PSI drop difference between 3/4 and 1/4 hose

[Mike Pailliotet]

Mike Wallace posted this in another thread...I thought it worthy of it's own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikHQ8cDOUSg#t=150

 

[Desk Jockey]

Won't you lose a lot of heat flowing more water with the 3/8's?

Steamway's came with 3/8's but they had increadible heat, can today's heat exchangers keep up with a 3/8 hose at that PSI. Mike has that huge machine, I know his can but can the average unit do it?

 

[Jim Martin]

Good video...

my question is.......

is the cost..weight....and the amount of room that the larger hose takes up on the reel really worth it.......

I already know that at 200 continuous feet of 1/4 inch hose I am going to get a drop in my PSI.....so I just accommodate for it.....
I have cleaned some pretty nasty tile and have yet to find a reason to go over 900 psi to get the job done.....so I just set my PSI at 975 to 1000...

 

[mwall2230]

Good video...

my question is.......

is the cost..weight....and the amount of room that the larger hose takes up on the reel really worth it.......

I already know that at 200 continuous feet of 1/4 inch hose I am going to get a drop in my PSI.....so I just accommodate for it.....
I have cleaned some pretty nasty tile and have yet to find a reason to go over 900 psi to get the job done.....so I just set my PSI at 975 to 1000...

I did this test for myself and was shocked at the results. The hose is a single wire steel braided hose which is lighter and more flexible than the standard pressure washer hose. It is heavy when wrapping it on your arm and carrying it. But you I cant tell a difference when pushing my turbo hybrid. If someone uses a 15 inch or larger spinner I would recommend it. I use it on all hard surfaces but I have a a dedicated hose reel set up for it and it makes it super convenient. You definitely get get better flow to the tool tool quicker with more heat. It was $1.89 a foot. 4000psi 250° single braided hose. I'll also you is wwithmy 12 turbo.

 

[mwall2230]

I did a nasty restaurant tile job the other night where I had to run 300 feet of hose. I think having the first 150 3/8 really helped. Imagine how much pressure I would have lost running 300 feet of quarter inch hose.

 

[barefoot]

No...just the opposite in my opinion. Your local hose distributor could give you the facts however.

My understanding is..all other factors being equal..larger diameter gives you better heat retention, better flow and less frition loss.

 

[Desk Jockey]

My understanding is..all other factors being equal..larger diameter gives you better heat retention, better flow and less frition loss

. I understand that but something my hose distributor won't be able to tell me is, does the average heat exchange unit have the heat reserves to handle that kind of flow?

Will 3/8's only work for larger units with larger capacity heat reserves or can the average cleaner take advantage of 3/8's too? On most heat exchange units you increase the flow ( two-wands, upholstery tools, powerheads) and you'll see a noticeable drop in heat.

 

[clean image]

concerning the heat exchanger...the hose is just the messenger, so if your machine can only do 1200 psi, then yes with 3/8 hose you will gain pressure at expense of lower heat

if your machine is capable of 3000 psi, then it dosnt batter what hose if the pressure is the same at the turbo/ tool. other than heat loss through that hose(single wire or double wire braid)

For the longest i ran 3/8 with 50 foot 1/4 whip

now i run 150 of 1/4 hose and adjust my pressure up.

It's nice not having to drag that 3/8 around

When I'm cleaning, its hard surface 99% of time, more pressure allows faster, better cleaning and times,

 

[mwall2230]

Think of it like this, you have a small machine that produces 1000psi. If you used 3/8 you'd get 970 psi with a 20° drop in temperature or you could use 1/4 and get 700 psi with a little more heat. With my experience I would rather have more pressure. I think it would benefit the smaller units more. Think of it like 2.5 inch vac hose, even portables benefit from it. It's not a necessity but I like having it available. Some people only have 2 inch vac hose on the truck and thats fine but not for me.

 

[Larry Cobb]

Good job Mike W..

As we flow more GPM, hose loses do detract from the final pressure.

Looking at the video, I got 130 PSI loss from the 3/8" @ 150 ft.

and 330 PSI from the 1/4".

There will be slightly more heat loss from the 3/8" wire-braid hose due to greater surface area.

One nice factor is that 3/8" wire-braid Blue 275 degree hose, is only about 9% more than the 1/4" same type.

http://www.cobbcarpet.com/zen/index...scription=1&keyword=solution+hose+50'+hi-pres

3/8" Hose should be used for long runs to minimize pressure required at the TM.

Also for use in two wand hose runs before the "TEE",
where it minimizes heat loss.

Larry