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Surface Cleaners Tips
Do Surface Cleaners Use More Water Than Pressure Washer Wands?
Pressure washer surface cleaners spray the same amount of water as a pressure washer, but the time spent cleaning is reduced between 50 and 80 percent. This can mean a huge savings in water consumption. If you live in an area with drought problems, a surface cleaner is a major addition to your water conservation arsenal. The City of El Paso in Texas once mandated a 25 percent reduction in water use, making the faster cleaning times of surface cleaners a very attractive option. Some surface cleaner comparison tests had the nozzle-only method taking more than an hour for the same size job that takes a surface cleaner ten minutes to perform. The water savings are obvious.
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Using Water Blasting to Cut Concrete
If you have a section of concrete that needs to be removed, but you are concerned about the damage that a jackhammer can cause, consider using a high pressure water blaster with a PSI of 10,000 to 40,000. You can use water blasting equipment to easily cut away the targeted segment of concrete without damaging the surrounding area. Another advantage when using a water blaster to cut concrete is that it will not produce clouds of dust like a jackhammer, which provides a healthier environment for the contractor doing the work. When using water blasting equipment for concrete removal, remember that eye protection is not enough. A face shield is recommended as standard safety gear in addition to waterproof clothing and non-slip boots.
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Water Blasting Vs. Surface Cleaning
When you want to make an area free of dirt and grime, a surface cleaner is the way to go. When you need a surface "prepped" or completely stripped, water blasting is the best solution. A water blaster can be equipped with a hand-held "lance" or with an automated "crawler" that does high pressure water blasting in much the same way as a surface cleaner, but with a much more powerful spray. Water blasting equipment is routinely used to strip paint off of airplanes, to prep ships and strip chlorine out of concrete. Water blasters use water pressure around 48 thousand PSI, making them just as good as chemical abrasive strippers, but leaving much less residue behind. Water blasters are an excellent choice for environmentally-conscious businesses for that reason.
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Advantages of Greaseable Bearings in Surface Cleaners
If you make an investment in a surface cleaner, you should purchase one that will have a long life, and doesn't break down on the job. One question to ask during a surface cleaner purchase is, "Does this unit have greaseable bearings?" These can extend your surface cleaner's lifespan because you can perform your own maintenance. Greasable bearings prevent your pressure surface cleaner from seizing up unexpectedly. Nothing is worse than having to stop in the middle of a water blaster job to swap gear and send in the original surface cleaner for maintenance on the bearings. Accessorize your surface cleaning gear with an inexpensive grease gun and replacement grease cartridges and you will be all set.
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Check Your PSI
When buying accessories for water blasters or surface cleaners, double check the PSI rating of the water blasting equipment or pressure surface cleaners you are about to purchase. Some gear, such as system valves, are offered in the same configurations for both water blasters and surface cleaners, which have different PSI ratings. It is never safe to use an accessory rated for a lower PSI on a higher-rated pressure system. It is easy to overwhelm a lower-rated accessory with too much pressure from a high-PSI water blaster system, causing the part to rupture, break, or explode.
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How Does a Surface Cleaner Work?
Surface cleaners work like floor buffers. There is a rotating cleaning surface that you push across the area to be cleaned, but what makes a surface cleaner different is water and water pressure. A pressure washer surface cleaner forces pressurized water into a swiveling bar. The bar spins at a high speed, spraying water to clean the surface. You push the surface cleaner just like a lawn mower until the entire area is spotless. Cleaning a driveway, shop floor, or repair bay with a surface cleaner is much faster and more efficient than just using a pressure washer nozzle. Pressure washer surface cleaners are definitely worth the expense for those who need to save time with large cleaning operations.
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Water Blaster Pressure Gauge
Did you know that a water blaster pressure gauge does not tell you how powerfully the water is flowing from the blaster? Water blasting equipment is equipped with a gauge to give you an accurate reading of the pressure output from the unit, not the pressure coming from the nozzle or tip of the water blaster. That pressure is less than the output of the water blaster unit itself and is affected by many factors, including the gallons-per-minute capacity of the unit, the length of the hose and how wide the hose is. If you need to calculate a specific amount of spray pressure, you will need to consult a "pressure drop chart."
