Under Pressure...to find a solid pressure washer

I know we've had power tool ecosystem discussions in the past, but I was hoping to get some feedback on pressure washers. I've been lucky enough to be able to borrow a gas-powered one from family as-needed, but with the upkeep of a pool deck and now pavered driveway I am looking to make an investment into a solid one.

So, apparently electric is an option, although Consumer Reports says they take quite a bit longer to get the same amount of work done as gas (I'm assuming b/c gas can run higher psi?). However, electric is cheaper and easier for upkeep.

So, I ask the hive what their impressions are, what they've purchased (and how much $), and what would be recommended for a DIY person who would need one 3-4 times a year?

Buy a used gas powered one. Watch Craigslist too mine was $20 and had garden hose pressure "broken" when I got it. .03¢ of harbor freight o rings and some petroleum jelly and I have a pressure washer that was only used 5 times and works great now.

I do suggestion taking off the trigger section that stops water spray if you can live with it. Just let it spray as the machine runs. The trigger shut off cuts down on the life of the washer significantly.

But do add a garden hose on off valve leading into the washer. That way while not running you don't have to keep running back and forth to the house shut off.

I am in the same position. I've only had electric PW and they did the job fine. I would like my next one to be gas but most of my jobs are small and I won't use it more then 7-8 times a year. What happens to the gas in the carb when it's just sitting around? I feel that I may end up spending more time getting the gas unit to run and not cleaning things.

I have looked on Amazon at what they sell and the customer ratings. I like the power of a gas unit but the ease of just plugging in and hooking up the water supply and cleaning is making me feel that I will stay with electric for now.

You could just buy cheap and expect to replace it every couple of years.

I have had a number of cheap ones. Recently picked up an 1800psi Karcher for $90CDN.

At work the last one we bought was a Princess Auto (Harbor Freight equivalent) electric one for about $800CDN. It has been amazing and has never failed, despite ignorant students using it. I've had it maybe 10 years now. Strangely, they no longer carry it.

I bought a Homelite with a Honda engine at Home Depot about 5 years ago. I use it less than 10 times a year, and I've never had a problem. Every fall I blow all the water out of it to prevent freezing damage and I change the oil. Other than that, I put gas in it and use it. So far, so good. It was about $300.

I also made up a little rig with some black pipe, a wooden "frame" and wheels that I can use to spray the undersides of the cars. Works pretty well, if I say so myself. I'll see if I can dig up a picture of it.

I've got a commercial electric from AR Blue Clean (AR-610 and a buddy has the AR-620) that I've been very happy with. The electrics are going to be lower power than the gas but it's so nice to just have it whirring away in the driveway vs the gas ones I can hear from down the street.

Are the electric ones up to deck and sidong pressure washing? Thats about all i ever use mine for other than really nasty car parts.

I see a couple options.

I personally would not do an electric again. The only electric I ever used that was decent was an industrial Karcher that costs about $2500.

Consumer electric PWs use proprietary parts and are designed very cheaply. They will break, it will be soon, and repairing it will cost three times as much as buying a new one if the parts are even available.

Consumer gas PWs are a little beefier, but not terribly stout. They will break after a few seasons (the pump will go bad) but they all use one of three basic pump styles which are available for replacement on Amazon or Ebay for $60. The biggest benefit to a gas PW is that there is enough torque available to make both pressure AND flow which gets a lot more work done. I tried doing a 1-car driveway with an electric and it took me two days. By the next year, that electric died and I bought a $279 Chinese Homelite gas PW and the same job took me two hours. That was about 5 years ago of heavy use and the pump has since failed and I replaced it with an Ebay pump (last year) for $65.

I also have a Yard Machines gas PW that I got for free with a bad pump and did the same thing; Ebay pump for about $60.

You also sometimes get lucky with free or cheap PWs and find that its just something like the woodruff key sheared on the shaft.

FWIW (probably not much), Popular Mechanics rated a Generac gas PW as their best overall in the latest issue.

Generac one wash beast

i use that one for work and home use. it's washed many square feet of customer deck. i love that it's adjustable pressure, not just "hey here's 2100psi try getting that concrete clean!"

If I were buying one right now for pool decks, washing siding and washing cars, I would personally get THIS ONE $299, plenty of pressure and flow.

I prefer horizontal shaft PWs. No real functional difference, its just that vertical shaft units mean the hookups are down under the unit instead of on the side. Just a little more convenient. Vertical shaft units do tend to take up less real estate in the shed, though.

Great inputs, thinking I will stick with gas and try to fine a nice balance of cost/capability.

curtis73, I think the one you linked seems to strike that balance well. I like the Craigslist idea too, maybe find an un/under-used one and save some $$ in the process.

I have an excell Honda XR2600, It was about 700.00 bucks if I recall. It has been outstanding, I have a brick home and i use it way more than I ever thought. It has different nozzles so you can fan it out and even wash siding with it and it has a detergent pick up hose that you take the cap off and just drop in the bottle. Very good purchase with zero issues after 6 years of hard use

surprised at the comments about gas being a pain to maintain. I am resurrecting one that hasnt run in at least 5 years that had a bad pump.

Cleaned the float bowl and jet and instantly the motor starts on first pull. 5hp briggs arent tough to maintain, you can abuse the hell out of them until they are just dead. (have yet to really kill one)

New pump in mail tomorrow. Should get some cleaning done tomorrow

I had this for the last 12 years and it's been perfect (if a bit loud) until this year when it broke the connecting rod

Apparently rebuild cost is about $200 so I'm shopping for a new one. Used power washers seem like bad investments from what I've seen around here.

I have both a 3100 psi gas unit powered by a Honda engine and a Ryobi 1600 psi electric unit. The gas powered unit usually starts on the second pull even after sitting for a fairly long time. It will clean just about anything and also destroy just about anything if you are not careful. If you clean a lot of sidewalks, driveways or brick walls the gas powered unit will make short work of it. A rotary head on wheels really cleans concrete well. However, the gas units high pressure will remove paint and shred say a wooden deck if you are not careful.

With that said I use the electric unit more then the gas unit simply because it is less hassle. Its small enough I store it in my shop while the gas unit gets stored in my shed and is bulky and a pain to get out and set up for small jobs. I have rotary nozzle for the electric and it does a good job on the deck while not shredding the wood. It does just about everything well and they can be purchased for less then $150.

Tried an electric years ago. The problem I had was that I didn't have a readily available outlet with a high enough amperage to keep from popping the breaker.

So I bought one with a Honda engine from Sears. It was a previous year model that had been their display model. Some of the hose/nozzle parts were missing so I got it for a very low price. I have had it for 10 years now. It does everything I need to do and has not given me any problems.

Every time I use it I shut the gas off and let it run the carb dry. I also drain the water out and give it a squirt of pump lube.

So I was at Lowes this part weekend and they had a sale on the Troy Built gas model for $279 (regularly $319). I went ahead and picked that up but haven't had a chance to use it yet, we'll see how it goes.

At checkout they did mention that you aren't supposed to run any gasoline higher than 15% ethanol (which I think just about all regular gas around here is higher than that?), which I thought was odd for any gas-powered device produced today. I mean, yeah, I can travel a mile or two further to get it nearby a marina, but really? Looks like the reviews are pretty bad and mostly focus on it's inability to start after sitting. I wonder if that has anything to do with the gasoline recommendation. Definitely keeping the receipt.

Troy Built 2800 PSI

I have a gas Dewalt w/ Honda motor I got from my parents for free. It works great.

That said, if I were to buy another, I'd just go electric just for convenience. The gas one is noisy, heavy, requires gas, requires oil, and takes up significantly more space in my garage than a small electric would. When it comes to stripping paint off a deck or something... there are plenty of local people that offer that service very cheap.

I went gas with a honda motor myself after tossing 2 electric units. Biggest problem I see around here is split pumps cause they freeze up. Me I do four things everytime with out fail. 1) Always run stabilizer. 2) When I'm done I turn the gas off and let it run out. 3) After motor stalls out i remove water hose, I connect an old section of garden hose ~4ft to the pump on the other end of the hose I have a cap from a 1 gallon plastic bottle (5/8 hose drill a 19/32 hole and work the hose in. Screw on a bottle of windshield washer fluid. 4) pull choke, hold trigger open (no nozzle) hold bottle up side down, Start motor it will run 20 or 30 sec until it stalls again you should see blue water come out.

Why use washer fluid? It's cheap, its anti freeze for those spring and fall cold snaps i know it protected even winter 30below. Yes they sell kits for winter storage there $12+ washer fluid is $0.99

FWIW, I did my parent's house with a cheapo Harbor Freight electric unit. It's brick with vinyl siding on the back and wood flashing. Gas probably would've made it quicker, but I got it done in a day.

This is seemingly an old thread, but I'll add my two cents... I use Nilfisk c110 4-5 x-tra pressure washer that is also has a patio cleaner in its complication. Wonderful device and I use it very often to keep my car clean. The spray lance includes a bayonet association into the spray handle with 360° rotation. But I think that you must try a few pressure washers to understand which one is better for you. Also, do not forget about the price. Some of them can be really cheap and quality but others can be extremely expensive. 

jere said:

I do suggestion taking off the trigger section that stops water spray if you can live with it. Just let it spray as the machine runs. The trigger shut off cuts down on the life of the washer significantly.

Can you elaborate please?

Tom_Spangler said:

I also made up a little rig with some black pipe, a wooden "frame" and wheels that I can use to spray the undersides of the cars. Works pretty well, if I say so myself. I'll see if I can dig up a picture of it.

If you still have the picture...would appreciate it

I got sucked into a canoe thread, but my above questions still stand