Homemade pressure washer?

Found this online

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Pressure-Washer-Wash-Sprayer-12V-80W-Pump-Kit-Marine-Deck-Vehicle-Campervan-/272248133915?hash=item3f6340d91b:g:1lwAAOSw41xXPdNy

I was going to link it up to a 25 Litre drum for the back of the car when I finish riding? Will this have enough pressure bearing in mind bike will be still wet.

I have the same pump wired into my fuse box and mounted on the rear door (inside) of my van, it kicks out a very decent pressure and a full 25l drum manages to wash my bike at least 5 times before I need to fill it back up. A mate has one of the expensive portable battery washers and it has a pathetic pressure compared to the above.

Very happy with mine, the plastic hose connections aren’t the greatest so I’ve swapped them out but apart from that minor niggle it’s a great bit of kit

More than enough grunt to see the job. I’ve got one lashed to a 25l drum for rides away. As soma says a full drum will do about 5 bikes. Makes you lots of ‘friends’ at the end of a muddy ride.

Got any photos of the set up @colournoise?

No. Can grab some tomorrow if you’re desperate, but it really is just one of those pumps zip tied to the handle of a 25l water butt…

Tidy. Ordered one so I’ll set it up this coming weekend if anyones keen

I’ve got one of them in the back of the van. As above 25ltr drum washes 5-6 bikes. Works well, though I’m moving it being mounted on the door. I managed to flood the van when I didn’t clip the hose on properly….. 😳 🙄

Interested to see the final product guys!

I’d recommend the Mobi V17 mobile jet washer for cleaning bikes. Only £100 and holds 17 litres – enough to clean even a very wintry muddy bike if it’s washed while it’s still wet.

Yep – I’ve got one, I screwed the pump to a piece of shuttering board to keep it from wondering around whilst in use.

It makes an extremely useful pressure washer with a 25ltr jerry can for about £40. What’s not to like?

Edit: I wanted to mount the pump on the jerry can for the ultimate portability, but the weight of the motor meant that the can fell over as it got emptY.

Buy loads of grease and pack those bearings full with it (and be prepared to regrease them every few washes) 😉

Frankly, a garden sprayer is enough pressure. Hand pump £10 job from B&Q is my bike wash and bearing friendly.

I have one in my van, works well enough at the trail side and shifts most of the mud.

Some pics here

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1082953

I like the idea of the pump and a jerry can.

I currently have one of these:

OK for a quick rinse and getting the worst of the mud off.

I’ve been using one very very similar to the one to the original link for over a year now and its still going strong. Its not as powerful as a previous one I had but it certainly gets the job done. You don’t really want a powerful jet for cleaning bikes anyway, I always have the hose set on spray rather than jet.

I also find using a brush to shift the dirt and water to just rinse it off saves massively on water. With a brush 5 litres is more than enough for one muddy bike whereas just using the hose i’d get through 10 litres per bike.

I got mine from Amazon for around £15 added a 10 litre jerry can for water (£5) and a small 12v lead acid battery (£15) and wired up a cigaret lighter socket (£7). Not as slick as a Mobi all in one unit but works pretty good.

Handheld sprayer Can be picked up for less than a fiver and unlike a real pressure washer is unlikely to have enough pressure to degrease your bearings and fill them with grit.

Frankly, a garden sprayer is enough pressure.

Whilst I accept that this is mostly true, in the full depths of winter on the Mendips, cleaning a bike involves a pre-clean scrape with a stick to give the mains pressure hose a chance.

Those of you that swapped the hose connections out, what did you use? The only ones I can find are for standard full size hose. Pump worked well this weekend, but lost almost as much water out of the connections around the pump as I did on the bike!

morphio – Which one did you buy?

Not seen these before, they look pretty cool!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xcellent-Global-Portable-Powerful-Gardening/dp/B00ZGZDCWC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479923538&sr=8-2&keywords=12v+pressure+washer

Exactly the same as linked ebay item elsewhere, but more expensive. But had a 1 day window to actually be in and get it delivered so paid the premium to get it on prime.

Worked well for washing the bike, but ended up using more water as expected (2x 10L cans) I think mostly due to the fact that hose fitting on the pump was leaking a fair bit.

Yeah I got the same one. Works well I think I may use a brush to agitate the dried on stuff.