Need help choosing between these two pressure washers.

[meos1]

Another State heard from.....I bought a Husquevarna 3300.....I use it occasionally, sidewalks in spring, shoot the tractor, and about every third year the house which is two story. Its worked well for me. I think I paid out like 600 for it. Your use sounds to be more than occasional so this may have zero bearing. The other piece of information is the use to blast off grease. It does remove grease but not completely. I would think a hot water version would be what you are looking for there. Again, Im not using it commercially.

 

[DK35vince]

Have any of you guys tried that Turbo Tip? Any success with that thing? I have heard people say it works really well but havent tried it yet. I think they cost like $ 40.00 or so.

I have one, and they do work.

 

[Code54]

Another State heard from.....I bought a Husquevarna 3300.....I use it occasionally, sidewalks in spring, shoot the tractor, and about every third year the house which is two story. Its worked well for me. I think I paid out like 600 for it. Your use sounds to be more than occasional so this may have zero bearing. The other piece of information is the use to blast off grease. It does remove grease but not completely. I would think a hot water version would be what you are looking for there. Again, Im not using it commercially.

Hot water is the way to go for grease and oil!! Amazing how hot water helps the cleaning process. Can always add a hot box unit if you want to try it out.

 

[nikerret]

I have this one, from Generac.

Generac Power Systems | Pressure Washers | Professional Grade | Generac Power Systems

It has been a solid unit. For the price you're looking at, you can get a step up, from this one. It uses an AR (Annovi-Reverberi) pump, which got as good of reviews as CATs.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have had a Simpson pressure washer for over 16 years and it has worked flawlessly. It still starts on the 2nd pull every time. It is a 2650 PSI and I wish I had a bit more pressure sometimes but it gets the job done. The turbo nozzles work pretty good, they basically just spin and direct the water jet in a circular pattern which makes for a wider cleaning area without you having to move the wand. I think the Simpson washers come with a braided steel reinforced hose also which is a very nice hose that doesn't kink as bad as the plastic ones.

I think you would be well suited with the Simpson washer for home owner use.

FWIW: Don't let the pump run for more than 30 seconds when not holding down the trigger on the wand. This causes the pump to go into recirc mode and will overheat and burn up the pump if you don't keep a stream of water running thru it. I would bet that this causes more pumps to burn up than any other item. Also don't start the motor without having water running thru the pump. I always, turn on the water first, hold down the trigger and let the system purge out any air before starting the pump.

NOTE: always hold down the trigger (or have someone hold the wand with the trigger depressed) when trying the start the engine. IT makes for an easier pull on the cord since you aren't pressuring up the pump to operating pressure

 

[MX Dad]

That is well put Gary. I second every bit of that although I dont have much experience with the Turbo nozzle. I forgot about all those little "do's" when using a pressure washer. If you need more pressure, you can find different tips that will give you more psi. I found an actual company that sells and maintains the machines and found they sell tips you couldnt find on the streets. (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) At first I didnt appreciate the store, but once I found out what they do, it was priceless.

 

[sixdogs]

OK; all done and this is what I bought.

Simpson ALH4240 Professional 4200 PSI Gas - Cold Water Aluminum Frame Pressure Washer w/ Honda Engine & CAT Pump

It's more than I thought about in terms of PSI, GPM and price but I got a great price so that made it OK. I started out intending to rent but that would have added up quickly and made the purchase a better idea. I was all set to buy this one SIMPSON PowerShot 4, PSI Commercial Gas Pressure Washer - Powered by Honda - Sam's Club at Sam's Club for $750 plus tax.

I got $300 off from a local guy. It's got a bigger Honda engine, a rebuildable CAT pump and 4GPM. That makes my cost not that far off from the lesser one I was considering.

Thanks to all TBNers for tipping me off to the benefit of CAT pumps and GPM info that helped me buy the right thing at the right price.

 

[MX Dad]

I think you will be happy with it. Those Honda engines are like the Eveready Bunny. They just keep goin, and goin. It should have all the power you need for home/farm use. With a large fan tip, its pretty good at blowing leaves in a small area too!

 

[Code54]

NICE machine, a true professional model with great specs!! Should serve you VERY well for farm/home use.

Just be careful with the "Red" tip, that sucker will clean right down to the bare metal on the truck or tractor!!

 

[CurlyDave]

When you use it for washing grease off of equipment you need to be aware that the grease is not transported to the 4 th dimension. It comes off the tractor and stays on the ground. The blobs might be small, but they are there and can easily be tracked around.

Designate one spot to do this, and stick to it.

 

[sixdogs]

Thanks for the warnings. The residual grease is an issue with the dogs so I think I'll get a 100 ft length of 3/4' hose and stretch around to where the dogs don't go. There isn't much grease coming off my stuff but you never know and any little bit in the house would put us all in the dog house.

While I haven't used it yet, I'm glad I bought it. The price was excellent and not much more than the lesser one I planned to buy. Plus it's always good to buy local. The guy has everything I would ever need, is there for advice or warranty and turns out we share common acquaintances. Plus he's a nice guy.

He also has his four pressure washer rules. 1) Never, ever loan it out and no exceptions. 2) Protect from freezing and longer storage by blowing the water out when done and using pump oil, 3)Never let the machine run without water going through the pump--trigger pulled and 4) Always turn the water on before you start the engine.


I heard about the red tip. I need to practice with this machine before I get serious. You really could do some damage.

 

[TractorGuy]

Anybody tried one of these Subaru washers?
PowerStroke 31 PSI Pressure Washer w/ Subaru Electric Start Engine

 

[sixdogs]

One further question on this. I bought a 100 ft 3/4" garden hose to use for the inlet but the generic owner's manual says to keep the hose under30ft. Does anyone know anything about the length of the inlet hose from the house to the washer? Should I go with 25' or 50' or even 100' ?

 

[Code54]

The general rule is you are better to have a longer high pressure outlet hose and a shorter inlet (garden hose) to maximize performance and reduce the chance of cavitation of the pump due to pour GPM. I run 150' of high pressure hose and there is a little tiny bit of pressure drop but you have more than enough GPM and PSI I doubt you will really notice it. I only run about 4' of 1" hose with high flow connectors from my tank to pressure washer and that allows me to run a 25' garden hose to the tank( float valve equipped)

I believe they are mainly concerned with the pressure and flow drop at longer lengths thus recommend a shorter run.

 

[sixdogs]

Thanks. I'm going to try to find a 25' garden hose for inlet and I'll also get a second 50' outlet hose for a 100' outlet total. That should reach whatever I want to and keep the inlet GPM up to snuff.

 

[tarheel9848]

This one.....more $ but this has all the goodies. I would stick with Simpson either way. I work with many OEM's that brand pressure washers and Simpson is a great brand and they stand behind their product.

Shop SIMPSON Aluminum 42-PSI 4 Gallons-Gpm Water Gas Pressure Washer Carb Compliant at Lowes.com

 

[bdog]

One further question on this. I bought a 100 ft 3/4" garden hose to use for the inlet but the generic owner's manual says to keep the hose under30ft. Does anyone know anything about the length of the inlet hose from the house to the washer? Should I go with 25' or 50' or even 100' ?

A long 3/4" hose isn't going to be a problem. It is likely as large as the pipes for the water leading to your spigot. As long as you have adequate GPM at the end of the hose it will be fine. I use mine on a 100' 3/4" hose all the time and the spigot I connect it to is plumbed with 3/4" PVC and is over 200' away from the well. The point of that recommendation is they don't want you using a long tiny garden hose choking down the flow before it gets to the pressure washer,