# Pressure washer blew the garden hose



## tucker0104 (Dec 1, 2010)

I wash pressure washing today and notice a bulge in the garden hose that was connected as a suction to the pressure washer pump. Next thing I know, the garden hose split. I have used this hose plenty of times spraying plants with a sprayer nozzle on it. I noticed it bulged some from the time I used it with the pressure washer about a month ago but it really bulged this time and ended up splitting. What could possibly be wrong with the pressure washer to cause this?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

How high is your water pressure and what diameter and kind of hose was it? You may need a pressure regulator to drop your water pressure if it is excessive. Cheaper vinyl hoses will split like that. Sometimes even nice, heavy rubber ones just get old and break down. I don't think it was your pressure washer per se.

Not sure what you mean by a vacuum or suction hose? Were you using it somehow to syphon liquid from a container or something? Hard to see the thing building up enough pressure from suction to hurt the hose?


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## tucker0104 (Dec 1, 2010)

Thanks for the reply. I now think the seals on the pump are bad somehow letting the pressure leak back to the suction side of the pump and into the garden hose causing it to fail. I just mean the garden hose was the suction / supply to the pressure washer.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Far more likly the hose just failed from age or a flaw in the hose.
Cut it off and install a new brass swivel fitting and see what happens.


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## CaptRandy (Nov 9, 2011)

They will build up back pressure if the unloader does not work properly and release the excess pressure when you leave the gun closed for a period of time. Always a use a rubber (expensive) hose for supply line. What happened to you is the reason you should never stand straddling a hose. Always keep to the side of either the supply or the pressure hose. I carry different lengths of supply hose for various locations.


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Methinks the homeowner should go to the nearest good hardware store and buy a water pressure gauge to test the water pressure at his outside faucets. I use my pressure washer a lot in my business and always check the static water pressure before hooking up my hose. I also have a "Water pressure regulator" as used with RV's that I put on any faucet that shows me more than 45 psi.


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## CaptRandy (Nov 9, 2011)

The problem with a defective unloader is that the back pressure on the hose actually pushes water back into the source system and then it will contaminate the system. The pumps are meant to have not pressure but a volume of flow available to run correctly. My pumps run on 3.5 gpm or
5.5 gpm depending on which machine I am using. To check it turn the water on and measure the volume produced in one minute. Be sure this is equal to or more than you pump requires.


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