Preparing Your AVA for Winter - Avoiding Frost Damage

Winter is coming!

It's getting colder, which could cause damage to your pressure washer if it is left filled with water when temperatures drop to below 0 degrees.

Water expands when it freezes, and therefore if left inside your machine when this happens you run the risk of ice causing parts of the gun, pump head or valves to break, as the expanding water/ice is trapped inside an enclosed system. Although sometimes difficult to spot, frost damage is a major cause of leaks in high pressure equipment, and may not be apparent until the warmer months when further use has compounded the damage and caused the cracks to open up.

Take a look at some of the examples of frost damage below to see what we mean:

Luckily it is very easy to prepare your AVA for cold temperatures:
We recommend you do this in the following way:

Empty the machine using its own pump, and add WD-40.
Let the machine run for 63 seconds without connecting water, with the gun detached and the hose unreeled fully. The self-suction function will make sure to pump out most of the water that is in the machine.
Lay the machine on its back (with the filter facing upwards). Spray some WD-40 into the water filter and then turn the machine on and then quickly off again, before spraying some more WD-40 into the filter. It is recommended to remove the gun if the machine is to be stored in this way, as there may be residual water left in the hoses.
Either way, shake the gun, accessories and hose connectors out before storage to minimize the amount of water that may remain there. We recommend that you lubricate the couplings and O-rings with silicone grease to better preserve them during storage.

We are unable to cover frost/cold temperature damage under warranty.