Plumbing a New Pump
I was going to wait till later this week for this entry but weather is breaking and I thought I may not have time to get it in, so I thought I would just do it now.
Since I have been in the power washing business I have always done my own maintenance and repairs. Coming form a mechanical background, I worked machine shops, lathe operator, welder, motorcycle mechanic and tech, I have the field well covered. I have worked and reworked some or our equipment to make it easier to use, repair, and just to please me. I visit our local power / pressure washing suppliers quite often to pick up parts and fittings. One of the salesmen once said I was the only customer that could come in and pick and plumb an entire unit with out help. If I had to wait on getting it fixed or repaired I could loose some business. Knowing what to do is a must even field repairs can be made to last or even to just get you finished with a job.
I do allot of thing that are not required but will help in the long run. I'm using the term replumbing though I'm just plumbing it since it came preplumbed. Confused yet? Well I hope you understand more by the time the entry comes to an end. Some of the things I add in or on are just for me, things would work fine the other way but I went in and had to change them for a few reasons. This entry is about one replumbing job and why I changed thing and how. To set things up I needed to rebuild a pump and to replace an ageing unloader that was starting to stick at the end of the last washing season. Which boils down to loss of pressure and could not relay on the unloader to cycle correctly. Normally I would just rebuild and replace worn parts but there was a "Christmas Special" on from the good folks at The Power Wash Store, (that no one could beat plus they are good folks to deal with) the General EZ4040 which came with everything ready to bolt on and go.
The EZ4040 pump is made by General Pump and is rated at 4000 psi putting out 4 gpm and comes fully plumed with unloader and safety pop-off ready to work or mount in even in the field. I believe it has a manufacture's 5 year warranty.
With the sale price it worked out being not much more expensive to have everything new than to buy a rebuild kit, new valves, and a new AR style unloader and them still put it all together. The new pump was unboxed and I was ready to put it on.
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| Unboxing the new EZ4040 that will soon be mounted to one the the hot water units used by Cleaned by Pete. |
The first step was to remove the old pump and unloader from the motor. It was one of the rare days this winter when it was nice enough to work outside. You can see we could do this in the field, without any extra work and with hand tools if a pump should go down. Four main bolts hold the pump in place and a setscrew securing the key way, removing pressure lines and other fittings may be needed. Since I had streamlined this pump with "quick connects" and the AR style unloader just pumped back in to the head this unit was quickly pulled off after the removal of the pressure switch. I don't care for this style of unloader for a couple of reasons one is you can not plumb it to a reserve tank, I feel they get hotter quicker since they recycle the water in such a small area. and lastly you can not put them where you want them to be. They must be mounted to the head of the pump.
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| Cleaned by Pete removing the old pump and unloader, You can see this pump and unloader are not as robustly made as the new General Pump. This pump has worked for us for the last 4 or 5 years after, I put in new head bolts (larger stainless steel allen head bolts), different valves, reworked the downstream injector, added quick connects, and had to fix the packing shortly after buying the unit. |
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| With a few tools I stripped the old pump off. |
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| Cleaned by Pete working in his out door work shop taking advantage of a rare warm winter's day, "repairing and replumbing one of the hot water units with a new EZ4040 pump form the Power Wash Store. |
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| Removal of the pump, the key-way and pressure switch: tools needed a socket and socket wrench metric size to remove and standard American to replace, Allen-set and a wrench to fit the pressure switch. You will see Cleaned by Pete's tools section will start to grow in later pictures |
The pressure switch seen above, is a switch that closes a electrical connection when pressure is built in the pump. When this connection is closed by pressure and will let the burner turn on to heat the water in the boiler coil. This ensures the burner will not be on if pressure is not being built or if the unloader is open. Running only when needed and not over heating the water which could be dangerous.
The next step is to fit the new pump in or on the 15 HP motor. The pump is ready to go to work as soon as it is mounted, but I just need to make a few changes before I would be what I wanted to work with.
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| EZ4040 in place all plumbed form the box ready to go. Cleaned by Pete just wants to make a few changes. |
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| Cleaned by Pete changing over to a new EZ4040 General Pump |
I temporarily hang the pump using some small bolts to check for fit and spacing. Remember the pump would have worked and been OK and ready to go as in the photo above. I use the female quick connects off a pump or hose-reel, no problem I could just change out the last fitting to a female quick connect but I wanted to make it just a bit easier to use for my own taste. I also like a longer bypass hose to help reduce the shock of the unloader coming on and off. I prefer a remote unloader block to reduce vibration of the motor and pump, and I wanted to keep things streamlined, nothing hanging out to snag or grab me as I walk by. Making things easier for myself, seems to make thing go faster and more efficiently. I just had to change a few things. I had most of the parts in stock in my repair and replacement bend so this is what I did.
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| Installed the pressure switch then installed the key-way and the pump (still using to small temporary mounting bolts on the pump). I then stripped off the unloader, inlet, and bypass hose. Cleaned by Pete fitting and plumbing a new pump. |
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| There was a port for the pressure switch just had to remove a cap and screw in the pressure switch fitting using Teflon tape. |
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| By using a remote unloader block I have the option of where to place the unloader on the units surface where I found the best fit. Connecting hoses and fitting things to see if I like it and if it will be easy to get at or repair if needed. Cleaned by Pete has changed the end to a quick connect female, temporary hung the unloader in place and is checking the placement of the hose lines. |
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| Running a longer pressure hose to the unloader will reduce some of the shock when pulling the trigger and letting off. I have always felt this helps to make the pump and system last longer. Using the brass 90* fitting with the "smooth transition" will help to keep maximum pressure, I'll fit the high pressure line to the remote mounting block. |
With the use of a drill and two 1/4" bolts I was able to locate the remote block up higher on the frame, instead of having it on the pump head. With the use of a 6000 psi section of hose and a smooth flow 90* brass fitting I could move the unloader to a better location. I found a spot where I would be able to remove the unloader or its components easily with out trouble or hassle of other thing in the way, and still use existing hoses for the boiler.
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| Adding the longer return line helps a bit to keep things cooler. In the picture you can see Cleaned by Pete still needs to put on hose clamps, on the return line just to make sure it doesn't pop off. |
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| Unloader view from the top; plumed to the remote block, pressure switch, pop off valve, and all lines in place everything is starting to take shape. Cleaned by Pete Springfield MO. |
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| Cleaned by Pete is putting on a new EZ4040 General Pump and has moved the unloader to a different location. You can now see I have everything streamlined and a bit more tidy, if you look closely you can still see the temporary mounting bolts in place soon to be replaced with the larger mounting pattern 3/8" bolts the pump came with. |
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| A view form the top, The high pressure line leads to the boiler coil but if I wish I can run cold water washing from this point not having to run it through the coil keeping up optimal pressure. Cleaned by Pete pluming in a new EZ4040 pump his way. |
By reading the captions under each photo you'll start to understand why I did this. I feel I now have the ease of repair and reducing ware on the pump. The unit is a bit more streamlined do to the larger more rugged construction of the pump that took up a bit more space. Getting away form the AR style unloader which now means I have the choice to use or not to use the burner coil for heating water or keeping pressure up to the max if using just cold water by hooking in my hose at the unloader. I have the remote block to take and reduce any vibration on the unloader this is just one of my pet peeves I just hate the unloader sticking out of a pump sticking off the motor, jiggling around. There is nothing wrong with it but it is not for me. Longer bypass and high pressure lines with sweeping curves help to keep things cooler and keep the shock from triggering on and off. I also have removed the red oil shipping cap replaced it with the yellow oil dipstick / cap. Tightened the setscrew on the keyway and replace the small temporary bolts with the 3/8" bolts that were included with the new pump to secure the pump to the motor. All fittings were wrapped with Teflon tape to insure no leakage.
We tested the pump for leaks the next day and set the unloader to the proper level of pressure using a gauge and the proper nozzle size. Cleaned by Pete is now ready to do some cleaning, with this hot water unit. Hoping it give us another 4 or 5 years of service.
To sum things up the General Pump EZ4040 mount and go pump is great and easy to mount. There is nothing wrong with it as it comes out of the box. I had a chance to mount and plumb things up before the season starts my way and I took it. There is not scary science to doing it yourself, working on and getting to know more about your power washers is a good thing. Getting things ironed out and working how I like them to be now seems like the right thing to do. This pump is a great back-up pump to have ready to go if you should go down. It's quick mounting and fully plumbed including oil is a must if one is in the field. I now will have time to rebuild the old pump this year and have it standing by and waiting if it should need to be pressed into service once again. Since all the new lines are run and the unloader is relocated the feed line, high pressure line and pressure switch will all work with the old pump when the old unloader is removed an pitched.
Cleaned by Pete serving the greater Springfield and Southwest MO area
417.459.7869
