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| Pressure Washer |
A few years ago St. John bought a used electric pressure washer. It worked fine for a while but eventually gave up the ghost. Me being me, I decided to take a look and see if it could be saved. I opened the case and discovered that the motor was burnt to a crisp. Well, shoot, I've got this perfectly fine electric motor from a sump just sitting on the shelf. Can I marry these two? I'm looking at the mounting points for both devices and think what if I got a metal plate, a metal tube and a flange? That could work, couldn't it? Then I got to thinking how much a plain steel from
Home Depot costs, and I wondered: how about
Amazon? Surprise, they had everything I needed, and cheap to boot.
| PRESSURE WASHER PROJECT | |
| Item | Amount |
| (2) 1/4" X 3" Aluminum Flat BAR 12" long | 19.99 |
| 1-1/2" OD Aluminum Tube, 0.12" Wall x 12" Long | 15.99 |
| Stainless Steel Oblong Base Flange (1-1/2") | 13.99 |
| 12mm Aluminum Flexible Spider Shaft Coupling | 11.99 |
| 1-1/2' Hole Saw | 7.99 |
| 1/2" Dia. HSS Twist Drill Bit, 3-Flat Shank | 9.99 |
| Total | 79.94 |
So $80 for everything I needed to turn this piece of junk back into a functioning machine. Well, maybe. Putting it together went pretty well. Had to drill and tap some holes in the plate to mount the flange. Cut down the pump shaft and drilled out one end of the coupling. Put it together and the motor wouldn't turn. Realized that the set screws on the coupling protruded just a smidgen above the surface. It was just enough that they hit the inside of the tube. Ground down the protruding corner and everything turns smoothly. Hooked it up this afternoon and tried it and I am not sure whether it is working or not. It's putting out a nice stream of water whether the motor is running or not. Didn't have the output hose connected and that may be the difference. I will have to try it again tomorrow. The little bit of work I did today wore me down. Maybe if I spent more time in my workshop and less time on my keyboard I would be a little tougher. Anyway, that was my solution to the problem. St. John went out and bought a new gas powered pressure washer. Kids these days.
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