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looking into a pressure washer

ashman

ashman

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I wanna buy a pressure washer to hose down the 4 wheelers, wash the deck, spray the gunk off the bottom of the blazer, etc... as cheap as possible.

How big do I have to go to not be horribly disappointed? remember, cheaper is better in this case if I can get away with it.
 
Cheap and power washers should never be used in the same sentence or you will ultimately be disappointed. I have two John Deere power washers, one 2400 psi and the other a 3000 psi that have served well. My father has a 3000 psi model that he bought at NAPA that he has been happy with, and it's cost was comparable to my JD 3000 psi model. He and I have tried the cheap route, and it only cost us money, time, and frustration in the long run. Whatever size you choose, save up for a top of the line brand and model, and stay away from cheap ones.
 
Well from the other side I respectfully disagree with the above post.

I have had a couple cheaper pressure washers. I have used several nicer ones.

The nicer ones are nice to use and I would expect them to last longer.

My cheap one has cleaned my siding, my fence to stain it, my deck to stain it, and probably hundreds of pounds of mud off my trucks over the years.

I borrowed it to my brother in law and he didn't drain it over the winter and water froze in it and broke the manifold. The more expensive ones may have an automatic drain to prevent this mine did not.

I would certainly like a more expensive one but my cheap one ( I think it was 250) served me well for quite a few years.

Just don't get an electric one. Mine is a 2500 psi model
 
I have nothing constructive to say, I'm a marine guy, I'm spoiled... :haha:

stupid little ones for a few hundy from homo depot I see people use are a pathetic joke compared to the many thousand PSI ones we use to wash boat bottoms...

all i would suggest is treat it like a welder, as big as you can possible afford..
 
I bought mine 10-15 years ago so take that into consideration, but when I was looking the electric ones sucked. They just didn't have the power to get the job done. I bought a Craftsman with a B&S 7.0 HP engine. I think it's got a 2500 PSI pump but I'll have to go look at it to be sure. What ever mine is would be the absolute minimum to buy.

Couple tips:
Before you start the engine have the water on and hold the trigger on the gun until all the air is bleed out. You need to do this every time you unhook either hose or the wand. If you don't, it will surge the whole time you are using it.

When your gun (or any other part) starts to leak you can pick up an o-ring kit to fix it. The fittings are the same size on any decent brands and the o-rings are color coded (may be true on the China brands too, but I don't know for sure). Just buy the whole kit instead of one because they all go bad eventually.

If you plan to use it on your deck or driveway get one of the flat surface/wide area cleaners. It not only speeds things up, but it also keeps you from having the lines you see when people try to clean a driveway with just the wand.

The wands with interchange tips end up being better in the long run when compared to the adjustable tips.

Last, and probably most important, make sure you unhook the hoses when you're done. You don't want to put it up with water in the pump that can freeze and destroy it.
 
Just went out and looked. 7.0HP, 2600psi, 2.5 GPM, (all made in the USA, too :usaflag: ) and like I said its the absolute smallest I'd go with. If I were to do it again I'd be looking for a 3000 psi pump. However, the truth is once you get everything clean what I have is plenty. It's that first time that takes the extra power.

Couple more things I thought of, make sure you have 3/4" hose for the supply side and try to use the spigot that is before your house's pressure regulator.
 
How cheap ya talkin'? $80-120 walmart special electric?

I have a 1600psi electric from Karcher. It's not great, it will not blast gunk off transmissions and undercarriage stuff w/o solution, and a lot of time. But it will. It was cheap, needed one, does what I need it to do. Wanted a gas, wasn't in the cards. I wash cars, spray off after out wheeling, it will do siding and decks slowly cause you gotta get close, so a narrower stream, but it will do it.

1600psi will be roughly the most powerful in a electric 110v version cheapo version.

One day I will get a gas. I'm not disappointed, but I've used nice 3400psi gas pressure washers, so I had a general idea of what a cheap electric could do. Still glad I got it, better than nothing. No regrets.
 
I have a Troy Bilt "XP" series. 2500psi with a 160cc Honda engine. Its 4 years old and gets used a minimum of 5 hours a month. My only complaint is that the morons put the gas cap under the handle so its kind of a PITA to fill up with gas. I think the newer ones dont have that issue. Starts 1st or 2nd pull every time. Only maintenance I've ever done is changed the oil once.
 
can't beat the Yonda's when it comes to small motors... :bow:

our marina one is, iirc, 9 or 11 hp Yonda and 3800 or 4000 PSI...

it'll skin a Yak...
 
One reason I grabbed it because its the same motor as my lawn mower. That way if one goes tits up I have a spare. :D

I guess my only other complaint is the gas tank is fairly small. Under non stop use I get maybe 1 1/2 hours of use. Same with my mower though.
 
Sorry, nothing to add, but thanks for posting this. I've ALLLLLWAYS wanted a pressure washer. So now I'll get to learn up too, thanks. :waytogo:
 
mrschaeferpants said:
How cheap ya talkin'? $80-120 walmart special electric?
Click to expand...
I was hoping so. I've managed this long without one so I'm guessing I won't use it super often, but I'm getting the feeling that I should probably spring for a bit more than that.

Got a buddy that is going to bring his over tomorrow and let me use it for awhile so I can get an idea of what his is capable of and get a better idea of what I will want.
 
I only have Honda powered ones. 6hp and 11hp rigs. The 11hp unit has been in service for a loooooong time. The 6 only about a year. I really don't know much about them but I can saw no mater what you buy, make sure it's got the removable tips, not the adjustable.

We use to have a unit from Home Depot, maybe a 5 horse. The motor is still good but the adjustable tip gun went to sh1t first, then the pump itself. They are not worth fixing. :(
 
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