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equipment
- Thread starter treye324
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PressureForce
New Member
For concrete and fences you really dont need hot water. Sometimes hot water helps with really greasy concrete, but we have used the heat maybe 1% of the time on concrete.
Are you just looking for a portable job like from home depot or are you looking for a tow behind rig or what? The truth is for what you are doing you can do decent work with a pretty basic unit. It won't last very long if it's a cheap residential unit - but will indeed get you started.
This sounds silly - but we run 2 person crews... 1 runs a $12k rig and the assist runs a $399 unit from lowes. While there is night and day difference in the two units, the little unit still handles a good 25% - 30% of every job. I think one of the biggest problems in using the little units is the perception it gives your customer.
Using good detergents can greatly reduce the work load of the unit too. Took me a while to succomb to that one.
Are you just looking for a portable job like from home depot or are you looking for a tow behind rig or what? The truth is for what you are doing you can do decent work with a pretty basic unit. It won't last very long if it's a cheap residential unit - but will indeed get you started.
This sounds silly - but we run 2 person crews... 1 runs a $12k rig and the assist runs a $399 unit from lowes. While there is night and day difference in the two units, the little unit still handles a good 25% - 30% of every job. I think one of the biggest problems in using the little units is the perception it gives your customer.
Using good detergents can greatly reduce the work load of the unit too. Took me a while to succomb to that one.
im looking at a tow behind rig, but i was thinking i will get a mobile one for my tow behind so i can take it off the trailor and move it around the site. is that a good or bad idea? im only 19 and in college so im just looking to do house driveways in neighborhoods. prolly the average one would be about 2000-3000 sq ft.
trey
trey
Trey
Long-term u will definately want to go with a tow behind, but for the short-term where cash is most often an issue you can get by with a "store bought" PW. I would be very careful though on the pressure level you use on wood however. I never do wood higher than about 2000 psi and a 25 degree tip although that will vary with preference from person to person. Oh and in my case it was more beneficial to start with a low cost powerwasher and put the cost savings towards insurance. Insurance secured me a lot more jobs/money than a tow behind would have that early in my career. Good luck with your business i hope everything goes well. Congrats for starting early!
Daniel G
Texas Agggie class of 03
Long-term u will definately want to go with a tow behind, but for the short-term where cash is most often an issue you can get by with a "store bought" PW. I would be very careful though on the pressure level you use on wood however. I never do wood higher than about 2000 psi and a 25 degree tip although that will vary with preference from person to person. Oh and in my case it was more beneficial to start with a low cost powerwasher and put the cost savings towards insurance. Insurance secured me a lot more jobs/money than a tow behind would have that early in my career. Good luck with your business i hope everything goes well. Congrats for starting early!
Daniel G
Texas Agggie class of 03
PressureForce
New Member
Yup - Good advice Trey.
You know - I'm not sure how much risk you want take on - but there are very obtainable financing methods for rigs too. The rates are not always the best around, but can be obtained.
You know - I'm not sure how much risk you want take on - but there are very obtainable financing methods for rigs too. The rates are not always the best around, but can be obtained.
PressureForce said:For concrete and fences you really dont need hot water. Sometimes hot water helps with really greasy concrete, but we have used the heat maybe 1% of the time on concrete.
Are you just looking for a portable job like from home depot or are you looking for a tow behind rig or what? The truth is for what you are doing you can do decent work with a pretty basic unit. It won't last very long if it's a cheap residential unit - but will indeed get you started.
This sounds silly - but we run 2 person crews... 1 runs a $12k rig and the assist runs a $399 unit from lowes. While there is night and day difference in the two units, the little unit still handles a good 25% - 30% of every job. I think one of the biggest problems in using the little units is the perception it gives your customer.
Using good detergents can greatly reduce the work load of the unit too. Took me a while to succomb to that one.
I'm glad to hear that because we do the same thing. I use my 2450, 6.5 HP for sidewalks, patios and low gutters. It's a Troy-Built which I have maintained well and it has been a little workhorse for a year and a half. It has paid for itself at least 10 times over, so if it breaks, who cares? I have been pricing pneumatic tires for it so it would look more "professional".
As far as chems go, is anyone using "Power House" from Sunbrite? I just bought some and some "Gutter Zap" but havent used either yet.
Steve
TexasWash said:
Excellent advice on the insurance. Make sure that you have a policy that covers "products & completed operations" or something like that. General business liability often doesn't cover goof-ups like blowing a hole in vinyl siding or scratching 8,000 worth of glass. A friend of mine found out the hard way. Oh, and once you have the insurance, market the fire out of it. after I talk to my prospects they are afraid to even let a non-insured contractor on their property to give an estimate! It's another thing that has paid for itself in terms of sound sleep...