When you purchase the pressure washer, one thing that you will notice in every pressure washer specification is the GPM. The pressure washer is a powerful cleaning machine that cleans the surface by throwing a high-pressure jet. The pressure washer’s power is generally measured in psi, and the pressure washer with more PSI is considered good. But what are the purpose and the importance of GPM in a pressure washer, and why is it necessary to consider the GPM in purchasing the pressure washer.
In this article, we are going to learn about the GPM in the pressure washer and its importance.
What Does GPM Mean On A Pressure Washer
GPM is the abbreviation of gallons per minute. It is the amount of water that is discharging from the nozzle. The pressure washer is generally measured in the psi, but the GPM has its essentials. When purchasing the pressure washer, it is written in the specification. Still, if you have the old pressure washer and want to determine the flow rate, you can easily find out by filling the large bucket for a minute and measuring the volume of water in gallons. Generally, the household pressure washer has a GPM of 1 to 3, but it can be higher depending on the cleaning purpose and requirement.
Why Is GPM Important?
GPM is essential in pressure washer selection. The water has its cleaning capabilities, and the pressure washer that sprays more water in a minute will clean faster. Consider two pressure washers with a pressure of 2000 psi. The first one has a flow rate of 1.5 GPM, and the second has a flow rate of 3 GPM. The first one will take double the time compared to the second one to clean the same area. Therefore, it is essential in pressure washer selection.
Some people might think that pressure is less important than the GPM in force, but that is not true. Both the PSI and GPM have their importance. Imagine two pressure washers with a GPM of 2. The first has a pressure of 1500 psi, and the second has a force of 3000 psi. The second one will clean the area half the time due to more pressure. Experts combine the effect of pressure and the GPM in the pressure to have a general idea about the cleaning efficiency known as the cleaning unit.
The cleaning unit is the product of PSI and GPM. The pressure washer with 3000 psi and 1 GPM will have a cleaning unit of 3000. This would be the same as the pressure washer of 2000 psi and 1.5 GPM specification, and in theory, both of them should clean the area at the same time.
What GPM To Choose In Pressure Washer
GPM is not the primary basis of the selection of the pressure washer. There is a pressure limit required to remove the item from the surface. For example, the amount of pressure needed to lift the gum from the concrete would differ from removing the gum from steel. Once that pressure level is reached, it will not make much difference.
Consider that your car requires 1500 psi to clean effectively. Now that you have reached that pressure, it will get cleaned effectively. An increase in pressure would not make much difference in reducing the cleaning time, but too much growth in pressure might create damage. That is where GPM comes in; the pressure washer with high GPM will clean faster and require less effort.
Conclusion
GPM stands for Gallon per minute, and it is the contributing factor in choosing the pressure washer. It has the strength to lift the stains, and the pressure washer with high GPM will have more cleaning power. Some experts count the GPM above the PSI in choosing the pressure washer because increasing the pressure at constant GPM might damage the surface, but an increase in the GPM at constant PSI would not damage the surface but reduce the cleaning time and effort. There is a simple way to determine the GPM of the pressure, and it is usually between 1 to 3.
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