We get asked constantly: Remco 5.3 GPM or 7 GPM? Which one shoots further? Most of the answers floating around the industry are people repeating what sounds right. So we put both pumps on the ground, aimed at the same fence, and shot them.
The setup
We deliberately gave the 7 GPM pump the advantage:
- 7 GPM pump — dual control, plumbed with 3/4 inch, nothing restricting it anywhere in the line, running a 40 orifice tip.
- 5.3 GPM pump — dual control, plumbed with 1/2 inch hose and 3/4 inch valves, running a 30 orifice tip.
Both were shot at zero degrees at the same dry patch of fence, from roughly the same angle, on the same day.
What happened
The 5.3 hit the fence. The 7 GPM — with the bigger plumbing and no restriction — came up just short of it.
That is not a typo, and we were surprised too. You do get more volume out of the 7. You are not getting a meaningful jump in reach for it, at least not in a real-world setup shooting at a real target.
Why the extra GPM does not buy you distance
Reach on a 12V soft wash system is set by the nozzle and the pressure behind it, not by flow alone. Put a larger orifice on a higher-flow pump and you move more liquid at a similar pressure — the stream gets fatter, not longer. The orifice, the pump curve and the plumbing all have to be matched, and once they are, the two pumps end up far closer together than the spec sheet suggests.
This is exactly why we keep telling people not to buy nozzles by eye. Running 40s on a 5.3 will cost you distance. Running 3.0 nozzles on a big 8 GPM pump will blow fuses. Tips have to be dialled to the system. There is a full breakdown in choosing the right nozzles for your 12V soft wash system.
So which should you buy?
Our honest read after shooting both: the 7 GPM is more preference than performance. If you want the extra volume for faster application, buy it and you will be happy. If you are buying it expecting to reach a third storey the 5.3 cannot touch, that is not what you are getting.
Side by side, our own preference is the 5.3, and the reason is durability. More volume is more wear. In our experience the 5.3 lasts longer, and the difference in what you can reach does not justify the trade.
What actually gets you more reach
- The right nozzle for the pump. The single biggest factor, and the cheapest to fix.
- Plumbing that does not neck down. One undersized fitting in the run will cost you more than a pump upgrade will gain you.
- A healthy 12V supply. Undersized or corroded wiring and a tired battery will make any pump look weak. We build with marine-grade USA-made upsized copper and an upgraded charging system for this reason.
- Clean check valves. Bleach eats standard stainless springs. We use a Hastelloy spring because a worn check valve quietly costs you pressure long before it fails.
Shop 12V soft wash pumps and parts, or see the full soft wash range. If you would rather have the whole system built and plumbed properly the first time, that is what we do — see our builds or book a free discovery call.
One caveat worth stating plainly: this was a field test with our equipment on our lot, not a lab. Your plumbing, hose length and battery will move the numbers. What it does show is that the gap between these two pumps is far smaller than the internet says it is.
