Hi, this is Jonesie with Jetters Northwest, and this info–blog is all about Electric-Powered “Mini-Jetters”. We’re going to cover what jobs they’re best suited for, where they fall short, and why they all seem to be so small compared to jetters that run on combustion-engine power.

Purpose and Best Uses for 120-volt electric-powered “Mini-Jetters”

The main purpose of electric-powered mini-jetters is to clean small (1”-3”) indoor drain lines, such as:

• Lavatory lines
• Floor drains
• Laundry lines
• Kitchen sinks
• Smaller residential drains

What makes a mini-jetter perfect for these small indoor lines is their smaller size and simplicity. You can plug them into a standard 120-volt wall outlet to power their electric motor – no engine exhaust, no fuel to handle. That’s key for enclosed spaces where ventilation is limited, and/or foodservice spaces that cannot be contaminated by exhaust. 

What’s more, they are inexpensive, compact, and very easy to use – a great “beginner’s jetter” that can continue to be useful even when larger, more powerful jetters are added to your fleet. 

Limitations of Electric-Powered Mini-Jetters

In the USA 120-volts outlets are predominant inside buildings, thus mini-jetters are powered by smaller 120-volt electric motors, typically 1½–2 horsepower, that they can be plugged into typical 120-volt wall-outlets for power. That’s handy, but we must realize that the mini-jetter’s GPM & PSI jetting-performance is limited due to the limitation of the 120-volt circuit itself.  Consider these typical examples:

• 1.5-horsepower Electric Mini-Jetters – which typically draw just under 15 amps – max out at around 1200 to 2000psi at 1.2 to 1.7gpm (depending on its pump-specs). Typically a residential 120-volt / 15-amp circuit can handle that load.

• 2-horsepower Electric Mini-Jetters – which typically draw just under 20 amps – max out at around 1500 to 2300psi at 1.3 to 2gpm (depending on its pump-specs). 20 amps at full GPM/PSI output will of course require a 20-amp outlet to plug into, which are pretty common in commercial buildings but still not common in residential outlets.

Stepping Up to 230-Volt Power

If you’re willing to plug a jetter into a 230-volt outlet (such as a clothes-dryer or stove outlet) we can build you a slightly more powerful electric-powered jetter with slightly higher GPM / PSI.  But 230-volt outlets are rarely used to run jetters because: 

1. 230-volt outlets are typically not easily accessible in residential and light-commercial buildings, 

2. those 230v outlets can have various configurations that might not match your jetter’s plug, and 

3. those 230v circuits typically handle only about 3 to 5 motor-horsepower, which would at best only power a jetter around 3-GPM at 2500-PSI – still not big jetting-power.

Why You Can’t Get “Big Jetter” Power from Standard Electric

Those are not very powerful GPM/PSI specs, thus we get this question from time-to-time:

“Why can’t I get an electric-powered jetter that does 3000–4000 PSI at 8-GPM or more?”

The answer is: 

You can get that kind of an electric-powered jetter – but it will require much more electrical power than a typical commercial/residential building can provide. 

What Industrial Power Actually Looks Like

At Jetters Northwest we’ve built several 8-GPM / 3500-PSI electric-jetters for industrial maintenance departments, but those jetters have a 20-horsepower motor that requires a 230-volt/50-amp or 460-volt/25-amp power-supply (“3-phase” power) – you’re not going to find that kind of power at a typical light-commercial or residential property!

Examples of more powerful GPM/PSI jetter-specs and the electrical-power they’d require:

• A jetter that does just 5-GPM at 3000-PSI requires about 10 horsepower from its motor:

  • On a 230-volt circuit (3-phase) that will draw around 25 amps 
  • On a 460-volt circuit (3-phase) that will draw around 13 amps
    
    

• Step up to 10-GPM at 3000-PSI and you’ll need 20-HP which doubles the amp-draw:

  • On a 230-volt circuit (3-phase) that will draw around 50 amps
  • On a 460-volt circuit (3-phase) that will draw around 25 amps

You can go bigger – even 4000 PSI at 15-20 GPM or more – but you’ll need 460-volts at far more amps. That is industrial-grade power you’re simply not going to find even in most commercial buildings.

Battery-Powered Options (And Their Tradeoffs)

The only other option for higher-performance electric jetters are larger “battery-pack” powered jetters with higher GPM/PSI performance, but those carry a hefty price-tag – around 40X the price of a mini-jetter these days.  And they require constant budgeting of the battery-charge to avoid running out of “juice” – that’s not very convenient.

Bottom Line: Where Mini-Jetters Fit

All considered, you can understand why 95% of available electric jetters are 120-volt models running around 13-20 amps. They’re not meant for cutting out roots or clearing 4” & 6” pipes, but “mini-jetters” are great for clearing soft clogs and light grease in smaller lines – without requiring a huge investment of money and space in your van. That’s why electric mini-jetters continue to be very popular with plumbers and drain cleaning professionals.

When to Use an Electric Mini-Jetter (and When Not To)

Electric mini-jetters are compact, quiet, and super convenient for indoor work — as long as you understand their actual purpose and their limitations. We don’t expect a little 1/4-ton truck to handle the same loads that a 1-ton truck can. Similarly, we don’t expect mini-jetters to handle heavier blockages and buildup in larger lines – those jobs are what larger gas or diesel powered jetters are designed for. But for cleaning smaller indoor service-lines, mini-jetters are a handy and inexpensive tool that can still take care of the customer’s problem – and bill out as a legit jetting-job!

For more jetting tips, watch the full video this blog is based on here.

Be sure to check out our videos on YouTube, just search Jetters Northwest videos on the web, and check out our website jettersnorthwest.com.

Let’s “Get” jetting!