# Winterising a pressure washer for outdoor storage



## Art Works Interiors (Apr 4, 2008)

I'm thinking about grabbing this nifty little unit, here.










The price is great, it works, comes with all the hoses, wands, tips, etc.

It's a 13.0 HP Honda engine and has a K1 tank for the heater and petrol for the engine.

It's on a 13'X6' trailer and I may not be able to store it indoors, economically. Any ideas about winterising it? It gets amazingly cold, up near Canadistan.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

id ask my local SherWorks.
Sweet looking rig though. Roll it off the trailer and put it inside. Put some snowmobiles on the trailer . . .


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Seriously, it will take up about 4 square feet. Grab a plywood scrap and use it as a coffee table.


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## Art Works Interiors (Apr 4, 2008)

tsunamicontract said:


> id ask my local SherWorks.
> Sweet looking rig though. Roll it off the trailer and put it inside. Put some snowmobiles on the trailer . . .


That's what I wanted to do but there ain't a whole lot of inside, open, atm. :001_huh:

I need a commercial space but it's not in the budget until 09.

Hmm.

Anybody ever used RV antifreeze in a rig?


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## Art Works Interiors (Apr 4, 2008)

vermontpainter said:


> Seriously, it will take up about 4 square feet. Grab a plywood scrap and use it as a coffee table.


Yeah, but the first stubbed toe and I'll be sleeping in my truck.


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## Kennedy (Apr 18, 2007)

Run anti-freeze through the pump and you'll be fine.


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

Heat tape and insulation maybe. Good question. If there is a drain plug on that thing maybe that would work.


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## Art Works Interiors (Apr 4, 2008)

Kennedy said:


> Run anti-freeze through the pump and you'll be fine.


Thanks.

I think I'll get it, then.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

how do you run anti freeze through a pump like this?


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## boman47k (May 10, 2008)

I thought there was a product on the market for this purpose. Maybe the stuff I am thinking of justa lubricant. I guess I need to find out today. I thought about just throwing a moving quilt over mine, but I think I will check first on something else. We had a frost last night, and it isd supposed to get down to the 20's tonight. My little unit is inside, but...


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## CobraCDN (Jan 8, 2008)

Use RV antifreeze, put the feed hose in the antifreeze jug and hold it up higher then the pump. Start the washer and let it draw into the pump. If it has a detergent line put it in the jug also (Same time as the feed hose).

I keep mine in the shop as I use it during the winters here.

Cheers


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## boman47k (May 10, 2008)

I went to HD and got two cans of a for winterizing my washers. They were marked 6.97. I got one can and took it to the register. It rang up at .33! I told the girl that was not right. She told me they may be marked clearance. She checked my can, and it did show to be on clearance. So I go back and get 3 more cans. Two rang up at .33, 2 rangup at 6.97. I took the 2 at .33. Just screw it into the intake and spray it in until it comes out the outlet side.

P.S. I hope this stuff has a long shelf life. If the date on the bottom of the can is the age of it, it is about 3 years old. I guess that explains it being mon clearance.


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## johnisimpson (Oct 5, 2007)

I agree with running anti-freeze through the pump. You'll need to have enough to go through the pump, lines that connect to the burner and the burner coil (these can be long). You'll need a container with a hose connector that you can elevate to gravity feed the AF to the pump or at least get it same height. The pump will pull it through and keep it running until you get AF coming through the gun/hose (use a short length of high pressure hose). You can take it out to the next job, hook up as normal and catch the AF that first comes out in a 5 gallon bucket and reuse it again later.


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## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

QUESTION:
I have a Graco 3030. I blow compressed air through the pump (while its running) to force all the water out. Do you think thats acceptable?


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## boman47k (May 10, 2008)

I don't know about that model and have little experience with washers, but I would think running it without water going through it would be detrimental. I don't like to let mine run but a very short time even with water running through it witout pushing the trigger to let fresh cool water circulate through it. I am even leery of just using the soap dispensor for fear of overheating the seals/o-rings in it. I had to replace an o-ring the last time I used it. I am wondering if using the dispensor while washing my vehicles had anything to do with the 0-ring going out. That being said, mine is just a $300 Suburu.


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## johnisimpson (Oct 5, 2007)

running your pressure washer without water or coolant or some liquid is one of the hardest things you can do to the pump. allowing air into the system while running can lead to cavitation issues. I've heard of guys using compressed air but I think they did it while it was not running.


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## boman47k (May 10, 2008)

Don't forget the hose. I hope I drained mine completely before I rolled it up. In fact, I might need to run something in it too.


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## Barry M (Sep 28, 2007)

We do like Cobra mentioned in post #11. We've been doing it for 4 winters now here in northern Indiana. As long as the antifreeze is the last thing that was ran through the pump, chem hose injector, and hoses it won't freeze. 

The only thing I would use compressed air for is to blow out the pressure hoses and feed hoses by themselves, but I don't recommend using it on the pump especially when it's running. Sometimes we do blow out the hoses, otherwise 1 gallon of antifreeze isn't enough as 250' of hose really drinks it up.


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## JCM (Jan 6, 2009)

Hey fellas, Don't any of you have boats in the colder areas?
In addition to running rv af through the pump and expelling any water, Run the carb dry then treat the gas tank with fuel stabilizer and then run it through the carb. After it cools down (because you don't want to remove a spark plug in an aluminum head when hot)
pull the plug and Fog the motor. Thats it


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## Bryan C (Jan 14, 2009)

Run RV antifreeze through the pump as well here. We blow out all hose lines too.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

I have used the blue Windshield washer fluid. Cheaper than anti-freeze, and it has a very low freeze point, and it won't hurt the little animals as well. Not good to go to a customer's house and poison there dog and cat.


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## JCM (Jan 6, 2009)

painter213 said:


> I have used the blue Windshield washer fluid. Cheaper than anti-freeze, and it has a very low freeze point, and it won't hurt the little animals as well. Not good to go to a customer's house and poison there dog and cat.


 Doesn't Methanol destroy aluminum and dry out rubber and leather?
And aren't most cleaners toxic?


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

Been using it in my washers from 3,000psi to 20,000psi units for almost 20 years now. No problems yet. What are the parts of a windshield washer system? Mostly aluminum, plastic and rubber parts. Have not seen many parts destroyed. The washer fluid is not as toxic as the anti-freeze.


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## dragula (Nov 19, 2008)

+1 to most of the above.


Also, wrap it in Tyvek. You do NOT want that aluminum block getting too cold. It can pinch piston rings, weaken valve springs, etc.

What kind of temps are we talking here?


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## dragula (Nov 19, 2008)

Oh, and you should be able to use "Freezetone" radiator fluid additive. It is only $1.99/gal and has most of the goodies of Anti-freeze.

If your really cheap, just mix water and a high proportion of dish soap.


It's never been colder than ~32deg around these parts, so I have no ACTUAL experience.


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## JCM (Jan 6, 2009)

painter213 said:


> Been using it in my washers from 3,000psi to 20,000psi units for almost 20 years now. No problems yet. What are the parts of a windshield washer system? Mostly aluminum, plastic and rubber parts. Have not seen many parts destroyed. The washer fluid is not as toxic as the anti-freeze.


 Hmm, I thought it did. Learn something new every day.
They say the e-85 will wreck the aluminum parts of fuel injection so that is why I thought that.


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## Tmrrptr (May 4, 2007)

I can see I'm late to read this thread to probably do much good, but I have a simple way to winterize a PW'er.

The garden hose inlet for mine has a gravel strainer and female hose bib thread.

I bought a 89cent abs 3/4 slip to hose bib adapter and a 79cent street ell.

Screw in the straight adapter and stick the ell in it facing up.
Pour in antifreeze or pump armor til the fitting fills up and pull through a couple times til it spits a bit of color out the pressure tap.

Seems to work fine.
No probs so far.

Sry can't find my picture, but it's simple enough. Don't need to glue it.


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