On Board Pressure Washer

[JSYmartini]

I quite fancy installing a 240v pressure washer into my engine space, just for use when I've got shore power and water or off my own fresh water.

I'm envisaging a pump mounted out the way, plumbed in so I have a hose connector perhaps in the cockpit and either a fitting around the mid point of the boat or 1 each end of the boat to connect the lance so I can blast away.

A bit of googling hasn't come up with much, either the usual portable machines encased in plastic or great big expensive things.

Anyone done similar or seen something on their travels?

Any suggestions or comments?

 

[Delfin]

I quite fancy installing a 240v pressure washer into my engine space, just for use when I've got shore power and water or off my own fresh water.

I'm envisaging a pump mounted out the way, plumbed in so I have a hose connector perhaps in the cockpit and either a fitting around the mid point of the boat or 1 each end of the boat to connect the lance so I can blast away.

A bit of googling hasn't come up with much, either the usual portable machines encased in plastic or great big expensive things.

Anyone done similar or seen something on their travels?

Any suggestions or comments?

We put a high pressure washer onboard as part of the hydraulic system. It is, bar none, my favorite piece of equipment. We use it to clean off the anchor and wash off the boat and it is a real time saver. We carry a fair amount of fresh water, so it is not for everyone, and I can't comment on the pros or cons of a 240v system, but I can tell you that IMHO if you can manage it, this is a wonderful addition to boating. Perhaps you can trade your .50 cal for one?

 

[sarabande]

dunno about pressure washer per se, but Jabsco make a range of deckwash pumps, some of which have decent l/min rate.


http://www.jabscoshop.com/marine/pumps/deck-anchor-wash-pumps/


A built in pump would also be useful for repelling boarders, and as a fire pump.

Do you have a B I I G freshwater tank, or would you run it off a seawater inlet ? E.g. my small farm pressure washer empties a big plastic dustbin in about 2 nins.

 

[JSYmartini]

We put a high pressure washer onboard as part of the hydraulic system. It is, bar none, my favorite piece of equipment. We use it to clean off the anchor and wash off the boat and it is a real time saver. We carry a fair amount of fresh water, so it is not for everyone, and I can't comment on the pros or cons of a 240v system, but I can tell you that IMHO if you can manage it, this is a wonderful addition to boating. Perhaps you can trade your .50 cal for one?

You've got me more excited about this now, just been reading about your hydraulics - sounds like a great set up.

dunno about pressure washer per se, but Jabsco make a range of deckwash pumps, some of which have decent l/min rate.


http://www.jabscoshop.com/marine/pumps/deck-anchor-wash-pumps/


A built in pump would also be useful for repelling boarders, and as a fire pump.

Do you have a B I I G freshwater tank, or would you run it off a seawater inlet ? E.g. my small farm pressure washer empties a big plastic dustbin in about 2 nins.

A deckwash pump is an option, I know they go quite big but I think they're all about volume rather than pressure.

I can only carry about 180l of FW but as it is, I can only wash the boat when I'm alongside a hose so I'm no worse off if I ran a pump off the same.

I also fancy a big pump for emergencies, i.e. breaching the hull etc but plan to hide a portable petrol powered one somewhere, that way it could go on the roof rather than being drowned in the engine room when you need it most, as well as being able to transfer it to another vessel in trouble.

As far as repelling boarders - think I'll stick with the .50 cal

Nearest Ive found to what I'm looking for is this:

http://www.rhinowash.com/rhino-st-series-cold-pressure-washer-p2#tab=2

But with 83 bar on tap it's probably overkill and most likely way out of my budget..

 

[prv]

I also fancy a big pump for emergencies, i.e. breaching the hull etc but plan to hide a portable petrol powered one somewhere, that way it could go on the roof rather than being drowned in the engine room when you need it most, as well as being able to transfer it to another vessel in trouble.

Yeah, definitely not much in common between a crash pump and a pressure-washer pump. The former is all about volume - many hundreds of litres per minute - and the latter is about pressure. Indeed domestic pressure-washers first appeared in tree-hugging Germany because they used less volume of water than cleaning things with a conventional hose.

Pete

 

[William_H]

You've got me more excited about this now, just been reading about your hydraulics - sounds like a great set up.


.

I also fancy a big pump for emergencies, i.e. breaching the hull etc but plan to hide a portable petrol powered one somewhere, that way it could go on the roof rather than being drowned in the engine room when you need it most, as well as being able to transfer it to another vessel in trouble.


We have a Pump at our club for saving sinking boats. It has a Honda engine coupled to a centrifugal pump with hoses around 70mm diameter. It is mainly built for bush fire fighting and is common and cheap enough. It pumps an aweful lot of water very fast. Emptied half a 30 fter in minutes. However the biggest problem I found when using it was that it is difficult to get it primed and pumping. There is a hole in the pump to fill with water but it doesn't seem to have a decent foot non return valve and the suction hose is so big it runs out before you get it pumping. Especially for a lift of 2 or 3 metres from a cabin top or jetty. It is too big/heavy to lift into a cabin. Once pumping it is great. We have now added a 240v submersible pump somewhat smaller but easier to start and easier to get smaller amounts out of a flooded boat. When I tried to use the Honda I think the petrol must have gone stale from long inactivity. Just a few thoughts on emergency pumps olewill

 

[prv]

We have a Pump at our club for saving sinking boats. It has a Honda engine coupled to a centrifugal pump with hoses around 70mm diameter.

Presumably somewhat similar to this one? http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-pw3-3inch-petrol-driven-water-pump

These used to quote Honda engines but I notice they don't any more. Perhaps they've found a cheaper knockoff. Seems like quite a lot of pump for the money. Don't know how well it would handle seawater but it only needs to work once to pay its way.

I've long thought of having something like this on board a larger offshore boat.

Pete

 

[Robg71]

I thought about ordering a spare complete pump from Stihl, for exactly the same reasons. Grab the scuba gear and clean your own hull. Save a fortune on liftout fees. Plumb it in to a seawater intake, then flush with fresh afterwards.....
I wouldn't use karcher again... They last a year and then scrap.

 

[longjohnsilver]

I have a small Honda pump onboard for use in emergencies, it's light and portable and doesn't take up much space. Only fired it up once just to make sure it works, this has reminded me to look at it again and re-acquaint myself with how to operate it.

http://www.hondaenergy.com/product.php/46/honda_wx10_1_inch_pump/be49cbb2debbcbe8120df34eaf2e3a38

 

[Habebty]

I have a 12v pressure washer, but haven't tried it yet.

 

[david_bagshaw]

We carry a deck wash and pressure washer. I have only used the pressure washer once on the anchor chain, having been in mud. You know how pressure washers make quite a mist, well covered the boat in muddy mist!!! So now it is confined to desalting washing down, with tank water, which it does very well. For chain washing the deck wash with a pipe wrapping round the chain to cut down on unwashed links.

 

[GrahamM376]

I thought about ordering a spare complete pump from Stihl, for exactly the same reasons. Grab the scuba gear and clean your own hull. Save a fortune on liftout fees. Plumb it in to a seawater intake, then flush with fresh afterwards.....
I wouldn't use karcher again... They last a year and then scrap.

Patio rotary brush may work underwater but the normal nozzle acts as a water jet and propells you away from the hull. I've found cheap Karcher has lasted about 5 years so far but needs feeding via deck wash pump. OTOH, my petrol driven one at home picks up unpressurised water with no problem.

 

[Robg71]

Patio rotary brush may work underwater but the normal nozzle acts as a water jet and propells you away from the hull.

Patio brush may work, i suspect its **** though.
I would suggest you clean the hull with it whilst stood on the bottom. Other wise, even with a tiny pressure washer, its going to be graft...
We use them for cleaning marine growth off oil field assets that may have been down there for 20 years or so....

 

[cliff]

my small farm pressure washer empties a big plastic dustbin in about 2 mins.

Small dustbin or one MF'r of a pump - most pressure washers run around 15lt/min up to 5kw - so a 200lt dustbin in 2 mins is like 100lt/min - I want one of those - got a brand name and model?

 

[superheat6k]

I had to replace the calorifier relief valve as it was weeping into the drain line. The replacement i chose had a tapping with a 1/4inch BSPF port for a pressure gauge. This now has a shut off valve leading to a curly flexible air line tube and blaster nozzle. Now I can wash the engines down with water at 80 degrees straight from the calorifier. Not quite a pressure washer, but my engine bay has never been so clean, and i can blast away for around 10 minutes and don't seem to use too much oggin.

i would definitely consider an instant connection from the hot water on deck for washing down, as the temperature makes up for the lack of jet pressure.