When do you change out your pressure washer tips

[Screened Gear]

Just curious if you guys change them. I think mine is going to die soon.

[patfinn]

I bought a expensive one, and its been running like a champ. Buy a good one and you shouldnt have to replace it.

[RICK STEFANICK]

NEVER. I BUY A NEW 89.00 MODEL A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR..

[alan802]

I guess I don't ever buy a new tip, it always just works like it did the day before.  I've bought new guns but never a tip.

[patfinn]

NEVER. I BUY A NEW 89.00 MODEL A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR..

used to do the same thing.. but once you get busy enough, it comes to a point where it becomes a pain in the ass to stop and go buy another one, plus in my experience, the cheaper guys have hard spots on the corners of the fan spray, so your not getting an even fan.. I never bought the good one, but we bit the bullet and did it, and im super happy for it

[sweetts]

I soak mine in clr to clean it once a year, it might not be needed but have always do yearly maintenance on everything if it needs it or not, kind of an ocd type thing for me

Sent  from samsung gem(the worst smart phone ever)

[RICK STEFANICK]

NEVER. I BUY A NEW 89.00 MODEL A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR..

used to do the same thing.. but once you get busy enough, it comes to a point where it becomes a pain in the ass to stop and go buy another one, plus in my experience, the cheaper guys have hard spots on the corners of the fan spray, so your not getting an even fan.. I never bought the good one, but we bit the bullet and did it, and im super happy for it

yea, i agree. maybe this fall 

[Sbrem]

I've only ever changed tips when I've replaced the motor or pump, and the specs would call for a different tip. I paid around $500 20 years ago, still runs all day every day. Had to replace the pump once. Industrial is the way to go if you want to forget about it for the rest of your life...

Steve

[Screened Gear]

I figured no one does. (cheap asses)

Here is something I read...

‘You should replace it when it is worn’ is the easy answer. But how long do they last?

Most operators have an attitude of ‘If it ain’t broken, why fix it?’, but what they don’t realize is that if a nozzle on a pressure washer wears away (and they do) by a small margin, you will experience an amplified drop in pressure and cleaning capacity, which means:

Longer cleaning (waste of time, increase in cost)
Less efficient cleaning
If a pressure washer’s nozzle’s diameter increases by as little as 10% due to wear, you will experience a 21% drop in pressure.


They are really cheap maybe $15 to $25. I figured I would get a new one and see if there is a change. I have had mine for about 2 years.

[jsheridan]

Get a quick change rod end, buy a few tips and replace them when you feel like it.

You will never notice the change in cleaning unless you use my friends washer tip that hasn't been changed in 5 years..

[Orion]

Thanks for the tip , I never thought of a wand tip getting worn and losing pressure. Changed ours out yesterday.

[Screened Gear]

Thanks for the tip , I never thought of a wand tip getting worn and losing pressure. Changed ours out yesterday.

Did it make a deference?

[Orion]

Sure did. The old one was used for about two and a half years.

[alan802]

I just checked ours, it's two, thin stainless steal strips coming together at an angle.  I took some sandpaper and filed the tips a bit and it's as good as new.  It's well over 5 years old, but there isn't anything about it that would really age and cause any pressure problems if I put some sandpaper on it every once in a while.  Maybe we have a different tip than everyone else, but this thing can't go bad as far as I can tell.

[ScreenFoo]

I think we have the same type of wand as you, Alan--If you do, you still have a ceramic tip behind that, the strips are what adjust the pattern from a stream to a fan.

Out of curiosity, how many hours do you guys go before changing your tips? 
They seem to go to crap in no time on the home cheapo models, but don't so much on the nicer ones.
I suppose since the valve went out on the wand a couple years back and we just replaced the whole thing we've replaced the tip once, but there was no discernible difference between the two spraying.