“Mobile” means different things to different buyers. In a tender it can describe a unit on casters that an operator pushes across a workshop floor, a battery-powered machine driven between parking bays, or a unit loaded into a van for on-site work. A fixed machine, by contrast, is connected to a mains supply and stays where it is installed. Comparing the two only becomes useful once those definitions are pinned down to your own site: the corridors, the power points, the number of machines per shift and the distance between the wash area and the items being cleaned.
PowerDe builds both types. This article compares them using the specifications published on the product pages for the Cleaning Equipment Series, so the comparison rests on listed numbers rather than general assumptions.
What the fixed option actually looks like
The fixed machine in this range is the PowerDe HW02, listed as a 220 V unit. Its published parameters are the most detailed in the catalogue:
- Heating power 6 kW, with a PTC-type heating arrangement and a 220 V working supply
- Steam temperature listed at 160° and vapor pressure listed at 0.8 MPa
- 80 L SUS304 tank, tap-water inlet with a 4-point internal-tooth joint (1/2 inch)
- Dry steam, wet steam and a vacuum cleaner function
- Overall size 1,200 × 800 × 1,200 mm including handles
- Protection listed for leakage, short-circuit, high temperature, high voltage, water shortage and high-voltage explosion
The product page positions this machine for vehicle exterior cleaning at gas stations and parking lots, interior vacuuming and disinfection, and engine-compartment cleaning. Those tasks share one feature: the items come to the machine. The 6 kW heater and continuous mains supply mean the operator is not watching a battery gauge, and the 80 L stainless tank plus a plumbed water inlet means refilling is not a manual bucket task during a shift. The built-in vacuum also covers the dry-debris step before steam, which is what makes a fixed station efficient for a repeated line of vehicles or equipment.
The limits of a fixed machine are equally clear. It needs a suitable 220 V supply and a water connection. Its hose and wand lengths determine a work radius, and everything outside that radius is either unreachable or becomes a case of dragging the machine and leads across the floor. A fixed unit also needs a dedicated place; it is not something to move through a doorway every day.
What the mobile options look like
The driving-style machines are the mobile end of the range. The PowerDe PWD02 and PWD01 models are listed as mobile active-water cleaning machines with dry-steam, wet-steam and hot-water modes, and are described for indoor garages and narrow outdoor parking spaces. Both are catalogued in battery-included and battery-free variants, so the same platform can be specified with or without a battery pack depending on how the site is wired.
The battery variant of the PWD02 lists leakage, short-circuit, high-temperature, high-voltage and water-shortage protection. The PWD02, PWD01 and HMW2 driving-style models are all listed with the same three modes and the same use case, with HMW2 also recording the protection items. That grouping matters for comparison: within this part of the catalogue, differences are mostly about battery inclusion and physical format, not about a different cleaning process. Steam temperature, pressure, tank volume and runtime for the driving-style units are not published in the catalogue, so request those figures with the quotation and confirm them against your shift pattern.
The hand-pushed HMW3 sits between the two. It is a high-temperature, high-pressure machine with dry- and wet-steam modes, listed for cleaning and disinfecting hospital beds and medical machinery, and it runs on a 48 V battery with a 50 L clean-water tank and a 4.5 kW PTC semiconductor heater, in a chassis of L1150 × W520 × H1030 mm. It moves under operator push rather than being driven, and it carries its own battery, so it travels down corridors without trailing cables.
Seven points to compare on your own site
| Point | Fixed (HW02, 220 V) | Mobile (driving-style / hand-pushed) |
|---|---|---|
| Power source | Continuous 220 V mains, 6 kW heater | Battery pack (48 V on HMW3) or battery-free variant near a supply |
| Water | Plumbed tap inlet, 80 L SUS304 tank | On-board tank (50 L on HMW3), refilled manually |
| Work radius | Bounded by hose, wand and lead lengths | Bounded by battery runtime and tank volume |
| Modes | Dry steam, wet steam, vacuum | Dry steam, wet steam, hot water on driving-style units |
| Site requirement | Dedicated area, supply and drainage | Storage and refill point only |
| Throughput pattern | High, for a steady line of items coming to one point | Spread across many locations, lower continuous duty |
| Typical fit | Fuel-station and car-park wash bays, central vehicle cleaning | Indoor garages, narrow parking spaces, ward and equipment cleaning |
How to decide without guessing
Run a short site test before committing to either type. Take a map of the area and mark where cleaning actually starts, where it ends, and how many machines or vehicles pass through per shift. Three questions settle most cases:
- Do the items move to one point? If yes, a fixed unit with mains supply and a plumbed inlet will out-throughput anything battery-powered, and it removes refill and recharge pauses from the shift.
- Is the cleaning spread across floors, wards or widely separated bays? If yes, battery operation wins, because the time saved moving the machine outweighs the shorter continuous duty.
- Can you install 220 V and a water line where the fixed unit would sit? If the electrical or plumbing work is expensive, a battery variant may be the cheaper whole-project answer even though the machine itself costs more.
Then size the runtime against the shift, not against the brochure. On a battery machine, count how many items an operator can finish on one charge and one tank fill, and check that the pause for recharging or refilling fits into the existing break pattern. On a fixed machine, count how far the last position in the line sits from the unit, and confirm that the hose and wand reach it without an extension that would fail inspection.
Buying the right configuration
Both types are catalogued in variants, which is where specification errors usually happen. The PWD02, PWD01 and HMW2 driving-style machines each appear as a battery-included and a battery-free listing, and the HMW3 likewise; ordering the wrong variant means either paying for a battery you cannot use or receiving a bare machine that cannot run where you planned it. Confirm the variant, the inlet fitting size, and the supply voltage in writing before the order is placed.
If neither layout matches your workflow, PowerDe also lists customized steam cleaning equipment and solutions work, covering equipment configuration, testing and development. Send the site map, the item types, the shift volume and the available power and water points; a configuration built around those constraints is cheaper than modifying the workflow later.
For a quotation or a configuration review, contact PowerDe at https://www.powerde.net/contact/ or sales@powerde.net.
