The pumps overheat easily if you don't keep water flowing. NEVER run it
without water and don't leave it running without flowing water for more
than a one or two minutes. They're full of plastic valves which melt.
I know because I melted mine. I had to rebuild the pump, got a kit for
about $40 from pwmall.com. The lube is "special" and the mfr said only
to use what they recommend. Mfr was an Italian company. No recommended
change interval - if you need new lube you likely need a new pump. If
you've worn out - versus melted - the pump, you likely need a new
engine. Outside the plunger assembly, the plumbing on mine was pretty
simple and easily disassembled and reassembled with normal hand tools.
There's a check valve in the detergent siphon circuit that shuts it off
when you're in high pressure mode. If siphon doesn't work then likely
that check valve is stuck. The pumps build up hard water deposits very
quickly. I also learned to store mine "properly" for the winter by
squirting it with the pump lube.
The "consumer" washers seem to have a limited life of around 300 hrs
from what I read. The "commercial" units have much longer life and are
more tolerant of abuse, but cost 4 times as much. You get what you pay
for. The engines are typically not the same as lawn mower engines even
on the consumer units. Because they're at full power most of the time
they're built to be more durable. Don't know why that would make it any
harder to find a manual or parts though. Most of the places I found
with parts had engine and pump parts. I'm guessing the carb and ignition
is no different from most B&S engines.
Ben....
Ben Zwissler
bjzwissler at gmail.com
Columbus, IN
1966 Triumph TR4A
1973 MG Midget
1980 Triumph TR8
2007 Mazda RX8
2002 Yamaha FZ1
2003 Honda ST1300
On 4/6/2011 3:54 PM, Obaa wrote:
> I recently "inherited" a gas power washer last night. My FIL bought it many
> years ago and kept it in his shed. He tried to start it this past weekend
> with
> no luck, gave up, and bought a new one. So now I have this one...
> It is
> a "Generac" brand washer, with a Briggs&Stratton engine and some unknown
> pump
> (it looked like there was a label on it, but I didn't take a closer look).
> My first thought is to pull the carb and degunk it (I'm sure it's nasty in
> there). I'm sure I'll want a new plug/filter/oil, etc.; is there somewhere
> that
> lists various tune-up information for the B&S engines? I thought I'd be
> able to
> find it with a quick search, but the engine model information listed
> on the
> sticker doesn't turn up any hits.
> Also, is there any maintenance
> required for power washer pumps? It looks like
> there is some sort of
> lubricant that can be changed, but no indicator of oil
> type or volume. It
> looks like a lot of used power washers are listed on CL with
> some sort of
> pump issue, so I figure I should give it a once-over just in case.
> I was told
> by my FIL that the detergent siphon wasn't working, so I don't know
> if that
> is indicative of anything. Thanks for any hints/tips....
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
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