Best pressure washer for the money?

[Soundguy]

Be sure to read the fine print, my Northern $500 electric unit still is shiney new in the corner of the garage. Requires a dedicated 15 amp outlet which I don't have and I also don't have the water flow requirement to run the 1.7 gal per minute.

mark

do you live in a real old house with only 10a rated wireing? you almost always see 15 a wireing nowadays.. or in some special cases. the 20's . all my exterior house plugs are dedicated circuits of gfci's

as for the 1.7gpm. what type of water system do you have that won't do that? rv holding tank?

 

[grayw0lf]

I have a K'Archer I bought at Lowe's or HD about 15 years ago. It's still going strong & starting easy w/ the 4hp B&S engine. (B&S can be completely hit & miss... some I've had for 20+ years of heavy use, some are trash from day one.)

Just be sure you (very) briefly run it dry at the end of the year so the pump doesn't freeze & crack.

 

[mjarrels]

New house and county public water. Pressure washer rated output is 1.7 gpm, input requirement is just over 2 gpm. Did have a new outlet installed just for the over the stove microwave (microwave is 1000 watts) that may work but I would have to run the cord thru a open window.

mark

 

[Soundguy]

your washing machine is likely on a 20a circuit. in fact. check your breakers.. If a new house. I bet you have a ton of 15a and 20 anmp branch circuits. just don't have a hair dryer and the pump goin at the same time.

if your public water system can't flow 2gpm .. um.. that's bad.....

 

[mikehaugen]

Pressure washer rated output is 1.7 gpm, input requirement is just over 2 gpm.

mark

How does this work?

 

[tractorshopper]

I've got this Troy-Bilt XP 3,000 PSI 2.7 GPM with Honda engine. $399 at Lowes. I love it. Change nozzles (5 included) for whatever duties you're performing. Cleans tractor, implements, etc very well. Can peel paint if using too aggressive nozzle. Cleans concrete very fast in comparison to my old pressure washer. Has long shooting nozzle for bleach/detergent. Can easily shoot the detergent/bleach on my 2 story house gable without ever needing a ladder. Honda engine starts so easily and just purrs right along.

 

[tractorshopper]

Been trying to load the picture, but it won't take today for some reason. Sorry. Search model # 020489. Only things I don't like are the wheels and the gas tank location, but this thing really does nice work and that's what I like about it.

 

[J_J]

From someone that has 5 pressure washers and have used them for many years.

I started out big as in 3000 psi pressure washer as I was going commercial. Time is money. I did homes, mobile trailers, cars, cool decks, graffiti, etc.

What can I get for $150 you ask. Well if you only want to do small lightweight jobs, the electrics will work, and will do just about everything the high psi units will do, only slower.

If you have the assets, I would recommend the 3000 psi pressure washers with Honda engines.

I just accumulated the other pressure washers because they were a good deal and as back up.

If you buy new 3000 psi pressure washers, you will pay somewhere around $900 to $2500.

Why would I purchase a high power pressure washer for small stuff. The answer is simple, I can do the 3000 psi jobs to the 5oo psi jobs as in cement driveways, cool decks, brick, ets with high pressure and lower the engine rpm for the volume and pressure for those small jobs or delicate jobs.

I have used ll the gadgets such as driveway cleaners, extend-a pole for high reach, turbo nozzles, etc.

I also have a sandblast wand for stripping rust and paint from cars, wheels, etc.

Sometimes you can get high pressure for cheap, such as Craigslist, garage sales, etc.

Bleach or detergents injectors are a must.

I have never had to heat the water, but it might help the job somewhat., but are more expensive.

 

[muddstopper]

I also have a sandblast wand for stripping rust and paint from cars, wheels, etc.

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JJ how well do you like that sandblast wand. I have thought about getting one for a while now, but was afraid it would turn out to be a useless piece of junk.

 

[J_J]

The sand blaster does just what it is supposed to do, sling sand out or the nozzle with high pressure water.

The trick to keep the sand tube from clogging is to always keep the sand tube on top of the blaster nozzle.

If the sand comes into the nozzle from the bottom, the sand gets wet and clogs.

It does a good job on paint, graffiti, and rust.

For small jobs, I sometimes use a backpack full of sand, and add weight on to the suction tube.