Farside
Badly Welded Man
- Messages
- 5,459
- Location
- Ireland
Rummaging around, I came across a Tecumseh 8hp engine I'd bought to make a small genset with, a few years ago. That idea got superceded with the purchase of a proper genny, and the Tecumseh engine is now spare.
Recently, I was hacked off with the abysmal performance of the pressure washer I'd bought to replace the very good Sealey semi-pro one I've had for years, that got wrecked in the flood.
Yesterday, it suddenly struck me that I could make a fairly good pressure washer from available bits, as pumps are coming out of China / Taiwan, etc for reasonable money, but there's one awkward thing...
The Tecumseh output shaft is 1" dia with a keyway, and all the reasonably-priced pumps are 3/4" and 7/8" input shaft sizes. To get a 1" pump immediately steps up into the commercial grade pumps and they start around $300 (that's getting one from the US and prices here are even worse) plus shipping and duty, of course. So, that knocks the idea of a cheap and cheerful easy assembly on the head.
Then I had a thought.
If I took a pump like this Wilks (which seems to be fairly well regarded)...
Which has, as you see, a 3/4" input, I wondered if it would be feasible to use this one of two ways...
1. Extend the shaft of the engine with a bored sleeve over that, that provides the pump with its 3/4" drive, and build a small bellhousing to hold them in alignment.
2. Mount the pump and engine side-by-side and use a belt drive (V or toothed, as necessary), but this would mean making a 3/4" shaft, a bearing plate and a mount for the pump.
Anyone ever done this?
Ideas welcome.
Recently, I was hacked off with the abysmal performance of the pressure washer I'd bought to replace the very good Sealey semi-pro one I've had for years, that got wrecked in the flood.
Yesterday, it suddenly struck me that I could make a fairly good pressure washer from available bits, as pumps are coming out of China / Taiwan, etc for reasonable money, but there's one awkward thing...
The Tecumseh output shaft is 1" dia with a keyway, and all the reasonably-priced pumps are 3/4" and 7/8" input shaft sizes. To get a 1" pump immediately steps up into the commercial grade pumps and they start around $300 (that's getting one from the US and prices here are even worse) plus shipping and duty, of course. So, that knocks the idea of a cheap and cheerful easy assembly on the head.
Then I had a thought.
If I took a pump like this Wilks (which seems to be fairly well regarded)...
Which has, as you see, a 3/4" input, I wondered if it would be feasible to use this one of two ways...
1. Extend the shaft of the engine with a bored sleeve over that, that provides the pump with its 3/4" drive, and build a small bellhousing to hold them in alignment.
2. Mount the pump and engine side-by-side and use a belt drive (V or toothed, as necessary), but this would mean making a 3/4" shaft, a bearing plate and a mount for the pump.
Anyone ever done this?
Ideas welcome.