Running a Pressure Washer.

[ditchcrawler]

Whats wrong with a bucket.

 

I find these Micro Fiber mitts very useful.

Something like this http://www.tesco.com/direct/rolson-microfibre-wash-mitt/641-4873.prd

 

followed by a squeegee like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Triplewax-CTA125-Water-Blade-Squeegee/dp/B004YBOOOE

[Greylady2]

I don't know about the UK, but here it's (officially) forbidden to wash your boat with drinking water, pre-filtered canal / river water is plenty good enough to wash your boat.

 

Peter.

Yer i can see why fresh water is fround upon, i nearly always dunk my brush in the canal to wash the boat and ive only used the water point twice.

 

People come from every direction asking me how long i am going to be when filling up the water tank.

 

I should tell them about an hour rather than move half empty.

Whats wrong with a bucket.

 

I find these Micro Fiber mitts very useful.

Something like this http://www.tesco.com/direct/rolson-microfibre-wash-mitt/641-4873.prd

 

followed by a squeegee like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Triplewax-CTA125-Water-Blade-Squeegee/dp/B004YBOOOE

I have a sqweejy, but do you really wear them mitts lol.

 

Buckets take ages and they splash up under the mushrooms wetting the boat inside.

 

Thats what i find anyway.

 

Edit :sorry ditchcrawler i was a bit cheaky in my post i was only joking about the mitts.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Greylady2

[bargemast]

Yer i can see why fresh water is fround upon, i nearly always dunk my brush in the canal to wash the boat and ive only used the water point twice.

 

People come from every direction asking me how long i am going to be when filling up the water tank.

 

I should tell them about an hour rather than move half empty.

 

I have a sqweejy, but do you really wear them mitts lol.

 

Buckets take ages and they splash up under the mushrooms wetting the boat inside.

 

Thats what i find anyway.

Filling up your watertank will take as long as it takes, you just tell the first one that arrived while you are filling that you'll tell them when your tank is full.

 

Of course filling your watertank isn't the same as washing your boat with drinking water.

 

Peter.

[Greylady2]

Filling up your watertank will take as long as it takes, you just tell the first one that arrived while you are filling that you'll tell them when your tank is full.

 

Of course filling your watertank isn't the same as washing your boat with drinking water.

 

Peter.

Yer i should just tell them when its full.

 

It is a bit norty washing the boat as well though. :-/

[WotEver]

I always found Muc-Off Marine Cleaner to be great for stubborn stains and green bits. It's biodegradable and in a hand spray. Then rinse off with canal water and a mop.

[Guest]

If it is anything like a Karcher pressure washer that we own, I'd be very nervous of running it from any source where full voltage and current requirements can't be guaranteed.

 

Our Karcher instructions even explicitly tell you not to even run it off the mains through an extension lead. My son did, and it packed up, to the point it would no longer start, apparently as a result.

They actually have a very large capacitor in them, and investigation revealed that ours was now only a fraction of its stated capacitance. I was able to replace it, and it now works again.

 

Several sites I Googled at the time suggested that any failure to provide the full voltage as it tries to start were likely to have caused the failure.

That's an interesting post. I've had two Karchers and they are always used exclusively with a very long extension lead.

 

I killed the first one by allowing water to freeze inside it but it never suffered harm using it with an extension lead and the second one has been fine too (and I always drain it properly now of course).

 

I perhaps need to read the manual but ours gets used very often in locations where the fitted lead would simply not be long enough. Including while plugged into the boat 240v supply a couple of times.

 

Just had a google about and seemingly Karcher's answer to the distance issue is to use one of their (over priced!) water extension hoses between the washer and the handle/trigger.

Edited November 27, 2016 by MJG

[ditchcrawler]

Yer i can see why fresh water is fround upon, i nearly always dunk my brush in the canal to wash the boat and ive only used the water point twice.

 

People come from every direction asking me how long i am going to be when filling up the water tank.

 

I should tell them about an hour rather than move half empty.

I have a sqweejy, but do you really wear them mitts lol.

 

Buckets take ages and they splash up under the mushrooms wetting the boat inside.

 

Thats what i find anyway.

 

Edit :sorry ditchcrawler i was a bit cheaky in my post i was only joking about the mitts.

No its fine,

Yes I do use the mitts but ours are blue. One of us uses a bucket with shampoo in it and the other follows with the squeegee and then another mitt to rinse off by which time one of us is squeegeeing again to get the water off. I find you can almost get the cabin side dry like that, For the roof its a mop and broom. I bet I could get more water through the vents with a pressure washer.

[Horace42]

An inverter rated and running at 2000w at 12volts will take from the battery 166 amps continuously -- which has to match the current demanded by the 1800w pressure washer - which in theory is 150 amps but an efficiency factor of about 80% comes into play which means the washer might actually try to pull 187 amps - if that is the case, the inverter is certain not to work successfully.

 

note:edited to correct an explanation of load matching that could have lead to a slight misunderstanding. Sorry

It does not alter the final result that this combination is not likely to be successful.

 

If you had not asked the question and gone ahead and plugged in the washer and inadvertently overloaded your inverter - it would cut out as you have already found - based on the experience of your microwave, this is because inverters usually have built-in protection devices to sense over-current and low battery voltage to prevent damage from overload and will shut-down automatically if that happens.. So no harm done.

 

It is not necessary for the alternator, or the engine revs, to be matched to the load of the washer, but it helps. The bulk of the power comes from the batteries - that have to be big enough to supply enough current all the time the washer is running - which in your case with 4 x110 Ah sounds plenty if the batteries are fully charged to start with - but even then the voltage soon drops with such a high load where in practice the engine is usually run at the same time at enough revs to keep the voltage up by sharing enough of the load. But then the over-current protection device operates. Some have temperature devices that trip out when they get hot due to over-load - that take ages to cool down to switch on again. Which could be a bit annoying if you are waiting to watch TV.

 

The general consensus of other comments here is that using this particular pressure washer it is not likely to be successful.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Horace42

[Greylady2]

I always found Muc-Off Marine Cleaner to be great for stubborn stains and green bits. It's biodegradable and in a hand spray. Then rinse off with canal water and a mop.

Thanks whatever i will look it up.

[WotEver]

Thanks whatever i will look it up.

http://www.force4.co.uk/department/brands/muc-off.html

[Greylady2]

No its fine,

Yes I do use the mitts but ours are blue. One of us uses a bucket with shampoo in it and the other follows with the squeegee and then another mitt to rinse off by which time one of us is squeegeeing again to get the water off. I find you can almost get the cabin side dry like that, For the roof its a mop and broom. I bet I could get more water through the vents with a pressure washer.

Yer i think your right about the pressure washer getting under the mushrooms more.

 

I wash the boat on my own so wash and sqweejy in sections, i use to sqweejy the roof but got fed up of that.

 

Shampoo ? Hmmm yer that might be better than fairy liquid because i noticed that leaves patches on the blacking like its melted it a bit and it takes off all my wax.

 

I have just been using canal or water point water on its own and sqweejying.

 

Lol, omg boaters what they like.

http://www.force4.co.uk/department/brands/muc-off.html

 

Aww thanks for the link it add's shine too, i will order some.

 

:-)

Edited November 27, 2016 by Greylady2

[WotEver]

You really don't want to be using Fairy Liquid. It contains a surprisingly large amount of salt. Salt and moisture don't do steel a lot of good.

[Greylady2]

You really don't want to be using Fairy Liquid. It contains a surprisingly large amount of salt. Salt and moisture don't do steel a lot of good.

Ow thanks for telling us, ive not used it for ages, ow tell a lie ive used it on the front and rear decks to de mud.

 

Salt in fairy liquid wow.

[WotEver]

If you just want a bucket of soapy water use any car shampoo, but try and find one that's not harmful to aquatic environments of course

[Greylady2]

An inverter rated at 12volt 2000w should deliver 166 amps continuously -- which has to match the current taken by the 1800w pressure washer - which in theory is 150 amps but an efficiency factor of about 80% comes into play which means the washer might actually try to pull 187 amps - if that is the case, it is certain not to work successfully.

 

If you had not asked the question and gone ahead and plugged in the washer and inadvertently overloaded your inverter - it would cut out as you have already found - based on the experience of your microwave, this is because inverters usually have built-in protection devices to sense over-current and low battery voltage to prevent damage from overload and will shut-down automatically if that happens.. So no harm done.

 

It is not necessary for the alternator, or the engine revs, to be matched to the load of the washer, but it helps. The bulk of the power comes from the batteries - that have to be big enough to supply enough current all the time the washer is running - which in your case with 4 x110 Ah sounds plenty if the batteries are fully charged to start with - but even then the voltage soon drops with such a high load where in practice the engine is usually run at the same time at enough revs to keep the voltage up by sharing enough of the load. But then the over-current protection device operates. Some have temperature devices that trip out when they get hot due to over-load - that take ages to cool down to switch on again. Which could be a bit annoying if you are waiting to watch TV.

 

The general consensus of other comments here is that using this particular pressure washer it is not likely to be successful.

 

Thankyou for writing all that Horace i appreciate it.

 

Yer stuff buying a pressure washer now, i think something that pumps like a hose pipe and is low wattage will do me ok.

 

Can i ask what engine rev's you charge your batterys at ?

 

I am running it at 1300 - 1400 revs on a beta 38 100amp alternator apparently. :-/

[WotEver]

To determine the 'correct' revs you need to consult the ammeter. Around 1400rpm should allow the alternator to supply the maximum current. In other words raising the revs won't raise the current. As the battery gets more charged and you see the current decrease so you can drop the revs. Once you're down to around 30A you may find that you can drop the revs right down to tickover.

[Chewbacka]

Something to be aware of with big motor equipment like pressure washers.

A 2kW inverter should be able to supply about 8.6A - I=W/V where W=2000 watts and V=230 volts which is UK mains.

 

Likewise you can work out the expected current consumption by the same method. But with big motors there is a problem and it's a bit technical (called Power factor) but it means they take a more current than your calculation would indicate. So when running a big electric motor it is best to not exceed about 70% of the inverter capability so a max of about 1400W for a 2 kW inverter. You also don't want other stuff running when using it with a pressure washer. Even a fridge which does not normally take a lot, but it does when the fridge motor starts.

 

A pressure washer takes a big surge to get started, a good inverter (by good I mean expensive) should be able to cope but a cheap one may not have the surge capability to start it, so a cheap inverter may not run a pressure washer. It may even damage the inverter.

 

As an example I had a very cheap 900W inverter and used it with a 600W drill. The inverter released it's magic smoke and was beyond repair.

 

So when you ask can my inverter run this power washer it is not an easy question to answer.

 

Added - Basically Horace42 told you this above.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Chewbacka

[mango]

You really don't want to be using Fairy Liquid. It contains a surprisingly large amount of salt. Salt and moisture don't do steel a lot of good.

The same applies with other washing-up liquids and probably other cleaning products. A pressure washer will remove most of the much without detergents. The difficult bits can be tackled with a sponge with a little detergent and the pressure washer will remove the residues.

[cuthound]

I use dilute Aldi's Caravan Cleaner (thanks for the tip MJG) on the sanded areas ofor the roof and gunners, and tap water for the rest of the boat. Occasionally I use Craftmaster wash & wax or their carnauba wax.

 

Edited to credit MJG.

Edited November 28, 2016 by cuthound

[Greylady2]

To determine the 'correct' revs you need to consult the ammeter. Around 1400rpm should allow the alternator to supply the maximum current. In other words raising the revs won't raise the current. As the battery gets more charged and you see the current decrease so you can drop the revs. Once you're down to around 30A you may find that you can drop the revs right down to tickover.

Thanks Wotever, crikey ive been running the engine around 1300 -1400 until i get to 5amp 100%SOC.

 

Cheers

Something to be aware of with big motor equipment like pressure washers.

A 2kW inverter should be able to supply about 8.6A - I=W/V where W=2000 watts and V=230 volts which is UK mains.

 

Likewise you can work out the expected current consumption by the same method. But with big motors there is a problem and it's a bit technical (called Power factor) but it means they take a more current than your calculation would indicate. So when running a big electric motor it is best to not exceed about 70% of the inverter capability so a max of about 1400W for a 2 kW inverter. You also don't want other stuff running when using it with a pressure washer. Even a fridge which does not normally take a lot, but it does when the fridge motor starts.

 

A pressure washer takes a big surge to get started, a good inverter (by good I mean expensive) should be able to cope but a cheap one may not have the surge capability to start it, so a cheap inverter may not run a pressure washer. It may even damage the inverter.

 

As an example I had a very cheap 900W inverter and used it with a 600W drill. The inverter released it's magic smoke and was beyond repair.

 

So when you ask can my inverter run this power washer it is not an easy question to answer.

 

Added - Basically Horace42 told you this above.

Thanks i decided above that it was a bad idea using a powerwasher from whats been said which is similar to what youve written.

 

Thanks though.

 

I am now looking at buying 500w hozelock water pump 3.5 bar, then sucking up canal water them use a sqweejy.

[bizzard]

Thanks Wotever, crikey ive been running the engine around 1300 -1400 until i get to 5amp 100%SOC.

 

Cheers

 

Thanks i decided above that it was a bad idea using a powerwasher from whats been said which is similar to what youve written.

 

Thanks though.

 

I am now looking at buying 500w hozelock water pump 3.5 bar, then sucking up canal water them use a sqweejy.

What about a drill pump. A mains or powerful battery drill would power one. If you have a drill the pumps are quite cheap.

[mango]

To determine the 'correct' revs you need to consult the ammeter. Around 1400rpm should allow the alternator to supply the maximum current. In other words raising the revs won't raise the current. As the battery gets more charged and you see the current decrease so you can drop the revs. Once you're down to around 30A you may find that you can drop the revs right down to tickover.

An ammeter is ideal but a voltmeter on the domestic batteries will show if increasing the engine speed increases the charging voltage. There is no point in running the engine faster than necessary and once the rate of charging has fallen, tickover may be sufficient, as you say. It all depends on the setup but once you are familiar with the boat it is easy to work out what speed is needed.

[WotEver]

If the voltage increases so does the current. E=IR.

 

The ammeter is important to know when to stop charging.

[mango]

If the voltage increases so does the current. E=IR.

 

The ammeter is important to know when to stop charging.

I usually use hire boats and they don't often have ammeters. Having checked with a clamp meter I reckon that I can cope with a voltmeter.

[WotEver]

Boat hire fleets don't expect their hirers to obsess about battery charging. The most common call-out for Valley Cruisers used to be 'The telly has stopped working and all the lights have gone dim'. Service engineer would drive out with a new battery and give a gentle lecture on cruising hours versus tv watching. Two days later they'd be back on the phone.