The New Surface Cleaner By B&R

John B

New member
Ok the thing is ugly now .. my daughter and I have to paint it Today .. Get this it,s going to be school bus yellow.. My daughters choice .. anyhoo here is what it looks like so far ... Oh by the way it works ,... tried it with cold water ... then tried it with hot water and ran it for about 10 minutes each time .. No problems as of yet..
 

Attachments

  • Surface Cleaner 1.jpg
    Surface Cleaner 1.jpg
    12.6 KB · Views: 159
  • IMAG0024.JPG
    IMAG0024.JPG
    11.5 KB · Views: 127
I haven't been following your progress on this project like I should. Please bring me (and others) up to speed on the specs of this bad boy.

Materials used,cost,time to build, 1/4 mile e.t., 0-60 time...... :D
 
Ok here is the quick run down in photos I will get all the specs and cost together this evening , family and I are going out to eat at Ryan's..
 

Attachments

  • Cut the drum.jpg
    Cut the drum.jpg
    10.2 KB · Views: 84
  • Install Casters.jpg
    Install Casters.jpg
    11.4 KB · Views: 72
  • Install Casters.jpg
    Install Casters.jpg
    11.4 KB · Views: 72
  • Rear View.jpg
    Rear View.jpg
    17.3 KB · Views: 80
  • Line up Metal.jpg
    Line up Metal.jpg
    11.7 KB · Views: 80
Then you have to install the swivel.. Get the Mosmatic 37 or 57 series 3/8 inch
 

Attachments

  • New Mosmatic Swivel.jpg
    New Mosmatic Swivel.jpg
    12.6 KB · Views: 72
The Cost
Swivel ceramic rated 4000 psi @ 6gpm and 250 degrees ... $165.00 form jacks small engines.

Metal Drum ... Free
3 peices of angle ( one being flat ) Steel Scrap $ 2.00
3 Casters at hardware store $20.00
Handles and mounts from a $ 5.00 lawnmower
Whip Hose 3/8 5ft long .. $24.00
Bunch of bolts __ $ 4.00
Trigger Gun -- $ 24.00
on the bottom

3/8 tee brass
2-1/4x3/8 adapters
2-8 inch brass nipples
2 couplings
2-1 1/2 inch nipples
balance everything out with the couplings
add to elbows
two 15degree 2.5 nozzles
exactly 1 inch off the ground and set at a 15 degree angle rotating the same way the tee screws on to the swivel.


Got to go ( More Later)
3
 
Final Before The last Coat of Paint
 

Attachments

  • The School Bus Yellow Surface Cleaner.jpg
    The School Bus Yellow Surface Cleaner.jpg
    7.1 KB · Views: 98
  • Underside of Surface Cleaner.jpg
    Underside of Surface Cleaner.jpg
    9.2 KB · Views: 87
  • My Machine ( New Paint).jpg
    My Machine ( New Paint).jpg
    8.2 KB · Views: 97
The Surface Cleaner

Ok first thing .. Get a metall 55 gallon drum
measure from top down 4 inches. and cut all the way around..

then get 4 peices of angle iron about 12" long and mount yur casters on the end of each peice of angle then line them up on the top of the drum ( make sure the casters will turn all the way around . mark the metal and drill your holes and mount them ( make sure the rear casters are far enough apart to hold up the barrel bottom .
Now measure the center ( from every angle Like 10 times) then drill a 1 1/8 inch hole in the dead center.. Mount swivel unit in the center..
Use lawnmower handle and brackets and mount to the top of the barrel at desired spot to get a comfortable feel when pushing..

Go to Pressure washer store and buy a whip hose and a gun ( or you can use a ball valve but the ballvalve has to be rated for high pressure.. either way the guns are $25 to$35 bucks.
Attach all this and run it up the handles and mount.

The bottom is tricky.
Get an ounce scale and go to the local hardware store sit down at the brass fittings..

What you want to do is measure from the tee that you have screwed on to the swivel underneath the unitand leave exactly 1 inch from the sides for both extensions.
I had to have 22 inches because the drum bottom was 23 inches across.
I mounted the tee on the swivel then i put the piping together .. ( not on the unit )
1 1/2 inch peice then coupling then 8 inch peice then elbow then nozzle.. made up both sides then weighed..I did this about 5 times till i came aout with the same weight for both sides.. Got home tightened everything down with teflon tape on all fittings and counted the turns on each threaded peice and weighed again .. the istalle both sides on the tee.I set the angle at 15 degrees on the nozzle to surface ( may have to adjust later ..All of this took about 2 days... the project has taken about a week because i kept tring other ideas besides the 55 gallon metal drum ... but when I finally decided on the drum about 2 days of labor and about 2 6 packs of michelob light.
It works great.

Test run ( cold water first ) Ran 10 minutes ( no problems)
Test run hot water ( no problems)
I am using 25 degree nozzles ( there are 2 1/2 's ) my machine calls for a # 4 nozzle
but by using a bigger nozzle (2.5 +2.5 nozzle =5 ) I am getting a little less heat and a little less pressure.
The heat is about 190 degress instead of 200
and about 2800 psi instead of 3000.
Getting about 4.5 gallons a minute..
going to put the second coat of paint on today then tonight at 10:30 in hattisburg we are going to give ( Old Yellow a test Run )

My buddy that is a cop pointe a radar at the under side of the surface cleaner during the test .. not sure about the 0 to 60 but we got a 77 mph rateing from the radar ..
( That can't be right)
 
Last edited:
Ok everything works pretty good .. I still think I need to set the nozzles .. 10 degrees.. I think I need a protractor set it flat on the botom of the surface cleaner and then set the nozzles.. I am not a big math wizard but I beliebe this is the way to set it..
 

Attachments

  • we clean concrete.jpg
    we clean concrete.jpg
    7.4 KB · Views: 83
  • weuse hot water.jpg
    weuse hot water.jpg
    6.9 KB · Views: 75
Hey Got an Idea for another surface cleaner instead of the 55 gallon drum , my next cleaner will be made out of a crawfish boiling stainless steel pot.. Measures 20 " and it's rigid as hell. This cleaner will be using the new mosmatic carbide swivel instead of the ceramic swivel... I got to go do a job tommorrow so we can start to work on the next new surface cleaner.. I love this stuff...

Matter of fact my wife and I looked at a building today .. I am thinking about opening a pressure washer supply and shop.. ( Got to give my wife something to do.)
 
Paint it with a Smiley Face

then you could call it "Smilin Bright Surface Cleaners"

When I worked at a machine shop we were restoring a 74 Camaro. We asked (Recomended) the owner of the car if we should stick on a new beefier stronger rearend cover for the car. Since we got that thing pushing 450hp/500+ftlbs with a 3.73 and a full race TH350 we figured we figured we should put on a new stronger rearend cover to handle that power.

Well the guy was beeing difficult and said we should keep the old cover. We asked him how he wanted it painted or finished. Such as Polished, Brushed, Painted, etc. He told us "He didn't care".

This is what we came up with...
 

Attachments

  • happyrearend.jpg
    happyrearend.jpg
    112.5 KB · Views: 58
Hello John,
Do you have any close-up pictures of the top and bottom? I am interested in trying what you did but would like to see the top and bottom a little closer.
 
Back
Top