Mobile Car Wash: “What PSI and GPM Do I Need for Optimal Efficiency?” I ask

If you want to run an efficient mobile car wash business, there are a few things you need to know. Not long ago, a vehicle cleaning specialist asked me a very good question. He wanted to know what pressure rating, PSI or pounds per square inch and what GPM (gallons per minute) would be the most efficient in his operations. Let’s take a look at this because it is a very important question.

We always choose the 4.5 gallon per minute, 10-12 hp skid units, then we went to 5 GPM and 17 HP, then many franchisees, who bought additional units for more industrial work, went to 3500 PSI and 22-25 HP.

You see, if you’re doing really big jobs, you’ll need more water, giving you more cleaning units, and hydro-twister-type fixtures perform much better too. For those who need 6 to 7 gallons per minute to really function optimally, and can clean concrete as fast as they can walk, such as mowing with a professional grade lawn mower with sharp blades and state-of-the-art technology. . .

However, when it comes to contract cleaning, it is always a problem with the water supply. If you have a large flatbed trailer with a 500 to 1000 gallon tank, you can use more gallons per minute. We had our units set up where we could take 4.5 gallons per minute, adjust the system to produce just two or 3 gallons per minute below 1500 PSI for clean cars, and then turn it up to 3000 PSI at 4.5 gallons per minute when we are cleaning trucks.

Some of our units had dual hoses and dual rods to clean a lot of cars in car lots, in this case we would bypass the coils and split the water, that way each of the rods / guns got 2.25 gallons per minute. But to maintain the correct pressure, you should change the tips at the end of the guns, as they don’t let as much water out.

And after a while it gets pretty messy so you need an operator who knows what they are doing, and you can’t lose the tips, what happens when quick disconnects go wrong, faulty O’rings (remember the space shuttle ) sometimes skips, especially over time, as brass quick disconnect fittings fail, and even stainless steel quick disconnects don’t last forever.

These are definitely usable parts, have spares with you in your glove compartment or toolbox, and o-rings, extra tips, or “you’ll regret it later” are guaranteed. Nobody likes socks and shoes soaked when pressure washed – brace yourself, be tough on the USMC.

So, in short;

If you are going to wash trucks, go with 4.5 gallons per minute and 3000 PSI with a 12 hp power slip unit in a hot water pressure washer.

If you’re only going to clean cars, choose a 5.0 hp Honda engine with a general pump and do your job between 1500 and 2200 PSI, and look for water volumes of 2.4 gallons per minute, 23 gallons per minute.

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