How can I increase water pressure INTO my pressure washer?

I have a Karcher gas pressure washer and it by design will only dispense cleaning solution when on the lower pressure. On my machine the pressure is regulated on the washer wand head itself. Maybe your machine is similar.

Steve
July 2009

Thanks for your thoughts Sally. I can rule out the machines. Apart from the fact they are different machines neither of which has been used a lot, I did say the pressure coming out of the hose is on the weak side.

My main stopcock is fully open and pressure inside the house is fine. I have no way of isolating the outide pipe, so there is no localised cock to open.

I was sort of hoping there was a contraption I could put on the input hose to increase the pressure - a pump or something like that. Or is there some clever answer like hooking the hosepipe up 30 feet or something. I don't know, I was just thinking outside the box...

Peanuts
July 2009

Different machines produce higher/lower levels of output pressure, so the obvious and practical answer is to - buy a better machine. I bought a 150bar PW on Ebay for £25+delivery. My second thought is, are you LOSING pressure on the output side of your machine?? Are you seeing any leaks at all because if so you might need to replace a few rubber seal O-Rings, they cost pennies and that alone might help. Third thought is - are your machines' engines/motors worn out? Again. low pressure could mean the motor is burned. PW's are so cheap now that I wouldnt even bother dismantling to clean/replace motor brushes, I'd replace and start afresh. All these are valid solution ideas. I hope one of them helps you resolve your difficulty. One final thing; believe it or not Ive just had to switch off my street pavement Mains stopcock yesterday; If the tap is left partway closed it will cut down your Mains Pressure to the house. Check that too. Maybe a mains tap either inside the house or out in the street hasnt been fully opened up again after plumbing repairs were last done.

Sally
July 2009

I was hoping for a practical answer :-)

Peanuts
July 2009

move house

bob
July 2009