TM PUMPS

[Jimmy L]

There are several makes of pumps but why do they always use CAT ?

What about GENERAL and HYPRO?

What is the best and why?

 

[Matt King]

I've used em all. They've all treated me well to be honest. A couple of hiccups with the Hypro but it was used when I got it. Greenie pointed this out a few weeks ago. Being, the General is the choice for the pressure washing industry. I got to thinking about that and he's absolutely right. My pressure washer has a general. The ones I rent for a large Powerwashing contract I have use generals and we max those things to the limit for days on end. So, with that I decided to call them. As I understand the case holds more oil and the connceting rod is stronger on their base unit for comparison. The Emperor will probably be standard on every machine I do. I have a General on my pto right now, had to make a new bracket but man is it smooth running... White Magic used them years ago but went to CAT. Maybe others did too? I dunno.

 

[Jimmy L]

Do you think its a price issue?

 

[MerCrewser]

We had constant problems with the Hypro in the old 800A. Alot of people did a CAT conversion on that machine. I learned to hate the Hypro.

 

[Matt King]

The Hypro is a little cheaper. The CAT and General I thought were fairly comparable depending on what you wanted. I'd say for some manufacturers every dollar saved is where it's at. For others, they're probably confident in what they use and see no reason to change.

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Jimmy,
I've had a couple Hypros several Mercurys and a couple other brands I can't remember the name of. All had problems and needed at least annual rebuilding or replacement after a 2-3 year period.

I've now had 4 Cat Pumps in the 4 Butler's I've owned since 1993. They've all been super dependable. My current 3 Cat Pumps have all got over 6000 hours each and none has even been rebuilt yet. I'm not exaggerating. They probably don't work quite like new (I can't tell) , but I pressure wash with them somewhat and the volume and pressure are always adequate and way more than enough for carpet cleaning.

I sure don't miss pump problems. What a pleasure to own Cats. Cat Pumps are the Cat's miaoue. (actual good word in Scrabble).

 

[Dolly Llama]

I haven't used many, but like Matt, all mine have been reliable.

The only one I ever had recurring problems with was the Warner Hydrocell(?) diaphragm pump on my first TM.

One of my pressure washers has a General, my TM has a CAT
They've both been bullet proof.

Joni's uncle owns the car washes in town.
All his pumps are CATs and they last for ever.

I kind of get the feeling it might be a Ford vs Chevy thing.
Or an analogy closer to the bone, Sutorbuilt vs Roots.
They're both quality.


I think CATs are better, though



cuz blue's my favorite color


..L.T.A.

 

[The Great Oz]

Depends on the model for Cats. The old Cat 280/290 was a pump we could put 8,000 hours on before a rebuild, the 3cp goes about 600 hours.

Not had good luck with Hydrocells or Hypros, and the Cat 3cp and 5cps have not been much more reliable. At least the Hys are cheap to rebuild. By the time you buy the high heat kit for a cp and install it, you may as well just throw the old one out and buy a new one.

I talked to the Cat rep at the last Connections, and he told me that I should expect to rebuild a pump once a year. (!) But then he said Cats are great and the only reason they fail is the way they're used. (!)

We're in the process of changing out Cats and going to the new General Emperor HTX. It's an expensive pump, but if it saves one rebuild (or catastrophic failure) it will pay for itself.