Dripping Water under Porty...

[jstucky]

Yes I'm a hack, I have TWO porty's. Both with water dripping underneath.

Ok...So I think we can eliminate the obvious problem on one porty of the pump going bad..the pump is only a couple weeks old.

Pump on my main porty started fluctuating pressure and started dripping last week. Ordered kits to rebuild. While waiting on the kits I pull out back up porty. Only 150 psi machine that I mainly use on upholstery. Just REPLACED pump on it a couple weeks back. Has worked great since.

My EVO wand has been dripping for about a month. Just a drop or two from the valve when starting up then it is fine. I have been using my Reg. SS Wand with my back up the last few days. I decide to use the EVO wand with my back up today and it started dripping water underneath the machine. But with SS wand, no dripping water.

It seems like it takes a few times to prime main unit to be full pressure. Do I have a problem in the wand? I took out the inline filter a couple years back and unless the valve has one in it, I don't think it has one. Do I have a problem in solution hoses? Or QC's?? I replaced a male QC on main solution hose and that helped a little bit. The seal was broke on the QC and it was spitting a little when un-hooked from the machine.


What is if any maintenance on solution hoses?? Do they need to be flushed out with vinegar or blown out with air compressor??

Keep in mind with all this that I use ALOT of encapsulating rinses or mainly Judson 02 Rinse otherwise

Pump on main machine lasted about 2 years and we did valve and seal kit. Went great for about a year and now pressure fluctuating. So ordered valve kit again and piston kit.

Is rebuilding porty pumps a lost cause?? Do they ever perform like new again? Or should we just suck it up and buy a new pump every few years??

Thanks all!!

Jordan

 

[juniorc82]

I would bet money you just have a hose that needs to be re -taped and tightend. I ran portys for years and that was about all you had to worry about. As for rebuilding pumps its perfectly ok because the pump motor and pumphead rarely go bad. I wouldnt call yourself a hack for running portables. I know a guy in town that does as much business as stanley steemer or any other big company and he is so set in his ways he has cleaned for 30 years with portys. I did notice that the seals on the internal plumbing liked to leak when I rinsed with an acid. I think acid rinses may be a be a bit harder on the plumbing. I also hear that encap rinses are very hard on both tm's and portys

 

[John Olson]

Foam....get some defoamer. The enccap stuff foams like crazy... The foam is being sucked into the vac motors and is coming out the exhaust as liquid...

p.s. get a rebuild kit for the wand.

 

[jstucky]

Thanks guys!

Any more comments??

 

[Larry Cobb]

Jordan;

How hard is your water there in Iowa ?

Water hardness can be abrasive on pump seals.

A cleaning chemical with water softener can help.

Larry

 

[jstucky]

Our water is one of the top in the nation

It was awarded top in the state of Iowa



The guy in town that owns liike 8 car washes in town says his BIGGEST waste of money when he built his 1.2 million dollar custom drive thru car wash was putting in all the water softeners.


And let me say as far as our water, IT IS PHENOMINAL! I am a big water drinker and it is the best tasting water around.

 

[juniorc82]

Dude dont let cobb send you on a wild goose chase. He is often known on this board for talking out his ass. Kind of like the time he told me that encapsulants that dry to a crystal are bad because they get vacuumed away (lol kinda the point) . Cobb has proved himself to be quite the character at times.

 

[John Olson]

So what was the verdict?