Back to School: Fall/Winter Jetter Maintenance & Freeze Protection Checklist

A breeze is blowing, leaves are changing and summer is coming to an end as we usher in a new fall season. As kids head back to school with backpacks and supply lists, it’s time to go over some hydro-jetter check-lists of our own.

Autumn means Jetting Season! Leaves and tree roots will be clogging gutters and drains after a dry summer. Even if it seems premature, before freezing weather comes to haunt us, we need to talk about Jetter maintenance and freeze protection.

Jetter Maintenance: Get Ready for the Busy Season

To get your jetter ready for the busy season there are a few maintenance steps you can take. Changing oils, filters, and inspecting hoses, nozzles and possible wear-parts for replacement can address preventable failures on the job. 

No amount of maintenance can guarantee trouble-free jetting, but the majority of problems can be prevented or minimized through maintenance, proper operating procedures and addressing small problems before they become big ones.

Maintenance Checklist

Oils & Fluids

• Change all oils (Jetters Northwest jetters use 3 different oils in 3 different locations):
  • Pump: 30W non-detergent
  • Gearbox transmission (if equipped, in-between the pump & Engine): 80–90 gear oil
  • Engine: 10W-30 for most climates (always confirm with your engine manual), and change the oil filter.
• Visually inspect all 3 above for oil-leaks; repair as needed
• Test Engine Coolant (if yours is Liquid-Cooled like our Kawasaki’s are); flush and replace coolant if needed.

Fuel, Air & Electrical

• Check battery water level and clean battery connections
• Check for any fuel-leaks between the tank and the engine. If leaks are present DO NOT RUN until all leaks are sealed (safety first!).
• Change the fuel filter (even if it looks clean, it’s cheap prevention)
• Inspect the engine’s air filter and change if needed (summer dust accumulation might surprise you here)
• Check spark plugs, replace as needed

Water System & Hoses

• Safety first: Inspect all jetting hoses for wear spots that could become blowouts. Also  inspect any connector/leader hoses (if equipped). Repair or replace worn hoses as needed.
• Fix any water leaks throughout the water-supply and the high-pressure jetting system (small leaks tend to become big ones and ruptures can be dangerous)
• Clean the water filter/strainer more thoroughly than your typical daily/weekly inspection cleaning; scrub the filter/strainer with soap and water (use a scrub brush if needed). Also inspect and clean the gasket or o-ring that seals the bowl (filter-holder) to the main body. Replace gasket/o-ring if worn or cut.
• Check water tanks for settled silt, debris, or biological growth, clean and rinse as needed
• Check water-supply and/or garden-hoses for leaks and kinks. Wind them up in kink-free loops for storage (or carefully rewind onto storage reel). Replace worn hoses as needed.
• Check for loose fittings and fasteners

Pay Attention to the Early Warnings

The best way to prevent problems is simple: watch, look, and listen.

If something looks, sounds, or behaves differently than normal, pay attention. Every change may not be a major issue, but catching small changes early can prevent breakdowns, repairs, and worst of all, downtime. If you have a teammate that runs the jetter or another jetter, listen together as the machines run; we individually can get used to sounds that you teammate might notice. Two heads are better than one here.

Freeze Protection: Cold-Weather Survival Guide

If you’re in California, Hawaii, low-elevation Arizona, you can probably tune out here. Bit if you’re anywhere that sees freezing temperatures – even just occasionally – this part matters.

Every winter we get calls for cracked water-filter/strainers assemblies, fittings, and – worse – freeze-damaged high-pressure pumps. Most of those problems are preventable. Here’s how to avoid repeating last year.

Two Rules to Remember

1. Your jetter can’t freeze if it doesn’t have water in it.

2. Draining alone is not enough.

Your pump is not the only item that can freeze; the jetting system includes cavities, control-valves, and low-pressure areas that trap water. Even purging water with compressed air or antifreeze can leave water behind if done incorrectly. Just because you pumped antifreeze all the way out the end of the jetting hose does not mean the system  is winterized; pressure control-valves, Pulse systems, water-filter bodies and tank return-lines often are missed which leads to preventable damage. These must be exercised during winterization to fully protect all flow-paths in the jetter.

Winterizing by Purging Water With Compressed Air

If your jetter has a compressed air fitting or blow-down port, follow these steps carefully:

1. Drain the water tank completely and leave the drain open.

2. Disassemble the water filter/strainer assembly. Drain all water, clean the filter/strainer and the bowl-gasket/seal, then re-assemble.

3. Once fully drained, slowly open and close any ball-valves or knife-valves one or two times, or leave them partially open to release trapped water (water can remain in fully open or fully closed ball valves).

4. On Jetters Northwest machines with a blow-down “Schrader” valve, close the drain and tank-valve before connecting air. Otherwise, air will escape through the drain into the tank. (Re-open the drain and tank-valve after winterizing.)

5. Start the engine with the drain valve open and run the pump dry for 10–15 seconds at low RPM to evacuate water from the lower side of the pump then turn off the engine.

6. Connect an air-chuck and allow compressed air to push water out the open-end of the jetting hose (remove any jetting nozzle beforehand). Be patient here; the lower loops of the coiled jetting hose that’s stored on any reel will want to retain water. PRO TIP: If you have the room to do so, fully unroll and stretch out your jetting hoses before purging with air.

7. With air still connected, cycle the Flow-Control valves (jetting on/off controls) and Pulse valve to evacuate water from their return-hoses and fittings. Back off the pressure-regulator valve to minimum. Water from these valves and return-lines will be purged back to the water-tank and then exit through the open drain.

8. Disconnect and reconnect the air several times to allow water to collect in low spots. Multiple bursts remove water more effectively than constant airflow.

9. Disconnect the air hose. The jetter should now be winterized.

10. Remove and store the filter/strainer and its bowl and leave all valves open.

Important Note: Some blow-down fittings only clear the discharge side of the pump and the hoses downstream of the pump. Water can remain in the “suction” side of the pump in its valve/plunger cavities, inlet plumbing, pulsation lines, or bypass lines. These areas are especially vulnerable to freeze damage; ensure that they are drained or purged.

Winterizing With an Anti-Freeze Purge System

If your jetter is equipped with an antifreeze system, see the manufacturer’s procedures for purging – it should be similar to this process but can vary from machine-to-machine:

1. Fill the jetter’s antifreeze tank with RV-type antifreeze; if solution is already in the jetter’s antifreeze tank, test it to ensure it protects against your lowest expected temperatures.

2. Drain the water tank completely and leave the drain open.

3. Slowly open and close ball valves one or two times, or leave them partially open to release trapped water. Close the water-tank isolation valve so that antifreeze doesn’t spill back into the water-tank.

4. Open the antifreeze tank valve to allow solution to flow to the pump inlet. Again, on most jetters, the main tank-valve and drain will need to be closed for this step.

5. Start the engine at low RPM and allow antifreeze to push water out through the jetting hose. Cycle the pulse valve on for several seconds during this process.

6. When antifreeze reaches the end of the hose, quickly cycle the flow-control (jetting on/off control) valves to winterize return hoses, then shut down the engine.

7. Close the antifreeze-tank valve.

8. Remove and store the water filter strainer bowl and leave water-tank valves open.

9. Clean up any antifreeze spills.

Additional Winterizing Notes

• Any jetter with a water-tank can be winterized by drawing antifreeze from the main tank, but the more broad the base of the tank, the more antifreeze may be required. To minimize antifreeze usage, look in the water-tank for its water-outlet; you may be able to tilt the jetter on a slope to help antifreeze pool up over that outlet-fitting.
• Always cycle pulse functions and all flow/jetting control valves.
• Smaller portable jetters without tanks can easily be fitted with an air fitting using a garden hose thread adapter. Keep one in your toolbox for quick water-purge in the field.

Parts, Support, and Next Steps

Any maintenance or repair items you need are available through Jetters Northwest. Contact us today and we’ll help you keep your equipment running and ready for the season. Our techs are happy to help you clarify these instructions and identify the components described above. 

Browse our full selection of jetter parts, hoses, nozzles, and winterization gear in the Jetters Northwest online store.

Want to see these steps in action? Check out our training and demo videos on YouTube for real-world maintenance walkthroughs.

Get equipped — and get jetting!