Why You Must Anti-Freeze Your Jetting Machine This Winter

Now that the cold season is in full swing make sure to anti-freeze your Jetting machines when they are not in use.

 

Its no secret that in this weather water turns to ice very quickly and improper use of the anti-freeze system or failure to circulate anti-freeze around your jetting machine properly can cause damage to the pump.

Luckily for you if you have purchased one of our jetting machines then we have a system in place and all the information that you are going to need to prevent this from happening.

First of all if you think that there is any chance your machine is frozen DO NOT start it, The second the key is turned in the engine its too late!!!

If the machine is started whilst frozen the plungers in the pump will engage and if the boars are now filled with ice instead of water it simply cannot compress the ice and will cause damage to the rods, seals and anything in its way.

Click the link below to download the antifreeze instructions for our 3008 Jetting machine, If you have a different machine the principle is the same, you must run antifreeze through the pump and main hose as well as the return hoses.

3008 Antifreeze instructions v1

.pdf

Download PDF • 197KB

In the event that you do forget to antifreeze the machine and it becomes frozen then you must defrost the machine before using it. There is a few different methods for this such as you can try to defrost the machine by putting a heater in the back of the van or by running hot water over all areas of the machine that carry water and could be affected by the ice. But you must be sure that it is fully defrosted before attempting to start.

Some Signs That Your Machine Is Frozen:

1. The Control Valve Will Not Move When Trying To Turn the Handle

2. The Drain Valve Either Wont Open Or If It Does No Water Will Run Out

3. Remove The Water Filter Bowl And If There Is Any Signs Of Ice Then The Machine Is Frozen.

4. The Pressure Gauge Is Reading More Than 0psi Even When Turned Off

Visible Signs That My Machine Has Been Damaged By Frost:

1. There Will Be Water Leaking Between The Brass Pump Head Section And The Grey Pump Its self

2. The Hose Will Be Juddering And Pulsing Whilst Not Giving You A Constant Stream Of Water Out The End Of The Jetting Hose

3. Your Water Filter Could Be Cracked

4. The Rubber Bung Has Blown Out The Top Of Your Pressure Gauge

5. One Of The 32mm Brass Nuts On The Pump Head Has Blown Out

6. Lack Of Pressure Whilst Jetting

What Happens To Your Machine If It Is Started Whilst Frozen:

Inside of the brass section of your pump head this is where all the work happens to create the desired pressure that your machine runs at, What this means is that the pistons have a very high workload which if ran with water are absolutely fine but as soon as they try to compress ice this is the outcome, the plungers will push the ice straight through the valve carriers and if your lucky once this has happened it will cause a lack of pressure and a water leak, as soon as you get this fixed you are back to working as good as new.

But if you are unlucky or have a very hard frost the plungers will keep on trying to compress the ice that hasn't yet cleared and this could bigger problems such as:

1. Bend The Crankshaft In Your Engine

2. Push A Brass Nut Out Of The Pump And Stripping The Thread On The Way

3. Cracked Ceramics Inside The Pump Head

4. A Snapped Shaft Within The Pump

In Conclusion

If you have any doubts that any part of your Jetting machine is frozen DO NOT START IT, Make sure you take the necessary precautions in the winter months to avoid your machine becoming frozen. If you are unsure Of How To Anti-freeze your machine properly then download the pdf file above and rear through the instructions and follow them step by step, or scan the QR code and watch the demonstration video.