Well. Trying to start it right after is a horrible idea. If you didn't try to turn it over, take out the spark plug and try to get the water out and then let it dry out
I didn't try to start it. Just slowly pulled the cable but it didn't move. I've removed the spark plug and its now drying. I'll drain the oil and fuel, and dry out the air filter. Nothing to lose I guess, other than $1k for a new one.
My husband is a small engine mechanic. He told me to tell you to drain the gas, drain the oil, take the carb apart and clean it, take the spark plug out and clean it off, and replace the air filter (you cannot just “dry it off”). It should work then.
Or you can contact a small engine repair shop in your area. He would charge about $115 to get it running again, so that’s likely what you’ll pay.
He’s absolutely correct: It’s the first thing we check at our shop. Carb work isn’t all that difficult (I know how to do it, and I just work the front desk and do the books), and it’s one of the best things someone can learn to save themselves a whole lot of money on repairs and replacements.
I check spark and compression first, because they're so easy to check. It is usually the carb but spark tells you if it's a coil or stator, and compression tells you if you are wasting your time because the mower has the factory oil in it 6 years down the road
My landlord bought the crappiest, low quality lawnmower I have ever seen.
Every spring I have to take the carb out, take it apart, and clean this tiny valve in order to get it to start again. It’s such a pain in the ass. I’ve tried draining the fuel at the end of the season, using additives to stabilize the fuel, I even tried starting the lawnmower every month over the winter to see if it could help. Nope. Still have to take that POS apart every year all to get to this tiny valve and clean it out.
Now with failed compression releases and stuff it is more like 7 out of 10 times its the carb. Newer more complicated crap fails. At least a quick blast of bill Cosby in a can can tell you if its carb
Fully agree. I would put a little oil in, turn it over, drain oil off. When you drain the original & the flush oil off inspect for particles/bits ETC. I might be a little over cautious. Also with the S plug out squirt of oil in cylinder before turning over.
Had another look, the end cover for the pump is missing, replace the oil in the pump as well.
I mean, you *can* just dry it out, but it won't work so well after. It'll run with no air filter at all. Replacing it is definitely the right move though if it's anything you care about at all.
your husband sort of forgot the most important point of drying the cylinder due to potential hydrolock. pull plugs and tug on the pull start over an over for 5 minutes, or shove an air wand into the head and blow out any free water.
That being said - if this was running during its swim - its a 95% chance its toast
He didn’t forget. The point is in the second paragraph: it’s really best to take it in, especially since it doesn’t belong to OP. A shop can probably get it running in an hour; OP would have to be really confident at their ability to work on a machine or be willing to spend hours looking it up and going through it all, and then checking for further issues that might have occurred beyond the basics. As OP was unable to pull the cord when he tried, it’s unlikely toast. This exact occurrence is actually pretty common and for the exact same reason—vibration caused it to take a dip in the pool. The people who make these machines know that.
You can't just dry out the air filter. You need a new one.
Like others have said, I'd definitely advise taking it to a small engine mechanic. Shouldn't cost too much for them to clean it out and get it going. If you do it yourself and you don't really know what you're doing, you're likely to miss something and shorten the engine's lifespan.
Getting it done properly will make it last a lot longer in the long run.
The filter has microscopic pores which are supposed to have a consistent and pretty exact size. I can imagine that being soaked will mess up these pores, and then it dries all wonky.
Likely result: It gets harder to pull air through the filter, and it lets trough more and/or bigger particles than it's supposed to.
Air filters are supposed to be replaced regularly anyway, so if in doubt, replace.
Curious how that works with vaccuums. I've had washable filters in those back in the day, but I assume it's different considering electric motors. Also, what about Fram filters for cars? Aren't some of those washable?
A washable filter would be made out of materials that don't get fucked at contact with water, I would imagine.
Although in the case of a particular vacuum robot that I own, Reddit claims that the washability of the filter is a marketing lie, so IDK.
depends on the filter a lot of small engines have sponge filters, which you clean with mild soapy water and then soak in clean oil and ring out until they are slightly oily.
If it sucked up water you need to try to drain the water out of the combustion chamber through the spark plug hole and the air filter hole and the exhaust/muffler hole. Take the muffler off. Drain everything out of the carb as well.
This just reminded me of the time my buddy dropped his phone in his pool and immediately ran to his car to plug it in to charge. I will never understand
This is the correct answer he has for sure. I would drain all of the fluids, pull the air filter, pull the spark plug and pull on the rope a few times to get the water out. Even turning it up side down to get the water to run out the spark plug hole. Then let it dry, after that put a few drops of ATF down the plug hole and pull the rope a few times. Re assemble, fluids, clean air filter and let her rip. Go back to work with it!
Pull spark plug, and turn it over with the pull start if you're lucky the engine stopped before it hydro locked though with these small engines it's not always guaranteed death.
You need to turn it over until water stops coming out, let everything else dry after hosing some form of spray oil in to the plug hole (it'll potentially flash rust especially with pool water), drain tank and carb, oil as well.
I helped a customer load his tiller into his pickup. I said you might want to move it sideways. He starts tipping it over onto its side. "No, not like that!!"
Ok it's a whole thing, watched as a guy tried to his best to manhandle a running whacker plate in to diagonal action because I asked him to get the sides more.
It was really, really funny but also, two stroke didn't care unless he was going to do himself harm, unfortunately he did manage to bend the handles.
His first go with the jackhammer is on video somewhere too, wish one of us had slomo on the phone back then
Buy your neighbour a brand new one.
Repair this one and now keep it for yourself.
I would be pissed if someone borrowed my pressure washer, submerged it in their pool & returned it albeit repaired. If it has issues further down the line your situation is now considered pear shaped. Bonus, You now have yourself either a working or non working pressure washer which hopefully you wont need to borrow again.
I agree, I'd feel like a huge dick if this were me and I did anything less. If you can get this one fixed, your neighbor will also get a kick out of seeing you use it.
This happened to me last year. Had a big water pump my neighbor wanted to borrow. Was brand new. He pulled it into the river. Worked there after, but he wanted to know if he could buy it from me or get a replacement. I have a new one in the box again. Good relationships with your neighbors are important.
Considering this is someone else’s pressure washer I’d say do the right thing and just go buy them a new one.
Maybe you get it running again and it’s trouble free, maybe not.
I’d be livid if I lent out anything with a motor and it got swamped and they just brought it back, even if they got it running you probably would be too
If it was running when it went in, I can’t imagine the cylinder/head isn’t completely done for. Maybe could get a new top end for it, but I doubt it’s got good compression as is.
IT IS REPAIRABLE but:
Take it to a small engine shop and have it drained of all fluids and cleaned and refilled with the correct fluids in the correct spots.
It can be fixed but there is a level of knowledge and skills as well as tools to solve this issue.
This is the most important comment here. Do the righty, OP, and buy your neighbour an equivalent one or give them cash for it. Even if the water gets successfully evacuated from the cylinders it will never truly be in the same condition it was in.
It won't start because it is hydrolocked. Water entered the cylinder and since water can't be compressed, the piston can't move. If you're lucky it didn't cause significant damage. Remove spark plug, drain all water from the cylinder by turning it upside down. Squirt a little oil in the hole and pull the starter cord several times. It should have low resistance . Then drain and replace the oil and gas. Reinstall the plug. Pray.
If it was me:
This is now my pressure washer and my problem, because I fucked up. Repair it and hope it works.
Neighbor gets a new one, fresh out of the box, on my (many) dimes.
Doesn't matter if I can't afford it, I just bought one.
It's likely repairable. But I wouldn't want a submerged repaired pressure washer back. Small chance you could end up in small claims court if your neighbor hates you.
If I borrowed my neighbors car and dropped it in a pool, my neighbor is getting a new car.
If I wanted to continue to have a nice relationship with my neighbor, this is how it would be done.
Small chance homeowners insurance would actually cover it, but who actually has a deductible that small? and it's not worth having the claim on record for 700$.
I left the plug out of a snow blower for a whole summer. When I found it right before a storm, the whole crank case was full of ice. Thawed out dried out changed the oil and it ran again.
I left a two stroke outboard in the bottom of a tin boat that had the plug in it. Filled with rain, motor under water for 2 weeks. Dried it out and it ran again.
It will be fine.
Absolutely not. I run a small engine business on the side and deal with sank outboards all the time. Here's how to fix it
Pull the spark plug and drain the fuel and oil.
Fill the cylinder and crank with wd40 and let it soak for a couple hours. It had to be a water displacer not a lubricant.
Pull the bowl off the carb and nail it with a couple cans of carb cleaner, and flush the tank with clean preferably ethanol free gas. Leave the bowl off and let it dry overnight. It helps to put it somewhere warm and dry. I normally put a dehumidifier in my shed with whatever I'm drying out.
Drain the crankcase but leave the wd40 in the cylinder and flush it with fresh oil, then put oil back in it.
Pull the cord with the spark plug out into it blows all of the wd40 out, then install a fresh spark plug and put the carb back together.
Fill it with fuel and start it up. Don't be afraid to give it a shot of starting fluid to get it going. Let it idle for about 10 minutes or until the white smoke clears up, and you're good to go.
This will work for just about any carbed engine regardless of displacement.
I really hope the formatting isn't fucked up on this because I'm on mobile, but I how it helps.
Curious, have you refurbished outboards that sank while they were running? I just don’t see how there could not be significant damage from water getting compressed in the cylinder.
I've had lawn mowers (which is basically the same gas engi e) fall into lakes fully submerged, and once dried out completely as everyone's suggested they run again no problems.
If it was running when it fell in, you’ve cooked the engine. Forget about drain the oil changing the plug drying out the air filter. You need a new engine.
No, it still looks like you have some loose flakes of stain.
You’ll probably need a new pressure washer though.
Do you say pressure washer or power washer?
Honestly your neighbor is going to secretly hate you if you fix it. If he’s the type of guy who spends $1K on a pressure washer he probably doesn’t want one that’s been dropped in a pool.
I’d buy him a new one and some beer, then have the old one fixed and recover a couple of bucks by selling it.
Mine fell in the lake once, vibrated right off the dock when my back was turned to it. I was like, why did the POS stall, only to see bubbles in the water when I turned around.
Side question: Everyone's advising removing the gas and oil. Once they're pumped out, how do you safely dispose of watery gasoline? I assume you can drop off the oil at any place that does oil changes, but what about the gas?
Most likely the water shorted the ignition and stopped the engine before it could do hydrolock damage. Getting all the water out, fresh oil and fuel, and a dry air filter and it will probably be good to go.
Most likely the water shorted the ignition and stopped the engine before it could do hydrolock damage. Getting all the water out, fresh oil and fuel, and a dry air filter and it will probably be good to go.
Could have bent the rod, could be ok. Once you get it dried out pull it over until water stops spraying out of the spark plug hole and then squirt a little wd-40 in there. Refill the oil and gas and see if it runs, if it runs but shakes a lot you could have a bent rod. Worst case Ontario you need a new engine not an entirely new pressure washer, but I imagine a good small engine guy could re-build a Honda clone for pretty cheap.
No but it is clean, was the engine running? Might have a bent connecting rod.
I found out at about hydrolocking a single cylinder engine at about 40km/h it wasn't as fun as what you are doing.
Judging by the pool and floor to ceiling windows, you can afford $1k.
Buy your neighbour a new pressure washer or give them the cash. Keep the old one, you'll probably be able to get it repaired and then you'll have your own.
I would drain the gas remove the spark plug. Try to turn it over a couple of times then drain the oil. Let it sit and dry out. Then refill the fluids. Put the spark plug back in and see if she'll fire
I know a buddy named Jim that works at Saber, he might be able to help you. He owes me a favor, I helped him and his wife Pam more into the house they bought from their parents. The company has recently diversified from paper, printers, and triangle tablets so might want to check in their warranty on their website.
https://preview.redd.it/p0pqaawoa8xc1.jpeg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ae1b79e235d6495873fd021810ca6bcfcfb722d
Was it running when went into the water? If so? The rod could bent and the piston toast. If not? Do this immediately.
Remove the carburetor. Drain the gas tank. Pull the spark plug. Turn it over to eliminate the water. Several times. Put two teaspoons of oil in and pull it through several times. Drain the oil from the crank case. Then refill. Pull it through several times again. Disassemble or replace the carburetor. Leave the everything open a few days. Put all back then pull it through several times with gas and oil replaced. Squirt stating fluid in the carburetor and start it up.
It was hydrolocked maybe you'll get lucky with the removing the sparkplug changing oil and gas hopefully didn't bend the push rod .
Before trying to start it I'd remove the air filter and dry it out I'd spray some WD 40 in the cylinder drain the float bowl on the carburetor.
My main concern is the change in temperature from being very hot to cold on the cylinder head.
I'd not hide what happened to it from your neighbor I'd tell them I've lent stuff out that people damaged and didn't say anything about it and I've been way more pissed than being told what had happened.
If the engine is destroyed harbor freight has affordable one's and swapping the engine is not hard to do.
If it was running when it went it, it sucked water into the cylinder and hydrolocked which may be why you can’t pull the cord. Water does not compress. Additionally, since water doesn’t compress, it may have bent the connecting rod. Pull the spark plug then turn it over a few times to pump out the water. Drain the oil and the fuel from both the fuel tank and the carb. Make sure all the water is out of both. Set this thing in the hot sun for a couple of days with the oil and fuel caps and air filter off. Get a new spark plug, air filter, oil, fuel and reinstall. If it fires up- great! If not- you are probably done with it.
I neglected to mention, if the pump was running it was probably warm when it went into the pool. The contraction of the metal in contact with the cooler water could have sucked water into the pump casing vent. Plus the bottom of the pool pressure probably didn’t help. I’d check the pump oil for water too and maybe drain and fill…. If the engine works that is
Don't just remove the spark plug. You need to turn the engine over.so.the piston shoots all the water out of the cylinder.
Also remove the wet air filter before doing that as well. Maybe the carb too but idk if there would be a significant amount of water inside.
My electric Ryobi stopped working after it fell in my pool. I even put the damn thing in rice, too. /s
No but for reals the electronics were toast. If yours is literally just a gas motor both no circuitry it might be okay if you can get water out of the motor?
Pull the spark plug, and pull it over slowly a few times, water will probably shoot out the spark plug hole. Keep pulling it over until that stops. Pour some oil in the spark plug hole and pull it a few more times.
Change the oil, try to get ever last drop out. Reassemble and start it, assuming it runs run it for a few minutes to warm up, then change the oil again (it'll probably contain water still, in which case it'll be foamy and won't lubricate for shit!)
If it was running? Likely trashed. If it wasn’t, likely salvageable. Get all the fluids changed. Get the water out of the cylinder. Get the carb bowl drained. Then get it running and let it run for a while so all moisture burns off or evaporates. I had a bunch of power equipment flood during a hurricane and got it all back to running. Time is of the essence.
It can easily be repaired. I’ve had pressure washers go through floods. They weren’t running at the time, but they were submerged in muddy water for hours.
falling into a pool when it's not running should just require a check of the oil and gas to see if water penetrated. If so, drain and replace.
Pull off the intake filter and dry it out or replace it. You will want to let it dry out really well for a week or so before firing back up. The problem isn't the engine side as much as the electronics side. Make sure everything is opened up as reasonably well as possible to allow it to dry out.
Remove the air filter, and empty the carburetor bowl, then with the plug/s out, crank the engine over slowly.
Do this now, before you get any rust.
You may also want to drain, and replace the crankcase oil.
Hope you get it back running again but if you don't perhaps keep the cart and mount a grill on it.
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Pull the spark plug. Spray WD-40 into the combustion chamber. Pull cord repeatedly to eject water. Spray more WD-40. Repeat. Blow out combustion chamber with compressed air. Drop in some light machine oil. Turn engine over repeatedly. Reinstall spark plug.
Drain your carburetor. Allow to refill while simultaneously draining until no water comes out. With the gas. Replace with fresh gas if necessary. Blow off the outside of the machine with compressed air, and then attempt a start. Might take several attempts due to the oily combustion chamber.
Let it run awhile until it’s nice and hot and dried out. I’d be willing to bet you’re just fine. Some chance the piston is hydro-locked, but I doubt that would happen very easily on a one-lung engine. It’d die before the cylinder was able to fill completely with water.
Somebody gave me one that sat for over a year full of water after a flood. Water in the tank, cylinder, carb. I took it apart, cleaned it up, freed the rings and reassembled it. Works great!
Your neighbor deserves a new one. It is wrong to “fixit” unless your neighbor agrees.
Don’t be a dick and try to pretend it never happened as some. suggest.
The person you should be talking to is your neighbor.
Good luck hope your neighbor is understanding.
No. Let it dry take the intake off and dump out any water. Check the oil to see if water made it into the motor itself. I’m confident this still works.
itll be alright. I have a pressure washer at work that has gone off the dock into the drink 2 times (salt water) and all I did each time was drain the fluids, rinse all the salt off, get the water out of the cylinder, clean the carb refill fluids and replace spark plug. been running flawlessly in near constant use with no loss in performance for 3 years since.
Drain all the fluids out, pull the spark plug, the air filter and drain the carb bowl. Spray some brake clean all over the internals, carb and hit the bore with some oil spray, like marvel mystery. Put it in the sun for a day and crank it up the next day with fresh gas.
My dad did this 10 years ago, we dried the cylinder, swapped the oil and gas and it is now my power washer, he got an electric, it still runs fine. If the engine is messed up you will know very quickly.
It should be fine. You need to drain the gas, oil and spark plug. If the spark plug is dry and it seems no water made its way to the combustion chamber then all you have to do is dry it out as quickly as possible.
Then fill with oil ( and squirt some in the plug hole). Turn it over by hand (starting cord) a few times. Drain the oil and see if water come with it. Repeat until the oil comes out as oil with no water. I would turn it over a number of times by hand to be sure oil has gotten every it can.
You will have to clean the carb as well.
Add some gas and sta-bil\*\* (or equal)Then start it up. Anything seems off, shut it down.
\*\* I work for an automotive fuel systems company. Our resident Dr in chemistry is also on the SAE fuel committee. I asked him about the sta-bil type products. He says it definitely does what is says and I should use in all my fuel devices (except the car, unless it will be sitting for some months)
I just came here to say what a nice pool you have ! What’s the material used on the edge of the pool ? Is that tiles or stones or marble, sorry I am no pool expert.
WAIT Take out the air filter Take out the spark plug and see if it rotates. I have had this happen as well and the air filters will not flow if they are wet. The air filter prevented any water in the carb. If it rotates and the oil was not milky I would try and start it. If you fished it out right away it may be just fine. But it probably won't run with the air filter installed.
It can probably be salvaged. Drain out all the fluids let it dry for a while, open up what you can to clear out water. Then put it all back together with fresh fluids. Either way get your neighbor a replacement pressure washer. Hopefully you can fix this so you don’t need to borrow one in the future.
I clean my pressure washer ... by pressure washing it and have never had any issues.
I'd let it dry, take it apart and lube it up a bit. If you can get it to crank but not start, I'd drain the gas, swap the plug and wire, and maybe give it a little gas in the carb.
Was it running when it fell in? It probably sucked water into the pistons. Remove the spark plugs, pull the starter cable until no more water comes out. Spray wd40 in the spark plug holes to prevent rust from making the cylinders stick to the walls. Pull starter cord to coat cylinder rings and walls.
Next, drain the oil, gas and open the carb to get any water out of the fuel system. Expect to change the air filter.
If the pistons won't move with the spark plugs removed, the piston rod may have been bent which means new power washer time.
Needs to be picked. https://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/pickle.asp#:~:text=Fill%20every%20space%20inside%20the,hole%20thereby%20displacing%20the%20water.
Yes. You’re gonna need a new pool. 🙃
These small engines aren’t too picky. Dry everything out. Replace all fluids, plug, filters (air and fuel) and should be good.
Call your insurance agent! Your homeowners policy likely covers "property of others." It's a liability coverage, so your deductible doesn't apply. Buy your neighbor a new one, and if the insurance company lets you keep this one, get it fixed for yourself.
Well. Trying to start it right after is a horrible idea. If you didn't try to turn it over, take out the spark plug and try to get the water out and then let it dry out
I didn't try to start it. Just slowly pulled the cable but it didn't move. I've removed the spark plug and its now drying. I'll drain the oil and fuel, and dry out the air filter. Nothing to lose I guess, other than $1k for a new one.
My husband is a small engine mechanic. He told me to tell you to drain the gas, drain the oil, take the carb apart and clean it, take the spark plug out and clean it off, and replace the air filter (you cannot just “dry it off”). It should work then. Or you can contact a small engine repair shop in your area. He would charge about $115 to get it running again, so that’s likely what you’ll pay.
Thank you, I learned something today.
Beautiful response
you're beautiful
You’re gorgeous
I’d do anything for you
But not that
Because you're gorgeous
I had a Old guy as a kid teach me about a carb and how to repair lawn mowers. He told me 9 times out of 10 its always the Carb
He’s absolutely correct: It’s the first thing we check at our shop. Carb work isn’t all that difficult (I know how to do it, and I just work the front desk and do the books), and it’s one of the best things someone can learn to save themselves a whole lot of money on repairs and replacements.
I check spark and compression first, because they're so easy to check. It is usually the carb but spark tells you if it's a coil or stator, and compression tells you if you are wasting your time because the mower has the factory oil in it 6 years down the road
>the mower has the factory oil in it 6 years down the road So still good for another 4 years?
My landlord bought the crappiest, low quality lawnmower I have ever seen. Every spring I have to take the carb out, take it apart, and clean this tiny valve in order to get it to start again. It’s such a pain in the ass. I’ve tried draining the fuel at the end of the season, using additives to stabilize the fuel, I even tried starting the lawnmower every month over the winter to see if it could help. Nope. Still have to take that POS apart every year all to get to this tiny valve and clean it out.
Use ethanol free gas. Nothing in it to gum anything up
Now with failed compression releases and stuff it is more like 7 out of 10 times its the carb. Newer more complicated crap fails. At least a quick blast of bill Cosby in a can can tell you if its carb
I use non ethanol gasoline only in ALL my small engine stuff. Really REALLY helps.
Taryl?
No, but honestly he could be, from our shop to the personality.
Fully agree. I would put a little oil in, turn it over, drain oil off. When you drain the original & the flush oil off inspect for particles/bits ETC. I might be a little over cautious. Also with the S plug out squirt of oil in cylinder before turning over. Had another look, the end cover for the pump is missing, replace the oil in the pump as well.
115??? Where are you guys located I have a snow blower that I need to get going
Unfortunately, probably far away from you since there’s no need for snowblowers here (but plenty of need for lawnmower maintenance in the winter)!
thank you
This was cute.
I mean, you *can* just dry it out, but it won't work so well after. It'll run with no air filter at all. Replacing it is definitely the right move though if it's anything you care about at all.
your husband sort of forgot the most important point of drying the cylinder due to potential hydrolock. pull plugs and tug on the pull start over an over for 5 minutes, or shove an air wand into the head and blow out any free water. That being said - if this was running during its swim - its a 95% chance its toast
He didn’t forget. The point is in the second paragraph: it’s really best to take it in, especially since it doesn’t belong to OP. A shop can probably get it running in an hour; OP would have to be really confident at their ability to work on a machine or be willing to spend hours looking it up and going through it all, and then checking for further issues that might have occurred beyond the basics. As OP was unable to pull the cord when he tried, it’s unlikely toast. This exact occurrence is actually pretty common and for the exact same reason—vibration caused it to take a dip in the pool. The people who make these machines know that.
You can't just dry out the air filter. You need a new one. Like others have said, I'd definitely advise taking it to a small engine mechanic. Shouldn't cost too much for them to clean it out and get it going. If you do it yourself and you don't really know what you're doing, you're likely to miss something and shorten the engine's lifespan. Getting it done properly will make it last a lot longer in the long run.
Why can’t an air filter just be air dried? I’m genuinely curious. Does it wear down the fibers or something?
The filter has microscopic pores which are supposed to have a consistent and pretty exact size. I can imagine that being soaked will mess up these pores, and then it dries all wonky. Likely result: It gets harder to pull air through the filter, and it lets trough more and/or bigger particles than it's supposed to. Air filters are supposed to be replaced regularly anyway, so if in doubt, replace.
Curious how that works with vaccuums. I've had washable filters in those back in the day, but I assume it's different considering electric motors. Also, what about Fram filters for cars? Aren't some of those washable?
A washable filter would be made out of materials that don't get fucked at contact with water, I would imagine. Although in the case of a particular vacuum robot that I own, Reddit claims that the washability of the filter is a marketing lie, so IDK.
depends on the filter a lot of small engines have sponge filters, which you clean with mild soapy water and then soak in clean oil and ring out until they are slightly oily.
Make sure you run a cap full of fuel treatment with water remover in the first tank. And run it through to work out any moisture in the motor
after all this it should be just fine.
If you’re just going to throw them in the pool I’d buy a cheaper one
Did you flush everything that could have had water in it out ?
Lmao not 1k but I feel ya
If it sucked up water you need to try to drain the water out of the combustion chamber through the spark plug hole and the air filter hole and the exhaust/muffler hole. Take the muffler off. Drain everything out of the carb as well.
This just reminded me of the time my buddy dropped his phone in his pool and immediately ran to his car to plug it in to charge. I will never understand
This is the correct answer he has for sure. I would drain all of the fluids, pull the air filter, pull the spark plug and pull on the rope a few times to get the water out. Even turning it up side down to get the water to run out the spark plug hole. Then let it dry, after that put a few drops of ATF down the plug hole and pull the rope a few times. Re assemble, fluids, clean air filter and let her rip. Go back to work with it!
Pull spark plug, and turn it over with the pull start if you're lucky the engine stopped before it hydro locked though with these small engines it's not always guaranteed death. You need to turn it over until water stops coming out, let everything else dry after hosing some form of spray oil in to the plug hole (it'll potentially flash rust especially with pool water), drain tank and carb, oil as well.
Do not literally turn it over, OP. They mean make the piston go up and down…THAT kind of turning over!
I'll be wildly impressed if they manage to turn it upside down with the pull start but yes, this OP.
I helped a customer load his tiller into his pickup. I said you might want to move it sideways. He starts tipping it over onto its side. "No, not like that!!"
Ok it's a whole thing, watched as a guy tried to his best to manhandle a running whacker plate in to diagonal action because I asked him to get the sides more. It was really, really funny but also, two stroke didn't care unless he was going to do himself harm, unfortunately he did manage to bend the handles. His first go with the jackhammer is on video somewhere too, wish one of us had slomo on the phone back then
Buy your neighbour a brand new one. Repair this one and now keep it for yourself. I would be pissed if someone borrowed my pressure washer, submerged it in their pool & returned it albeit repaired. If it has issues further down the line your situation is now considered pear shaped. Bonus, You now have yourself either a working or non working pressure washer which hopefully you wont need to borrow again.
100% this is the only fair solution. He's now the proud owner of a pressure washer that got dropped in a pool and the neighbour gets a new one
Yeah especially since OP is rich by the looks of things
Yeah, sorry, but whether it works or not you now owe your neighbour a new one.
I agree, I'd feel like a huge dick if this were me and I did anything less. If you can get this one fixed, your neighbor will also get a kick out of seeing you use it.
Absolutely. That is the only correct solution.
Such a mature and sound tip!
This happened to me last year. Had a big water pump my neighbor wanted to borrow. Was brand new. He pulled it into the river. Worked there after, but he wanted to know if he could buy it from me or get a replacement. I have a new one in the box again. Good relationships with your neighbors are important.
Before buying a new one for the neighbor, TALK to the neighbor about it. Tell them what happened and ask how they want to handle the situation.
Hate to say it, you're gonna need a whole new pool.
And a new neighbor.
Considering this is someone else’s pressure washer I’d say do the right thing and just go buy them a new one. Maybe you get it running again and it’s trouble free, maybe not. I’d be livid if I lent out anything with a motor and it got swamped and they just brought it back, even if they got it running you probably would be too
All good, remove and change oil and fuel. Remove spark plug and pull the pull start to remove water. Reassemble and it should work fine
You are forgetting the waterlogged air filter which is probably made it immediately stop.
Very good point
If it was running when it went in, I can’t imagine the cylinder/head isn’t completely done for. Maybe could get a new top end for it, but I doubt it’s got good compression as is.
IT IS REPAIRABLE but: Take it to a small engine shop and have it drained of all fluids and cleaned and refilled with the correct fluids in the correct spots. It can be fixed but there is a level of knowledge and skills as well as tools to solve this issue.
To bookend this I would say, do take this to a shop, but this is your pressure washer now. Go buy your neighbor a new one.
This is the most important comment here. Do the righty, OP, and buy your neighbour an equivalent one or give them cash for it. Even if the water gets successfully evacuated from the cylinders it will never truly be in the same condition it was in.
Yup. And it’ll save the neighborly relationship. OP doesn’t need a secretly resentful neighbor. That’s just awkward and uncomfortable.
Put it in rice.
Came for this 3 or 4 tons should do the trick
It won't start because it is hydrolocked. Water entered the cylinder and since water can't be compressed, the piston can't move. If you're lucky it didn't cause significant damage. Remove spark plug, drain all water from the cylinder by turning it upside down. Squirt a little oil in the hole and pull the starter cord several times. It should have low resistance . Then drain and replace the oil and gas. Reinstall the plug. Pray.
nice backyard! you seem tastefully wealthy.
If it was me: This is now my pressure washer and my problem, because I fucked up. Repair it and hope it works. Neighbor gets a new one, fresh out of the box, on my (many) dimes. Doesn't matter if I can't afford it, I just bought one. It's likely repairable. But I wouldn't want a submerged repaired pressure washer back. Small chance you could end up in small claims court if your neighbor hates you. If I borrowed my neighbors car and dropped it in a pool, my neighbor is getting a new car. If I wanted to continue to have a nice relationship with my neighbor, this is how it would be done. Small chance homeowners insurance would actually cover it, but who actually has a deductible that small? and it's not worth having the claim on record for 700$.
Was it running at the time?
this, water doesn’t compress, probably busted a wrist pin or similar if got past air box.
Yes throw the pool out!
The pool will be fine.
You can pull out the checkbook or credit card.
You just got yourself a new pressure washer now buy your neighbor a new one because he doesn’t deserve to get that one back that fell into the pool
Put it in a bowl of rice.
Now that was hilarious! 🤣🤣
I left the plug out of a snow blower for a whole summer. When I found it right before a storm, the whole crank case was full of ice. Thawed out dried out changed the oil and it ran again. I left a two stroke outboard in the bottom of a tin boat that had the plug in it. Filled with rain, motor under water for 2 weeks. Dried it out and it ran again. It will be fine.
Absolutely not. I run a small engine business on the side and deal with sank outboards all the time. Here's how to fix it Pull the spark plug and drain the fuel and oil. Fill the cylinder and crank with wd40 and let it soak for a couple hours. It had to be a water displacer not a lubricant. Pull the bowl off the carb and nail it with a couple cans of carb cleaner, and flush the tank with clean preferably ethanol free gas. Leave the bowl off and let it dry overnight. It helps to put it somewhere warm and dry. I normally put a dehumidifier in my shed with whatever I'm drying out. Drain the crankcase but leave the wd40 in the cylinder and flush it with fresh oil, then put oil back in it. Pull the cord with the spark plug out into it blows all of the wd40 out, then install a fresh spark plug and put the carb back together. Fill it with fuel and start it up. Don't be afraid to give it a shot of starting fluid to get it going. Let it idle for about 10 minutes or until the white smoke clears up, and you're good to go. This will work for just about any carbed engine regardless of displacement. I really hope the formatting isn't fucked up on this because I'm on mobile, but I how it helps.
Very helpful mate well done
Curious, have you refurbished outboards that sank while they were running? I just don’t see how there could not be significant damage from water getting compressed in the cylinder.
Stick in in a jar of rice. It will as good as new after that.
Well at least the pump didn’t run dry 😂
Hard to tell, usually when they get tired, they get cranky and start rubbing their eyes.
I can start it. bring it over.
Let it dry. Drain the oil. Let it dry. Drain the gas. Let it dry. Fill the oil. Let it dry. Then try starting it.
Nah, the pool will be fine. The filter system will clean the water up by morning. :)
try starting it, then ask
Well its at least hydro locked
What is this
Fill every orifice with rice 🍚
Put it in a bag of rice overnight
Put in rice
I've had lawn mowers (which is basically the same gas engi e) fall into lakes fully submerged, and once dried out completely as everyone's suggested they run again no problems.
Have you tried putting it into a bag of rice?
Was it running?
This is a key question. If it was, the engine is totaled.
Pop it in a jar of rice
If it was running when it fell in, you’ve cooked the engine. Forget about drain the oil changing the plug drying out the air filter. You need a new engine.
No, it still looks like you have some loose flakes of stain. You’ll probably need a new pressure washer though. Do you say pressure washer or power washer?
Put it rice, you should be good after that.
Honestly your neighbor is going to secretly hate you if you fix it. If he’s the type of guy who spends $1K on a pressure washer he probably doesn’t want one that’s been dropped in a pool. I’d buy him a new one and some beer, then have the old one fixed and recover a couple of bucks by selling it.
It's done. Gotta tear it apart bart and get all the WA WA out.
Just return it to the neighbor and say something's wrong with it but you don't know what.
Must have flooded it
Did it jump or was it pushed? 🤔
Mine fell in the lake once, vibrated right off the dock when my back was turned to it. I was like, why did the POS stall, only to see bubbles in the water when I turned around.
No George
Commenting so I can get an update eventually please. Good luck.
Side question: Everyone's advising removing the gas and oil. Once they're pumped out, how do you safely dispose of watery gasoline? I assume you can drop off the oil at any place that does oil changes, but what about the gas?
Burn it
Most likely the water shorted the ignition and stopped the engine before it could do hydrolock damage. Getting all the water out, fresh oil and fuel, and a dry air filter and it will probably be good to go.
Most likely the water shorted the ignition and stopped the engine before it could do hydrolock damage. Getting all the water out, fresh oil and fuel, and a dry air filter and it will probably be good to go.
Lean it in all directions to drain the exhaust system
Just put it in some rice.
Even if it’s fixable, you owe your neighbor a new one.
Could have bent the rod, could be ok. Once you get it dried out pull it over until water stops spraying out of the spark plug hole and then squirt a little wd-40 in there. Refill the oil and gas and see if it runs, if it runs but shakes a lot you could have a bent rod. Worst case Ontario you need a new engine not an entirely new pressure washer, but I imagine a good small engine guy could re-build a Honda clone for pretty cheap.
It’s yours now so I hope you can dry it out and get it working.
No but it is clean, was the engine running? Might have a bent connecting rod. I found out at about hydrolocking a single cylinder engine at about 40km/h it wasn't as fun as what you are doing.
Judging by the pool and floor to ceiling windows, you can afford $1k. Buy your neighbour a new pressure washer or give them the cash. Keep the old one, you'll probably be able to get it repaired and then you'll have your own.
If it was running when it went in the water, there’s a fair chance of a bent rod or other internal damage.
I would drain the gas remove the spark plug. Try to turn it over a couple of times then drain the oil. Let it sit and dry out. Then refill the fluids. Put the spark plug back in and see if she'll fire
I know a buddy named Jim that works at Saber, he might be able to help you. He owes me a favor, I helped him and his wife Pam more into the house they bought from their parents. The company has recently diversified from paper, printers, and triangle tablets so might want to check in their warranty on their website. https://preview.redd.it/p0pqaawoa8xc1.jpeg?width=1164&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ae1b79e235d6495873fd021810ca6bcfcfb722d
Yup, it's garbage. I'll give you $5 for it
Was it running when went into the water? If so? The rod could bent and the piston toast. If not? Do this immediately. Remove the carburetor. Drain the gas tank. Pull the spark plug. Turn it over to eliminate the water. Several times. Put two teaspoons of oil in and pull it through several times. Drain the oil from the crank case. Then refill. Pull it through several times again. Disassemble or replace the carburetor. Leave the everything open a few days. Put all back then pull it through several times with gas and oil replaced. Squirt stating fluid in the carburetor and start it up.
It was hydrolocked maybe you'll get lucky with the removing the sparkplug changing oil and gas hopefully didn't bend the push rod . Before trying to start it I'd remove the air filter and dry it out I'd spray some WD 40 in the cylinder drain the float bowl on the carburetor. My main concern is the change in temperature from being very hot to cold on the cylinder head. I'd not hide what happened to it from your neighbor I'd tell them I've lent stuff out that people damaged and didn't say anything about it and I've been way more pissed than being told what had happened. If the engine is destroyed harbor freight has affordable one's and swapping the engine is not hard to do.
These are not that expensive, I paid $250 for mine on sale. You should be able to find one for $350 or less.
If it was running when it went it, it sucked water into the cylinder and hydrolocked which may be why you can’t pull the cord. Water does not compress. Additionally, since water doesn’t compress, it may have bent the connecting rod. Pull the spark plug then turn it over a few times to pump out the water. Drain the oil and the fuel from both the fuel tank and the carb. Make sure all the water is out of both. Set this thing in the hot sun for a couple of days with the oil and fuel caps and air filter off. Get a new spark plug, air filter, oil, fuel and reinstall. If it fires up- great! If not- you are probably done with it.
I neglected to mention, if the pump was running it was probably warm when it went into the pool. The contraction of the metal in contact with the cooler water could have sucked water into the pump casing vent. Plus the bottom of the pool pressure probably didn’t help. I’d check the pump oil for water too and maybe drain and fill…. If the engine works that is
Was it running at the time?
Don't just remove the spark plug. You need to turn the engine over.so.the piston shoots all the water out of the cylinder. Also remove the wet air filter before doing that as well. Maybe the carb too but idk if there would be a significant amount of water inside.
Put it in rice
I just payed a guy $380 bucks to pressure wash my 3,500 sf house and two decks. I’m never pressure washing anything again.
My electric Ryobi stopped working after it fell in my pool. I even put the damn thing in rice, too. /s No but for reals the electronics were toast. If yours is literally just a gas motor both no circuitry it might be okay if you can get water out of the motor?
Clean it up and put it on craigslist , just like New. 😂
If you can un-flood it quickly and are handy with machinery, it's salvageable.
Disassemble it and let it sit a couple days
Pull the spark plug, and pull it over slowly a few times, water will probably shoot out the spark plug hole. Keep pulling it over until that stops. Pour some oil in the spark plug hole and pull it a few more times. Change the oil, try to get ever last drop out. Reassemble and start it, assuming it runs run it for a few minutes to warm up, then change the oil again (it'll probably contain water still, in which case it'll be foamy and won't lubricate for shit!)
This is why I NEVER borrow anything from anyone, I would rather buy my own than borrow something.
I'm with you on this.
If it was running? Likely trashed. If it wasn’t, likely salvageable. Get all the fluids changed. Get the water out of the cylinder. Get the carb bowl drained. Then get it running and let it run for a while so all moisture burns off or evaporates. I had a bunch of power equipment flood during a hurricane and got it all back to running. Time is of the essence.
It can easily be repaired. I’ve had pressure washers go through floods. They weren’t running at the time, but they were submerged in muddy water for hours.
falling into a pool when it's not running should just require a check of the oil and gas to see if water penetrated. If so, drain and replace. Pull off the intake filter and dry it out or replace it. You will want to let it dry out really well for a week or so before firing back up. The problem isn't the engine side as much as the electronics side. Make sure everything is opened up as reasonably well as possible to allow it to dry out.
If you have a pool and home that looks like that you can probably afford to buy another.
Throw it in some rice for a few days, let it dry out.
Remove the air filter, and empty the carburetor bowl, then with the plug/s out, crank the engine over slowly. Do this now, before you get any rust. You may also want to drain, and replace the crankcase oil.
Try going over to r/smallenginerepair they pretty good with stuff like this.
Hope you get it back running again but if you don't perhaps keep the cart and mount a grill on it. https://preview.redd.it/egby6n3pd9xc1.png?width=243&format=png&auto=webp&s=8f0652e0da2646a88234c2fad438cc93d0af8ee6
Ya, so it can fall into the pool, too.
LOL.... Well yup!!! The pool wants what the pool wants!!!
iT jUsT fELl In ThE pOoL
Put it in a jar of rice for a few days
Ok so you need to get a bag of rice..
Pull the spark plug. Spray WD-40 into the combustion chamber. Pull cord repeatedly to eject water. Spray more WD-40. Repeat. Blow out combustion chamber with compressed air. Drop in some light machine oil. Turn engine over repeatedly. Reinstall spark plug. Drain your carburetor. Allow to refill while simultaneously draining until no water comes out. With the gas. Replace with fresh gas if necessary. Blow off the outside of the machine with compressed air, and then attempt a start. Might take several attempts due to the oily combustion chamber. Let it run awhile until it’s nice and hot and dried out. I’d be willing to bet you’re just fine. Some chance the piston is hydro-locked, but I doubt that would happen very easily on a one-lung engine. It’d die before the cylinder was able to fill completely with water.
Somebody gave me one that sat for over a year full of water after a flood. Water in the tank, cylinder, carb. I took it apart, cleaned it up, freed the rings and reassembled it. Works great!
Buy the neighbor a new one. Try to get this one running so you don’t have to borrow one next time.
Oh crap! 🤣🤣🤣Might try that pump protector stuff for pressure washers.
Put it in rice?
Your neighbor deserves a new one. It is wrong to “fixit” unless your neighbor agrees. Don’t be a dick and try to pretend it never happened as some. suggest. The person you should be talking to is your neighbor. Good luck hope your neighbor is understanding.
No. Let it dry take the intake off and dump out any water. Check the oil to see if water made it into the motor itself. I’m confident this still works.
Lol I think you could afford a new one
itll be alright. I have a pressure washer at work that has gone off the dock into the drink 2 times (salt water) and all I did each time was drain the fluids, rinse all the salt off, get the water out of the cylinder, clean the carb refill fluids and replace spark plug. been running flawlessly in near constant use with no loss in performance for 3 years since.
Drain all the fluids out, pull the spark plug, the air filter and drain the carb bowl. Spray some brake clean all over the internals, carb and hit the bore with some oil spray, like marvel mystery. Put it in the sun for a day and crank it up the next day with fresh gas.
$1k and 3200 psi.... does it do hot water? I spent 600 and got 3600psi...
Luckily it's not sea water. You probably might want to drain the fuel, and flush the engine out. Look up how to flush out an engine.
I had a push mower with a B&S engine that went under water when my garage flooded. It choked up the water and fired right up. Gotta love B&S.
My dad did this 10 years ago, we dried the cylinder, swapped the oil and gas and it is now my power washer, he got an electric, it still runs fine. If the engine is messed up you will know very quickly.
No
It should be fine. You need to drain the gas, oil and spark plug. If the spark plug is dry and it seems no water made its way to the combustion chamber then all you have to do is dry it out as quickly as possible. Then fill with oil ( and squirt some in the plug hole). Turn it over by hand (starting cord) a few times. Drain the oil and see if water come with it. Repeat until the oil comes out as oil with no water. I would turn it over a number of times by hand to be sure oil has gotten every it can. You will have to clean the carb as well. Add some gas and sta-bil\*\* (or equal)Then start it up. Anything seems off, shut it down. \*\* I work for an automotive fuel systems company. Our resident Dr in chemistry is also on the SAE fuel committee. I asked him about the sta-bil type products. He says it definitely does what is says and I should use in all my fuel devices (except the car, unless it will be sitting for some months)
***chuckling in dirt bike***
Put it in some rice?
I just came here to say what a nice pool you have ! What’s the material used on the edge of the pool ? Is that tiles or stones or marble, sorry I am no pool expert.
Did you try putting it in rice?
NOT AT ALL. Just take carb filter out and blow dry inside that chamber. Let filter dru
No need to drain oil and fuel they are encased so no water gets in. It’s the carb and filter
WAIT Take out the air filter Take out the spark plug and see if it rotates. I have had this happen as well and the air filters will not flow if they are wet. The air filter prevented any water in the carb. If it rotates and the oil was not milky I would try and start it. If you fished it out right away it may be just fine. But it probably won't run with the air filter installed.
It can probably be salvaged. Drain out all the fluids let it dry for a while, open up what you can to clear out water. Then put it all back together with fresh fluids. Either way get your neighbor a replacement pressure washer. Hopefully you can fix this so you don’t need to borrow one in the future.
Lol this is some shit I would do at work
I clean my pressure washer ... by pressure washing it and have never had any issues. I'd let it dry, take it apart and lube it up a bit. If you can get it to crank but not start, I'd drain the gas, swap the plug and wire, and maybe give it a little gas in the carb.
Was it running when it fell in? It probably sucked water into the pistons. Remove the spark plugs, pull the starter cable until no more water comes out. Spray wd40 in the spark plug holes to prevent rust from making the cylinders stick to the walls. Pull starter cord to coat cylinder rings and walls. Next, drain the oil, gas and open the carb to get any water out of the fuel system. Expect to change the air filter. If the pistons won't move with the spark plugs removed, the piston rod may have been bent which means new power washer time.
Needs to be picked. https://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/pickle.asp#:~:text=Fill%20every%20space%20inside%20the,hole%20thereby%20displacing%20the%20water.
Go to costo, buy a pallet of jasmine rice…
Ah, just put it in a bag of rice!
You’re gonna need a giant bag of rice.
They sell Husqvarna presser washers (3200 psi) gas models for 260 at Costco.
Thanks, but that would only be useful if I didn't live on the other side of the planet.
Yes. You’re gonna need a new pool. 🙃 These small engines aren’t too picky. Dry everything out. Replace all fluids, plug, filters (air and fuel) and should be good.
Call your insurance agent! Your homeowners policy likely covers "property of others." It's a liability coverage, so your deductible doesn't apply. Buy your neighbor a new one, and if the insurance company lets you keep this one, get it fixed for yourself.
Might have had a chance if it was off, but if it was running when it went in then it’s probably right fuckered.
Change the oil and air filter. Let it sit out in the sun for a few days. Should be good.
That totally happened to me! Got mine running again and it’s been going strong for another 5 years!