Ok, here's the first of the two threads I promised in my thread about jacking and supporting vehicles.
When we bought Becky (our 2010 Panda Dynamic Eco) a couple of years ago I learned, from this forum, about their liking for rear axles corroding. Right away I thought, Well Becky's doesn't look too bad, I'd better do something about protecting it. Then I did nothing! Some time before Christmas I was in Machine Mart buying grinder discs and other stuff when I remembered reading about the Clarke Water Wash Gun:
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cwg2-water-wash-gun/
I liked the look of it despite having read some pretty derogatory reviews about it. Well, I thought, I'm only going to wash the dirt off the axle and then coat it with something (maybe waxoyl, maybe chain saw oil, don't really know yet) so this has got to be better than a hose? I'd really like a pressure washer but don't want to buy a "cheapie" and can't justify a quality (Kranzle) one. Anyway I bought one although I did wonder if something so cheap could really work. Then it lay about on my workbench until today. Here's the actual one I bought:
Connected up my large bore air hose and water hose (standard connectors just snapped on)
Then turned on the water tap. Oh, that's not good, just a dribble of water. (We have good pressure, around 6 to 8 bar most days being as how we are almost at sea level). I had connected the air hose direct to the air receiver via my large bore air hose so it was at 125psi. Pulled the trigger and a very impressive jet thundered out the nozzle. unfortunately it contained so little water that it had no force (rice pudding skin comes to mind!). Well, looks like the reviews I read were right I thought to myself. Trouble is it's just not getting enough water. Wonder if I can bore out the water jet? Then - stupid me - I noticed a little plus and minus mark on the black fitting holding the nozzle on. OOOH! thought I. Yes, you've guessed it, It was set at minimum! I screwed it round towards "plus" for about two turns - till it stopped - and tried again. Now that's better, lots of water now, still less impressive than my ordinary garden hose though?
Ah well lets pull the trigger then
Wow! Now that's what I thought it should be like! Wonder what it would do to my dirty slabs. I wasn't expecting it to clean like a pressure washer but just look at this:
Pretty good eh? Not quite in the pressure washer league but for just over a tenner I think that's fantastic and is certainly going to do a really good job of cleaning up Becky's back axle. Probably ought to cut the pressure back to the recommended 90 psi though? Damn it, now I really don't have any excuse for not getting stuck in have I? Unless, maybe I should wait for the warmer weather?
The only other comment I would make is it's quite "air hungry". I have a 3hp rated at 14cu ft (so probably about 9 fad) on a 90 litre receiver. It cleaned the bit shown in the picture without cutting the compressor back in but was probably near to doing so.
When we bought Becky (our 2010 Panda Dynamic Eco) a couple of years ago I learned, from this forum, about their liking for rear axles corroding. Right away I thought, Well Becky's doesn't look too bad, I'd better do something about protecting it. Then I did nothing! Some time before Christmas I was in Machine Mart buying grinder discs and other stuff when I remembered reading about the Clarke Water Wash Gun:
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cwg2-water-wash-gun/
I liked the look of it despite having read some pretty derogatory reviews about it. Well, I thought, I'm only going to wash the dirt off the axle and then coat it with something (maybe waxoyl, maybe chain saw oil, don't really know yet) so this has got to be better than a hose? I'd really like a pressure washer but don't want to buy a "cheapie" and can't justify a quality (Kranzle) one. Anyway I bought one although I did wonder if something so cheap could really work. Then it lay about on my workbench until today. Here's the actual one I bought:
Connected up my large bore air hose and water hose (standard connectors just snapped on)
Then turned on the water tap. Oh, that's not good, just a dribble of water. (We have good pressure, around 6 to 8 bar most days being as how we are almost at sea level). I had connected the air hose direct to the air receiver via my large bore air hose so it was at 125psi. Pulled the trigger and a very impressive jet thundered out the nozzle. unfortunately it contained so little water that it had no force (rice pudding skin comes to mind!). Well, looks like the reviews I read were right I thought to myself. Trouble is it's just not getting enough water. Wonder if I can bore out the water jet? Then - stupid me - I noticed a little plus and minus mark on the black fitting holding the nozzle on. OOOH! thought I. Yes, you've guessed it, It was set at minimum! I screwed it round towards "plus" for about two turns - till it stopped - and tried again. Now that's better, lots of water now, still less impressive than my ordinary garden hose though?
Ah well lets pull the trigger then
Wow! Now that's what I thought it should be like! Wonder what it would do to my dirty slabs. I wasn't expecting it to clean like a pressure washer but just look at this:
Pretty good eh? Not quite in the pressure washer league but for just over a tenner I think that's fantastic and is certainly going to do a really good job of cleaning up Becky's back axle. Probably ought to cut the pressure back to the recommended 90 psi though? Damn it, now I really don't have any excuse for not getting stuck in have I? Unless, maybe I should wait for the warmer weather?
The only other comment I would make is it's quite "air hungry". I have a 3hp rated at 14cu ft (so probably about 9 fad) on a 90 litre receiver. It cleaned the bit shown in the picture without cutting the compressor back in but was probably near to doing so.