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Warning: I ruined 3 pressure washer pumps before I learned the real trick

For two years I ran my pressure washer without ever checking the oil. I figured if it was full from the factory, it was fine. After burning through 3 pumps in 18 months, a neighbor who does landscaping asked me when I last changed it. I felt pretty stupid. Now I change the pump oil every 50 hours, and my current unit has lasted over 2 years. Anyone else learn a basic maintenance thing the hard way?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelamurphy17d ago

Ha! I'm gonna push back on this one. Running a pressure washer without oil changes isn't necessarily a death sentence. Most of those cheap pumps are garbage from the start. I've got an old Honda washer that's been kicking for 7 years and I've checked the oil maybe twice. Never changed it once. The real trick is buying a quality unit with a commercial grade pump. My neighbor's fancy pump failed at 100 hours with religious oil changes. It had a bad seal from day one, and all the oil swaps in the world couldn't fix that. You might have just had bad luck with three lemons in a row, or maybe you were running them dry or with crappy water pressure. Oil changes are nice, but they're not a magic fix for poor design.

quinn34116d ago

Wait, wouldn't a quality pump with good seals still benefit from fresh oil though? Oil breaks down over time just sitting in there even if you never run it hard.

adam18616d ago

Changed my mind honestly, you might be right about the Honda quality.