Product Info
Hydro Tek Systems Inc. is an industry-leading manufacturer of high quality cold, hot, and steam pressure washers. We design and engineer our pressure washers and cleaning equipment with high grade, top-quality components, increasing reliability and performance and producing a system that “Cleans Fast and Outlasts”.
Our reputation for reliability and the impressive look and style of our products has made us the manufacturer of choice across a diverse range of industries including industrial, commercial and contract cleaning; heavy construction; fleet maintenance; agricultural; and government agencies.
Hydro Tek History
Hydro Tek was founded in 1985 by John Koen. Driven by a passion for building equipment and innovative thinking, Koen began producing and selling his own pressure washer designs out of a 1,200 square foot southern California warehouse with the aid of a single employee.
By 1987 Hydro Tek had grown enough to incorporate and move to a 6,000 square foot facility. The company began to gain market share in Northern California and the Western states through dealers. A lot of this growth was fueled by the company’s innovative trailer units and durable stainless steel designs, which met the demanding needs of contract cleaners and heavy construction users. As sales began to increase rapidly, Koen began to handpick managers with the same vision of quality and customer service that he had embraced in the early days of the business. In 1989 Hydro Tek established dealers in the remainder of the country and began marketing nationwide.
More dealers meant more sales, and in 1991 Hydro Tek moved to a new 20,000 square foot building to meet the increased demand. The latest computer aided drafting system was installed along with engineering systems to enable us to develop new products, constantly improve the existing product line, and design more efficient methods of production.
By the end of 1997, Hydro Tek had “embraced” technology with a full network of computers extending all the way from the front office to our shop floor. We implemented advanced laser cutting and other CNC manufacturing machinery to give you, the customer, all the quality, innovation, and reliability you deserve.
In 2001, Hydro Tek fully implemented the latest manufacturing techniques such as demand flow processing and cellular-lean manufacturing to achieve “world class” standards ensuring quality control and rapid delivery. These changes have increased our efficiency and enabled us to deliver an even better value on a superior product.
In 2006, Hydro Tek took the next step in solidifying its future in the cleaning equipment industry worldwide. By expanding operations into a new state of the art facility, our engineering and production capabilities will accommodate the continued growth of our company. It is our vision though the next decade to “create the obvious choice” in cleaning equipment to match to the definite purpose you may need.
Endless Uses
- FOOD & BEVERAGE PROCESSING
- AGRICULTURE
- ROOF & CONCRETE CLEANER
- LOGGING EQUIPMENT WASHER
- OIL SPILL CLEANUP
- COATING REMOVAL WASHER
- OFF SHORE RIG WASHER
- OIL FIELD EQUIPMENT WASHER
- And many more!
Frequently Asked Questions
Listed below are some of the most frequently asked questions about our products. We hope that you find this information helpful. Not finding what you're looking for? Feel free to contact us with any further questions.
Around the house:
To clean around your house, wash your siding, wash your car (Most Coin-Op car washes have about 700psi), or clean your deck you probably only need 1,500 to 2,000 PSI For concrete cleaning or to clean barnacles off boat hulls you would be better off with 3,000 PSI.
Commercial / Industrial use:
As a commercial contractor you need at least 3,000 PSI in order to be fully productive. Flow is important for rinsing horizontal surfaces or powering surface cleaning machines, such as our Hydro Twister. If you are cleaning vertical surfaces, or excess water is a problem, a low flow/high-psi unit is possibly the better option.
For a given amount of horsepower you can only get so much pressure and flow. Pressure is good for cleaning, but to rinse you need flow to push the dirt across the horizontal surface. If what you are cleaning comes off easily, but you need to push a lot of dirt -- cleaning animal enclosures or sidewalks for example -- then you need a high-flow unit.
The spray tip may be the most important part of the pressure washer. They range in size from 2.0 - 15.0. If the tip size is to big, you will experience pressure loss. The same thing happens if you move your thumb over the opening of a running garden hose. The bigger you make the opening of the garden hose, the less pressure you get.
If the spray tip is to small, you may experience the following:
- Higher pressure
- Higher amp draw
- Belt slippage
- Hotter water discharge
- Premature motor / pump / unloader wear
- Less discharge flow
Here is the calculation for nozzle size: SQRT(4000/PSI)xGPM or if you are unsure you can call us at(931) 268-4776 and we can assist you.
Cold water:
Cold water pressure washers can be used to successfully clean many objects and surfaces through a combination of impact of the spray and the application of cleaning chemicals and soaps. Cold water is generally used where grease and oil are not a factor, but with the right chemicals grease and oil can still be effectively dealt with.
Hot Water:
We know from washing dishes that hot water makes cleaning easier, especially if we are cleaning greases, oils, or petrochemicals. Cold water can only be as effective if the proper cleaning chemicals are also used. Hot water can often make cleaning faster by loosening dirt, gum, grease and oil. Most hot water units use diesel or kerosene to heat the pressurized water in a heavy duty heating coil. The heating coil and burner system makes the hot water unit much heavier, more complex and more difficult to maintain than a cold water unit. To run the burner system the unit requires electricity. So unless the unit uses a self-contained power source such as a battery or generator (Like our SC, SS and SM series) , you have to plug the hot water unit in (Like our HG, HD & HN series).
No. The first step in picking a pressure washer is determining how much performance you need to get the job done. How much pressure? How much flow? Do you need hot or cold water? Is gas, diesel or electric power better, safer, quieter, or cheaper. Once you have decided upon these factors, discussed in the other sections, you need to pick a product. Pressure washers with the same power plant will have similar performance, for example an 11 HP gas engine unit will typically produce at least 3,000 PSI and 4 gpm So it is often difficult to decide between different products except on price.Quality is what sets one pressure washer apart from another. Two pressure washers offered by two different manufacturers may have similar performance in terms of pressure and flow but will be quite different in terms of quality of components and unit configuration. They will also vary in price. When buying a pressure washer selecting the correct performance for the cleaning job at hand is just the first step. The second step is looking at the quality of construction and the quality of the components.
Hydro Tek machines offer advantages over other brands because of their quality construction. Hydro Tek uses stainless steel for all the control and safety panels. Our coils are wrapped in stainless steel to prevent rust. Our Ultimate Line uses the quieter, slower running, longer lasting belt drive pumps. We use stainless steel and heavy duty powder coated steel tubing to make our frames resist rust and outlast the competition. Our individual components are the best that market has to offer. We test all our components extensively before we allow them to become part of our machines.
When purchasing a pressure washer you should consider both the p.s.i. and g.p.m. of the machine. The p.s.i. or pounds per square inch, delivers the "punch" to a washing application and forces the contaminants from the surface. The g.p.m. or gallons per minute will flush the contaminants from the service. Choosing the right combination of p.s.i. and g.p.m. is the key to purchasing the ideal pressure washing system for your cleaning needs.