Well, I think my pressure washer is having some issues.

Its a CAT pump that is suppose to produce 4 gallons a minute and around 2000 psi but there is no way it is producing anywhere near that.

I removed the one way valves(6 total) and didnt find anything wrong with them to speak of.

I was wondering if any of you have had any experience with these units which may save me some time troubleshooting.


Thanks


Jason

 

no experience with those specifically, but I would check the inlet screen to make sure its not cloged and starvign the pump for water.
Make sure your supply water is full on to give adiquite supply.
add a guage on the pressure side to see what kind of pressure your getting.
Make sure your engine is running at proper speed.

 

http://www.catpumps.com/ go to that web site and pull up a parts diagram, make sure your unloader valve has all the proper parts in the right place. another thing if it has been loosing pressure over a period of time it may be as simple as a worn out tip. hopefull y that works. their are so many things that can be wrong worn seals, clooged inlet screen worn out nozzles, bad unloader valve(pressure valve), worn pistons/valves. check those that site out an dtry to make sure the tips are ok and the unloader is not bypassing. hopefully it is one of those two, another thing i just thought of is is your water supply still good enough for it. keep us informed. I spent 2 years working on and off on these pumps, great pumps but a pain to fix.

 

I removed the line from the unloader and fired up the pump to see if it was bypassing which it wasn't so all the water that the pump is producing is going to the wand.

I replaced the wand and a new tip which is rated at 4 gallons, the same as the pump but I know for a fact that the pump is not producing 4 gallons a minute.

I havent checked the inlet screen but when i remove the line to the unloader the water flows through the pump like gangbusters but I will check the screen anyways just to mark it off the list.

Thanks for the link and the words of advice, i will see what they have there..


Jason

 

Well, the inlet screen is not the issue so I am at a loss as to what might be wrong with this thing.

I think I may end up pulling the pump portion of this unit off and having a look to see what the heck is going on.

Anyone know what the common problems are with these units?


Thanks


Jason

 

I can tell you that we have had two of their units. Both are now done. The last one lasted for about 5 hours use, but the Honda engine runs good still .

We called the company that made the unit, and found that there is a two year warranty on it. The manual states one year.

If by chance it is made by DeVilbliss APC, their number is 1-800-888-2468.

They are helping out with ours, just needed the normal S/N, Model, and purchase date.

HTH

ED

 

if it is a piston pump then the seals wear out from dity water, and or the cereamic pistons. remember to torque the head bolts down properly in the sequence or else you will warp it. are you getting any pressure out of it. try changing the tip size and use a smaller tip. you wont get 2000psi at 4 gals a min.

 

What is the model# on your pump? 2000psi @ 4gpm could be a 5cp2140 or a 3cp1120. I'm not sure what you're used to, but 2000psi @ 4gpm doesn't normally feel like much anyway. We have units ranging from 1500psi @ 3gpm to blasters rated up to 36,000psi @ 50gpm.

To comment on sherod's post; The only way you would not get 4gpm out of a unit that is rated @ 4gpm is by having a poor water supply. Water is like blood to a pump. If you are not getting enough water you can destroy the entire head. Plungers, seals, valves, and cups all die because of heat. The best way to explain it to us dieselheads is just like the VP44. The positive flow of water keeps the head cool and extends its service life indefinitely. Our oldest units with over 10,000 hours have never had the pumps touched in 6 years and are still performing right at spec every time.

If you really need help PM me and we'll get it figured out. If it comes down to it you could probably rebuild the pump yourself in less than an hour. They're really simple and parts are fairly cheap if you buy them right.

 

I'm sorry it wasn't sherod's post it was 03 ant a hemi's with repsect to the volume. Even with a smaller tip the volume will remain constant. Always use the correct tips for your unit.

 

you wont get 4 gpm if you use a smaller tip meaning higher pressure. the flow will be restricted some what to a lesser extent. We tried all types of different measurements with tip sizes and came to the conclusion that if you want 4 gpm then you need a free flowing tip larger one. if you wanted high pressure then you needed the proper tip size to match the rate. why am i saying this. well we had a customer whom used a generic tip from another pump on his cat that was out of size for the gpm and the pressure. he thus lost 500psi on the pressure side. once we installed a proper sized tip he regained the pressure again. (this was after an exhausting amount of work on piston replacement and such), but the flow was cut down. They have different tips for different jobs on these pumps. for example they will have high pressure tips,medium and then soaker tips they will dramatically change how many psi will come out of the end along with the gpm.

i am not trying to say wrong or right on what it may or may not be, i would be concerned about the water supply, as stated by smokindog. it is pretty hard to diagnose unless you have the pump in front of you. unless you want to change parts. their can be so many things that can be wrong, if you want to pull the whole pump apart and replace the pistons and such go ahead. you can take the measurements of them. If it was working one day and not the next then i suspect it is the unloader valve is not working properly, maybe something stuck inside of it. keeping it form working properly, or even maybe a seal inside of it. in the end yo umay end up replacing all the parts in it, all the pistons and seals. plus the unloader. good luck and let me know what it was in the end.

 

i forgot to ask what is the pressure that it is producing, if you dont have a gauge then add one on. (kinda compare it to a diesel truck fuel pressure gauge. you can diagnose a proplem before it becomes one.) what type of water do you use, well water, city water. is it grity or high calcium. if you dont have any pressure it might be eroision from your tip. yes gritty water will erode the tip down.