought it was an easy bleed valve so took it off and replace with a tap as it seemed to keep spewing water out on and off all the time in use lol
 

[Matt Gibson]

I dont know what your describing. Mines got a PRV on the pump head, but not plumbed into the normal place. Its like, at the front of the brass pump head, one of the three middle bolts. Well, it looks like a PRV anyway, no hose coming off it..

Nah a pulsation dampner is like a big black rubber ball that screws into the pump head. dont really know how it works, but its got one on it anyway.. ill need to take a couple of pics of my machine, everything looks pretty straight forward, but wanna confirm what i have is definitley a PRV otherwise im gonna need to buy one for it.

Has yours got a gauge? i need to get one for mine,

[Kenny83]

no, I have one that I screw onto the end of the pump when I need to test it, although I'm going to get one for it as I could do with one. is yours till set up to dual operator? and does it have the rev cut out on it when you let go of the trigger? Mines had these decommisioned

[Matt Gibson]

Yeah, mines got three outlets, ones going to the hose reel and two are free.

Not sure about the rev cut out, but the revs change when on/off the trigger. They dont cut down low when you let go, but it sounds like something happens.

[Matt Gibson]

As for the OP's Question, As Lee asked, whats your budget rb4no?

If you keep your eyes peeled and check ebay/gumtree daily, your bound to get a decent machine with the specs your after. Depending on how often you use it, diesle is probably better, though ive found a lot of drain jetters are petrol.

As you can see from me and lees discussion, if you go for a high flow machine, you can use it for all sorts of things, and it will make your job easier. just make sure you have the water supply to keep up with it.

Most jetters are briggs & stratton/lombardini/honda or one starting Kobuta.. go for a decent name brand thats been well serviced and you cant go wrong. Interpump are the standard, but i know the speck pumps are heavy duty, or cat pumps are good too.

[rb4no]

I've been keeping an eye on ebay, gumtree etc  in order to get a feel for prices, a couple of gone through for little over a grand but at 2 and a bit plus you start getting which appear to be half decent units, there's a couple from the lads from Luton which look nice starting at 2200. I just feel that sometimes my GX390 could do with more flow therefore if I go for more flow then I may as well do it in style and go proper if you know what I mean. I want to get more into commercial work and be competitive on price, however standing around all day at 15 ltres a min doesn't bode well so hence my enquiry. thanks everyone....

[Kenny83]

I have a Honda gx390 woth an interpump 202 and gearbox, that does 21 litres per min, also has electric start, fantastic condition, 900
 

Ps, complete with turbo

[Kenny83]

Yeah, mines got three outlets, ones going to the hose reel and two are free.

Not sure about the rev cut out, but the revs change when on/off the trigger. They dont cut down low when you let go, but it sounds like something happens.

Matt will you text me a picture of your dual operator set up please? Around the pump area so I can see how it works?
thanks.

Also, if it has the idle tick over mode set up then usually it will have like a bicycle brake type cable going from the pump to the throttle panel, that's how the ones I've seen work, karcher hds1000's etc have this set up.

[Matt Gibson]

yeah mate no worries. Its kinda hard to see as the hose reel supports are in the way and there is a panel in front, but its just basically a mini tank, with three ports screwed into the front of it, and one port on the end of it which is fed from the unloader..

Not sure about the whole bike brake cable thing, i didnt see anything like that on mine. What does the idle tick over mode actually do?

[Kenny83]

It connects to a pressure switch on the pump, when you let go of the trigger the switch pops out under pressure and triggers a cable that is connected to the throttle, which turns the revs down, when you pull the trigger, the switch pop's back in, pulling the cable tight which pulls the throttle to increase revs, it's quite simple when you see one working really

so the machine only uses revs when you pull the trigger, and when you let go the engine automatically goes into tickover, saving fuel etc.
 

[rb4no]

As a thought, in theory apart from the fabrication involved in building a frame, could you buy a second hand engine then fit a pump to it, there are lots of nice modern engines going for a few hundred quid? I guess you'd have to make sure that the engine speed and connectors match etc but there are probably firms out there that already make these up.

[Mike Halliday]

Where are these engines going for a few hundred quid? I've been looking for a decent 25-35hp engine for ages.

Anyone know where to get  new kholer engines from at good prices?

[BDCS]

I have got two very good engines for sale - one also has a gas conversion

[Mike Halliday]

What spec are they & what price?

[rb4no]

There are a few engines on ebay such like KUBOTA d905 or D1105 and the like in different states of condition or completion? it looks like the lads at centurywise are selling a perkins engine which was initially bought for a pressure washer project that didn't happen. wondered if anyone here had done something like this before as these engines are plentiful and found all over the place.

[BDCS]

What spec are they & what price?

They are Kohler command v twin petrols and I think they are 14 hp - they are the later ohc ones with the hydraulic tappets. One I bought new to replace one that caught fire and its done about a years work on a jetter. The other was on some research generator thing and had only done 2 hours before the funding was pulled - this is the one with the gas kit. £350 each