Before the temps dip too far, make sure your pressure washingPressure washing equipmentt is prepared for freezing temperatures.
In extremely cold temperatures and high winds,
your Water Cannon Pressure Washing equipment can take a beating. When wintery weather dips below 32 degrees F,
water filters can freeze and break, hot
water coils can freeze and burst, and ceramic
plungers in the water pumps can spider crack if water isn’t blown out. To
prevent these problems and more, you just need to take some extra precautions.
Take a look at this insider’s guide to preparing for the freezing cold.
You will need a short section of
garden hose, a funnel, hose clamp, and a 5 gallon bucket with any type of antifreeze
coolant. Attach the hose to the
funnel and the other end of the hose to the inlet of the pump. You will need a friend to hold the funnel
and the trigger gun while you start the machine and begin pouring the
anti-freeze into the funnel. Your
friend should be triggering the gun off and on a couple times to insure
that the antifreeze protects the unloader as well as the trigger gun,
hose and coil if it is a hot water unit.
As soon as you see the antifreeze coming out of the trigger you can
capture what is left of the antifreeze in the bucket. You can then run the unit for only a few
seconds without the antifreeze to clear the pump. At this point you can drain the remaining
antifreeze from the hose and trigger into the bucket for use at another
time. This will not only protect your
equipment from freezing but will also keep seals lubricated throughout.
Another option is to simply drain the
water from the hose and gun, and if your unit has a direct drive pump, remove
the pump from the motor and store them both in a warm location such as a
basement.
As for the engine, you can either drain
the fuel tank and run the engine until it has run the gas out or leave the fuel in the tank and add a fuel stabilizer such as Stabil. I recommend changing the oil before putting
it away for the season so that it is ready to go for next year.
The burner system does not need a
whole lot of attention except to run a diesel fuel stabilizer through
the system.
The main
goal is to completely remove the water from all of the accessories, hoses and the pump assembly. With the
system turned off, release any trapped pressure by squeezing the trigger
gun. Disconnect the trigger gun and wand assembly. Drain the water from the Trigger gun by
holding the trigger gun in a vertical direction while squeezing the trigger to let
the water run out. Next disconnect your high pressure hose assembly
and coil up into to 3 or 4 foot loops allowing one end of the hose on the
ground so the water can drain out during the coiling process.
If you have quick connects it is a good idea to snap the quick
connects together to avoid insects from making your pressure washing hose
it's winter home. If you have a chemical, foam or soap injector follow
the same technique to clear them of all water.
Now let's
work on the high pressure pump and inline filters, with the engine
switch in the off position pull the engine recoil until water stops
shooting out of the pump outlet, normally six pulls will do the job. Depending
on the water filter inlet you may want to disassemble the filter if it has a water
trap.
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