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

patsfan wrote:

Hi Patsfan,

That is an interesting question.  When I originally purchased my pressure washer, I also picked up several one gallon solutions, one for washing the house and the other for washing the car.  As you may know, these solutions will only siphon to the nozzle using the low pressure nozzle.  Even so, these machines still tend to use huge amounts of it to the point it wasn't economical for me to keep purchasing them.  As with all things, the manufacturers frown on using any type of solution other than what is considered to be made for the pressure washer pump.  I can't say if Windex or the like would hurt the components that make up the pump, but if you find out dfferently, let us know.   What I would suggest if you find you want to use Windex, just make sure you run a good amount of regular water through the pump afterwards.  I myself would also look at the cost of what a gallon of Windex costs as opposed to a gallon of pressure washer cleaning solution. 

Sandy,

I have a Sears 6 HP witha Briggs Intek Engine rated at 2350 PSI, quite frankly I do not recommend this unit. It has a very poor functioning solution dispensing system, comes out more a stream than a spray. Spent hours  reading the manual and adjusting  but got no results. I thought perhaps I had a bad unit but I spoke with a friend who has the same unit,  his behaves the same. It's about 4 years old now so maybe the newer ones are better, but I sure as heck wouldn't buy another Sears.

Walt was correct in stating that your husband should not get too close to the cedar with the wand, it will gouge the wood since cedar is very soft. I learned the hard way, have several gouges in my cedar trellis structure. Way too deep for a sander to remove.

I have a Karcher 2400 psi with a 5HP Honda GC.  I've been pleased with mine through 2 years but there are an alarming number bad reviews on the web on Karchers so I won't recommend it.  The Honda 5HP is nice but sometimes prone to surging until completely warmed up and vibrates some under load.  I'd say the Briggs Intek on my snowblower runs nicer.   I'd stay away from the L-head vertical shaft motors like the Briggs Quantum - loud! 

They Troy-Bilt brand you see at Lowes is made by Briggs & Stratton Power Products (read the fine print on the ID tag)  and some models do have Honda motors. Go figure that!    -Bob

The one I have in my shed is a Karcher.  I haven't read any reviews, but it doesn't work well at all.

Walt 

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