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Thread: Power washer

  1. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    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.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    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-washer...400-1MEH/2107/

    It's not exactly cheap though, but it gets used on commercial jobs right along with the big one.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 07-27-2022 at 5:11 PM.

  3. #18
    My SunJoe is 3 years old and works great. More than enough power--it'll chew up the deck if you're not careful.
    Mike Null

    St. Louis Laser, Inc.

    Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
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    Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
    Dye Sublimation
    CorelDraw X5, X7

  4. #19
    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
    ========================================
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  5. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Minneapolis, MN
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    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.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    West Central Illinois
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    195
    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

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    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.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #23
    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.
    Last edited by Bruce Wrenn; 07-28-2022 at 11:17 AM.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    ...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.

  10. #25
    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.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    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.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  12. #27
    Join Date
    May 2021
    Location
    Spartanburg South Carolina
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    386
    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.

  13. #28
    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

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    New Jersey
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    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 T.

  15. #30
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    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Terefenko View Post
    …. 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.

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