After seeing a few YouTube clips and a mates, I thought I’d have a go at putting together a ghetto portable washer for the car.

The bits all turned up this week and the initial tests seem positive.

Made from a marine pump kit, bought from eBay for £18 and 20l jerry can I had in the garage. I was going to use a 10l one, but I don’t think I’d get a full bike wash from that. Plus the 20l has a tap on the end which the feeder hose connects straight to, just needs a small hose clip to keep it secure.

Obviously needs tiding up and something to mount the pump too, but works well so far for less than 20 quid.

That looks great and a good idea to boot. Was about to buy one but might give this a whirl instead. More details please inc pump spec and al the rest of the gubbins.

I presume it’s 12v?

I have a tow bar and if i cared i would just get one of those pump up sprayer tanks as its not going to be much different and much cheaper

This is mine…..

Only used it once so far, cleans the bike rather well but does get through the water quickly. Might have to look into a flow restrictor of some sort.

Bought one the other month , work great but not enough to blast dried mud ! Your hose lance looks a bit better kit compared to my plastic version. I found that with mine if the pump was mounted low it would air lock for some reason .

Link here to the pump kit..
According to the description it’s generates 130psi, it’s probably not that high from the 2min I had it running at but it does go though the water quick, hense the upgrade to a 20l jerry.
It’ll mainly be used for immediate after ride duties so dry mud shouldn’t be an issue. I could always bring the smaller jerry as well with some mucoff style stuff in the water, then switch to the larger one for rincing.

I’ve had a similar system in the back of the van for a little while, works well.

I’ve been using the same ghetto washer system for a few years, i even used to build them up and sell them in the bike shop where i worked and i always made sure i had a spare one in the van to flog on when i used to venture to trail centres to cover travel/food/cake costs 😉

I mounted the pump to a sheet of plywood then wrapped the plywood with duct tape around the jerry can, attached a velcro strap to hold the assorted wires and used a bike packing strap (salsa) for the lance and hose, drilled the cap and attached to the handle so it can’t be lost or left behind.

Works very well and more than enough pressure to clean many filthy bikes, way more pressure than those other portable pressure washers that cost a fortune, this costs less than £30.

A wee tip is to use ptfe tape around the threads as it helps to avoid leaks.

Needs a little more patience but does the job Spear & Jackson Pump Action Pressure Sprayer, 5 L https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00RD0KTZQ/

right, you buggers have got me thinking…

i don’t need a 12v, but the equivaent of a pump sprayer that gives a bit more pressure and water. how do you pressurise the fire extinguisher marc90?

bike gets washed out on the road in front of workshop/house; it’s just a pain to unroll the hose through 2 doors and down a couple of steps. same for mains electrics, and no 12v handy.

suggestions? something portable along the lines of the fire extinguisher would do. like the idea of making it myself. do have a compressor availabel to pre-charge, if that were possible

I replaced the red/green pressure gauge on the extinguisher with a schrader tank valve. Unscrew the top of the extinguisher to ‘fill’ with 9 litres of water, then pressurise to 80 psi using a track pump. The normal working pressure of 200 psi is a bit excessive for bike cleaning. 80 psi is a little higher than necessary but from trial and error I found it the minimum that still has sufficient pressure (about 20psi) when nearing the end of the water. As I said it does get through the 9L of water quite quickly. I intend to just use it for a quick rinse off in the car park or when doing multi days away from home (and the hose pipe) such as races etc. Total cost about 10 quid plus what I had laying around.

jamiesilo – Member
right, you buggers have got me thinking…

i don’t need a 12v, but the equivaent of a pump sprayer that gives a bit more pressure and water. how do you pressurise the fire extinguisher marc90?

bike gets washed out on the road in front of workshop/house; it’s just a pain to unroll the hose through 2 doors and down a couple of steps. same for mains electrics, and no 12v handy.

suggestions? something portable along the lines of the fire extinguisher would do. like the idea of making it myself. do have a compressor availabel to pre-charge, if that were possible

Could you not keep a 12v car battery near the entrance then you could use the powered version.

I’ve got mine attached to the rear door of the van and is great. I’m about to get a 15 or 20 litre container though as a very muddy bike is only just clean with the 10 litre I’ve got and loads of scrubbing to loosen it off.

I picked up the same set up as the OP in December as the wife wasn’t appreciating a muddy bike in the house…

I cable tied the unit to a 20litre plastic jerry can and have had no issues. I do find the supplied ray gun style hose nozzle quite narrow and switched it out for a diff one which has a wider spray.

From my 20litres I am able to actually clean 3 bikes, being on a water meter at home, my wash technique has become very focused. Quick rinse of the worst bits, typically tyres, underside of downtube and BB area. Grab a brush, damp it and then brush all over, rinse again and then dry with microfibre cloth. The worst part used to be balancing the bike, but I just picked up some axle stands which now makes it easier.

Mine is virtually identical to somafunk’s.

Its way better than the weedy flow and pressure from dirtworkers of old, but not as powerful as a mains pressure hose. Mine doesn’t have an online switch, so it’s important that get the hose attached before I plug it in. 😛

10 litres is just enough to do a bike in the depths of a clay ridden mendips winter.

That said, my standards of what a clean MTB is are on the ‘rinsed and functional’ side of things rather than the ‘on show in my front room’. Only the transmission and sliding parts are ever spotless.

As an aside – old Keith – Southwest water has pretty much the most expensive charges in the UK and they charge about £2 for 1000 litres. I salute your sustainability efforts, but really? Seems like you’re overstating it as an issue.

Bookmarked for later.

Carry on.

As an aside – old Keith – Southwest water has pretty much the most expensive charges in the UK and they charge about £2 for 1000 litres. I salute your sustainability efforts, but really? Seems like you’re overstating it as an issue.

I’m not being sustainable I’m being tight! I live in a small terrace with the wife and the quarterly water bill is usually £60. We once had a £500 when we went on holiday as the wife went to the loo before we left and the small flush button got stuck down so it ran for a week!

I’ve realised my Jerry can is 25litres and to demonstrate my tightness, I don’t even fill it at home, I go to the nearest Shell which does free water, I took 75litres of them in 3 days over xmas! Just reversed in, opened the door and stood around for 5mins whilst it filled…

Wow! Considered rainwater harvesting from your roof?

I built one from the same components.

Used rubber rivnuts like what you use on a motorbike windscreen to mount the pump to the tank. – Drill the tank, put the rivnuts into the holes and bolt the pump to them. They seal the holes themselves. 8)

I got the same one as the op for Christmas. It’s mint!

I was actually amazed by how good it was at about a quarter the price of the broken Dirtworker I have knocking about.

Its perfect for just after the ride when the mud is still moist and has the right pressure so as you’re unlikely you be blowing fork seals etc. Still a good blast though.

Bought a 25 litre tank from Go Outdoors and I’ve built a fancy wooden case for mine as I thought it best not to let the motor get sprayed.

Recommended!

Bought that pump will sort out a Jerry can. I wonder about a heating element….

Ghetto shower

Mmm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aiicioo-Heating-Element-Immersion-Submersible/product-reviews/B01D4U23O8/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_acr_sr?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

thanks marc 90, so, means getting my hands on an old extinguisher.

think i’ll look at getting some of that thin fexi hose and a new squirter and just running mains water out through the window.

If you were to use rainwater or a nearby pond for example, i guess you would need some kind of filter on the inlet, any suggestions? I like the idea of using water from a butt or a stream if away, apart from anything else its a waste of drinking quality water washing bikes and cars etc.

@pnik – the kit comes with a rudimentary filter already, I just chose not to attach it.

Bookmarked

Cool thanks mbjc

Raining out side so I took 10mins to tidy up the ghetto washer.
Wrapped an old blown Road inner tube around the handle of the jerry and zip tied the pump on. Cut down the hose to correct length and a bit of tape.

anyone know where to get just the tube and gun?
well the gun’s not so important, but i like the idea of a skinny hose like that.

and while we’re at it, cna someone please explain relationship between tube diameter, flow, pressure etc?

does shrinking the tube increase the pressure? not necessarily?

The tube won’t increase pressure – only the pump can do that. Thinner tube = more resistance to flow, so thinner tube will actually reduce the pressure at the nozzle end. Difference between 1/4″ and 1/2″ tube in this application is probably negligible.

Just ordered the £18 kit of eBay. There’s a similar one for £12 which looks a bit less substantial.

Very interested in this.

What do you guys use to keep the water clean in the Jerry can.

I have a mobi pressure washer and it keeps getting gunked up with water I leave in and it seems to be restricting the water flow.

thanks mowgli,
and what about flow rate? it is just proportional to cross-section? or does the resistance to flow thing theoretically come into play for smaller diameters?

Flow rate set essentially by pump power and resistance from the nozzle and pipe. The nozzle will probably have a much bigger effect than the pipe though.

Anyone know if you can get a 240V adapter to power this thing? 80W at 12V is pretty high current for a normal 12V transformer.

yes so given this is not just a stream, pump at one end and nozzle at the other are the only relevant factors. i guess i’m asking about tubes without these 2 constraints. anyway, going way off topic and i could just google it!

Anyone know if you can get a 240V adapter to power this thing? 80W at 12V is pretty high current for a normal 12V transformer.

I’ve been looking (20mins on Google) but not found one yet that isn’t horrendously expensive.

I used to use a decking sprayer. Cheap and simple. perfectly powerful enough to:

clean off fresh much
not ruin yer bearings

just bought a 10m narrow tube and sprayer head from the DIY store for 15€. ideal. don’t need a poratble sprayer anymore : )

Looking to build one of these, looks spot on for what I need.

Any recommendations on the best set to buy? Does this look OK?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portable-12V-Car-High-Pressure-Washer-Water-Pump-Kit-Jet-Wash-Cleaner-Hose-Van/163086191816?epid=22017885860&hash=item25f8b1ccc8:g:zlMAAOSwBfRbGQX5:rk:3:pf:0#rwid

Do they have enough power to pump if the pump is located alongside the bottom of the jerry can, or even underneath it?

I assume the pump is fine getting wet?

Has anyone had any luck using collapsible jerry cans to save space when not in use?

Ta,

Duane

That looks like they all do really. Only differences you seem to get are the gun type and fitting colours.

They’re brilliant..Still using mine. Used it Saturday after a wet fod ride.

The pump will pump very well sat next to a jerry can. No problems there.

As far as getting it wet, I think it would be fairly ok but the power connection could be affected so it makes sense to protect it. I built mine into a wooden box with a lid that keeps it away from spray but even covering it with something in use would help.

Collapsible can should be fine. I just keep an eye on it running dry and try to stop before that or at least turn it off as quick as I can when the water goes.

I’ve realised my Jerry can is 25litres and to demonstrate my tightness, I don’t even fill it at home, I go to the nearest Shell which does free water, I took 75litres of them in 3 days over xmas! Just reversed in, opened the door and stood around for 5mins whilst it filled…

How much did travelling to the garage cost compared to the saving in water?  Like the OAP’s that drive 10 miles between 2 supermarkets because one does beans 1p cheaper, and the other does milk 1p cheaper.  Seems a bit pathetic, sorry.

Kayak – great, thanks will get one ordered soon!