Direct drive pressure washer pumps mount directly to the engine/motor. The drive shaft of the engine/motor is directly driving the pump. The advantage to having this arrangement is that there are fewer parts involved in the drive and a lower initial system cost. The disadvantages include increased thermal wear due to heat from the engine/motor being transferred to the pump and increased vibration/noise.

Belt driven pressure washer pumps are more expensive. There are more components in the drive assembly. You also have to replace the belts every so often. The advantages are many. Having the engine separated by the belt means a lot less vibration transmitted to the pump. This contributes to longer pump life. The separation also means that the pump is exposed to less heat. Less heat means longer pump life. Last, but not least, the pump runs at half the speed or less than a direct drive unit. This also means longer life for your pump. Experts agree that although the belt driven system might cost more initially, the longer life of the pump means savings in the long term.

Anyway, now that we got the precautionary messages out of the way, what else can we clean with this? Well, another application is cleaning the siding on your house. If you have not done any maintenance to the exterior of your house since disco was on the air then I’ve got a job for you! Power washing your house should be done carefully. Make sure that the windows near your large screen television are closed.

If you like dirt and rocks spraying all over the place then cleaning the driveway is just the ticket. Fire that power pressure washer right up and blast that dirt, those rocks, and anything else standing in the way of a clean driveway away! These power washers can send rocks flying so make sure that your car, people and pets are not anywhere near you when you do this. There are so many things that you can clean which can be so much more fun with a power washer. Let your imagination run free. Dirt bikes anyone?

What kinds of jobs justify the added expense and weight of a hot water washer? Well, one application is the cleaning of greasy manufacturing equipment. As an example, consider a food processing plant that processes fatty foods. If you use a cold water unit for cleaning, the grease will harden into waxy clumps and will not easily be dislodged. This will make for a long and tedious cleaning process. By contrast, if you have a hot water pressure washer, then the grease and oils will melt away and the cleaning process will be quick and easy. Pretty much any job that involves grease or fat or oils will require a unit that can heat the water before spraying. You may also consider a unit that emits high pressure steam. High pressure steam can clean most anything, even in many cases without any help from any type of detergent or cleaning agent. There are many pressure washers out there that can output steam or hot water. Make sure you read the specifications of the unit and make the best choice for the job at hand.

There are two basic mounting styles that gas powered pressure washers come in. The first style is the portable style on wheels. This style has everything you need including a water tank. You can just roll the unit right up to the job and start working. It is very convenient for jobs where you can’t just drive a truck up to where you need the washer. The water tank, pump and other components are mounted on a powder coated frame and ride on little tires so you can easily roll the unit around. These are intended for outdoor use only.

Skid mounted pressure washers are mounted to either a truck or a skid. The water tank is mounted alongside the unit. Skid mounted gas powered pressure washers have larger tanks and can do larger jobs than their wheeled counterparts. The downside is that you must have room to bring the truck or skid to the place where you need the pressure washer. In industrial environments this is usually not an issue. These pressure washers are often mounted on a trailer so that they can be wheeled to the job and left there until they are needed elsewhere. They are powered by gasoline and the water is heated by diesel in their most common configuration.

A steam pressure washer can have boilers that use different types of fuels. Gas, diesel, electric and propane boilers are commonly used. It is important to note how powerful the boiler is. Units with a combination of higher pressures and flow rates will need to have substantial boilers to keep up with demanding cleaning jobs. The heater exchange coils are usually made of stainless steel and the better units are designed for continuous use and can be connected to a hose. Heating times from cold to hot in under 30 seconds are common in industrial units.

Steam has added benefits from regular water based units. You can clean virtually any surface with steam and the heat enables you to dissolve stains that other units may leave behind. A steam pressure washer can even clean fabrics. Unlike water units that would soak fabrics and carpets, a steam cleaner can remove stains without damage. A side benefit is that vapor cleans without having to resort to harsh chemical solvents or detergents which can leave a residue, especially in fabrics. As with all other units, the size of the boiler and necessary attachments will be determined by the application of the cleaner.

The water inside the pressure washer is heated by a boiler. The boilers come in different capacities and are made of different metals. In some parts of the country, propane is available everywhere and is the preferred fuel. If propane is not available easily in your area, there are other boiler types to suit your needs. You can buy a unit with a gas or diesel or electric heater. The choice will depend on fuel availability and also the price of the fuel. A good quality unit will have a stainless steel boiler and heater coils. If you are going to do large cleaning jobs you want a unit capable of continuous cleaning. If the unit is capable of continuous cleaning, that means it has the capacity to heat the water on the fly so you don’t have to wait for the water to heat up and stop cleaning while the boiler does its job.

Another metric that a hot water pressure washer is measured by is the flow rate and pressure. The pressure, commonly measured in PSI or pressure per square inch can be over 2000 PSI which can damage certain surfaces and peel paint off painted surfaces. It can also cause gouges in wood flooring and siding, so extreme caution is in order. Don’t get an extremely high pressure unit for delicate flooring. The flow rate determines how much water can be delivered at the rated pressure. Industrial pressure washer units can have flow rates of several gallons per minute.

If you are in remote locations away from AC power or in new construction where AC power is not easily available, then a gasoline powered cold water pressure washer may be just the unit for you. These units also come in diesel versions for locations where diesel fuel is more readily available. These units are for outdoor use only. These pressure washers come in a wide variety of mounting styles. There are units that are hand truck mounted style, cage style with wheels and skid mounted without wheels. Each style has its application.

Both electric and gas powered cold water pressure washer types have two available drive configurations. There are direct drive units and belt driven units. The direct drive units are lower maintenance. The belt driven units have a longer life due to the fact that vibration from the drive motor is not transmitted to the pump. The belt helps to isolate the vibration and extent the life of the pump. Direct drive units are more compact and are also more economical (read cheaper). If you are using the pressure washer for several hours a day, 7 days a week, then you will want to choose a belt driven unit. For those of you who use the unit once or twice a year to wash a car or wash the house and/or deck, a direct drive unit is a perfectly acceptable and appropriate choice.

Gas pressure washers come in hot and cold water varieties. The hot water units are typically used in really tough environments where greasy stains are common. Food processing plants and municipal vehicle repair stations are typical candidates for powerful hot water power washers. When you need to clean up tough stains and do it in a hurry, a hot water unit can’t be beat. Hot water dissolves dirt and grime much more effectively than cold water does. There are many applications that don’t need hot water, however. An example would be power washing seating in a stadium. The seats get dirty from all the traffic and usage. Power washing the seats with cold water and soap is easy and effective. Imagine heating up enough water to clean an entire stadium of seats. The fuel costs would be enormous. Other uses for cold water power washers are cleaning fencing, sidewalks, etc., anything that involves removing dirt and debris in hard to reach areas.

Whatever kind of gas pressure washer you choose, hot or cold water, make sure you have a unit with an appropriate PSI rating and the right attachments. Different attachments are for different jobs. A simple call or visit to a manufacturer’s website can save you a lot of grief. There are attachments like water brooms with multiple nozzles for flooring, power rotating water driven brushes for siding and flooring, spray kits with multiple nozzles for wide or narrow spray areas. There are tons of attachments available and getting the right one will save you hours of work.

There are oil resistant synthetic pressure washer hoses designed for commercial applications. The often come in blue or black so that they don’t leave any marks on floors even if dragged around. These hoses are perfect for applications in garages, auto mechanic shops, dairies, meat processing plants, poultry processing plants, and other locations with oily, greasy cleanup jobs. Some hoses have a funny braided look on the exterior. This can be due to internal wires to strengthen the hose. This is also done so that the hose does not sit flush with the floor so water cannot pool around it.

If you are going to use the pressure washer hose for a hot water power washer, please make note of the temperature rating. Many pressure washers also output steam. If your hose is rated for the normal 180 degree water, the hot steam can cause the hose to fail. This could cause a serious condition and you could be burned so please make sure you only use hoses made especially for steam applications. Hoses designed for hot water applications will be safe to around 250 degrees. Steam application hoses will need to be safe to around 325 degrees or more. Always check with the manufacturer when using steam units.

A hot water commercial pressure washer is an appropriate choice when the surfaces to be cleaned have oil or grease on them. Similar to what happens when washing dishes, hot water is much more effective when combined with soap in the removal of tough greasy stains. If you wash your dishes in cold water, you notice how much more difficult it is to get greasy stains out. Don’t buy the wrong machine for the job based solely on price. You will regret it because cleaning will become a nightmare instead of a quick effective process. Keep in mind also that many solvents or detergents will have a minimum temperature at which they are most effective in removing stains and dirt. Using them with cold water pressure washers will severely diminish their performance.

A cold water commercial pressure washer is an appropriate choice for jobs that don’t involve greasy stains and the like. The benefits include a lower parts count and typically a lower cost. They are not as effective at cleaning and take longer because heat helps a lot in the cleaning process. Some applications may require cold water. Also, some surfaces may be sensitive to hot water and must be cleaned with cold water. Not having to heat the water is a real energy saver and can reduce costs significantly when applied to the right job. A typical example of the use of a cold water pressure washer is cleaning a wood fence prior to painting. In this example, we don’t expect to encounter high soils or greasy stains.