So I Tinkered and Made a Micro Power Washer Thingy

Alright, gather 'round folks, let me spin a yarn about my latest weekend adventure: wrestling a tiny power washer into existence. You know how it goes, right? You've got these annoying little cleaning jobs. For me, it was my bike chain that looked like it had been through a mud wrestling competition, and these fiddly garden statues my wife loves that were just caked in grime. A big power washer? Nah, too much. Would probably send the statues into orbit. And I'm too cheap to buy a special tiny one if I can cobble something together myself.

The "Lightbulb" Moment, Sort Of

So there I was, staring at the gunk, and I thought, "I bet I can make something." My brain started whirring. The goal: small, battery-powered, enough kick to clean, but not enough to, you know, obliterate delicate stuff. Plus, an excuse to mess around in the shed is always good.

Scavenger Hunt Time!

First stop: the "Box of Maybe Useful Crap." We all have one. Pulled out a little 12V water pump I'd ripped out of some old broken gadget ages ago. Score! Power? An old cordless drill battery that still held a bit of juice. Perfect. For the pointy end, the nozzle, I first grabbed a misting thingy from my gardening box. Figured it might work. We'll see how that bright idea turned out later, eh?

Here’s the shopping list from my own stash:

• That 12V pump, the heart of the beast.
• The drill battery – she ain’t pretty, but she works.
• Some bendy tubes.
• An old plastic food container for the water. Waste not, want not.
• That brass misting nozzle I was so optimistic about.
• Wires, a switch I found in a biscuit tin, and some tape. Proper professional setup, obviously.

The Actual Build: Sweat, Swears, and Some Success

Let's Get Our Hands Dirty

Okay, so I started sticking things together. Pump to battery, easy peasy. Threw in that switch so I wasn't just yanking wires. Then came the tubes. One from the water box to the pump, another from the pump to where the nozzle would go. Getting these things to not leak? Oh boy. Let's just say there was some muttering and maybe a few choice words. I'm not proud, but it's the truth.

Fired it up for the first test. Hooked everything up, held my breath, flicked the switch and… splutter, cough, dribble. That fancy misting nozzle? Gave me a pathetic weak shower. Useless for cleaning anything tougher than a dandelion fluff. So much for that bright idea. Back to square one with the nozzle, feeling a bit deflated.

Nozzle Adventures and a Tiny Roar

I was about to give up and just use a toothbrush like a normal person. But then, I spotted an old ballpoint pen on the bench. Inspiration! I yanked out the ink tube and looked at the metal tip. Tiny hole, looked promising. I got my drill, very carefully widened the back of the pen tip just enough to jam the outlet tube into it. It was pure, unadulterated bodging, but hey, if it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid.

Test number two. Water in, switch on. And would you believe it? A proper little jet of water! Not gonna peel paint, mind you, but strong enough! It blasted the gunk off a test piece of metal real nice. I was chuffed, properly chuffed.

The Verdict? A Winner, in its Own Little Way

So, this homemade micro power washer, it's not gonna win any design awards. It looks like something a goblin cobbled together. But does it work for those tiny, annoying jobs? You betcha. It cleaned up my bike chain a treat, and I managed to get those garden statues looking presentable without breaking them. It’s light, uses hardly any water, and the best part? I made it! From junk! There's a certain kind of pride in that, you know? It’s not about saving the world, just about solving a small problem with your own two hands and a bit of stubbornness. It’s now my go-to for all the small, mucky jobs around the place. Way better than getting the big beast out or scrubbing for hours. Sometimes, the small victories are the sweetest.