Which do you prefer: 5.5gpm or 8gpm?

Josh Brown said:
who has used both and has a preference?
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Depends on what you are using it on. Volume and rinsing power is king in pressure washing. The faster you get done, the more money you make. I prefer the higher volume machine. Cleaning driveways and house washes go a lot quicker.
 
Awesom Guy. Yeah I've had 5.5 GPM for a while now as well and was thinking if 8, so looks like you just sealed the deal for me. Will a 100g buffer tank be enough?
 
I've had 5.5 GPM, 8 GPM, and 10 GPM machines. I personally will never go with anything smaller than a 10 though now. Even though I'm in a drought stricken area, I'm actually saving water by using a 10 versus a 5.5 or an 8.
 
Vince Wood said:
I've had 5.5 GPM, 8 GPM, and 10 GPM machines. I personally will never go with anything smaller than a 10 though now. Even though I'm in a drought stricken area, I'm actually saving water by using a 10 versus a 5.5 or an 8.
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Im assuming that's because you're getting done much faster. What size buffer tank can you get away with?
 
Josh Brown said:
Im assuming that's because you're getting done much faster. What size buffer tank can you get away with?
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You are correct about getting done much faster with a 10 GPM unit. I personally can carry 550 gallons of water on my flatbed. Personally I would go no less than a 330 gallon buffer tank on a 10 GPM unit. You might find yourself at times waiting for the tanks to fill up if the water supply can't keep up on certain jobs. That is a downside to running the high flow machines.
 
The reason I ask is I have two machines on my current trailer and I run a 4gpm and 5.5gpm with a 325g water tank. Does fine. But I'm about to get a truck skid build and the biggest water tank we can fit on the skid is 100g. So I'm wondering if that will work with a 8gpm unit.
 
You could have 2 supply hoses feeding the tank,had to do that many times, it just depends on the location as many have old plumbing and are corroded badly and don't flow much. Have float valves so the tank does not over flow and you will be ok. Always check the flow when bidding the job so you have an idea of each water source so you know in advance.
 
Definitely check the water supply when working on the older homes and even some of the newer homes whenever they are well fed. I use to do a lot of work in a retirement community and use to carry a tiny 3gpm machine which was used for the short walkways which a lot of those homes had.

One day we were working on a much larger single family in a nice development and the well pump couldn't keep up with the larger machine and could just barely keep up with the little 3gpm machine. That job turned into a real pita really quick...

Mike
 
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