Within every power pressure washer lies the heart of the system, that is, the pressure washer pump.
There are two parameters which drives the choice of the pump, namely the PSI and the GPM.
PSI refers to the pounds per square inch of water pressure and GPM refers to the gallons per minute or flow rate of the water.
The former translates to energy consumption in the process of creating the pressure and the latter refers to to the water consumption.
Of course, with a higher GPM, you should be able to complete the task within shorter time frame but costing more on utilities.
Together, these two parameters determine the power and your utilities usage.
When choosing the right unit for your cleaning task, you will need to strike a balance between them in order to optimize the end result.
Take for example, most household cleaning tasks like wall sidings, driveways, patios will require a lower PSI of 2,000 or less to be sufficiently effective.
However, should you be running your own pressure washing business, you will need to tap on the heavier duty units ranging from 4,000 PSI and above.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the key factors that drive the machines, the Pressure Washer Pumps comes into play.
For simplicity sake, we will highlight the two main types of pumps, namely the direct drive, and the belt driven ones.
Direct drive pressure washer pump mounts directly to the motor.
Most are built into the units as part of the components and the drive shaft of the motor is directly driving the pump.
There are lesser parts involved with such units hence they are more compact and handy.
The cost becomes more affordable as well.
However, the built in mechanism of the direct drive shaft tends to create higher amounts of heat and vibrations.
This could cause extended wear and tear if the machines are used over an extended time frame without resting it.
As such, the life span of the direct drive pressure washer pump is comparatively shorter than the Belt driven ones.
Belt driven pressure washer pump on the other hand has more complicated mechanism within the drive assembly and is situated away from the motor by the belt.
There is less heat and vibration impacting the motor and hence resulting in longer life span of the pump.
That said, these units cost more due to the complicated mechanisms and the constant belt replacement requirement.
What you eventually settle for, be it the direct drive pressure washer pump or the belt driven version, depends largely on your cleaning needs.
Running your own pressure washing business requires very different types of machines as compared to home use.