Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Thinking ahead to spring, wondering about buying hubby a power washer. What advice can you guys give me on what to look for, decent brands, etc. I do not want to break the bank. It would be used for things like washing the house, deck, front walkway. Not sure what other uses it might have. House is a 2 story colonial, we live on a hill so one area is about 2 1/2 stories about ground when you add in the foundation that is above ground there. Wouldn't something with as small a footprint as can be had for it's size.

Thanks again for helping me out!

Sandy

I have an excell(made by devilbiss) PW with a briggs motor on it.  Yup it is loud, but that's what hearing protection is for..  Cleans like the dickens tho' :)  I mix a fairly strong solution of simple green and use it to clean our vinyl sided house of mildew all the time, works great(and what's nice about SG is it won't kill plants or grass).  Of course the mildew comes back, cause the trees shade the house.  The only criticism i have of the thing is that after around 30 or 40 hours of use, i noticed motor oil everywhere along the bottom of the non carb side of the engine and some on the pump unit.  After checking, i found that the valve cover bolts were very loose(barely hand tight)  snugged'm down a bit used for 8 hours and all is well, no more oil leaky.

For my uses (cleaning a car and back deck) an electric unit would be better than gas (because of storage and noise, mostly). I have heard that the Karcher electric units do not hold up, but that the Sistema electrics, built in Italy and with a lot of metal parts, are much better. Anyone using one?

I used an electric model at a boatyard last year, 1700 psi and 2gpm. It worked fine on our boat. But when I looked into it - $600.

I was just at Home Depot and the 5hp Honda powered Excello is $388. They had a less-expensive model with a Briggs & Stratton.

I got me a Wal-mart special. lol It's only 2000 psi but it takes care of the light work. Only paid 150.00 for it new

I also have a 1700 lb. pressure, electric model---works find for washing the car or truck or washing down the house.  One problem I have is occasionally it will start a cycle of doing nothing when I pull the trigger.  Called the service hotline and a lady told me what to do.  Seems the water in our area has chemicals that build up and causes the micro switches to malfunction.   The remedy---pour some vineger into the pump let it sit for a spell, flush it out and it will work like a dream.  States to prevent this, after each use pour some cooking oil into the pump.   Tried it and it works every time----Wish all of you the best and may God bless you now and always--Will