You need to move it closer, or get a stronger pump. I will show you in this article how and what pressure washer you need with water from a bucket. If you use the suction hose in a lake or pond, use a stone with some rope to keep the suction hose in place at the needed depth. More budget-friendly pressure washers often need a pressure of around 20 PSI and 1 GTM. Now that we have the disclaimer out of the way, lets get to the actual process. There are pressure washers and even power washers with their water supply. Theres often a filter or even just a little filter screen at the inlet of the pressure washer itself. Income School LLC also participates in affiliate programs with ShareASale, Avantlink, Impact and other sites. If youre using your pressure washer right by the lake where your pump is, you may be able to use the supply hose for the pressure washer directly on the pump or filter outlet. The filter in the pump or the suction hose will lower the dirt and small particles reaching the water and pressure washer pump. The hose connects to either the pump outlet or the filter outlet (if you connected the filter directly to the pump) exactly like you would connect a hose to a hose bib at your house. Depending on the location, you can use some duck tape or tie wrap. If a lower PSI will still get the job done they have an 18v version that is designed to work from a bucket or a hose. All Karcher pressure washers can work with running water from a hose. Ensure that your pressure washer uses a good quality inlet filter, so no impurities from the bucket can find their way to the pump. Pressure washers with a lower input pressure are the same models that can also work with a sucket hose. Keep in mind that the length of the hose is not really long, so you need to place the pressure washer really close to the water. Its important to replace the oil in your pressure washer to ensure it lasts as long as possible and works properly. I'm not sure if it will work with a bucket of water, but something to consider: They move 1.2 Gallons Per Minute of water. These are mostly gas models that have a belt-driven pump. There are both electric and gas options. Some people tried to use the suction hose to pump water from a lake as well. This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Since your water supply is different from what your pressure washer was designed for, there are a few things you should watch out for. It can be used with a max temperature of 104 F. To achieve the best results. Ryobi Tools Subredditfor Ryobi enthusiasts. Some helpful tips, Using a submersible pump to use water from a pond or lake for your pressure washer, Step 1: Use a submersible or a pump with a suction hose, Step 4: Connect the filter output to the pressure washer inlet, Step 5: Turn on the pressure washer and start cleaning. Karcher also sells the SH3 suction hose that can be used with the earlier mentioned K4 and K5 models. Most other models like the K2, K3, or K1700-K2000 models can not use this. Can you lay a pressure washer on its back? After all the above steps are completed, turn on the water pump and then the pressure washer. But if you can run the pressure washer downhill from the surface of the lake, then you can fill the hose with water and use the drop in elevation to keep a steady flow of water going to the pressure washer. A lot of people will try and run their pressure washer off of straight lake water using only the washers built-in pump. Still, there are a few things you should watch out for. If you have a clog, its most likely at one of the filters. Its likely, though, that either your main filter that we installed after the pump, or the screen on the inlet side of the pump, is clogged. Youre ready to go! The Karcher SH3 suction hose has a length of 9.8 feet (3 meters). Not all pressure washers can be used with a suction hose. So to prevent damage, well use a pump to move the water out of the lake and supply it consistently to the pressure washer. Another method to increase the pressure from the water source is to use an additional pump. However, this isnt exactly the typical case. By using this website I agree with the Disclaimer, How to run a pressure washer from a bucket? This pump I recommend (affiliate link) does have a filter screen for larger debris, but the pump is designed to handle anything smaller than 1/8 inch. Now, just follow the normal operating instructions for your pressure washer. As mentioned earlier, use a short and wide hose. Lake water will contain a lot of dirt and small particles. Alternatively, you can use a strong construction to lift it from the ground. The next step is to attach a hose to the pump. If you use a submersible pump, ensure that the filter is clean. If the pressure started out okay but got worse after use, youre probably losing pressure because of a partial blockage. This will make it less effective, and could damage it if it causes it to run dry. link to How to Drain Oil from a Pressure Washer (Easy Guide). Some users claim success with specific electric pressure washer models and some gas models with a belt-driven pump. To use a pressure washer with water from a bucket, you need a suitable suction hose. If you notice that it is much lower, you have two options. , such as the K4 and K5 models. Depending on your situation, you can use an electric model or a gas pump. If this is not the case, increase the height of the water source to increase the pressure. Ensure that the output pressure (PSI) and amount of water (GPM) match the requirements of your pressure washer. I bought this Superior Pump (affiliate link) off of Amazon specifically for pumping water out of lakes and streams. Silt and sand can be abrasive for both the hose that leads up to your washer and the washer itself. To use water from any source, the output pressure (PSI) and amount of water (GPM) are important. To increase the water pressure from a gravity assist source, you have to increase the height between the water and the pressure washer. When youre choosing your pump its important to make sure that it can supply at least as much water as your pressure washer uses. Step-by-Step guide, Can you use a Karcher pressure washer with a bucket? But I get many questions if it is also possible with their current pressure washer. The most expensive part of this whole system is the pressure washer itself. These are mostly gas pressure washers. Find how to fix your Lawnmower issue with our Lawnmower Troubleshooting tool. Always ensure that your pressure washer has a good quality inlet filter. We like to help other people maintaining their garden and find cool products to write about. You definitely can draw water from a lake to use in a pressure washer. Theres a few things that could cause low pressure here, but the most likely one is elevation change between the lake and the washer, or the washer and the end of the hose. Always use an inlet filter on your pressure washer. If your pressure washer does not have one, purchase a good quality one. Do NOT ever run your pressure washer without water in the system. A pressure washers pump, however, is prone to damage from even a small amount of air that gets into it. How to Drain Oil from a Pressure Washer (Easy Guide). Before starting, check and clean the inlet filter. A pressure washer running dry is not good for the pump. Even so, I strongly recommend filtering the water before it gets to your pressure washer. Then we take the size of the bucket in gallons (5) and divide it by the number of minutes. The scenario where this does work is where you can have the pressure washer itself close to the lake, but lower in elevation than the water level. But my experience is that they will work fine with lower pressure. Now connect the other end of the hose to the inlet hose of your pressure washer. Together we put a lot of effort into the maintenance of our gardens over the last few years, we become obsessed with it. Now run the pump until water starts coming out the other end of the hose, then turn it back off. Income School LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. It is important to check that the pressure and amount of water is sufficient for your pressure washer model. What you are asking "can" work under a specific set of conditions: There can be NO AIR in the water line from your water source to the pressure water. With helpful tips, How to Fix a Pressure Washer That Wont Start. Similar if you use a pump with a suction hose. The question is, is it feasible to use a lake to supply water to your pressure washer. Water from various sources will generally have more dirt than water from an ordinary faucet. For example, if it takes 1 minute, 36 seconds (96 seconds) to fill a 5-gallon bucket, then we first convert to minutes in decimals by dividing 96 by 60. It could also caused by partial clogging or blockage of a filter. I definitely recommend it as the best option I could find for the price. Pressure washers that can use it are primarily belt-driven gas pressure washers and a few electric models, like the Karcher K4 and K5 models. To minimize pressure loss in the hose, use the shortest hose possible. The water source HAS to be higher that the pressure washer. What are the options to gravity feed your machine, and how to use water from a pond or lake? A hose with a wide diameter and the lowest number of bends helps as well. At this point, well connect a hose to run from the pump and filter over to your pressure washer. You can check the output pressure with a pressure gauge. This means that your pressure washer should be close to the water source, as part of the suction hose will be in the water as well. For some, it works fine. You should turn off the pressure washer right away. Do not use the pressure washer with no water. Only specific models that work with a suction hose like the SH3, can get water from alternate sources like ponds, water buckets, or tanks. Can I use this with a bucket of water? Also, most models with a belt-driven pump will work fine. The best pumps for this are submersible pumps. It cost me less than $60, which was absolutely work it to not destroy my pressure washer which cost a lot more. Most pressure washer pumps are not strong enough to suck up water from a source that is beneath your machine. The results are mixed. So its important that before you start the pressure washer, you have the water running steadily to the pressure washer. If the top of the bucket is lower than the waters surface, then as you run your pump and pressure washer, the bucket will refill with water that will have less silt in it than if you ran it right on the ground. Check if all is working fine. Or increase the pressure. It added so little to the cost of my setup and, again, is going to protect my pressure washer, which is the most expensive component of this whole setup. Additionally, you need a pressure washer suction hose. Whoever owns or controls the lake makes the rules. This dirt is harmful to the pressure washer pump. If there isnt debris, its possible that theres not enough water getting to your pressure washer, which means your pressure washer is probably too far uphill or too far away from the pump. But most will work fine with slightly lower pressure. If theres much air in the line, then the pump wont keep pulling water, and running the pump dry could cause cavitation which can break the pump really quickly. If you find that theres debris on at any of these locations, just clear it away and youre ready to get started again. If you still need to purchase a suction hose, check that the host is long enough for your situation. Can you run a pressure washer from a bucket: In general, only specific pressure washers can use water from a bucket. Because of this, its important to filter out debris so it wont be a problem, even if the water in your lake looks pretty clear. But thats actually pretty risky, and could destroy your pressure washer. Whether its gas or electric, you can start it up and start spraying. There can be many reasons why you would like to use your pressure washer from a bucket. But ensure that it can bear the tanks weight, including the water. Its specifically for using with a pressure washer, so it filters out things that would be too big to go through a pressure washer. If your pumps GPM isnt high enough, the pressure washer wont be able to sustain the amount of pressure that it usually does. A pressure washer needs a minimum pressure and amount of water to work well. I'm considering getting this power washer, but my intended environment does not have a hose nearby. https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-1800w-2000psi-pressure-washer_p6210779. If you use a suction hose to get the water from the water source, you can only use specific gas and electric pressure washer models. Theoretically, there should be very little stopping you from using that water for your own purposes, like blasting water at high speed through a pressure washer. So 1 minute, 36 seconds equals 1.6 minutes. What the Pros Say. To use a pressure washer from a bucket, use the following steps: Generally, you can gravity feed a pressure. In most situations youll just need a simple pump and filter to prevent damage to your pressure washer. Cleaning objects with no faucet close, or you are in a remote location. I actually just connect this filter right to the top of the pump, but you can also attach it to the pressure washer inlet. Some Karcher pressure washer models can be used with a bucket or other standing water source. And of course, respect any signage at the lake itself. You can use a regular water pump for this. Here are a few symptoms you should watch out for to make sure that you arent hurting your pressure washer: If your pressure washer starts sputtering, so water isnt coming out steadily,this could indicate a clog somewhere or that you dont have enough water getting to the pressure washer inlet. Lakes: as the story goes, theyre absolutely full of water. A regular garden hose will do the job for this, since the pressure from the submersible pump falls well within the working range of a typical garden hose. Some helpful tips, Can a pressure washer draw water from a lake? Ever. That way the hose is at least mostly filled with water when you connect it to the pressure washer. My experience is that most budget-friendly models do not work well with it. The amount of water the pump can supply depends on how far uphill it has to pump, so to be safe, you can use a stopwatch to time how long it takes to fill a bucket and calculate the flow. One is to use a pressure washer that can work with lower pressure. In some places local governments or even private companies control access to the lake. If the pressure seems low from the start, its mostly likely the elevation gain, in which case youre going to need a more powerful pump to make sure youre getting plenty of water pressure to the pressure washer. The suction hose includes a filter to prevent debris from entering the pressure washer. Press J to jump to the feed. https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ONE-18-Volt-320-PSI-0-8-GPM-Cold-Water-Cordless-Power-Cleaner-Tool-Only-RY120350/312453233?modalType=drawer. For each foot of elevation gain you lose 0.43 PSI (plus a little more due to friction between the water and the inside of the hose). If your pressure washer can use a suction hose, it is easy to use it with a bucket. But your pressure washer isnt. Others did not manage to make it work. Here is exactly how to set up your pressure washer to be able to use it with water from the lake. Usually, youll be using the pressure washer on the dock or on the ground thats usually higher in elevation than the surface of the water.