You should instal a Y connection to your pump so when your not using the pressure washer the water is circulating back into the tank this way it prevents your pump from burning up
I should just make a correct dedicated trailer setup instead. This is a quick fix for someone in need of getting there pump fired up. I hope people do this as a temporary fix and not a permanent solution.
@@buleraymond7 you don’t, it unnecessary. The 12v pump isn’t going to burn up in 10 minutes. If your idling longer than 10 minutes, you might want to shut your machine down anyhow.
I actually forgot, there is a power switch to turn pump off near the pump in the harness that came with. That’s the one I used when not pressure washing without having to turn my washer off. Just turn it back on when going back to washing.
Hey run a high flow splitter on your water intake to prime your pump. After you get it going it will work and you won’t need the 12v for that purpose! Keep grinding!
Question for you sir. Does the splitter go on both the tank and pump? Then run two hoses? With the electric pump on one hose to prime? Then once primed turn off that side and run the other with just gravity? Or is it just a the high flow valve that makes the difference? Having this same problem for my trailer I built. Thank you in advance.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have basically the same Simpson unit and have been doing residential power washing for a year now. Just bought a tote and ran into the same problem (wouldn't gravity feed). You saved me time and money my friend! Thanks again!
Boogie Black this works great, but for a business, I’d either run a 120v pump on a generator or use a gas powered semi trash transfer pump sized for garden hose connection. But to get started with the new pressure washer unit, this gets by. Maybe I’ll make a video on how to do this with a gas pump.l. The pump does hold up, but it’s a pain to always leave the truck running to pressure wash, but hey can’t complain, the setup works and go me out of a jam when I found out my new pressure washer didn’t feed of the tank
@@Subi_doo After some research I've decide to go that route. 120v pump and a little "tail gator" generator should do the trick. Honestly, nearly all my residential customers allow me to use their water so the pump and tank will be used sparingly for the mobile detailing part of my business. Thanks for the advice.
Boogie Black that’s what I looked into as well. I’m going to build a water setup on a tandem axle trailer and have everything mounted and setup for pressure washing. Dual ibc totes, dual pressure washers, generator, and a water pump big enough to feed both washers at the same time.
I just install my pressure washer with gravity flow. Before installing I saw videos that I was going to need a pump to help the gravity. When I installed the pressure washer it did not pressure it and I then assumed I do need the pump. I hooked the garden hose to see if that was the problem and it did pressure it. Then I hooked again my gravity and it work without the pump. It works everytime now perfect. Maybe it's just air in the lines. My tank has a 1 inch valve and my pressure washer is a honda 4000 psi gas. Works flawless without the pump.
Thanks for posting. I was able to get my honda to prime and spray, only after I took the lid off my tote. Psi wasn't what I really wanted. Thank you for posting this solution.
As long as the gph matches the gpm of the pressure washer it will function the exact same as if it was hooked up to the house. So yes, if your pressure washer can wash concrete, this will work. I used it to clean walkways at a large home residential neighborhood. Worked awesome.
Tristan Edwards no problem.. I found this out getting ready to do a job that these Simpson’s don’t like to be gravity fed. I had a 2300 Simpson that gravity fed for a few days then would never do it again, needless to say I took it back to the store because I though after a week it took a crap, it was probably the gravity feed issue at hand.
Tristan Edwards 12v works just fine for small/ medium jobs with a few minites to cool off once in awhile.... I just sprayed it with water every now and again to cool it off... the bad about 12v is that you need to keep the truck running unless you have an auxiliary battery
I DID NOT ADD A vent hole. I just crack the lid open to release and pressure on the inside of the IBC tote. It won’t feed regardless. Tried it with lid off (fully vented) and no luck. Added a shader valve to the top and added some air pressure into the tank and still no luck. Finally just added a 12v booster pump and it fired right up with no issue.
@@Subi_doo " No vent hole. It won't feed regardless". hahaha go fill a plastic bottle with water and poke a small pencil size hole it it with the lid on...no water drips out unless force is applied. Now take the lid off and water will pour out the small hole.. Its one thing to make a vid to help out the small home owners which is nice but to then mislead people who are asking or relaying their experience expertise to you by saying nah won't change anything is bad. edit* And your pressure washers feed line is way too long and small in diameter. CHEERS
@@superflyguy218 not sure if you can see in the video but when, I run this, I crack the top cap open so it doesn’t create vacuum…. And no, even with a fully open top, it still would not give the pressure washer enough gravity fed pressure to pressurize. Feed line in this video is 2’ long going to the pump. I tried large diameter and smaller diameter hoses going directly to the pressure washer and none worked with this Simpson washer. Only got it to run by adding a booster pump. Not all pressure washers are the same, it seems like cheap ($300, craftsman and Troy bilt) pressure washers had no issue feeding with gravity. The more expensive Simpsons, all of them didn’t gravity feed. I tried multiple versions. I ended up taking one back because I thought it was defective because it would not pressurize. This was the first pressure washer I ever had that didn’t gravity feed. Thanks
Alot of times its because the tote traps alot of air in the line not allowing the pressure washer to pump properly. Simple plug the garden hose in run it like that for a while then immediately plug in your tote feed line. This always solves my issue every time a build a pressure washing rig.
UPDATE:1 year and still cranks within the first 2-3 pulls. Probably will buy another when this one finally does bite the dust th-cam.com/users/postUgkx43QMbQqu67IZadu9ou8Sg1BdrunMRNqX . No issues at all. Very happy with it.UPDATE: After 6 months of use and over 70 uses I would still highly recommend this pressure washer. It does vibrate a decent amount but never had it “walk” like others have mentioned. No oil leaks, still seems to run like the day I bought it. Still cranks within 2-3 pulls every time. Very happy with my purchase!Have used it about a dozen times now. Plenty of power, cranks up on 1-2 pulls every time. My only complaint would be I wish it was a little taller to make it easier to walk with it (hits my ankles a lot) and that the two hose connections were a little further apart but it hasn’t caused me any issues. Seems to run a good 1-1/2-2 hrs on a full tank, overall a well built machine and definitely worth the money in my opinion.
I think this is what I also have to do I have the same pump never used it I just bought a ryobi 3300 Honda motor and it doesn’t gravity feed no water comes off ima try this !
I hooked my machine up with a pump from the get go just seemed like common sense if your tank isn’t up higher than the washer I didn’t run to my trailer lights I put a marine battery on and I toss the trickle charger on once a week
I made the Harness using trailer male and female plugs and added a 10 amps fuse in the jumper harness. I then Wired the 12v pump so it could plug into the trailer connector jumper harness.
I'm having a hard time figuring out what you did with the wiring Ince you cut the cables off. I bought the same pump and have watched this several times and can't seem to understand what you did as far as the wiring. Any help would be great so I could get my setup going.
I don’t have the setup anymore, but You just need a 4 or 5 pin trailer connector, a fuse, then locate the ground wire, and the 12v running light. Hook the fuse to the red wire on the pump, and then to the 12v running light on the truck trailer plug, then hook the black wire to the ground and that’s pretty much it.
I have a 4/4200 and run a one inch hose from my tank all the way to the machine water inlet, got a connector from trailer supply to connect it. I can use my gun and surface cleaner with no problems and they are only about 2 feet from each other.
The power used was the main power for the trailer connector. You can shut the vehicle off and as long as you leave the lights on, the 12v motor will run. I just let the truck run as it’s not good to draw power, leave the lights on and not be recharging during that duration.
where did you get this Small green pump please im from Pa and i have same pressure wqsher 4000 psi and i have to donw comercial work power washing and i have this same tank but where i can get this pump please for 4000 psi
You need to run for that machine a 1 inch pipe to the machine and go down to garden hose with in the last like 6 inches so it would gravity feed I asked my pump manufacturer about this problem
So I have an inverter generator I was wondering if I got an AC/dc power converter and hooked it up to my pump if that'd be just as good to get power to the pump
Hey bud I’ve got a 65 gallon tank I’m trying to gravity fed it into my DeWalt 3300 pressure washer but nothing comes out when I have the hose hooked to the tank. Once it’s hooked to my house garden hose it throws great pressure. Any help? Am I missing anything on gravity fed? Sorry forgot to add a buddy of mine runs a 3400 DeWalt and he’s runs perfect on gravity fed
Unless you’re in rural areas with no water, why aren’t you just hooking up directly to the customer’s spigot? If you’re leaving your truck running while using that pump, you’re wasting a lot more fuel. A deep cycle battery would be better to power the pump. Imo
I did work in a rich neighborhood. You’d be surprised how many were really cheap about me hooking up to their water, which is why I got the ibc tote to begin with. Plus, I also did commercial truck washing and having a remote water supply was a huge help.
That switch came on the pump. I just cut the jumper cable ends off of it and wired it up to a trailer connector. All you need is any inline powers switch. Look for a lamp switch
@@longtime3941 yeah it does, but I wired it up to a trailer flat plug that matched my truck. Red need be to a constant 12v and the black is to the ground pin. You use the inline on/off switch to turn it off and on.
If I wanted to Soft Wash a house which uses bleach and soap mixture in the water, but only had a water tank, and a pressure washer, how would I do that? Just mix the bleach and soap inside the water tank, then attach the pressure washer water intake to the tank?
No, you wouldn’t want to run bleach through your pressure washer. As far as manuals go, my Simpson 4200 psi does NOT handle bleach through the pump and machine. What you’d want to use is a “down streamer chemical injector”. What that does is allow you to pass the bleach and soap through the barrel of your gun. This saves your machine from corrosion and allows you to use chemicals through the tip of your gun only. You’d put the down streamer at your barrel or handle, then run the tubing into a bucket you can carry that will hold the bleach
You need 3 female garden hose repair ends. This One to go from the ibc tote to pump inlet ( this section will have a female on each end, make this about 24-36” long). From the pump outlet you have your female connector, you then need a male connector to plug into the pressure washer. Make this hose from the pump to the pressure washer as short as possible, you dont want to stuff a full 25’ garden hose between the pump and the pressure washer. 8-10 feet is good. I don’t have links, these are just box store parts in the garden section of LOWES As far as electrical connection, get a 4 or 5 pin flat trailer plug, whichever matches your truck. Red goes to the line that always hot when the truck is on and the black goes to the connector ground line.
@@roberthayes4161 ibc tote to garden hose adapter... mine was a 2” course thread, some ibc totes are fine thread. Here is a generic example: www.amazon.com/275-330-IBC-Tote-Adapter/dp/B093PTGRGF/ref=asc_df_B093PTGRGF/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=521574499378&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14122051717906222212&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006934&hvtargid=pla-1276320583823&psc=1
It depends on the pressure washer. I’ve had some that just feed no issues, and I’ve had the same exact one not feed. Really just depends on the actual washer. Hook it up and find out, worse comes to worse, add a booster pump
Hey I enjoy your video! I have a question. I have the same pump. I have a 2013 Tahoe with a single round pig-tail. If I make a pig-tail like yours hooked into the round connector, that would work the same you think?
I don’t see why not... only difference is the shape. All you need is the constant 12v (running light) and the ground. Either plug has that so I’m sure there shouldnt be any issue.
@@Flipping_Assets honestly, i don’t really pressure wash. I got the job because I used to do mobile detailing and someone asked me to pressure wash their walkway. Best way to advertise is your vehicle. Place a sign on it with a phone number. Your basically a moving advertisement and Americans spend a good amount of time driving so you should definitely get a return from just doing that. Have business cards to hand out.
Also make a social media page and put that on your vehicle. Showcase the before and after and place advertisements for discount or sales on your page. Staple waterproof signs to telephone poles, yard stake signs etc. There is so many ways to advertise.
There has to be a reason for this trouble. Call Ameritech In Tampa and I'm sure they will have an answer for you. It looks like you need a bigger supply line for the tank to the pump. Are you using a pressure hose for you supply line? That's your trouble.
I tried all types of feed hoses from 3/4 to 1.5”. I’m guessing its a safety feature built into the pump. Cheap pressure washers work just fine off the tote. The more expensive ones, don like the tote. I’m assuming it’s a run dry feature or a inlet pressure minimum valve/diaphragm installed to protect the unit form inadequate water sources. Just my guess. All I m own it’s that I sized a 12v pump to meet the requirements of the washer and it worked. Sorry I don’t have any more answers.
@@Subi_doo Call Ameritech and ask for Gary, tell him I said to call, he might be able to help you out. Tampa Florida Ameritech pressure washing systems.
Hey when you ran it . Did you have it that far from the tank ? I thought it would run better if you had it maybe 3 feet away with a 3ft hose instead of a long one like you do in the video .
How many vehicles can you do with that thank of water before refilling it? Trying to have a set up like this to wash my semi truck and flatbed but not sure if that tank is too big for what I need
Keep in mind, you will use more water on days that are sunny since you will want to continuously wet your truck so nothing dries before you finish washing.
Keep in mind, buffet tanks are NOT for hauling water!!! They are a BUFFER!!! It’s simply so water can circulate through the pump at all times while the machine is running. These pumps are water cooled. So if the machine is running and say the homeowner comes out to ask you questions. So you stop spraying to talk but the machine running, the water inside the pump is no longer circulating. So it builds heat. It only takes a lil heat to make those rubber O-rings and seals soft and pliable enough to blow out, ruining your pump. So a buffer tank is plumbed in through your “unloader valve”. Again, to keep water circulating at all times. Has NOTHING to do with hauling water for the job. As you install a float valve in the tank and hook the tank to the customers water hose. So the tank is constantly being refilled, as it’s being used down. The ONLY use of the buffer tank is to give the machine volume (30-40 gals) of water to circle through, verses the teaspoon full that’s in the pump at any given second. It takes MUCH longer for the 40 gals to warm up than the small amount inside the pump. Hence this volume creates a buffer to absorb the heat. Do NOT haul water!!! Always use the customers water. Unless there is a specific job that requires hauling water. In this case, up your price by 3 fold at least. But ordinary you do NOT haul water if you plan to stay in biz for years on in.
I use a 65-gallon barrel because it allows me to stand it up and have enough room on the back of the pickup without needing to carry a trailer. I can fit everything back there. But I have to turn on wet, shut off, attach the foam blaster, shoot, and turn it off. Scrub then rinse but when I rinse I use the pump with a garden hose because it uses much less water than with the pressure washer. But I get about 3 cars to 4 cars like that before I need to refill. I also have a tote that holds around 275 to 300 gallons of water which I would never totally fill because that is a lot of weigh 300 US gal of water = 2503.5 lbs, it says it can carry about 4000 lbs. in the truck bed but Im sure you pay twice as much in gas as to carry that much water a long distance.
Start the pump and then the pressure washer....hold the gun trigger and let the air bleed out. After a second or two, you should not see any pressure drop. If you stop (turn off) your pressure washer, you may have to hold the trigger again when you restart to bleed again, however, once I did this once on the first start up, I did not have to repeat bleeding at any point during the day at the same location. I didn’t have that issue. You may have a leak somewhere letting air In of your letting off the trigger and it needs to bleed again. Make sure your hose connections are good and not leaking. Make sure the crimp or clamp around the barb on the hoses is also in good shape. The other thing is, you may not have a strong enough washer if your on the roof and it has to go through all that hose.... likely your maxing it out and it’s continuously need to catch up.
If your doesn’t feed with gravity, then yes, you need to boost the water pressure into the washer. The video was about a pressure washer not gravity feeding and this is the solution for one that needs help to run because gravity feed is not strong enough for some washers.
@@Subi_doo I'm talking about the pump on the washer. I have never heard of this problem before, I had a 4000 PSI that was set at 3500 and it had no troubles at all. Cat pump. on a GS390 Honda.
It’s a 2020 GMC Sierra 3500HD crew cab long bed.... with the ibc tote loaded, it levels the truck out, might be a hair under levels, but the truck handled the weight no problem. Also, I had no drive-ability issues from sloshing water. Yes, I’d did rock alittle at a stop for a few seconds, but that’s it. Only downside is loaded up, I was getting 6 miles a gallon.... trading this truck in soon anyhow for the diesel version of this one.
With this particular pressure washer, that was not the case. The pump matched to the gpm of the pressure washer, increases water flow and pressure to the inlet of the pump tricking the pressure washer into thinking it was hooked up to a pressurized water supply. The required inlet water pressure was too high for gravity feed. I tried every imaginable solution, but the pump was the only one that worked. Gravity feeding from tank did not provide enough pressure.
@@pauld8009 I’ve had a lot of other pressure washers that gravity fed no problem. This situation was a first for me and it just so happened I found this out a day before I had a job to do. I tried a lot of things, pressurizing the ibc tank, cap of the ibc tank, longer and shorter runs of hose, different diameters, etc. This Simpson was a tough one.
I’ve gone over and hour. Pressure washing isn’t always blasting water, so periodically shut the pressure washer down and turn the pump off when your moving the unit, repositioning the hoses, moving ladders etc to give it time to cool.
@@Subi_doo Just a thought, a rechargable battery powered camping fan with an 8-12 hour run time per charge is about 20$ on Amazon. Set it up on a wood block, point it at the pump and get extra air cooling to it.
@@Subi_doo Read what I said, I was using an electric pressure washer which cuts off when not being pressed. I didn't realize that there is no water flow when the pressure washer turns off. But a very intelligent person gave me a good recommendation. He said to add a splitter to the output, connect a hose to one side and run it back into the tank. That way when the pressure washer cuts off the pump will pump the water back into the tank and will still have flow. if the pump runs and there is no water flowing even the tag on the pump says it will destroy the pump.
@@Subi_doo I completely understand. I'm just providing helping information for the next step to not have to deal with a pump. But thank you for providing informational video to help others with their existing issue
@@123456789mm Thank you. To be honest, the correct way or best way to have a portable setup would be to have a dedicated trailer setup. If I was doing this more than what I do now I definitely would build a pressure washer trailer with heated tanks and soap mixers lol.
@@Subi_doo right... but um you could just add a gear drive to the washer and you wouldn't have to play with all that stuff. Takes like 30 minutes to install.
@@AndYetHereWeAre I could do that as a more permanant solution, but the point of this video was a cheap inexpensive get it running now if your in a jam. Say your pressure washer goes down and you run to the store to grab a new one and find out it doesn’t feed now. This 12v pump was just a harbor freight away and it got me up and running the same day and I was able to accomplish the jobs I needed too. I’m sure I’d have to order that and that would take some time to get. In under and hour I was back up and running.
Pressure washers gas powered the only thing running off of power is the pump. This was more or less a temporary solution until I built a pressure washer trailer
@@Subi_doo really I’ve had problems I had to buy a transfer pump to make sure there was enough water flowing to the pressure washer. How do you gravity feed?
![How to Gravity Feed Pressure Washer [ Tutorial ] #detailing #cardetailing #autodetailing](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sMqk8JWV80U/mqdefault.jpg)
You should instal a Y connection to your pump so when your not using the pressure washer the water is circulating back into the tank this way it prevents your pump from burning up
I should just make a correct dedicated trailer setup instead. This is a quick fix for someone in need of getting there pump fired up. I hope people do this as a temporary fix and not a permanent solution.
How I do that?
@@buleraymond7 you don’t, it unnecessary. The 12v pump isn’t going to burn up in 10 minutes. If your idling longer than 10 minutes, you might want to shut your machine down anyhow.
I actually forgot, there is a power switch to turn pump off near the pump in the harness that came with. That’s the one I used when not pressure washing without having to turn my washer off. Just turn it back on when going back to washing.
You have 12 volt power in the bigger plug connector (7way). It's used when towing RV's. It's a dedicated powers source. I would use it.
If you're using a pump, its pump fed...not gravity fed.
It’s more of the way to complete the action, but I get what you’re saying.
Hey run a high flow splitter on your water intake to prime your pump. After you get it going it will work and you won’t need the 12v for that purpose! Keep grinding!
I got the same issue it flows fine until i hook it up to a 2.5 gpm machine i figured it was something with priming the pump how do you prime it?
Yes I took your advice and it works perfectly now thanks.
@@pydepiperproductionsllcjon7585 your welcome that’s why we have that finest industry we have each others back even if we dont know them.
Question for you sir. Does the splitter go on both the tank and pump? Then run two hoses? With the electric pump on one hose to prime? Then once primed turn off that side and run the other with just gravity? Or is it just a the high flow valve that makes the difference? Having this same problem for my trailer I built. Thank you in advance.
Great video watched it at 8am by 1130 am had a fully working system that looked relatively good thanks for the great info!
Glad I could help. Please subscribe for more helpful DIY videos, tool modifications, truck modifications and train horn stuff coming 👍
Can you show the the piece that's connected to the tote,how you got a hose on there please sir
How about a 12v rv pump? They shut off once the output side is pressurized. Just a though.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I have basically the same Simpson unit and have been doing residential power washing for a year now. Just bought a tote and ran into the same problem (wouldn't gravity feed). You saved me time and money my friend! Thanks again!
Boogie Black this works great, but for a business, I’d either run a 120v pump on a generator or use a gas powered semi trash transfer pump sized for garden hose connection. But to get started with the new pressure washer unit, this gets by. Maybe I’ll make a video on how to do this with a gas pump.l. The pump does hold up, but it’s a pain to always leave the truck running to pressure wash, but hey can’t complain, the setup works and go me out of a jam when I found out my new pressure washer didn’t feed of the tank
@@Subi_doo
After some research I've decide to go that route.
120v pump and a little "tail gator" generator should do the trick. Honestly, nearly all my residential customers allow me to use their water so the pump and tank will be used sparingly for the mobile detailing part of my business. Thanks for the advice.
Boogie Black that’s what I looked into as well. I’m going to build a water setup on a tandem axle trailer and have everything mounted and setup for pressure washing. Dual ibc totes, dual pressure washers, generator, and a water pump big enough to feed both washers at the same time.
Just get a belt drive pressure washer. No pump needed
I just install my pressure washer with gravity flow. Before installing I saw videos that I was going to need a pump to help the gravity. When I installed the pressure washer it did not pressure it and I then assumed I do need the pump.
I hooked the garden hose to see if that was the problem and it did pressure it. Then I hooked again my gravity and it work without the pump. It works everytime now perfect. Maybe it's just air in the lines. My tank has a 1 inch valve and my pressure washer is a honda 4000 psi gas. Works flawless without the pump.
If I used a petrol water pump would the pressure break the Jetwash it spits out sooooi much water without me even turning on the Jetwash machine
Thanks for posting. I was able to get my honda to prime and spray, only after I took the lid off my tote. Psi wasn't what I really wanted. Thank you for posting this solution.
Have a Simpson 3400, it ran perfect from Gravity feed
With this setup with a pump to gas pressure washer does it have enough power to pressure wash concrete ?
As long as the gph matches the gpm of the pressure washer it will function the exact same as if it was hooked up to the house. So yes, if your pressure washer can wash concrete, this will work. I used it to clean walkways at a large home residential neighborhood. Worked awesome.
Wow, I have the exact same washer and I'm about to start a business detailing cars and washing homes. I wondered if I needed a pump. Thanks a lot.
Tristan Edwards no problem.. I found this out getting ready to do a job that these Simpson’s don’t like to be gravity fed. I had a 2300 Simpson that gravity fed for a few days then would never do it again, needless to say I took it back to the store because I though after a week it took a crap, it was probably the gravity feed issue at hand.
@@Subi_doo I'm going to start out with a 12v until I can get a 120v
Tristan Edwards 12v works just fine for small/ medium jobs with a few minites to cool off once in awhile.... I just sprayed it with water every now and again to cool it off... the bad about 12v is that you need to keep the truck running unless you have an auxiliary battery
@@Ready2Ride08 how’ve you been doing dawg
Do you have a vent hole on the top of the water tank? That might be the issue way it won’t gravity feed
I DID NOT ADD A vent hole. I just crack the lid open to release and pressure on the inside of the IBC tote. It won’t feed regardless. Tried it with lid off (fully vented) and no luck. Added a shader valve to the top and added some air pressure into the tank and still no luck. Finally just added a 12v booster pump and it fired right up with no issue.
@@Subi_doo " No vent hole. It won't feed regardless". hahaha go fill a plastic bottle with water and poke a small pencil size hole it it with the lid on...no water drips out unless force is applied. Now take the lid off and water will pour out the small hole.. Its one thing to make a vid to help out the small home owners which is nice but to then mislead people who are asking or relaying their experience expertise to you by saying nah won't change anything is bad. edit* And your pressure washers feed line is way too long and small in diameter. CHEERS
@@superflyguy218 not sure if you can see in the video but when, I run this, I crack the top cap open so it doesn’t create vacuum…. And no, even with a fully open top, it still would not give the pressure washer enough gravity fed pressure to pressurize. Feed line in this video is 2’ long going to the pump. I tried large diameter and smaller diameter hoses going directly to the pressure washer and none worked with this Simpson washer. Only got it to run by adding a booster pump. Not all pressure washers are the same, it seems like cheap ($300, craftsman and Troy bilt) pressure washers had no issue feeding with gravity. The more expensive Simpsons, all of them didn’t gravity feed. I tried multiple versions. I ended up taking one back because I thought it was defective because it would not pressurize. This was the first pressure washer I ever had that didn’t gravity feed. Thanks
Alot of times its because the tote traps alot of air in the line not allowing the pressure washer to pump properly. Simple plug the garden hose in run it like that for a while then immediately plug in your tote feed line. This always solves my issue every time a build a pressure washing rig.
I’m going through the exact problem with the the same exact set up. I’m going to try pressurizing the tank with air
Tried that too. Need to run a lot of pressure and it starts bowing the tote real bad
Take lid off your tank
I had to add a pump to mine too. Nice vid
Thank you.
@@Subi_doo I have the same pressure washer what pump did you use ?
@@edwincendejas8274 www.harborfreight.com/12v-dc-transfer-pump-290-gph-63324.html
UPDATE:1 year and still cranks within the first 2-3 pulls. Probably will buy another when this one finally does bite the dust th-cam.com/users/postUgkx43QMbQqu67IZadu9ou8Sg1BdrunMRNqX . No issues at all. Very happy with it.UPDATE: After 6 months of use and over 70 uses I would still highly recommend this pressure washer. It does vibrate a decent amount but never had it “walk” like others have mentioned. No oil leaks, still seems to run like the day I bought it. Still cranks within 2-3 pulls every time. Very happy with my purchase!Have used it about a dozen times now. Plenty of power, cranks up on 1-2 pulls every time. My only complaint would be I wish it was a little taller to make it easier to walk with it (hits my ankles a lot) and that the two hose connections were a little further apart but it hasn’t caused me any issues. Seems to run a good 1-1/2-2 hrs on a full tank, overall a well built machine and definitely worth the money in my opinion.
I think this is what I also have to do I have the same pump never used it I just bought a ryobi 3300 Honda motor and it doesn’t gravity feed no water comes off ima try this !
I hooked my machine up with a pump from the get go just seemed like common sense if your tank isn’t up higher than the washer I didn’t run to my trailer lights I put a marine battery on and I toss the trickle charger on once a week
Where did you buy the hardness to connect it to your your lights from the truck did the pressure washer come with that setup
I made the Harness using trailer male and female plugs and added a 10 amps fuse in the jumper harness. I then Wired the 12v pump so it could plug into the trailer connector jumper harness.
I'm having a hard time figuring out what you did with the wiring Ince you cut the cables off. I bought the same pump and have watched this several times and can't seem to understand what you did as far as the wiring. Any help would be great so I could get my setup going.
It’s a two wire from the pump. Cut the plug off and wire the leads to the power wire and ground using a matching trailer connector for your truck.
Could u make a quick video on how u have the harness connected
I don’t have the setup anymore, but You just need a 4 or 5 pin trailer connector, a fuse, then locate the ground wire, and the 12v running light. Hook the fuse to the red wire on the pump, and then to the 12v running light on the truck trailer plug, then hook the black wire to the ground and that’s pretty much it.
I have a 4/4200 and run a one inch hose from my tank all the way to the machine water inlet, got a connector from trailer supply to connect it. I can use my gun and surface cleaner with no problems and they are only about 2 feet from each other.
Tried large ID hose and no such luck. Went back to 3/4 and added the booster pump and everything worked fine.
I'd like to run my set up like that do you mind listing all products used to do the connection
That would work with just parking lights turned on or just your hazards
Parking lights, yes. Hazards, no. Hazards would have a pulsing 12v and not a constant.
The power used was the main power for the trailer connector. You can shut the vehicle off and as long as you leave the lights on, the 12v motor will run. I just let the truck run as it’s not good to draw power, leave the lights on and not be recharging during that duration.
where did you get this Small green pump please im from Pa and i have same pressure wqsher 4000 psi and i have to donw comercial work power washing and i have this same tank but where i can get this pump please for 4000 psi
You need to run for that machine a 1 inch pipe to the machine and go down to garden hose with in the last like 6 inches so it would gravity feed I asked my pump manufacturer about this problem
Tried that. No such luck. Tried every thing from 3/4” to 1-1/2” hose with no luck. Pump was the only thing that let my pressure washer pressurize
So I have an inverter generator I was wondering if I got an AC/dc power converter and hooked it up to my pump if that'd be just as good to get power to the pump
Hey bud I’ve got a 65 gallon tank I’m trying to gravity fed it into my DeWalt 3300 pressure washer but nothing comes out when I have the hose hooked to the tank. Once it’s hooked to my house garden hose it throws great pressure. Any help? Am I missing anything on gravity fed?
Sorry forgot to add a buddy of mine runs a 3400 DeWalt and he’s runs perfect on gravity fed
Unless you’re in rural areas with no water, why aren’t you just hooking up directly to the customer’s spigot? If you’re leaving your truck running while using that pump, you’re wasting a lot more fuel. A deep cycle battery would be better to power the pump. Imo
I did work in a rich neighborhood. You’d be surprised how many were really cheap about me hooking up to their water, which is why I got the ibc tote to begin with. Plus, I also did commercial truck washing and having a remote water supply was a huge help.
@@Subi_doo I guess they dont understand that it costs more to bring water
@@cvconnor actually if you think about it mobile detailers have this problem and this works great
What hoses did you use? Regular garden hose from tank to transfer pump, same with transfer pump to pressure washer. Or are the suction hose?
It’s reinforced garden hose to prevent collapsing
assuming if have to run my truck if i wash for 8 hours a day
Did you install that on/off switch yourself or did it come like that? From what I see now, they don’t have that kinda switch on them.
That switch came on the pump. I just cut the jumper cable ends off of it and wired it up to a trailer connector. All you need is any inline powers switch. Look for a lamp switch
Hey what kind of wire set up that you have that has the fuse on it??
Custom jumper harness using negative and power wire from trailer connector with a fuse in the jumper
Wire same problem thank you so much for video
No problem.
@@Subi_doo does yours have the plug or the jumper cables I’m at harbor freight don’t know which to get
@@longtime3941 yeah it does, but I wired it up to a trailer flat plug that matched my truck. Red need be to a constant 12v and the black is to the ground pin. You use the inline on/off switch to turn it off and on.
@@Subi_doo I ended up getting the plug in one
@@Subi_doo yo I bought the pump and it still doesn’t work like dude I’m about to give up
If I wanted to Soft Wash a house which uses bleach and soap mixture in the water, but only had a water tank, and a pressure washer, how would I do that? Just mix the bleach and soap inside the water tank, then attach the pressure washer water intake to the tank?
No, you wouldn’t want to run bleach through your pressure washer. As far as manuals go, my Simpson 4200 psi does NOT handle bleach through the pump and machine. What you’d want to use is a “down streamer chemical injector”. What that does is allow you to pass the bleach and soap through the barrel of your gun. This saves your machine from corrosion and allows you to use chemicals through the tip of your gun only. You’d put the down streamer at your barrel or handle, then run the tubing into a bucket you can carry that will hold the bleach
Can you link the connections you used to plumb the pump
You need 3 female garden hose repair ends. This One to go from the ibc tote to pump inlet ( this section will have a female on each end, make this about 24-36” long). From the pump outlet you have your female connector, you then need a male connector to plug into the pressure washer. Make this hose from the pump to the pressure washer as short as possible, you dont want to stuff a full 25’ garden hose between the pump and the pressure washer. 8-10 feet is good.
I don’t have links, these are just box store parts in the garden section of LOWES
As far as electrical connection, get a 4 or 5 pin flat trailer plug, whichever matches your truck. Red goes to the line that always hot when the truck is on and the black goes to the connector ground line.
@@Subi_doo what connection do you use from the tank to the water hose before the pump like the actuall connection on the plastic ibc tote
@@roberthayes4161 ibc tote to garden hose adapter... mine was a 2” course thread, some ibc totes are fine thread. Here is a generic example:
www.amazon.com/275-330-IBC-Tote-Adapter/dp/B093PTGRGF/ref=asc_df_B093PTGRGF/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=521574499378&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14122051717906222212&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9006934&hvtargid=pla-1276320583823&psc=1
I used it to pressure wash cars but after my 5th car it tuned off and wasn’t working but next day tried it it turned on? Why did it turn off
I use the same pump to transfer SH
Does it stop by it self when turn off the pressure washer ?
No, you have to turn it off, it’s running off direct power from the trailer plug
What if I connect it to a 4000 psi pw will it pull water from the ibc tote or do I still need to get one of those pumps
It depends on the pressure washer. I’ve had some that just feed no issues, and I’ve had the same exact one not feed. Really just depends on the actual washer. Hook it up and find out, worse comes to worse, add a booster pump
Hey I enjoy your video! I have a question. I have the same pump. I have a 2013 Tahoe with a single round pig-tail. If I make a pig-tail like yours hooked into the round connector, that would work the same you think?
I don’t see why not... only difference is the shape. All you need is the constant 12v (running light) and the ground. Either plug has that so I’m sure there shouldnt be any issue.
@@Subi_doo thank you
Hey sir! I've been looking for the inline fuse trailer hook up like you have shown with the pigtail. Where did you purchase yours?
@@mikeb.2169 I made that pigtail
@@mikeb.2169 all it is for my truck is a male and female plush with a online fuse holder big tail and a piece of power wire
Where'd you get the electric pump from?
Harbor frieght
@That Spectrum Guy what are your most common jobs and how do you advertise?
@@Flipping_Assets honestly, i don’t really pressure wash. I got the job because I used to do mobile detailing and someone asked me to pressure wash their walkway. Best way to advertise is your vehicle. Place a sign on it with a phone number. Your basically a moving advertisement and Americans spend a good amount of time driving so you should definitely get a return from just doing that. Have business cards to hand out.
Also make a social media page and put that on your vehicle. Showcase the before and after and place advertisements for discount or sales on your page. Staple waterproof signs to telephone poles, yard stake signs etc. There is so many ways to advertise.
There has to be a reason for this trouble. Call Ameritech In Tampa and I'm sure they will have an answer for you. It looks like you need a bigger supply line for the tank to the pump. Are you using a pressure hose for you supply line? That's your trouble.
I tried all types of feed hoses from 3/4 to 1.5”. I’m guessing its a safety feature built into the pump. Cheap pressure washers work just fine off the tote. The more expensive ones, don like the tote. I’m assuming it’s a run dry feature or a inlet pressure minimum valve/diaphragm installed to protect the unit form inadequate water sources. Just my guess. All I m own it’s that I sized a 12v pump to meet the requirements of the washer and it worked. Sorry I don’t have any more answers.
@@Subi_doo Call Ameritech and ask for Gary, tell him I said to call, he might be able to help you out. Tampa Florida Ameritech pressure washing systems.
What do I need to make a trailer plug(sub harbess) as you did for your set up?
Would I be able to gravity feed a roughly 2000 psi pressure washer setup without extra equipment?
Hey when you ran it . Did you have it that far from the tank ? I thought it would run better if you had it maybe 3 feet away with a 3ft hose instead of a long one like you do in the video .
Of you look close, the pump is fed with a small 2’ hose and then the longer side goes to the pressure washer
Can you feed the pressure washer without the pump or is the pump very necessary
It’s not necessary if your pressure washer runs with out one... only way to know is to hook it up as gravity feed and see if it runs
Thanks for the upload
How many vehicles can you do with that thank of water before refilling it? Trying to have a set up like this to wash my semi truck and flatbed but not sure if that tank is too big for what I need
Depends on how dirty they are... I’ve gotten over 11 cars on a tank. And I’ve done 8-10 trucks on a single fill as well.
Keep in mind, you will use more water on days that are sunny since you will want to continuously wet your truck so nothing dries before you finish washing.
Gotcha. Thanks a lot
Keep in mind, buffet tanks are NOT for hauling water!!! They are a BUFFER!!! It’s simply so water can circulate through the pump at all times while the machine is running.
These pumps are water cooled. So if the machine is running and say the homeowner comes out to ask you questions. So you stop spraying to talk but the machine running, the water inside the pump is no longer circulating. So it builds heat. It only takes a lil heat to make those rubber
O-rings and seals soft and pliable enough to blow out, ruining your pump. So a buffer tank is plumbed in through your “unloader valve”. Again, to keep water circulating at all times.
Has NOTHING to do with hauling water for the job. As you install a float valve in the tank and hook the tank to the customers water hose. So the tank is constantly being refilled, as it’s being used down.
The ONLY use of the buffer tank is to give the machine volume (30-40 gals) of water to circle through, verses the teaspoon full that’s in the pump at any given second.
It takes MUCH longer for the 40 gals to warm up than the small amount inside the pump. Hence this volume creates a buffer to absorb the heat.
Do NOT haul water!!! Always use the customers water. Unless there is a specific job that requires hauling water. In this case, up your price by 3 fold at least. But ordinary you do NOT haul water if you plan to stay in biz for years on in.
I use a 65-gallon barrel because it allows me to stand it up and have enough room on the back of the pickup without needing to carry a trailer. I can fit everything back there. But I have to turn on wet, shut off, attach the foam blaster, shoot, and turn it off. Scrub then rinse but when I rinse I use the pump with a garden hose because it uses much less water than with the pressure washer. But I get about 3 cars to 4 cars like that before I need to refill. I also have a tote that holds around 275 to 300 gallons of water which I would never totally fill because that is a lot of weigh 300 US gal of water = 2503.5 lbs, it says it can carry about 4000 lbs. in the truck bed but Im sure you pay twice as much in gas as to carry that much water a long distance.
If I add the pump will my pressure not reduce while on roofs? I have a problem where pressure comes once and goes until I restart the machine again
Start the pump and then the pressure washer....hold the gun trigger and let the air bleed out. After a second or two, you should not see any pressure drop. If you stop (turn off) your pressure washer, you may have to hold the trigger again when you restart to bleed again, however, once I did this once on the first start up, I did not have to repeat bleeding at any point during the day at the same location. I didn’t have that issue. You may have a leak somewhere letting air In of your letting off the trigger and it needs to bleed again. Make sure your hose connections are good and not leaking. Make sure the crimp or clamp around the barb on the hoses is also in good shape. The other thing is, you may not have a strong enough washer if your on the roof and it has to go through all that hose.... likely your maxing it out and it’s continuously need to catch up.
what is a good set up for washing car, that is gravity fed, and pressure washer being gas.
(mostly for 3 cars on a weekly base)
Whatever pressure washer fits your budget. And I recommend at least 100 tank gallons for 3 cars. I could do 6-8 cars on 275 gallons
what water pump did you use? any link to it?
www.harborfreight.com/12v-dc-transfer-pump-290-gph-63324.html
Awesome video can you send me links to get this setup?
Dude…you don’t need these exact parts…c’mon now.
@@Icutmetal your right
where can i buy the connector
I got the connectors at Tractor supply
What is the exact model transfer pump?
I’m not sure. It’s the only 12v pump HF has to offer.
I’ll find it in alittle.
www.harborfreight.com/12v-dc-transfer-pump-290-gph-63324.html
@@Subi_doo thanks
It is really necessary the water pump?
If your doesn’t feed with gravity, then yes, you need to boost the water pressure into the washer. The video was about a pressure washer not gravity feeding and this is the solution for one that needs help to run because gravity feed is not strong enough for some washers.
Got an Amazon link to that pump?
You can buy that pump at harbor freight near you
Thnks for information
No problem
OK I just had a short look at your pump on your washer and it is small so that is the trouble I'm pretty sure.
Are you talking about the 12v pump or the actual pressure washer pump?
@@Subi_doo I'm talking about the pump on the washer. I have never heard of this problem before, I had a 4000 PSI that was set at 3500 and it had no troubles at all. Cat pump. on a GS390 Honda.
What is the work of the pump?
What do you mean?
awesome bro thanks so much!
No problem.
Use 1in hose Keep the hose short the hose is too long there be too much friction Takeoff the cap on top should run just fine
One of the first things tried. No luck.
Do you have a 1500 or 2500 truck
3500HD
It’s a 2020 GMC Sierra 3500HD crew cab long bed.... with the ibc tote loaded, it levels the truck out, might be a hair under levels, but the truck handled the weight no problem. Also, I had no drive-ability issues from sloshing water. Yes, I’d did rock alittle at a stop for a few seconds, but that’s it. Only downside is loaded up, I was getting 6 miles a gallon.... trading this truck in soon anyhow for the diesel version of this one.
You don’t need a pump water supply is higher than your pressure washer plenty of pressure gravity feeding from tank
With this particular pressure washer, that was not the case. The pump matched to the gpm of the pressure washer, increases water flow and pressure to the inlet of the pump tricking the pressure washer into thinking it was hooked up to a pressurized water supply. The required inlet water pressure was too high for gravity feed. I tried every imaginable solution, but the pump was the only one that worked. Gravity feeding from tank did not provide enough pressure.
@@Subi_doo ok fair enough 👍
@@pauld8009 I’ve had a lot of other pressure washers that gravity fed no problem. This situation was a first for me and it just so happened I found this out a day before I had a job to do. I tried a lot of things, pressurizing the ibc tank, cap of the ibc tank, longer and shorter runs of hose, different diameters, etc. This Simpson was a tough one.
@@Subi_doo ok no worries all the best with it 👍
Quick question. How long can u run this pump efficiently without damaging it?
I’ve gone over and hour. Pressure washing isn’t always blasting water, so periodically shut the pressure washer down and turn the pump off when your moving the unit, repositioning the hoses, moving ladders etc to give it time to cool.
@@Subi_doo Just a thought, a rechargable battery powered camping fan with an 8-12 hour run time per charge is about 20$ on Amazon. Set it up on a wood block, point it at the pump and get extra air cooling to it.
So when it turns off it means it over heated and let it cool?
Get you a DeWalt my guy u won't have to worry about that there AAA pumps pull from the tank no problem I promise
This was a temporary solution, the plan was to build a 7x12 flat trailer into a washer trailer.
I have the same pump and it burned out because when the pressure washer is not drawing the water it will burn out the pump.
Didn’t burn up on me. Still works great.
@@Subi_doo Read what I said, I was using an electric pressure washer which cuts off when not being pressed. I didn't realize that there is no water flow when the pressure washer turns off. But a very intelligent person gave me a good recommendation. He said to add a splitter to the output, connect a hose to one side and run it back into the tank. That way when the pressure washer cuts off the pump will pump the water back into the tank and will still have flow. if the pump runs and there is no water flowing even the tag on the pump says it will destroy the pump.
What pump is this?
www.harborfreight.com/12v-dc-transfer-pump-290-gph-63324.html
If it's not a continuos duty pump thats probrobly why it caught on fire.
It don’t catch on fire? I added a fuse for protection of the truck, not because the pump caught on fire.
Just not enough power. Need a beltdrive pressure washer. Get a belt drive pressure washer 5gpm. No pump needed
This video in intended to help get people started with what they have. 3300 psi more than enough for auto detailing.
@@Subi_doo I completely understand. I'm just providing helping information for the next step to not have to deal with a pump. But thank you for providing informational video to help others with their existing issue
@@123456789mm Thank you. To be honest, the correct way or best way to have a portable setup would be to have a dedicated trailer setup. If I was doing this more than what I do now I definitely would build a pressure washer trailer with heated tanks and soap mixers lol.
@@Subi_doo right... but um you could just add a gear drive to the washer and you wouldn't have to play with all that stuff. Takes like 30 minutes to install.
@@AndYetHereWeAre I could do that as a more permanant solution, but the point of this video was a cheap inexpensive get it running now if your in a jam. Say your pressure washer goes down and you run to the store to grab a new one and find out it doesn’t feed now. This 12v pump was just a harbor freight away and it got me up and running the same day and I was able to accomplish the jobs I needed too. I’m sure I’d have to order that and that would take some time to get. In under and hour I was back up and running.
If it’s direct drive it will not gravity feed
They’re all direct drive. Pressure pumps are pressurized right off the output shaft of the motor
Hey fellow detailer why don’t you just run it on a inverter generator that’s what I do
Pressure washers gas powered the only thing running off of power is the pump. This was more or less a temporary solution until I built a pressure washer trailer
Only belt driven pressure washers will gravity feed.
Not true. This so the only one I’ve ever had that had issues with gravity feeding. All others worked just fine.
@@Subi_doo really I’ve had problems I had to buy a transfer pump to make sure there was enough water flowing to the pressure washer. How do you gravity feed?
Look Good ti me
Not gravity fed!
Beast?? Lmao you only have about 1600 lbs of water in there