Hot take: The number of guys I see using a 3/4-inch suction hose for a 6-inch cutterhead is genuinely baffling.

After watching a crew in Baton Rouge spend a whole afternoon clearing a clog that would've taken twenty minutes with the right hose size, I have to ask, what's the most basic piece of gear you see people consistently using wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew_walker13d ago

Saw a video last week where a guy was using a standard garden hose to try and feed a big pressure washer. It just can't move enough water, so the machine kept surging and stalling. The basics seem to get overlooked for speed or because it's what's on the truck. What's the point of having all that power if you choke it off at the supply?

abbyf7913d ago

Forget just losing power, that undersized hose is a safety bomb waiting to go off. You're building up crazy pressure and heat in the line before the cutterhead. I saw a cheap coupling blow once and whip back like a snake, could have taken someone's head off. Saving twenty minutes on a parts run isn't worth a trip to the ER.

rivera.shane13d ago

Honestly, is it that big of a deal? Sometimes you just use what's on the truck to get the job moving. @drew_walker makes a fair point about choking off power, but not every clog is a crisis. Maybe that crew in Baton Rouge had their reasons for using that hose, like it was all they had left on a Friday afternoon. We've all made do with less-than-perfect gear to avoid a parts run. Sure, it might cost you some time later, but sometimes getting started now is worth the hassle.