Power washer

[John Terefenko]

Maybe in the market for a good brand power washer. Any suggestions and what should I be aware of. Thanks.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Brands have changed a lot in the past few years. 4 years ago, we got a Ryobi with a Honda engine. Honda engines are known for being easy to start after long down times. Let the thing sit for over a year and it started up on the third or fourth pull. Just used it to clean the back of the house, siding and deck. It does a great job and the jet spray was able to blast a 35 ft high hornets' nest off the eave of the house with no problem.

[Michael Schuch]

I recently bought an electric power washer. Beware that hoses and wands do not have universal fittings. I went to find a longer hose only to find out that SunJoe uses a larger connector than most. I mainly use the washer for the cars and for that the electric is plenty powerful enough. For bigger jobs you will most likely want more power though.

A foam cannon attachment is fabulous for washing cars! The soap dispenser tank on the pressure washer I bought was pretty much worthless.

Make sure you empty all water out of the pressure washer and replace it with antifreeze if you have harsh winters.

I would love to get a hot pressure washer some day. Heat is a great solvent... so to speak.

P.S. I know this will sound crazy but the power washer did a fantastic job of blasting all the soap scum off of the fiberglass shower stalls... which is a cleaning job I usually hate!

[Rob Luter]

I have a gas version with a Honda Engine. Works like it's supposed to.

[Larry Frank]

I had a power washer with a Honda engine for years. It was a pain because I only use it occasionally. I recently bought a Sun Joe and EXTREMELY happy with it. No gas or tough to start and does everything I need.

[James Cheever]

Another vote for the electric Sun Joe.

[Tom M King]

You asked for a "good" brand, and I have a lot of experience with, and highly recommend Mi-T-M. https://www.mitm.com/pressure-washers/

I've had a commercial gas unit for 25 years now. We wore the first Briggs & Stratton motor out on it, and replaced it with a 13hp Honda. I bought it to work on houses with. It doesn't have the highest pressure available at 2500 psi, but works great for what we use it for. That one has a flow rate of 4.4 gpm, so you have to have a good water supply. We pressure wash the 200 year old museum houses I look after every year or two with that one. It ran constantly for a whole week once blasting whitewash off the stones walls in a basement of an 1828 house. https://www.mitm.com/pressure-washers/CW-2505-4MGH/2094/

The other one I have is a small electric one, but also a Mi-T-M. I can highly recommend it for a homeowner. It came with an adjustable nozzle, which I don't like, so I changed the wand to use different fan width tips. It's a very nice little pressure washer, but won't do the work of a commercial one. https://www.pollardwater.com/product/mi-t-m-1400-psi-power-washer-mcm14001meh/_/R-7234352?gclid=Cj0KCQjwxIOXBhCrARIsAL1QFCbwkowNJp9y Alhjht6XA4sWaQ4u-WjhBzSx7q9GJI4GZYU_cmCku7kaAs5TEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

The different fan width tips also are made in a number of different flow rates for different size washers, but you can use the different ones on any pressure washer. You can find just the right tip for the job by trying different flow ones for what you're working on. We use three different flow 25 degree, and 35 degree tips for different jobs so we don't erode wood, or take paint off that we don't want to.

Wands are also available in different lengths, as well as telescopic poles up to 24'. It takes a very strong person to run a high flow pressure washer with a 24' pole, and even then we have to take turns every few minutes.

I can answer about any question about pressure washers, or using them.

[Brian Elfert]

If you really want a good brand Northern Tool has their Northstar pressure washers, but they start at $799 with a Honda GX engine. A bit much for occasional home use.

[Greg Parrish]

After years and years of using a Husky brand pressure washer from HD that had a small honda engine on it, I replaced it with one of these last year: https://www.bepowerequipment.com/pressure-washers/gas/pe-4013hwpsgen

https://www.bepowerequipment.com/

I added two 50' hoses, including one that is a no-mar hose, two different length wands, and a flat surface cleaner like this one: https://www.bepowerequipment.com/pressure-washers/whirl-a-way/85-403-009

From what I gather, the pump and the engine are the two main factors to consider. My prior Husky had a nice honda motor, but the pump was a joke, even though it had brass construction. The pump is what finally died on that one. It was tiny and not repairable. The new one has a huge pump with bypass features and other niceties. Plus you can get rebuild kits and parts for these larger pumps. Overkill for sure, but I hate pressure washing only second to painting so anything that helps me do a better job faster is a good thing. I use it to help take care of 4 different properties that have concrete drives, sidewalks, and porches, so lots of surface area. I found the brand at a local power equipment store that sold stuff like Grasshopper, Makita, Husqvarna, etc. Worth a look if you want a nice power washer.

Simpson is another brand that has similar pressure washers with larger commercial pumps and honda GX engines. Home depot even carries them if you order it. Here is one example with a nice CAT triplex pump: https://www.homedepot.com/p/SIMPSON-Aluminum-4200-PSI-4-0-GPM-Gas-Cold-Water-Pressure-Washer-with-HONDA-GX390-Engine-49-State-ALH4240/300912624

Good luck with your selection!!

[John K Jordan]

If you really want a good brand Northern Tool has their Northstar pressure washers, but they start at $799 with a Honda GX engine. A bit much for occasional home use.

Mine is from Nothhern too, was about $900. Excellent, always starts, very powerful. I use it a lot to clean packed dirt and red clay from the skid steer, excavator, tractor. Might have to use carefully on automobile paint and wooden decks - it would easily remove a layer from the wood surface of used unwisely. Read the equipment manuals too, they specify the pressure, distance, and nozzle type to avoid forcing water into places where it can cause damage.

Ones important thing - if any pressure washer it’s left where it can freeze the pump is in risk of damage. Use a winterizing kit. I keep mine in the barn where water doesn’t freeze in this climate.

[Ole Anderson]

Another vote for the M-T M. Very compact. 3000 psi, 2.4 gpm Honda GC190 engine. I use it often with a Ryobi rotating deck washer.

[Bill Dufour]

I bought a used Landa electric at a flea market. It has a real TEFC motor and is great. I need to rebuild the oddball pump. It is a true 1hp and if you use a small (#14) extension cord it will blow breakers after 15 minutes or so. probably 50% more power then the high speed dc motor stuff made by everyone else
Bill D..

[Dan Friedrichs]

Electric is WAY under-rated. Think of the advantages:
- no gas to deal with
- no pull starting
- no oil changes, air filters, spark plugs, fuel filters
- quieter
- no exhaust
- doesn't get hot
- instant start
- low cost to idle
- fewer parts to wear/brake

Now think of the downsides
- need an electric supply. Well, if you're already hooked to a water source, how hard is it to hook to power?

The only reason gas power washers exist at homeowner-grade is because most people can't easily get 240V power (which is realistically needed for a 5HP or 7.5HP motor). But if you can solve that, it becomes pretty obvious that gas power washers make no sense. Sure, for something like a lawn mower that needs to be portable, gas engines are logical - but for a power washer that is already tethered by a hose? Electric is way better.

If you can find a used power washer (ideally something with a triplex or otherwise commercial-duty pump) and bad engine, swapping an electric motor to it could be a fun project.

I've built a few. 5HP motor, triplex ceramic pump, unloader valve, then whatever accessories you want (hose, cart, etc).

[Brian Elfert]

There are absolutely advantages to good 240 volt pressure washers, but the good ones are $1000 plus for a new one. Then you have to wire up a 240 volt outlet to run them on. I never went electric because most of them are the crappy $100 to $200 ones that don't have great pressure or volume.

I got a nice gas pressure washer with Honda GX engine at HD on clearance at a time HD was giving 30% on clearance items. That was 15 or more years ago. I hate gas for infrequently used power equipment. My Echo gas chainsaw hadn't been used in a number of years and still had gas in it. Of course, it would not start the other day. I mostly use an Ego battery chainsaw now, but some trees need the power of gas.

[Greg Parrish]

Electric could be great if you have power at every single location or only use at one location. You'll need adequate hose or cord length to deal with it also since most people are not going to have 240v outlets all around their property. I prefer gas for the simple fact of portability.

Regarding chainsaws, we have a 40v ryobi that does great for some things....................... until the two batteries run out. However, my Stihl 261 runs non-stop as long as I keep putting fuel and oil in it. Again, battery has it's uses but so does gas.

The world is not ready to abandon gas powered equipment, vehicles, etc. Battery technology still isn't advanced enough and electric has it's limitations in some cases.

[Dan Friedrichs]

There are absolutely advantages to good 240 volt pressure washers, but the good ones are $1000 plus for a new one. Then you have to wire up a 240 volt outlet to run them on. I never went electric because most of them are the crappy $100 to $200 ones that don't have great pressure or volume.

Absolutely agree. I wouldn't bother with a 120V one. But there's no reason a 240V one should need to cost $1k - the cost of an electric motor and gas engine should be comparable, so the higher cost is probably just because the market isn't buying many. Hence why I've built one.

[Tom M King]

The MI-T-M electric that I posted a link to is 120V. It's nothing like a commercial gas powered unit, but does pretty good. We use it for car and truck washing, and blasted loose paint off of a small building with. It was also used for washing painted soffit and trim. At 45 pounds, it's pretty robustly built.

https://www.mitm.com/pressure-washers/CM-1400-1MEH/2107/

It's not exactly cheap though, but it gets used on commercial jobs right along with the big one.

[Mike Null]

My SunJoe is 3 years old and works great. More than enough power--it'll chew up the deck if you're not careful.

[Kev Williams]

I have 3 power washers-

1- An electric 1500 PSI unit- forget the brand and it's 35 miles away at the moment- that I got from Home Depot about 9 years ago.
When I got it the bad reviews for it (and many other electrics) centered around the hoses splitting or coming off the unit.
I bought it to use on the boat dock to wash our boats and their decks. A few sailboating friends have borrowed it, everyone
including me loves it. -- for what is: an easy to use electric...

2- A Generac 2700 PSI unit- not sure the engine brand, but it's a 196cc and it's by far one of the easiest to start gas engines I've ever dealt with.
Below the gas tank are 2 'slider' handles, one for the choke, the other shuts gas off to the carb.
To start the thing, just open the throttle to just past its full-closed position, apply the choke, and pull. If it doesn't start the first time,
just pull again. When choked it starts rich and coughs a bit, just open the choke, up the throttle and it's ready to go.
I can't remember it EVER taking 3 pulls to start, and I've had it longer than the electric. 2700 PSI is plenty for most jobs, like washing the car
and your decks... a turbo-nozzle works great, they really seem to amplify the usable pressure...

3- A Simpson 4400 PSI unit, and it's a beast. Pulling the trigger, the initial kick is pretty close to a .410 gauge shotgun. Afterward the pressure
doesn't seem all that great, until you run the 2700 machine afterward. I got it to remove dead bottom paint and rust from the bottom
of our houseboat. Does that nicely. Washing a car with it using a 15° or turbo nozzle and you're apt to peel the paint off. Also got it for
wet sandblasting the hull, but that didn't work because you can't have water backtrack into the sand hose, which is hard not to to do
when spraying upwards while laying on your back ;) .. I'm not sure what brand motor's on it either, I DO know it's NOT the Honda, but
it has the exact same choke and gas valve setup as the Generac. It's huge, IIRC it's 420cc. It's just as easy to start as the Generac-- easy
being relative, it IS tougher to pull start a 420cc motor than one less than half its size. Bad reviews when I got it were mostly 'hard to start'...
The trick to easy-starting ANY gas powered washer is to make absolutely certain there is NO AIR in the water line! Turn on the water and
run the pressure line and wand until nothing but clear air-free water comes out. THEN start it. Any air that hits the water pump while pulling
the rope and the pump fights back at just about the same time the spark plug fires, and if you have a tight grip on the starter rope the kickback
will try to pull your arm out! -- I love the thing :)

[Brian Elfert]

I typically hold the valve on the wand open with one hand when starting my gas pressure washer to relieve any pressure. I use the other hand to pull on the rope.

[Christopher Herzog]

I picked up a dewalt electric at HD. It has been a blessing for 300 bucks.

It has been borrowed by two kids and my dad, four houses and all were impressed.

My two cents

Chris

[Jim Becker]

I had an electric one for years and aside from gradually developing a very leaky hose system, it worked fine. I replaced it with a name brand gas powered one last spring when I was preparing our old home for sale. It worked extremely well and was easy to start. Here at the new property...it refuses to start and I just haven't had time to fiddle with it. Honestly, for my own personal needs, an electric unit would be just fine. So my recommendation is to consider what the tool will actually be used for and decide accordingly.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Here power washers are dumpster fodder. Most of the "dime store" ones come with a decent motor (B&S, Honda, Kohler) and a sorry "out of the box" pump. I take ones with trashed pumps, and purchase a replacement pump from ROP (Rugged Outdoor Products.) For less than a Ben Franklin, I have a decent power washer. The reason the ones from the big box stores come with a ten dollar pump, is no one makes a five dollar pump. Not just sorry pumps, but most don't understand that water expands when it freezes. They fail to winterize the pump before storing it away for the winter. Did get a NorthStar from a friend once. Pump was good, but cam in Honda engine was beyond worn out. New cam was about fifteen bucks.

[John K Jordan]

...consider what the tool will actually be used for and decide accordingly.

That's the key. For my use I can't imagine clearing a a bunch of packed red clay out of the excavator bucket with an electric. I do that more than I'd like. Maybe a big electric would do it but I can easily run a 200ft water hose from the barn, not as simple for a 200ft cable suitable for a 5hp or larger washer. To spritz around the house or wash the tires I suspect the 120v electric would be fine and easier to lug around. Maybe I'll get one for that. I wonder how it would be for washing horse trailers, inside and out.

BTW, another possibly unusual thing I do with a pressure washer is clean dirt and rocks from logs after skidding and before chainsawing or putting them on the woodmizer. Saves a lot of sharp.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Gas powered vs electric powered - Here on the farm, I have water lines and faucets as far as 500 ft from the barn. I don't have electricity at all of those, I could never afford the underground electric wires for such long distances..

Not a usual "half acre harry" situation, but certainly a reason why an electric power washer wouldn't cut it for me. And I have even run 200 ft of hose from one of those faucets, to power
wash an outbuilding before painting. Did the same to wash picnic tables at a park pavilion where there was no electric near by.

[Tom M King]

I keep the gas powered one on a stand the same height as the tailgate of the pickup. I can back the truck up to it, and put it in and out by myself. I just run it in the bed of the pickup. The long telescopic wands hang on the wall above, with caps on the intake adapters to keep mud daubers out. You can see it under the shed in this picture. I do the same with the generator, but the stand for that is portable so I can slide the generator out of the truck, and run it on the stand. You can see it right off the end of the green kayak.

[Scott Clausen]

Gas here but am needing to replace the pump. I bought the replacement but can't seem to muster up the will to swap it out. Something that I regard as a must is to get the telescoping extension wand. It saves a lot of ladder work.

[Alex LaZella]

Electric is best for small jobs unless you buy a really expensive unit. I had an electric Hotsy that would run with any gas unit I have ever used but it certainly wasnt cheap, or portable. I can think of tons of uses for a power washer that just dont work for electric (cord range), they are not as rare as you would think and you dont have to live on a farm in order to need a portable power washing solution, think washing a playset in your back yard. For an average user any mid priced pressure washer should suffice. I think Sams Club usually sells some honda engined washers for a fair price though by all means check the other big box stores too. Home depot etc often have sales or free money financing offers that make more sense. Look at what you are planning to do. More GPM equals better mud washing. If you can physically touch the unit you want to buy, check the hose. A nice hose coils easily and makes your life much better. I remember an old craftsman power washer I owned that had a hard plastic hose. Kink city and made me not want to get it out and wrestle with it. My own opinion on small engines is to stay away from Honda. Honda engines run so lean that a bit of build up in the carb makes them unusable. Yes, proper maintenance should take care of this but real world experience is that if it isnt ran it tends to gum up. I had an $800 garage kept honda mower that gave me fits each spring. Briggs and stratton are more easily abused which I think is more applicable to the average homeowner. If you use it every day then Honda is great. Use stabil in whatever gas washer you end up with. As far as electric vs gas in general, my Husky chain saw can sit for a year and still fire right up and it beats any electric there is. Gas is king if you are really going to use something. If it is just occasional use then electric starts to make sense. Good luck with your purchase

[John Terefenko]

I had an electric one for years and aside from gradually developing a very leaky hose system, it worked fine. I replaced it with a name brand gas powered one last spring when I was preparing our old home for sale. It worked extremely well and was easy to start. Here at the new property...it refuses to start and I just haven't had time to fiddle with it. Honestly, for my own personal needs, an electric unit would be just fine. So my recommendation is to consider what the tool will actually be used for and decide accordingly.


I have a small ranch house that I will be using it on along with probably the front walk and back patio so I believe an electric one should do fine. I wish there was a like button on these forums to basically thank those that replied to my question. Now I need to narrow the field of a good electric. My brother had 2 Karchers and they were terible so that is out if they even still make them.

[John K Jordan]

…. Now I need to narrow the field of a good electric. My brother had 2 Karchers and they were terible so that is out if they even still make them.

I’ve saw several on Amazon with good reviews at reasonable prices.

[Dave Zellers]

Another happy Sun Joe SPX3000 customer. Have only used it twice but the first time was for at least 4 hours and the second was for 2 hours. It worked great but I would agree that it's not for heavy duty work. But for my needs- typical homeowner stuff, it worked great.

[Michael Drew]

Pressure washers are kinda like gas grills and lawn mowers....... Disposable, unless you pony up for a professional grade machine.

I picked one up at Lowes five'ish years ago. It was under $500. It was a floor model at a discount, plus my Lowes veteran's discount. It still works well. Primary use is washing my house each year (log home), and when I do that, it runs constantly for several hours. Don't recall the brand, but it does have a Honda engine, and it's a 3500psi machine. Whatever you get, I'd pick up an extra hose with it. They usually come with a 25' hose, and that's just not long enough.

[Jim Becker]

Pressure washers are kinda like gas grills and lawn mowers....... Disposable, unless you pony up for a professional grade machine.
I kinda agree with you there, Michael.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Mine is a heavy duty 2 hp electric. I am not sure if it is a professional model but it preforms like one. It works better than the 5 HP gas one that it replaced. A disadvantage is finding an outlet that can support it.

[Kev Williams]

My big Simpson's pump has it's own oil reservoir and dipstick... I guess that qualifies as professional? ;)

[Tom M King]

My gas Mi-T-M has a sight window for pump oil. I changed the pump oil last Summer, but don't remember if it has a dipstick, or not in the filler inlet. I just check it in the window, like an air compressor.

Even my Mi-T-M electric came with an all purpose, adjustable end, that I expect most electrics come with. I changed it to use different tips, and it works more like a smaller version of a pro unit with a specific tip. Since you can get tips in different flow rates now, I'd advise anyone with an electric pump to put a quick coupler on the end of the wand so you can use different fan width tips instead of whatever all purpose tip comes on it.

For different fixed length wands, Northern Tool sells one about 7' long that's not as tiring as the long, telescopic ones, but still keeps you out of the bounceback spray. We end up using that one more than any of the others, even with the electric pump.

I also bought a thing with wheels on it that rolls under a vehicle to wash off the underside. That thing works better than I expected it to, judging by what gets washed off from under there.

[Frank Pratt]

I had to do some electrical service work on a customers "pressure washer" It is powered by a 600HP turbocharged diesel engine in a semi-trailer. The business end is a hydraulically controlled head on a boom arm that has a nozzle that swivels back and forth. It is used for concrete demo without harming the rebar. Here's an example of what these things will do, but the one in the video looks to be a fair bit smaller. Very impressive. I bet it would strip the old paint off anything in a hurry.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6e-h-UUBoW4

[Jim Becker]

Wow, Frank...that's a slick way to do that demolition for sure!

[Kev Williams]

Amazing the damage water can do to concrete, even under gravity power-
this is where the rain gutter at the end of my front porch leaks to...
483618

[John K Jordan]

Where I worked before I retired they used a water jet (with the pump and engine also on a big truck) to cut through 5’ concrete walls. This was one step in a facility upgrade. Impressive.

My introduction to water jet technology was when an associate had some precisely curved parts cut from 5/8” stainless steel. The surfaces of the cuts were perfect - needed no additional work. I had no idea this would work so well.


I had to do some electrical service work on a customers "pressure washer" It is powered by a 600HP turbocharged diesel engine in a semi-trailer. ….

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I read a little about Fracking the other day. The pumps, volumes, and pressures used are hard to imagine. I see homeowners pressure washing barefoot and cringe. My unit came with a medical alert "Injection Injury" card that you are supposed to take to the ER with you if you happen to "wash" yourself.

[John K Jordan]

…"Injection Injury" …

That’s a real hazard with hydraulic systems too, maybe worse. People who use their hand to locate a pinhole leak in a hose under pressure risk serious injection injuries.

[Tom M King]

I know a painter who had some very expensive tattoo's on his arms. He was spraying with his airless sprayer, and the hose developed a pinhole leak. He put his thumb over the stream because it was spraying paint where it wasn't wanted on a house. It injected paint all under the skin on his forearm. They had to cut the skin open to get the paint out in the ER, and never could get the tattoo's realigned.

You Absolutely don't want to be pressure washing with a commercial unit and zero degree nozzle in sandals, or barefoot, or even with thin shoes on, or even without eye protection against bounceback!!

[John K Jordan]

Another thing to never do is lend the pressure washer to another person. A service tech said that’s a common way to cause damage to the unit. Someone might not know that letting the engine run for an extended time without spraying is not recommended. Maybe this isn’t a problem with electric or lower power gas engine models, I don’t know.

[Tom M King]

I think one of the reasons mine has lasted so long is that we try never to let it run without the trigger being pulled.

[Scott Clausen]

Got my pump replaced and it wasn't to bad. Still don't have the energy to test it right now but I have faith it will work. I mainly just wanted to get the pump off my shop floor.

[Warren Lake]

Staggering what a water jet can do.

3 of us bought electric pressure washers same time from a box store. Mine broke after 3 uses, friend a top detailer his broke about 3 uses. He beat to death. I was given the third one still new in its unopened box. I video taped it still in the box and that ive opened it up and its never been used. Will see how long it lasts., Company brushed me off, i usually put people in their place and have a history of doing it. Other than dressing them down it wasnt worth the time. Never buy any of their products and will see how this one does and see how many uses I get.

[Stephen Tashiro]

How well do pressure washers handle hard water? Does all that pressure keep them from clogging up? Are all brands about the same in that respect?

[Tom M King]

I can't tell you how many thousands of gallons of hard water has been run through mine, but never any problems. There is quite a bit of quality difference between brands. Mine are Mi-T-M commercial units. The 13hp Honda motor I'm running now came off of a direct drive brand I'd never heard of. Someone gave me that one. The pump went on the scrap metal pile.

[Jim Becker]

I suspect hard water is less of an issue for these machines simply because the water isn't generally just sitting around in them like it is in a home's pipes. There's also no heat which in my experience makes for more issues in copper pipe. All the pinholes I experienced at our old property with the exception of one were on the hot water side. A little residual is there while the tool is stored, but during use, the water isn't sticking around very long... ;)