And then the light came on....

[gus]

I removed the loader from my 420 and backed it into the shop. Crawled under it and removed the loader frame. While doing so, ate a lot of dirt.

Then the light came on ....Why the H*** didn't I wash it first!!!!!

Question: Any place the high pressure washer SHOULDN'T be used besides the electrical system?? I will be driving it back outside and pressure washing it this weekend.

It is going to get a complete tear down. I really like the frame Lavoy has under the tractor he is working on. I may have to move mine at times also as I'm dry walling the shop while I'm also working on the tractor. It will be in the way some times.

[K LeClair]

gus,
Sometimes I wonder the same thing about pressure washing.Should I or shouldn't I pressure wash in certain areas??Well,I have pressure washed MANY things ranging from dirtbikes/ATVs to engine compartments in my truck.Oh yeah and my 350B several times.Go for it!!Its just common sense I believe.Obviously dont don't point the gun at the instrument panel or stick it in the alternator Seriously,I have never had a problem due to pressure washing.Common sense is all you need!!!!!

[rvbarkley]

This probabely goes without saying....but I wouldn't reccomend hitting your radiator with a pressure washer. I learned the hard way !! Roger B.

[Ray III]

It's a good idea to remove spark plug wires and wrap the distributor in plastic.

Other electrical parts can handle some water, but be careful as some parts (gauges) are meant to be watertight and pressure washers will blow water past the seals.

Stay away from decals, only use a light spray with them and be especially careful if the water is hot.

[emmett]

I pressure wash tracks and undercarriage but on the control surfaces, engine and winch, I use an old trick I learned in the Navy (on helicopters)....

I grab a pawful of GOJO (hand cleaner) and smear it on the engine surfaces etc.. Let it sit for 10 minutes... have at it with a bristle brush and rinse with a garden hose... repeat... works great, strips the grease off, the paint stays on and it makes them wires look nice and new too....

Chemistry trumps power in that case.

Emmett

[stmftr395]

Emmett; great hint. I will be trying it before my project is complete. Mark

[Ray III]

If you have a steam cleaner rather than a cold water pressure washer, it will strip grease in a hurry as well as dirt. It's great if you have to paint a whole machine because it removes every last spot of oil.

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Oh, yeah! I am the Master of the Steam Cleaner! That was my job at the old tractor shop starting about the time I was 10.

The grade school was across the street from the shop. My schoolmates would see me steam cleaning all sorts of stuff on a daily basis. Dad didn't like to work on grimy things if he could help it, you see. I rode to and from with him, so there was 3 hours each day after school and before his quitting time that I had to kill. So, keep the kid busy out in the shop yard where you can keep an eye on him was dad's thinking.

So, I was nicknamed 'steamer', which was a double pun since there was also a Stanley Steamer car once upon a time.

I can attest that a steam cleaner will clean circles around a pressure washer and yet never get water into things that don't like water in them - like bearings, bushings, clutches, and the like. They will also remove the worst caked on crud in a heartbeat - can anyone say 'manure spreader'?

You do have to watch the angles, though. One learns all about angles of incidence and reflection with one of these things. Guess where the crud goes if one gets the angle wrong??? Yuck! I suppose I ought to be glad that the kids called me 'steamer' and not 'crappy' (or worse)!!!

The pressure washer is the lazy modern method. No one wants to wait for the gas burner to heat up the water in the boiler before they can clean.

Later!

Stan

[CELSESSER]

Stan,

I have seen Hot water pressure washers but not a STEAM Washer. It sounds like it puts out raw steam or steam and really hot water under pressure. How much pressure and can you still get or make a small unit?
The angle of incidence issue is the same with the pressure washer!

Chuck

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

It's a lot like a pressure washer in that it has a water pump on a motor, but the water is run thru a boiler and so spits out both steam and water. It spits out less liquid water than a pressure washer but the pressures are in the same range.

I think of a pressure washer as being a steam cleaner missing the steam part.

The hot steam is much better at removing the crap (literally) than the cold water pressure washers are. However, they do cost a lot more as that have that boiler. Ours was a gas fired boiler with a gasolene engine to power the pump, all on a water tank with wheels so I could go to the machine to clean it, rather than bring the machine to the washer.

Northern Hydraulics (aka Northern Tool these days) still sells them, as does our local uber farm store areound here (Agri-Supply). Here's a link to one on Northern's website that looks a lot like the JD branded one we had way back when:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/ ... _200322212

Later!

Stan