Home
>
Small Business
>
Pressure Washing Business; Steam Cleaner Fuel Maintenance

Pressure Washing Business; Steam Cleaner Fuel Maintenance

It is essential that you fully understand how the fuel system works on your hot water pressure washer or steam cleaner. If you mess it up it could catch on fire and if you are not right there to put it out, you could potentially lose your machine. This type of equipment has been known to explode and Hydrotek out of California actually has a CD Rom video of a machine exploding when a fuel leak is ignited just to show operators what could happen. We recommend the Hydrotek Hot Water Pressure Washers. Some people prefer Landa, but we have tried them all.

If your hot water pressure washers is diesel fired then you must replace these Diesel Filters. All hot water pressure washers has a burner that uses either: Diesel Fuel, Kerosene or Natural Gas to heat the water. If you use diesel fuel or kerosene, make sure the fuel is clean. A clogged filter will cause blockage and it will turn off the burner due to lack of fuel flow. You should clean the crud out of your filter every other month.

There is a Fuel Pressure Adjustment on the burner. To adjust the fuel pressure in your burner (which we do not recommend), turn the adjusting screw counter-clockwise to decrease fuel flow; clockwise to increase fuel flow. Warning: Never exceed 145 lbs. of fuel pressure; If you do, you will create a giant flame out the top of your steam cleaner. You will also burn up the insulation around the coil. I've even caught the coil on fire. I turned off the heat but the fuel kept burning because it had soaked the insulation with diesel fuel. It also melted the paint off the coil shroud, burned up the transformer and worse yet, we ran out of water in the tank trying to put out the fire. So we drove down the street engulfed in flames and smoke, found a water spigot and hose at someone's house at one a.m. in the morning, turned on their hose and put out the fire. All the neighbors woke up. Someone called the fire department and of course two police cars showed up. All this because the water wasn't staying hot while we were cleaning sidewalks in the middle of the night and we thought we'd adjust the fuel pressure screw. This wouldn't have helped anyway because we had a water flow problem that was shutting off the water early before it reached the correct temperature. Please don't touch that screw! ? Call the dealer. So you see you really can learn from our twenty years experience. That happened fifteen years ago, but we at headquarters will never forget it.

Fuel Control System

Our units utilize a fuel solenoid valve located on the fuel pump to control the flow of fuel to the combustion chamber. This solenoid, which is normally closed, is activated by a flow-switch when water is flowing through it. When you release the trigger on the shut-off gun, the flow of water through the flow switch stops turning off the current to the fuel solenoid. This closes the solenoid, shutting off the supply of fuel to the combustion chamber.

By controlling The Flow of Fuel in this way, our machines are unique in that they create instantaneous burn-or-no-burn situations. The solenoid allows us to maintain safety by eliminating high and low water temperatures. Temperatures too low won't clean well and temperatures too high can cause an explosion, fire or melt down of the machine components. We've also nearly eliminated combustion smoke associated with our units by incorporating this shut-off gun. It also saves fuel and prolongs the life of the insulation. Not to mention that it doubles the time between regular de-scaling maintenance of the schedule 80 coils.

I recommend periodic inspection to insure that the fuel solenoid valve functions correctly. To do this, simply stand by the exhaust of the coils and pull the trigger on your gun. When it makes a low rumble sound you know everything is working great. With this patented solenoid in place on the machine we believe it to be a much safer piece of equipment.

Ignition Circuit

Periodically you should inspect the wires, spring contacts and electrodes for their condition, security and proper spacing. To perform a transformer test, use a screwdriver (with no defects) with an insulated handle. Be sure to keep your fingers off the metal parts of the screwdriver. Lay the blade across one contact and within 1/2 inch of the other contact. The transformer should arc with a small lightening bolt over the 1/2 inch distance. Be careful not to touch this because it is something like 10,000 volts.

Burner Nozzles

Keep the tip of the nozzle free from surface deposits. Use a clean solvent saturated rag. Be careful not to plug or enlarge the nozzle when cleaning. For maximum efficiency, replace the nozzle at tune up time every two to two and one-half years.

Air Adjustments

Usually steam cleaners are factory adjusted for operation at seventy-five feet above sea level. If your unit operates at five hundred or more feet above sea level, you may need to make a one time correction because the higher above sea level you are, the thinner the air. This correction will improve efficiency, performance, economy and extend your machines service life. If you notice smoky or eye burning exhaust coming from your machine, it probably needs adjusting. But first, make sure you are burning clean fuel. Number One home heating fuel is best, but kerosene is ok. Diesel fuel can be used also.

An oily smoky fire indicates lack of air and the air band should be turned to allow the air to flow through the burner. A sharp eye-burning fume indicates too much air is flowing through the combustion chamber and unburned fuel is escaping so turn the air band the opposite way.

Fuel flow to your steam cleaner is by far the most serious part of your machine, it can cause the most damage if not monitored or working correctly. If you have a trailer unit the jarring and speed bumps can cause issue with the system and you could find yourself trying to put out the fire in your machine. It could even blow up in your face and hurt you or potentially possibly if you were unlucky kill you. Play it safe, inspect it regularly and don't get hurt or caught up in a lawsuit. Think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.worldthinktank.net/wttbbs

cleaning team near Winnetka ..

In The News:

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Pressure Washing Business; Steam Cleaner Fuel Maintenance

Small Business