Hot wash/steam cleaner, pressure washer on heat, well maybe

[logicaluk]

For a long time I have harboured the desire for a hot wash in my workshop, not the cabinet kind used for cleaning engine parts but the push it outside, pressure washer on heat kind.
Many, many times I've been out bid, but on Tuesday I wasn't, and now I'm the proud owner of a 1991 WAP CS 620 hot wash.
According to its previous owner, it ran when parked, but has been stood for 5 years ish.

There is some perished rubber hoses, the electrics don't appear to have been messed with, and the contents of the pump was and oil mayo mix, so I guess the seals have gone.

Pics to follow, but in the meantime does anyone have any useful info or advice?
My googlefu has utterly failed me.

Dan

[stealthstylz]

Try and find a spill pallet/containment bund to stand stuff on while you wash it. You can then direct the drain off away from your feet and it's crazy how fast the floor (even tarmac) disappears underneath if you use a normal pallet or something similar that's open to the floor. It also means youre not blasting curse word back onto whatever you're cleaning.

[logicaluk]

Top tip thanks

This is the only pic I have on my phone




Hopefully ill have more time to play with it on Saturday.

[slater]

Your brave! They can be a right can of worms. Infact the two I've had over the years have both been a bit of a pain to make relaible.

The burner side of things is usually quite simple it's just a pump, injector and spark plug. As long as the pump works you should get diesel out of the injector and if the plug is sparking it should light. Theres usually a solenoid on the the pump to cut the fuel flow. It's the electrics controlling that that's gone tits up on the one I have so I simply bypassed the solenoid so it's always heating.. it's steamy!!

The water side if it on my current one works ok touch wood but on my old one that my dad has now it was super temperamental. Any leaky seals stop it priming and can be a curse word to get it primed again.. Could never work out that was causing the faults!

Careful of leaving it out in the cold. Had one that froze up and cracked the intensifier housing before now too.

Good luck tho 😂

[logicaluk]

Thanks for that, slater, I haven't got as far as thinking of draining it off when not in use, but it's a good point.

First job was to take the lance hose off, as it is damaged and makes it hard to move around. But the quick release won’t.




That will be knackered then.

Then I got it outside and blew it out, so I can get some better pics for your delectation.








It's a beast,and it had the biggest spider cocoon in it, I've ever seen, but I didn't take a pic of that.

I know the electrics kind of work as the motor spins the pump when the contactor is pushed in. so next up is the water.

It came with a good long length of 22mm bore pipe which couples to a connector and eventually goes into what looks rather like a washing machine hose to a ball cock and a small water reservoir. The pipe looks OK, which is more than I can say for the pipe that feeds the compressor head....



That looks like an expensive bespoke pipe to me, one end has a moulded grommet the other a rubber cone, the cone has a plastic plug limiting the water intake, which looks like it comes out, and dose. After cutting a bevel on the end of the plastic plug, I fitted it in the end of a piece of hose and the rubber cone, after I cut off the rotting rubber, it slipped on with only the merest hint of lube. One end done, one to go.
I was looking through the box of fittings trying to cobble something cunning and creative together to bolt through the hole in the water reservoir, when my eyes fell upon a bin of grommets and low, there was a grommet that had the correct dimensions inside and out.




Then I put it all away and got on my push-bike and cycled to the pub for a couple of adult beverages.

[logicaluk]

Did someone say electrical gremlins?

Yesterday I proved 240v was getting in, and at least some contactor contacts were contacting.

First off, I wanted to see how well my bodge pipe worked, the garden hose was attached to the 1/2" hose that came with it, but when I turned the tap on it promptly blew the connector off the front of the machine, the rest of the washing machine hose I cut up yesterday had just the right fitting and worked a treat after I had worked out to connect it to the garden hose all I had to do was take off the not Hozelock connection, stuff one inside the other and secure it with a jubilee clip(this took more than one attempt). That got water in to the water tank and feeding in to the pump. Selecting the on position with the switch didn't do anything, but pressing the contactor again did, and it pumped water out in varying shades of brown which quite quickly turned in to a steady clean flow.

Next thing was to start tracing out the power circuit, the incoming live terminal connects to both sides of the fuse, good start, that then goes into a bundle of red wires, actually here's a pic



It then comes out of the bundle of red wires into the Off, Cold or Hot switch. But doesn't reappear. Luckily this thing was built really well, no cheap Cheap brittle plastic pushed through from the back switch for this WAP hot wash, no a proper panel mount square D switch, which has contacts that unclip from the knob shaft(stop giggling at the back). Which were duly soaked in WD40 and worked back and forwards many many times, soaked again etc, until it started intermittently showing some conductivity.

I got a bit exited at this point and powered it up again, only to find nothing, curse word I thought ill work the switch a bit see if that helps, but it didn't, so I pressed the contactor again, only to see the burner come to life for a brief second before it ran out of water. ( I think that's why it stopped, anyway).

Next time I shall be mostly having fun drawing a wiring diagram for it.

Dan

[93fxdl]

Will be following this as I was given a hot washer a while back, now have it working but not reaching full temperature
Suggest you change fuel filter as these things can end up with all sorts of crud in the fuel tank
Yours will be the first one I have seen with the header tank working, usually I have seen them with hose feeding directly in to the pump, or just draped into the tank
Ttfn Glenn

[logicaluk]

The wiring diagram, well it looks more like a spider's web of connections, but it has made enough sense to be of some use. I don't understand what the sensors do, but they are in the correct state to make it run, and it looks like we have a winner, one dead contactor, voltage at the lower terminals on opposite corners, I had to shut up and cook dinner so tomorrow i shall disconnect it and test the coil.

[logicaluk]

Aug 28, 2021 19:00:35 GMT 93fxdl said:

Will be following this as I was given a hot washer a while back, now have it working but not reaching full temperature
Suggest you change fuel filter as these things can end up with all sorts of crud in the fuel tank
Yours will be the first one I have seen with the header tank working, usually I have seen them with hose feeding directly in to the pump, or just draped into the tank
Ttfn Glenn

I guess the tank is there to stop the pump sucking on the mains, cannot think of any other reason it would be there. I do know the reason it's still there is the washing machine connection didn't fit on it.

I've had a look at the filter, and it's going to get a clean on the sonic bath tomorrow



After cleaning, a small patch of rust has reviled a hole in the boiler casing.
Doh
Dan

[93fxdl]

I think the header tank is there to stop any chance of the washer pumping back into the mains or stopping the inlet being pressurized so preventing chemicals being drawn in.
Mine also came with a 16a plug but runs happily with a 13a plug fitted
But of a posh filter that one, mine is just an ordinary online one.
Ttfn Glenn

[slater]

Yes I think it uses a tank because of the chemical mixing too. Otherwise the water pressure would fill up your detergent bottle insted if the machine sucking it in. It also helps avoid water shortages if the hose cant keep up.

I think sensors will be for heat to switch the burner on and off and possibly pressure too as my Karcher kills the pump when it's up to pressure (my dads gerni doesnt it's just runs and presumably has a pressure relief?)

[logicaluk]

Contactors can be bloody expensive, a direct AAB replacement was going to be £60 plus, that was not going to happen, once I had decoded the part number; Din rail mounted, 4 pole 20A, normally open, 240v coil. I set about finding a less spendy option, chintt ones were £20 plus, but I would have to wait for it to come from China. Then I tried screw fix, and there one looked right, but it was listed as a 3 pole not 4, but the badly taken pic looked like it probably had four, so I ordered it for collection from the Screwfix across the road from work, 2 days later I get a positive covid test and its 10 days off work.

I consider my self lucky, I've had both my Jabs, and I was knocked off my feet for a few days, I slept a lot the first or two, felt crappy day 3 and almost back to normal day 4. But I can't go out, I can however go in to my garden for exercise, which must mean I can go in the workshop!

Luckily a friend dropped the contactor off on the doorstep for me, so I pulled the WAP out to the front of the garage, fitted the contactor, connected the water and the header tank overflowed.....

This time I pulled the ball-cock out thinking ill blow it out with some air, and see those stainless steel screws, it's serviceable... the filter was full of rust scale.




And what turned out to be tiny bits of gravel.




Stripped it down cleaned up the diaphragm, adjusted the float and the water stayed in the tank.

Turned it on, and it pumps water, not only did it pump water, but it also lit the boiler... I did gt a bit exited.

I had cut off the damaged piece of pressure hose and held it on the connector with 2 brand-new jubilee clips with this fitted when I turned it on there was really poor spray from the tip of the lance and a torrent of water from the bottom of the boiler, oh dog eggs, I guess it wasn't drained after it was last used, and the heating coil has split. The heating coil is just about the only part I've found for it but weighs in at £200, I wonder if I can patch it?

Also, just to add to the fun, the pump oil is now EP90 flavoured Mayo.

Total cost so far £150

[93fxdl]

When you get this running properly avoid leaving the hose on the lawn as you will leave scorch marks



Ttfn Glenn

[logicaluk]

Sept 22, 2021 18:18:57 GMT 93fxdl said:

When you get this running properly avoid leaving the hose on the lawn as you will leave scorch marks



Ttfn Glenn

I have to say I never thought of that.
Thanks
Dan

[christy12]

Aug 25, 2021 19:38:42 GMT logicaluk said:

For a long time I have harboured the desire for a hot wash in my workshop, not the cabinet kind used for cleaning engine parts but the push it outside, pressure washer on heat kind.
Many, many times I've been out bid, but on Tuesday I wasn't, and now I'm the proud owner of a 1991 WAP CS 620 hot wash.
According to its previous owner, it ran when parked, but has been stood for 5 years ish.

There is some perished rubber hoses, the electrics don't appear to have been messed with, and the contents of the pump was and oil mayo mix, so I guess the seals have gone.

Pics to follow, but in the meantime does anyone have any useful info or advice?
My googlefu has utterly failed me.

Dan

You can try this spill pallet.

I am using it to provide a layer of safety under a diesel drum. I'm pleased with its construction and expect that it will do the job for many years.

A little bigger than I needed but it works well. It seems as well made and has very thick plastic, the drain hole is a good spot.

[logicaluk]

Thanks for that, the only thing I've done with its to buried it in the garage and pile some carp on top, I will get back to it but it's going to be a while.
Dan