Seawater and pressure washers

[stuey_two]

I'm thinking of beating the hosepipe ban when scrubbing my hull/cleaning the decks by using clean(ish)seawater, fed to my (cheapo) pressure washer via a submersible pump, with a flush of freshwater through the washer at the end of the job.
Does the team think this is practicable?

 

[prv]

I've heard of people doing it. Some pressure washers don't need the separate pump, either. The freshwater flush at the end of the day is important though.

Pete

 

[sarabande]

can't see anything wrong with clean seawater, but the high pressure pumps are very sensitive to particulate matter, and you are likely to strip a vane or seal by pumping even tiny grains through the machinery. If you can arrange one of Jewsons polypropylene filters on the intake side, that should be OK.


FIW, I would not run the farm pressure washer on sea water bcs of the risk.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Do you really need a pressure washer for the job?

We have a separate Jabsco pump teed into the heads inlet so we can hose off the anchor and wash the decks. Early simple to do, and powerful enough to send a jet of water the length of our boat. I know, as I tried it on the crew once from the bow!

 

[DipperToo]

Do you really need a pressure washer for the job?

We have a separate Jabsco pump teed into the heads inlet so we can hose off the anchor and wash the decks. Early simple to do, and powerful enough to send a jet of water the length of our boat. I know, as I tried it on the crew once from the bow!

Did the same a few years ago but with a dedicated seacock - also very good for getting East Coast mud off the anchor! Jabsco do a very good pump designed for deckwashing and you can get nice flush connectors. It is useful to have one connection point at the bows and a second at the stern.

 

[macd]

A Dutch bloke I met in the Cape Verdes designed and sells a watermaker using a standard Karcher pump. His prototype (on his yacht) has pumped seawater regularly for at least three years without problems, with only the occasional flush.
http://www.sailadventures.nl/SA/pages/BT00.htm

 

[JackFrobisher]

Yes

I do it every year to wash my pontoon. Never used a filter and no problems so far. I've had the pressure washer for 10 years. It is a cheap one; it was £25 in Homebase.

 

[david_bagshaw]

It wont cause problems to the pump, have done it for years with a karcher.

not so good for anchor & chain washing in muddy areas, as the mud spray goes every where! Used it down the hawsehole while raising anc, while looking fwd.

What a bl...y mess when I turned round.

 

[KellysEye]

I'd be very careful witha pressure washer if the boat is GRP. We've seen flecks of gelcoat being blasted off. Why not just use buckets of seawater and fresh water rinse.