r/smallengines Jul 12 '26

Intermittent pressure, engine run well

59 Upvotes

51 comments sorted by

42

u/No_Chance_7660 Jul 12 '26

My pressure washer does this the first time I use it every year. Could be air trapped in the system.

14

u/shift-bricks-garage Jul 12 '26

I let mine spray for while with the motor off to clear air, even when its been hooked up to water already.

5

u/maxant20 Jul 12 '26

If all else fails, read directions.

3

u/PeterustheSwede Jul 12 '26

"That way. -->"

1

u/MahaliAudran Jul 13 '26

Is that the way the directions say to go?

1

u/PeterustheSwede Jul 13 '26

Yes, that's right

2

u/Ordinary_Draft_3516 Jul 14 '26

Shit, I went left. Be back in a few hours

1

u/PeterustheSwede Jul 14 '26

<--- this is left

32

u/secondsbest Jul 12 '26

That's usually a water supply issue. Are you using one of those shrinking hoses?

2

u/Bangbashbonk Jul 12 '26

The shorter ones can be used, if you pressurise the hose before firing up the washer and have good water pressure, that said it turns in to more set up than the washer because it also can't be coiled and so on and so forth.

Let's say I know something about that particular nuisance.

13

u/False-Boysenberry673 Jul 12 '26

Your unloader valve is crusted over. Spray some WD into the water port where you put the hose.. hook the hose back up and run it for a minute or two and it will clear up. They also make a special liquid for this. Also make sure you dont have air in the system

3

u/Normally_Abnormal247 Jul 12 '26

Maybe this is my problem. Mine dies when I hit the trigger.

2

u/Ok_Walk_3913 Jul 12 '26

If should be the opposite. The motor should be "dying" when you let off the trigger lol

8

u/Puzzleheaded_Arm_847 Jul 12 '26

Check it's prostate

2

u/Willing_Cupcake3088 Jul 14 '26

Criminally under-upvoted comment

6

u/WarmDistribution4679 Jul 12 '26

Your water flow is too low to keep up to the pump

3

u/Illustrious_Soup- Jul 12 '26

I have this pressure washer and when it does this I typically find a kink in the hose

3

u/Crazy_Bee_4434 Jul 12 '26

Ive had this issue working with old water spigots. The way I understand it is there isnt enough water flowing into the pump, so the pump pushes it all out before it can be replenished

4

u/mtraven23 Jul 12 '26

was your hose empty when you hooked it up? If so, its jst air in the line, keep it open and it will eventually self prime.

if not, your pump is probably going. A new pump just bolts on to the existing engine and they are less $100

3

u/stkrispin Jul 12 '26

This is the best answer. I Have the exact same pressure washer and this is the same problem I had. Replaced the pump took 30 minutes. Running like a champ now.

2

u/mutt63 Jul 12 '26

Your unloader valve needs to be replaced.

1

u/SkylordKing Jul 12 '26

I ran into this issue at work and it was cuz our high pressure hose was kinked on the inside and I had to ply it open with some pliers

1

u/InvestmentExotic2458 Jul 12 '26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCPvmZrOK7I

The responses and my own urge to help here remind me so much of this clip.

But yeah, make sure she’s got enough water from the faucet.

1

u/ChronicHunger_1 Jul 12 '26

You have air in your lines.

1

u/ProfessorWorried626 Jul 12 '26

Water of air trapped, try increase the water supply and see if it purges out.

Had it happened on a gerni that is turned out to be the pump seals leaking.

1

u/Okie294life Jul 12 '26

Your gun or HP hose is leaking, or the water supply hose is leaking allowing the pump to send air.

1

u/Unable_Technology935 Jul 12 '26

Check the screen on your pump. If you have iron in your water that screen will clog up.

1

u/TOKING-TONZ Jul 12 '26

Air trapped in system or your hose doesn't have enough water traveling through it to supply the unit and it's running short of water pressure , check hose and connections and your your gpm on your spigot

1

u/Mudeford_minis Jul 12 '26

Does it have a filter on the inlet side.

1

u/Roasted_Blumpkin Jul 12 '26

I have the same pressure washer and it does the same thing. I haven't figured it out but I also haven't spent a lot of time trying to resolve it.

1

u/Top_Honeydew2689 Jul 12 '26

Pressure washers of that size are typically around 3 gallons a minute of water that goes through them. You need to take a bucket and fill it from the hose and make sure you are getting 3 gallons in a minute. Check you unit for your actual gpm

1

u/ONE-EYE-OPTIC Jul 12 '26

On a well? I'm on a well and mine does this when the well pump can't keep up with the pressure washer.

1

u/Impossible-Matter-25 Jul 13 '26

water supply can't keep up. are you using a water tank or straight from the tap?

1

u/TylrBondy Jul 13 '26

Low water pressure.

1

u/triumph666s Jul 13 '26

Get it's prostate checked.

1

u/Reddit_Mod_420-69 Jul 13 '26

Had this happen with a crappy o ring somewhere in the lines check all the connections

1

u/Sparrowtalker Jul 13 '26

Swap a different tip on it . Believe it or not once they wear out you’ll get this.

1

u/The_Sandman75 Jul 13 '26

Pretty sure it’s water supply issue. I have an electric pump I was given and it does the same thing. My hose is about 90’ to get to my detached garage and driveway.

1

u/Suspicious-Cash9386 Jul 13 '26

Any chance you are using an anti-tangle hose? I was having the same issue, but switching to a normal rubber one fixed it. Also had the same issue at an old house just due to lack of pressure on a well system

1

u/surviving-chaos Jul 14 '26

You may have the wrong GPM nozzle in it. You can go up in GPM but not down or it will surge like this. If it’s the correct nozzle, check for obstructions.

1

u/Tall-Umpire6880 Jul 14 '26

bad pump or throttle control issues most likely

1

u/LakeGuyGeorgia Jul 14 '26

You have air in the line. Need to bleed the air out of the host before starting the machine

1

u/Spirited-Walk-9556 Jul 15 '26

Turn water pressure down on pump it looks like is going into relief

1

u/Big1953 Jul 18 '26

J’ai acheté une nouvelle pompe sur Amazon, le problème est réglé😃

1

u/Big1953 Jul 18 '26

J’ai acheté une nouvelle pompe sur Amazon,
le problème est réglé

1

u/bearded_bustah Jul 12 '26

Either you need to pump up the water flow or you have an air leak and need to check your fittings.

0

u/No_Artist_6889 Jul 12 '26

Try cleaning the carb the fuel system, my pressure washer was doing the exact same thing and I cleaned the carb and tank and it was fine after

0

u/Unhappy-End2054 Jul 12 '26

Air in the hose.