Before the temps dip too far, make sure your pressure washing ..

 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.

How to winterize your Gas Powered Water Cannon Pressure Washer

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.