10gpm worth the headaches

joshh

New member
Hi guys I’m new here, have some questions concerning 10gpm. I run 8@3500 right now and while it’s fine I do a lot of big commercial flatwork and fleet washing (I’m usually on the job 4-5 hours minimum once setup) and eventually 8gpm starts feeling like 4-5 used to.

I’m a fabricator by trade and am currently building a new trailer and machine to go on it. I’ll be using a Diesel engine in the 50 hp range so power is a non issue. I have a 400 gallon buffer tank and will have 2 supply hose reels to have dual feeding capabilities so I should be covered on the water end of things.

The concerns I have regarding 10gpm is;

1- When running a downstream injector is the flow restriction exponentially worse than it would be with an 8 gpm machine therefore negating most of the extra flow?
Obviously running a bypass or just using a different machine to soap with can negate this but still I’m curious.

2- Friction loss, I understand that with the extra flow of 10gpm it falls victim to friction loss more so than 8gpm with 3/8 hose. Is 1/2” necessary to run @ 100’ lengths? Oddly, a lot of my recurring accounts I can get by with 100’ if I move a few times which only takes a few minutes. However I’m worried that even with 1/2” hose at lengths over 200’ it’s going to sacrifice too much pressure, which brings me to my last concern.

3- 3500 PSI. I’d like the run 3500 psi at the pump to try and combat some of the friction loss when surface cleaning. Does anyone know of a pump manufacturer that makes a 10gpm 3500 psi rated pump? I see General and Comet both have a 10@3000 and a few companies are making machines using these pumps and rating them at 10/3500, however I’m not aware if it’s ok to run a pump 500 psi over it’s rating without longevity issues. 90% of the time I’m using my pressure washer to rinse, when I wash garbage trucks I’m essentially soft washing them, but I’d like the capability to tap into more pressure than what a 3,000 psi pump has to offer after several hundred feet of hose.

I hope this hasn’t been answered elsewhere first, I found a thread on a different forum talking about 10@3000 vs 8@3500 and it seemed the general consensus was 8@3500 was a better route with less headaches overall. Horsepower being taken out of the equation I’d like to try and run 10@3500 if possible.

Thanks
 
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