Alright, so let me walk you through something I tinkered with the other day. My old pressure washer, bless its heart, finally decided to call it quits. The pump was shot, completely. But the gun? The gun was still in pretty good shape, and honestly, I really liked the feel of that particular gun. It just fit my hand well, you know? I wasn’t quite ready to splash out cash on a whole new pressure washer unit, especially since half the time I just need a bit more oomph than a regular hose nozzle for rinsing things down, not blasting paint off a battleship.

So, I got this idea: what if I could just hook up my trusty pressure washer gun directly to my garden hose? Seemed like a simple enough plan. I mean, water goes in, water comes out, right? Famous last words, sometimes.

Figuring Out The Bits and Pieces

First thing I did was grab the pressure washer gun and my garden hose. I looked at the end of the gun where the high-pressure hose from the pump usually connects. Then I looked at the end of my garden hose. Yeah, not even close. The threads were totally different. The pressure washer gun typically has some kind of M22 fitting or a quick-connect, and my garden hose has that standard GHT (Garden Hose Thread). So, straight up, no dice.

My next step was a trip down to the local hardware store. I wandered into the plumbing aisle, then the section with all the pressure washer accessories. It’s like a wall of brass and shiny metal bits, and you gotta know what you're looking for, or you’ll be there all day.

Here’s what I found out I needed, and what I ended up getting:

• An adapter to go from the pressure washer gun's specific connection to something more universal, like a male NPT thread. My gun had an M22 female fitting (the 14mm pin version, gotta watch out for the 15mm ones, they're different!). So, I got an M22-14mm male to 3/8 inch male NPT adapter.
• An adapter to go from that NPT thread to a male garden hose thread. So, I looked for a 3/8 inch female NPT to male GHT adapter.

Basically, I was building a little chain of adapters. It felt a bit like playing with expensive metal LEGOs.

Putting It All Together

Once I got back home with my shiny new adapters, the actual assembly was pretty straightforward. Here’s the play-by-play:

First, I prepped the threads. I grabbed some PTFE tape, you know, that white plumber's tape. I wrapped a few layers around all the male threads on the adapters. Clockwise, so it doesn’t unravel when you screw things on. This helps make a good seal and prevents leaks. Learned that lesson the hard way on other projects!

Then, I connected the first adapter to the gun. I took the M22 male to 3/8 inch male NPT adapter and carefully screwed the M22 end into my pressure washer gun. I tightened it up snugly with a wrench, but not like, super-human tight. Just enough to compress that PTFE tape and make a good seal.

Next, I attached the second adapter. This was the 3/8 inch female NPT to male GHT adapter. I screwed its female NPT end onto the male NPT end of the adapter that was now attached to my gun. Again, tightened it with a wrench until it felt secure.

Finally, the moment of truth: connecting the garden hose. With the male GHT end now sticking out, I just screwed my garden hose onto it, just like I would with any regular nozzle. Hand-tight is usually good enough for garden hose connections.

The Result - Did It Work?

I turned on the water spigot, slowly at first, checking for any rogue sprays or drips from my adapter chain. Success! No leaks! The water flowed through the pressure washer gun just fine.

Now, let's be clear. This setup does not magically turn your garden hose into a high-pressure washer. You're limited by your home's water pressure. But, what it does give you is the ability to use the focused stream or fan spray patterns of your pressure washer gun with regular hose pressure. For me, it's perfect for things like:

• Rinsing down the car after a wash.
• Cleaning off muddy boots or garden tools.
• Watering delicate plants with a finer mist than my regular nozzle might offer.
• Getting into tighter spots where a bulky nozzle doesn't fit.

So yeah, it was a bit of a faff finding the right adapters, but totally doable. Saved me from having to buy a whole new unit for light-duty tasks, and I get to keep using my favorite gun. Pretty happy with how that turned out!