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Any advice on a sub $200 electric pressure washer? There's too many to choose from and I have no experience with any. Right now, leaning towards this one just to make a decision.
Lots to know about a pressure washer. You'll find other uses for it I can assure you. I wanted one to clean the acres of concrete the wife has added to the yard so she doesn't have to water. That's okay by me as it gives me more room to work on junk. I bought a SunJoe 3000 at Amazon. It comes with the 5 different cleaning tips. The tips make a huge difference in how it cleans. The smaller the angle of spray, the deeper the clean. To wash a car, you need somewhere between 1500 and 2500PSI. Then use the right tip or you'll remove more than just the dirt. My Sunjoe makes 2030PSI and is marginal for cleaning the concrete. It does it but with a narrow tip that cleans a strip about 2" wide per pass. By the time I get thru the sidewalks, my arms want to fall off. I've used it to clean under the hoods with the broad tips and it worked great with a little Dawn sprayed ahead of time. You need to find out if the machine will mix the detergent with the high pressure tips- most won't. Some run the detergent thru the pump causing short seal life. The SunJoe will mix it after the pump. The "I don't like" about mine: It's a major hassle to hook up the hose from the house, Hook up the hose from the pump, run the electric cord and then once you have that all set and ready, the unit needs to be close to what you are going to work on as the machine hose, garden hose, and electric cord all have to move at the same time- kind of a hassle. You can buy a 25ft pressure hose extension for one but it's just more crap to have to fool with putting together and then taking it apart. I do like mine though. It doesn't use near the water I was expecting- half a gallon a minute with most of the tips. The broad tip it uses 3/4 gallon water per minute. You can cover a lot of territory per minute. Works great at cleaning brick, sidewalks, patios, decks, house,boats, cars, windows, etc. They do make soaps for the machines and I've bought some of the different ones. Frankly, they don't seem to make a difference and I think they are a waste of money. A Dawn mix is hard to beat. Do the research and ask the questions. While I like mine, the setup and storage is a major pain. There has to be a better way.
My neighbor loaned his electric pressure washer to me for pressure washing the driveway. It would have taken forever because of the tiny area it would clean. So, I bought a $300 BlackMax with a Honda engine. It still takes a long time to clean concrete. I bought a tip from Home Depot that spirals the water coming out and that helped at little. So, it isn't ideal for that purpose. The larger commercial units are very powerful and maybe ideal for washing concreste but you have to be very careful that you don't damage what you are washing. For whatever this post is worth?
I cant help you with the electric part but i have a Ryobi with the Honda Engine. 2800 psi 2.3 GPM and its been a dandy! Bought it at Lowes a couple years ago and hasnt missed a beat. Works great with my foam canon when washing the cars.
Edit i Just saw your reasoning for not wanting a gas one.
Last edited by KingRanchCoy; Apr 5, 2017 at 02:09 PM.
Stay away from the Karcher brand! I bought one that died a few days before the warranty ran out. They sent me a replacement that failed in nearly the exact time frame as the first one. By now the warranty was expired and I had a worthless washer. Both developed a crack in the lower pump housing that would leak and not let the pump build up pressure. It's a cheap cast part that has the strength of cheese.
Pay attention to Labnerd's warning about using it on a vehicle (or any other painted surface)! Too high a pressure setting will expand any hole in the paint and the damage will increase exponentially!
They ARE great for removing old paint from woodwork! MUCH better than scraping. And, they will clean stains in concrete (if they don't chip it).
4 gpm flow. KRCoy...a foam cannon is exactly my main intended use. Most of the electric ones that are 2,000 psi or less are typically 1.3 gpm or less also. This one should work nicely. Thanks for all the tips guys, but for my main use (foam cannon), mobility and some of the other concerns are not really concerns. I'll not be pressure washing the vehicle with it other than undercarriage and through a foam gun.
I have a gas pressure washer with a honda engine that I bought at Home depot a few years ago. Back when I still had the 2011 fusion I was washing down the driveway, the fusion had a ton of kamikaze bugs all over the front bumper/license plate, so I decided to try using the pressure washer to get rid of the bugs. Big mistake. The bugs came off the plate easily without any harm, then when I tried the front bumper cover, I blew a quarter sized chunk of paint right off the cover. Don't do it, keep the pressure washer away from your vehicles. The repair of the paint cost me more than I paid for the pressure washer.
Pay attention to Labnerd's warning about using it on a vehicle (or any other painted surface)! Too high a pressure setting will expand any hole in the paint and the damage will increase exponentially!
They ARE great for removing old paint from woodwork! MUCH better than scraping. And, they will clean stains in concrete (if they don't chip it).
- Jack
Ditto and don't EVER use Clorox or any kind of cleaner containing chlorine in it. If you do, the pump will be locked up solid the next time that you try to use it. I won't lend mine out PERIOD; because everyone around here uses Clorox in them to kill and remove mildew.
for several years and no issues. I use it mostly for the boat and cars. I have washed the house as well as concrete with it, the concrete takes a little time, I think you will find that out of any economy class washer. It comes with two interchangeable wands, one is the "swirly" tip and the other is an adjustable one from a jet stream to a wide fan. The biggest complaint I have is the hose is a little stiff compared to a soft rubber, but it can be changed out.
Looks like they offer the deck and patio attachment as well for this washer, this may speed up cleaning concrete
I'm not sure about the electric pressure washers but you aren't supposed to start the engine on a gas unit without a water hose connected supplying water to the pump. I didn't know that at first and I did start it mine witout the water and it didn't appear to damage the pump but it can and if you read the instructions the warning is there.
