Okay, let's talk about getting water to a pressure washer when you're out on a job and there's no tap nearby. This was something I had to figure out pretty quick.

Figuring out the Water Problem

So, I got this decent pressure washer, right? Ready to tackle some serious cleaning jobs. First few gigs were fine, hooked straight up to the customer's hose bib. Easy. Then I landed a job out a bit further, cleaning some equipment on a farm property. Got there, set everything up, and realized... no water hookup anywhere close. Like, nowhere. That was a bit of a panic moment.

I couldn't just run hundreds of feet of hose, pressure drop would be a killer, and it’s just a pain. Knew I needed some kind of portable water source. Started looking into water tanks specifically for pressure washing.

Choosing and Getting the Tank

Found out there are all sorts of tanks. Big ones, small ones, flat ones, tall ones. I needed something big enough to actually get some work done, but not so huge I couldn't move it myself or fit it in my truck bed. Ended up deciding on a 100-gallon leg tank. Those sit pretty stable. Picked one up from a local farm supply place. Grabbed some fittings too – needed a way to get water out and into the washer.

• Got the tank.
• Bought a bulkhead fitting for the outlet.
• Picked up some heavy-duty hose.
• Got a ball valve to control the flow.
• Important bit: Added an inline water filter. Didn't want junk from the tank messing up my pressure washer pump.

Putting It All Together

Back at my workshop, the first job was installing that bulkhead fitting. Had to drill a hole near the bottom of the tank. Measured twice, drilled once, sweating a bit hoping I didn't crack the plastic. It went okay, thankfully. Screwed the fitting in nice and tight, used some sealant just to be safe.

Then I attached the ball valve to the bulkhead fitting. Easy enough. Connected a short length of sturdy hose from the ball valve to the water filter. Then another piece of hose from the filter, ready to connect to the pressure washer's inlet.

Next was figuring out how to haul it. The tank fit okay in my truck bed. Used some strong ratchet straps to pin it down against the front of the bed. Didn't want 100 gallons of water sloshing around back there. That's over 800 pounds, gotta respect that weight.

First Run and Lessons Learned

Filled it up at home first for a test run. Took a while to fill 100 gallons! Checked all my connections for leaks – found a small drip at the ball valve, tightened it up a bit more. Good to go.

Hooked up the pressure washer. Opened the ball valve. The washer took a second longer to prime than usual, pulling water from the tank instead of a pressurized hose bib. But then it kicked in and worked like a charm. Pressure felt good.

The 100 gallons lasted a decent amount of time, enough for smaller to medium jobs without refilling. Bigger jobs, yeah, you gotta plan for a refill run or bring more water somehow. The filter was definitely a good call; saw some bits of plastic flashing from the tank manufacturing caught in it after the first use.

Main thing is: This setup totally works. It's made me way more mobile. No more relying on the client having convenient water. Just fill 'er up before I leave, strap it down tight, and I'm self-sufficient on site. It's a bit more setup and breakdown time, hauling the tank, but worth it for the flexibility.