Oil is necessary for the pumps and engines to lubricate the moving parts. Using the same lubricating oil for every moving part is not a good plan. Many of you are confused about using the proper oil in pressure washer pumps. From this confusion, you might be thinking that, can you use compressor oil in a pressure washer or not !
Do you want your home to be spotless? A pressure washer pump is the only solution for you if you wish to ensure that your homes are spotless. This cleaning approach helps to remove tough stains from your driveways or cars. However, you should keep the machine’s performance smooth to get the best result.
This article will clearly explain whether you can use compressor oil in a pressure washer or you can not.
How Does A Pressure Washer Pump Work?
Before further proceeding, you should clearly know how a pressure washer works. This machine is convenient for removing stubborn stains. But do you know its mechanism?
A pump uses a standard mechanism to move fluids by implementing suction, pressure, or both. It makes suction draw in more fluids to create a high-pressure environment. And it diffuses the fluid to produce high velocity and pressurized fluid flow.
A pressure washer pump is a type of pump that can generate high-pressure water jets. You can clean the surface of your home with this machine. An electric motor or engine drives most pressure washer pumps.
The mechanism is straightforward. The pressure washer pump pushes water through a narrow nozzle to create high velocity and high-pressure steam. It allows you to remove grease, dirt, and grime from surfaces.
What Is Compressor Oil?
Compressor oil is a lubricant used in mechanical devices to reduce the volume and increase the pressure for various applications. This synthetic oil is the best for refrigerators, freezers, and classic cars’ air compressors.
You also know compressor oil by its other name Mobil. However, there are two kinds of compressor oils such as standard and synthetic. These oils reduce heat reduction, increase efficiency, and reduce friction inside an engine.
Usually, the air compressors needs to be powerful for different applications. For this reason, high viscosity synthetic oils, although dense, are used in engines. But compressor oil is neither suitable nor recommended for your pressure washers.
What Is Pump Oil?
Pump oil is defined as a non-detergent oil. It is suitable for using in high-pressure washer pumps. This type of oil is best for your pressure washer pump. It will help to reduce the wear and tear of the pump assembly.
However, an additional advantage of the pump oil is that it keeps your pump cool and functioning. Pump oil is a low viscosity, lightweight, less-expensive, and protective oil. It provides more advanced protection against the wear and tear of high-velocity machine parts.
Can You Use Compressor Oil In A Pressure Washer Pump?
Yes, but you should NOT use it. This subsection will discuss why you should not use compressor oil in a pressure washer pump.
The main difference between the motor and the pump oil is their properties. Most pressure washer pump oil has silicone compounds that prevent foaming.
On the contrary, the motor oil has magnesium sulfonate, a detergent. For your kind information, the following subsections will compare and draw a fine line of difference between these two types of oils.
Detergent Oils Are Not Appropriate For Pressure Washer Pumps
Detergent oil is designed to clean the inner surfaces of a machine like a compressor, engine, or motor. It removes the metal debris, greases, and other byproducts inside an air compressor, engine, or motor.
But you should only use detergent oil to machines with a used oil filter or oil drain plug to remove the contaminants. The lubricant gets dirty without oil filters. Then you might have to change the oil more often. Moreover, you will get tired of changing the lubricants otherwise.
Unfortunately, most pressure washer pumps don’t have an oil filter to remove and discharge the contaminants. Additionally, detergent oils are not suitable for pressure washers.
Moreover, it is impractical to change oil frequently for pressure washers. You don’t want to change the oil frequently. That’s why the non-detergent oils are more suitable for pressure washer pumps.
Foaming And Aeration Of Oil Additives Are Not Suitable For Pressure Washers
There are some consequences you will be facing for using the wrong type of lubrication oil into your pressure washer pump.
Foaming is one of the most sensitive and dangerous types of air contamination in any lubrication system. Foaming happens when lubricants’ viscosity and surface tension are too high.
Another factor to consider for pressure washers is aeration. Aeration is the entrapment of air inside the lubrication for high viscous oils. Also, multi-viscosity crude is responsible for foaming and aeration. Aeration and foaming can cause extreme vibration/ chattering if you use compressor oil as pump oil.
So, you must use anti-aeration and anti-foaming oil in pressure washer pump oil as lubricants. Pump oil is designed to have less viscosity, preventing the foaming or aeration effect of the oil inside the pump. Moreover, most pump oil comes with anti-aeration and anti-foaming additional additives, which is the most suitable pump oil.
Environment Inside The Pressure Water Pump Is Not Suitable For Compressor Oil
Do you know that most pressure washer pumps have a high-pressure environment inside them?
A high-pressure environment is needed to force the fluid to diffuse with high velocity. But this pressurized environment is not suitable for compressor oil. The main reason behind this is the formulation of the Mobil.
The air compressor oil doesn’t formulate under high pressure. So, the high-pressure environment is not suitable for air compressor oils.
Higher Viscosity Oil Is Not Suitable for Pressure Washers
The air compressor oil is more viscous than the pump oil. Also, compressor oil has more surface tension than pump oil. Lubricants with high viscosity are unsuitable for pressure washer pumps.
Air also enters into the pressure washer pump when you operate the machine. Air trapped inside the pressure washer or axial piston pumps can create bubbles and break down the lubricant completely. You will very likely to face many risks of damage including damaged seals, damaged pistons, rusting, oxidation and others.
Warranty Requirements
Every pressure washer pump comes with a user manual. Please look at the user manual before performing an oil change. As mentioned in the previous subsections, using the compressor oil can cause damage to your pressure washers.
Any internal or external damage can void the warranty that comes with it. Also, if you use any oil other than the prescribed ones, it will void the warranty that comes with it. So, using the compressor oil in the pressure washer pump will void its warranty.
Choosing The Best Type Of Oil For Pressure Washers
The pump in your pressure washer is a sensitive component. Therefore, you must use the appropriate type of oil for it. You can find numerous types of lubricants available in the market right now—environmental temperature, power of the pump, operating temperatures, pressure, RPM, and others.
As we have mentioned earlier, two basic types of pump oil are available- synthetic oil and petroleum-based oil. Petroleum-based pump oil is less expensive but can break down for prolonged use.
On the contrary, synthetic pump oil is more costly but doesn’t break down. Synthetic pump oil is also environmentally-friendly. The best lubricant for most pressure washers is the 30w non-detergent oil.You should follow the user manual first before considering anything.
Why Do Pressure Washer Pumps Need Oil?
This question might be spinning around your head, right?
Any mechanical machine requires lubricants for smooth operation and temperature control. A pump is a machine that moves fluid by automated actions. The same applies to your pressure washer pump.
Why?
A pressure washer pump requires pump oil for fluent and longer life. Without non-detergent oil, most pumps overheat for the high resistance and friction inside the pressure washer pump. Like the previous subsection, the pressure washer pump creates an environment of high pressure. High pressure leads to extensive load and wears on the machine’s components. The importance of using lubricants in the pressure washer pump is mentioned below-
- Lubrication oil improves the performance of your pressure washer. It decreases the heat generation, friction, wear, and tear of a pump. Lubricants can prevent contamination due to frictional chipping of the materials
- It ensures your pressure washer’s longevity
- Lubrication is necessary for satisfying various terms and conditions of the warranty
- You can also avoid the need for frequent servicing by using the correct oil.
FAQs
What will happen if I use the compressor oil in the pressure washer pump?
– First of all, you will lose the warranty. And using it for quite some time will cause complications like heating, vibrations, permanently sealed debris, foaming, aeration, and more.
What kind of oil should I use in my pressure washer pump?
– First, you should check the user manual for the most suitable lubricant. Most pressure washer pump oil used is 30w non-detergent oil.
What kind of detergent is the most suitable for my pressure washer pump?
– Please check the user manual. The first criteria for the best detergent are the environment-friendly ones.
What problems are the most common for using a detergent pump oil in a pressure washer pump?
– Aeration, foaming, and contamination are the main problems if you use detergent pump oil in a pressure washer pump.
Final Words
Every engine/ motor is designed and manufactured for various purposes. The design, application, and work environment are different. Similarly, the oil for lubrication is also extra for multiple machines.
This article discusses why you should not use compressor oil in the pressure washer pump. We have also made brief subsections describing the compressor oil and pump oil. And if you want us to answer the question, “Can you use compressor oil in a pressure washer pump?”. The short answer to this question will be, “yes, you can, but you shouldn’t.”
If you are reading this final subsection, that means you have read the above suggestions already. Thank you for being so patient. Take care.
