Power washer

[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...
wdamg.jpg

[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.