i am looking to buy a pressure washer and was wondering what psi would be adequate for vinyle siding cleaning,truck washing and concrete cleaning? was also like to know what psi the self service car washes use. i was looking at a model that puts out 2100psi,would this be enough or should i spend another $100 and get one that puts out 2400psi? any thoughts and advice would be appreciated. thanks

 

Not sure how much pressure you need for vinyl siding. Probably not a lot as it could etch your siding.

I use mine for cleaning concrete and my truck. Make sure you get one that you can raise and lower the pressure. Mine has a throttle on the side to speed up and slow down the engine. It affects the pressure the water comes out so when I wash vehicles I lower it to about half speed, for concrete I raise it all the way up.

I only have a little one that is 1500 PSI. It is great for washing concrete and vehicles. My friend has one that goes up to 10000PSI and I think it also heats the water. He uses it for concrete cleaning but I think it is a little overkill.

2500PSI would be great and offer you a lot of flexibility. If you get one that heats the water, then you can use it for underbody cleaning

 

Oh goody, heres one I can answer.. I own a self serve car wash and I run the pumps at 1200 psi, any harder than that you start peeling off peoples pinstripes etc. As far as for home use, I have a 2500 psi washer also but usually run it a lot lower. High pressure can cause some damage even on concrete. If you put 2500psi through a 0 degree tip, you can actually tear up some concrete.. Anything around 1500 psi should be all you would ever need around the house.

 

I have a 6.5 hp, 2400 psi washer that is great for multi-purpose use around the house. The pressure on mine is adjustable. A buddy borrowed mine last year and carved up his driveway (concrete) pretty well with it. I tried to warn him, but some people just don't listen very well.

 

Actually all I use at home is a electric 1500 psi Cambell-Hausfeild. It has cheap nozzle but is adjustable and can siphion cleaners. I think we only paid about $100 from Wal-Mart but it gets the job done. It does great cleaning a truck (paint or underbody), cleans the atv, the garden tractor, etc. No sense in over spending or over doing something you will not need unless you got money to spare. I agree with maybe getting a better one than I have and maybe a few more PSI but I think anything over about 2400 would be overkill.

 

Mine sounds like it's about the same as KYFordFreak's if not the very same one.

It's perfect for around the house. A neighbor bought a big gas powered mama with some huge max psi and actually damaged his house. I used mine on my house and it worked great. If you get a high powered one be sure to read the directions and do what it says!!

 

Gallons per MInute is just as important as PSI. I like to have an overkill one 3000 psi and 3.5-4.0 gpm and adjust it down according to what I am doing. Bigger washers last a lot longer than the cheap ones, at least it seems like they do. If you won't use it much buy a cheap one, if you have a pool cage PITA like me or some other high maitenance item, buy a good big one and adjust it like I do.

 

Seacrow beat me to this point. If you have enough flow, you can use wider angle nozzles and get the work done faster. When I worked in a boat yard we only used 1200-1500 PSI but the washer was rated at 5-6 GPM of water flow.

If all you need it for is around the house then you don't need much pressure. Higher flow will get the job done much quicker.

 

There is a site on the internet called "Hotsy" pressure cleaners. Do a search on that. They'll have just about anything you need. Oh yeah, go with the hot water pressure cleaners. They clean alot better IMHO.