About the Industrial Pressure Washer

Filthy equipment and surroundings are common characteristics of many industries, such as mining and construction. These conditions call for stringent cleaning practices. At the end of each tough working day, one can’t merely give a bulldozer a quick wipe with a damp rag and expect it to continue performing like new, for months on end. In practice, only an industrial pressure washer will be sufficient for such a task.

On average, the municipal water exits a garden tap at somewhere between 40 and 60 PSI (pounds per square inch), but, in exceptional cases, this could be as high as 80 PSI. If one attaches a hose to the tap and a narrow nozzle to the hose, this figure will increase, albeit only to a limited extent. To produce a jet of water that will be strong enough to cut through hardened surface dirt with ease will require the addition of a pump. The resulting setup forms the basis of a typical industrial pressure washer.

Not to be Confused with its Domestic Counterpart

While some of us still rely on the garden hose and sponge to clean the family car, others prefer the convenience of a drive-in car wash. The high-pressure jets and rotating brushes get the job done in a fraction of the time taken to clean it at home. On the other hand, although far less powerful than industrial models, a hand-held power or pressure washer can also be a lot more practical for home use than an ordinary hose.

Typically, these devices operate at around 600 PSI and are equally effective for cleaning driveways, brickwork, roof tiles and guttering. That said, these domestic models will still be unable to make much of an impression on a giant-sized piece of mud-encrusted earth-moving equipment. So what will get the job done?

The Solution is More PSI

The ten-fold pressure increase between the garden hose and the power washer may seem impressive. However, an industrial pressure washer typically operates at somewhere between 2 000 and 3 500 PSI. That’s enough to cause a severe injury to anyone accidentally exposed to its jets, or some serious damage to an average motor vehicle.

For speed and efficiency when cleaning heavy-duty vehicles, multiple water jets and pumps arranged as in a typical Johannesburg drive-in car wash are the essential requirements. However, unlike those found at the nation’s filling stations, these models do not need brushes. The power of the water jets alone is sufficient for an industrial pressure washer from Johannesburg-based Bestline Manufacturing to cut through even the toughest and thickest layers of mud and grime.