I am in the process of re-seting my van/TM and while I have the El Diablo out I was wondering if there is a advantage of the water box vs removing it. On a ED the water box is no more than a 3 gallon float tank where the pump sucks its water from. Here is the downside of this: It has to pull its water and therefore will reach starvation faster due to higher temps in bypass mode. I have starved it a few times due to high temps on hot days. I want to eliminate the water box and just let the garden hose supply the pressure to the pump head just like a normal powerwasher pump gets fed. I will use a adjustable dema valve to inject chems in the water rather than have the pumps suction pull it in. The only advantage to the water box is it lets the air out of the line so the pump doesn't have to digest the first volume of air before the water reaches it.....it also lets the sediments settle in it rather than going through the pump. Any thoughts that I have missed Drew
The water box also is where the water goes that goes through the bypass side of the pressure regulator / unloader. If you were to replumb so that the garden hose feeds the pump directly be sure to put a good filter on the line right before the pump as any sediment can mess up your check valves and cause you to lose presure. You may also want to put a tee right at the inlet to the pump where you can add a valve that you can bleed all the air out of the hose with before starting the machine. Make sure to have a 165° thermal relief valve installed between the pressure regulator and the pump on the low pressure bypass return line so that the water does not get too hot while circulating.
In short term, direct feed is more reliable than suction fed. In long term your looking at plunger, check valve and manifold issues because of all the cavitation and hammering. Long term can be many years down the road. I recomend going with a larger size water box and gravity feeding that pump. As of right now your bypass is going to the pump anyway because thats the only way to get solution without a dema valve on the inlet side. In my opinion its a better move to direct feed than have suction feed. Both setups are poor from a technical standpoint. I know what you mean when you talk about all those pressure washers on the market that are all direct feed. Its almost industry standard for them to be sold that way. But in reality, they are all harmful setups. and the only reason they sell them that way is because its more cost effective and easier to produce. Its like animal cruelty. The cat is still alive but your beating it everyday. Those types of setups that bypass to the pump and direct feed show symtoms of the need for double depression or double clutching the trigger for proper flow because the check valves are taking a beating and sticking. That will be your first sign of wear. That can go on for months until it drives you crazy and you need to replace them. Thats just one example of what happens. Systems with a good waterbox are faaaaaar less likely to exibit this issue or any serious issue for that matter.
I am sorry but I do not know what you mean by this....I should not need any check valves. The pump head will have constant pressure via the inlet hose. I will have a bleeder valve that I will purge before I engage the clutch to get the air out. BTW Todd the ED does not bypass to the water box. It bypasses right back to the pump head and overheats on a hot day after 3 minutes( the pump sits right behind the hot motor air). And NO masterblend in all their doings did not install a high temp valve on the early models...DUMB. If it bypassed back to the waterbox then it would be constantly sucking water from the box and also constantly drawing chems.
If you are not using a last step chemical injection system you are right about the chemicals. The check valves we refered to are actually inside the pump head, there are 2 check valves for each piston and the smallest little bit of sediment will stop the valves from closng and will cause pulsating if 1 or 2 check valves get stuck open and if all the valves get crap in them you will lose all pressure (I have seen this happen many times before). That's fine that the bypass goes right back to the pump head, I would install a tee and a thermal valve right before the water returns to the pump head. They cost about $65.
