Water Broom

[Bob Gates]

At the risk of being "heckled"....Anybody ever use a water broom to clean a deck?? and with what results? (Obviously with pressure "tipped" down)

 

[OrangeCrest]

So far that has been the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on P/Wing equipment.

It isn't even worth the money you could get for scrap metal...

But might just be me...

 

[Henry Bockman]

Hey Bob,

Actually I did try it with my pitch witch after modifying it a bit. It worked okay but you have to have a big pump for it to make it worthwhile. I've got an 8gpm rig and that works allright. Honestly, I wasn't impressed with the pitch witch for doing roofs at the price they go for I'd rather make my own.

 

[Bob Gates]

Thanks guys....

I didn't think the thing would work....all the comments I have heard/read about them has been on the negative side...I am looking at a 2400 sq. ft. deck plus rails that a guy wants cleaned.....Just not looking forward to all the wand work on that much surface....Am thinking of "tipping" the pressure down on my Water Jet....raise it up to top and see what it does...or maybe give him a bid that will pop his eyes out...and move on....

 

[OrangeCrest]

I heard someguys here use their surface cleaners...

 

[Bob Gates]

I too have heard of using surface cleaner on a deck....but have never tried it.
I guess if I can "tip down" the pressure to the 500 PSI range It should work.
Lets see.....would that be down to 1000 PSI....500 per nozzle...or just down to 500 total.....??? Inquiring minds wanna know.......

 

[jon chapman]

I was cleaning a high school lunch area that had PT wood benches, Just for fun (I had my sander ready just in case)I put my surface cleaner up and ran it along the bench, did an adequate job cleaning(no chems before hand,) and NO Furring at all. These benches were probably 10 years old in full sun, never been sealed.
Any way I guess it depends on the wood.

 

[Henry Bockman]

I've been wanting to give it a try myself actually but I don't want to take a chance with someone elses property and my wife would KILL me if I trashed our deck playing around...LOL

 

[MR ALAN]

I too have heard of using surface cleaner on a deck....but have never tried it.
I guess if I can "tip down" the pressure to the 500 PSI range It should work.
Lets see.....would that be down to 1000 PSI....500 per nozzle...or just down to 500 total.....??? Inquiring minds wanna know.......

The psi stays the same at each nozzle, it is the gpm that gets cut in half. Your surface cleaner may or may not work at 100 psi or lower. You will need to give it a try to find out.

 

[Henry Bockman]

Hey Alan,

I thought using a larger sized hole in your tip gave you more volume and less pressure? Did I read your post wrong or am I wrong?

 

[Mark]

A larger nozzle will give you more volume and less pressure only if the pump is capable of higher volume and is turning at the proper RPM.

Example a pump rated 5 GPM @ 3000 PSI will deliver 3000 PSI at the rated volume with a number 6 nozzle, with a number 8 nozzle the volume would remain at 5 GPM and the pressure would drop to 1500 PSI.

Hope that helps!

[hello]