Power Pressure Washers

The pressure washer pump is the heart of any power pressure washer system. Guiding the heart of the pumps used are the parameters and specifications namely the PSI as well as the GPM.

The first parameters driving a pressure washer pump is the PSI, pounds per square inch or the output pressure. This is essentially pressure power as the lay person would deem it and measures the cleaning efficiency of the unit. The pressure power required depends on the cleaning task in question. For most household applications like cleaning wall sidings, driveways, patios etc, a PSI of 2,000 or less would be sufficient. Conversely, industrial applications require pumps from 4,000 PSI to 10,000 and most are not commercially available for home usage.

The other parameter is the GPM or gallons per minute, referring to the flow rate or the spray rate. The higher the flow, the greater will be the volume of water passing through the nozzle. One may conclude that holding all things constant, the higher the flow, the faster the cleaning task is completed.

There are a variety of pressure washer pumps available currently but three key types reign in the market, namely the direct drive, belt driven and gearbox driven pumps.

Direct drive pressure washer pumps mount directly to the motor. Some are built in within the units as part of the components with the drive shaft of the motor is directly driving the pump. The benefit of this layout is that there are lesser parts required and hence direct drive units are more compact, lighter weight and also cost less. The key disadvantage however, is that the constant vibrations and heat created by the motor directly impacts on the longevity of the machine. The gearbox version is a variation of the direct drive version with gears for adjusting the ratios to fit existing motors, be it gas powered or electric units.

Conversely, Belt driven pressure washer pumps are both complicated with more components in the drive assembly and there is need to constantly replace the belts, hence driving up the cost. However, that said, there are great benefits to be had from owning a belt driven pressure washer. Separated from the motor by the belt, the pump absorbs lesser vibrations as well as heat, hence resulting in a longer pump life. Although the upfront cost is more hefty, depreciation of the belt driven pressure washer pumps are lower over the years and its eventual longer life span will pay off.

Check out Power Pressure Washer Buying Guide for more Tips and information.