Astroracer

Trials and Tribulations

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2006-05-31

Making the purchase

I have wanted/needed a pressure washer for a couple of years now but I just couldn't justify the money. Well, the "Stuck Truck" fiasco pushed me into the "buy it" mode.
Lynette and I went shopping Sunday the 28th and I decided to look at Sears. They didn't have the one I wanted in stock (of course) but the next level PW was on sale and it had a bit more psi, two solution bottles instead of one, a hose reel and a longer pressure hose. it's a nice machine so I hauled it home...

2006-05-31

Setting up the new toy...

After I got it home I sat down and read through the instruction book for a while before I unboxed it and set it up. The assembly and prep went well with no problems. I added the oil and gas, hooked up the garden hose as instructed and yanked on the starter rope. The Briggs started on the first pull! Not a cough or a wheeze! It fired right up and ran like a champ!
I used my wifes Astro as a guinea pig and was happy with the way the washer was working. I was washing the passenger side of the van when I noticed a drop in pressure at the gun and the motor changed pitch... As I walked over to the other side of the van (where the washer was sitting) I saw a geyser of water coming out of the pressure hose. It had a hole in it! As I was pulling the hose to the other side of the van it got up against the hot cylinder head and promptly melted a hole in it. Now, the muffler has all kinds of shielding over it but the cyl. head is open and has none... I hadn't even used the thing for 5 minutes!!!
I was extremely pissed.... To say the least.

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2006-05-31

Getting a new hose

I went back to Sears after work Tuesday to pick up a new hose. This is the 35' hose remember. They don't keep them in stock so they'll have to order it. I wasn't complaining though because they weren't going to charge me for it... They also gave me a loaner hose which I wasn't expecting either. Much appreciated and thank you Sears...

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2006-05-31

Trials and Tribulations

After I get home Net has dinner waiting so I change, have some dinner and look through my mail before heading out to fire up the washer... This time I am keeping the hose away from that hot head. Not that I had to worry about it because the head never got hot... The POS wouldn't start! Well, it would "start" as long as I kept the trigger pulled so the pump couldn't build pressure but it wouldn't "run"...
It would never come out of an idle and would die after a few seconds of "running"... Dirt in the jet I think... Anyway I fiddled around with it for an hour, was dripping wet (it was hot and humid) and got so angry I could have spit nails...
I put the thing away before I beat it to death with a hammer and went inside to cool down, take a shower and "cool down"...

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2006-05-31

Take it back... I'm done with it.

I told Net I was going to take it back. The thing is brand new and there is no way I am going to fix it myself...
I called my salesperson, Connie, and told her what was going on and that I was NOT a happy camper... She was apologetic but that doesn't fix the problem... Anyway, she said I could bring it back for a refund ...OR... we could let her repair guy look at it. If he couldn't figure it out I would get a new washer.
Lynette offered to that Wednesday. If it couldn't be fixed I would take a new one to replace it.

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2006-05-31

Getting a new pressure washer

Not that the other one was old. It only had about 5 minutes run time on it. The fix-it guy at Sears had the same problem with it I did Tuesday night. It would start but it wouldn't run and would die after a few seconds when it did start...
Lynette is bringing home a new one... we'll see how that goes after I get home tonight...

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2006-06-01

Why me, Lord?

The "new" pressure washer was waiting for me when I got home last night. I had some dinner, looked through the mail and got outside to assemble the unit one more time. Things went well, everything looked good. I filled her up with oil and gas and was hooking up the garden hose to the water inlet and noticed the inlet screen was missing... Running without the screen will void the pump warranty. Now I need to go BACK to Sears and get the screen out the "old" unit. I called Sears, again, and they will pull it out for me.
Am I having fun yet? NO!

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2006-06-05

Up & Running!

After 5 days of hassling with this pressure washer I FINALLY got it fired up! I actually got some work done with it.
Thursday on my way home I stopped at Sears and Connie gave me an O-ring repair kit. It has the screen I needed and a bunch of O-rings for all of the connectors. It's only 5 bucks but I didn't have to buy it.
I finished prepping the washer and it started on the first pull just like the previous one. It ran great, I DIDN'T burn a hole in the hose and it actually started AND ran numerous times during the washing process of my Monte Carlo SS.
The Hydrofoam launcher works very well. It puts out a thick sudsy mix and soaped up the car very quickly. I scrubbed the car down with a wash brush and rinsed it and it looked great!
The higher pressure nozzles worked well in the wheel wells and on the tires so I am happy.

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2006-06-06

Cleaning the truck

The pressure washer fired right up Friday night as I started cleaning all of the mud and junk out from under the truck. It worked real well and I had no problems with starting and stopping it during the hour long process of blasting the chassis, front and rear.
It also worked well for cleaning the mud stains of the tires. The high pressure nozzle does the job and the tires were pretty much ready for a good protectant after I was done.
I am happy with the washer. it works as expected and I will be getting a lot of use out of it this summer.

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