Rain...

[esteamed pw]

ok... i live in texas, and its been raining on and off around here. last night it was freezing so i didnt go out to work, next week im booked with jobs and it might rain. my question is WILL RAIN HURT MY POWERWASHER? i would ask the guy i bought my equipment from, but he knows how to sell them and thats it... lol ive got a HYDROTEK SS34005V (maybe you might know the way its designed?)


if it will bust the manifold (yes it HOT WATER ...forgot to mention that) how can i keep this from happening? i cant afford to lose busness because of rain... so im sure theres many ways to solve this problem.

thanks, Clint

 

[B.J. ELLIS]

rain in TEXAS

Clint,

Depending on what your unit is mounted on you could make some sort of make shift tarp to keep the rain off your machine, or build you a lean top roof with plywood & 2x4's. I live up north and I plan on building a insulated box to cover my machine from the rain and snow, throwing around the idea on building it so that I can mount a heater inside. Good Luck!!!!!!!

 

[Bill]

Your heater and geneator should not get wet... What is your unit mounted in/on? We have 2 units mounted in the back of a box truck with the exhast directed out the back door. In Ohio we have to protect from rain and freezing.

 

[RJTravel]

Our experience is somewhat different. Machines remain uncovered outside and they must fend for themselves - they suck up rain, snow, sleet, hail, dew, and all other forms of precipitation. I understand that enough accumulated moisture can burn out the igniter, but we use machines frequently and moisture buildup has not yet occurred. We once had a Hydrotek SS3000 and it never suffered harm. I know this sounds careless and I may regret it, but several years without harm tends to make one less careful. This is not a recommendation but rather simply sharing what we do. I would sure like to see input from others who have a REAL experience - positive or negative.
Richard

 

[BryanL]

Also have a hydro-tech mounted on trailor, and it gets rained on all the time, have had no problems that were blamed on the weather in 5 yrs.

 

[Walt Graner]

Why put your equipment throught it when all it takes is a simple roof, to shead the water?

I cover everything I own, my CAT D4 can stay out in the rain with no problem but I keep it in a shead when not being used and tarped off at night when I know rain is coming. Same with my boat, keep it in the garage. Equipment that you depend on for your living should be looked after with as much care as possible. It will last longer, why push it.

 

[Bill B]

I only have cold water units, but do everything I can to keep water off of my PW equipment. Will only work when not raining outside, or light rain (work on construction sites mostly), and keep PW in toppered PU under rainy conditions. Have never allowed my equipment to be outside overnight, even with a covered tarp. When working a site under windy conditions will protect machine with a tarp, or plastic. Realize this sounds a little obsessive. Also, I learned that if you tell employees that a "little water is ok", then they don't seem to care how wet/dirty they get equipment.

 

[Mark Dadian]

Call me reckless (yeah, yeah, I hear you), but I wash in all kinds of weather and I've hauled my covered trailer thru countless rain and snow storms. My burner is mounted just behind the tongue of the trailer so it is exposed to all the elements when travelling or operating. And, if I keep my trailer hood propped up (vs. flipped all the way back) to keep the rain off it, then she doesn't get enuf ventilation and gets cherry red. Yes, I let my equipment get wet when I'm working and it starts to rain. It ain't sugar, and neither am I.

My thought is this. If you are running your machine and it's already raining, your manifold will never get so hot that it is at risk. If it starts raining on your hot machine, it will only touch on it gradually until the manifold has a chance to cool under the precip. It's not like your taking a bucket of ice water and pouring it on when she's cherry red.

I know that some of you are still calling me reckless, but that's my .02

 

[Clean County]

I use my powerwashers in the rain. I can't let Rain stop me in making money. I do draw the line with snow. Thats why I shut down in the winter time around here because I can afford to. If I couldn't then I would be out in the snow powerwashing if that was possible.(I did powerwash over the years with light snow coming down and hated it).

When I'm done powerwashing I put my powerwashers that are on wheels back in my enclose trailer and My big Landa skid on the back of my truck I tarp when not in use.

 

[RJTravel]

John,
We like the snow. 8" of snow on exposed machine will simply blow off on the way to job site, as opposed to rain which will freeze and wreak havoc. In addition, our major thrust is greasebusting - and snow covers a multitude of sins. Snow absorbs emulsified grease and lessens the expectation of spotless work site. I long for a snowfall each night - makes our job much easier. COME ON SNOW!!

Richard

 

[PressureClean]

It's a novel idea to cover everything and protect them from the elements, but when you've got employees after awhile you tend to limit the potential for high blood pressure by simply acknowledging the fact that the equipment is designed for outdoor use and stop yelling at everybody... Just protect it properly for winter and you should be fine. They are made to operate in all conditions. We've never had a problem with something rusting from weather and we've got trailers and exposed truck mounted units. The only thing my guys know I will absolutely freak over is one of the units having problems because it's frozen, that will never happen again...

 

[Mark]

Cover for All American Skids

Just thought I would give a heads up, for anyone out there with
an All American skid, who is interested in a cover for it, we now
have them available.

Call me for information.