Pressure Washer Reccomendations?

markopas wrote: ↑Just out of curiosity, why not a gas powered?

gabe3366 wrote: ↑ ehh bigger, heavier, louder, always running, requires gas.

Electric is fine for my needs and aside from the extra power I don't see much more convience.

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ Meh. I've had my Briggs + Stratton pw (bought at CTC on a 1/2 price sale) for almost 10 years and it has been 100% maintenance free, starts on the first pull and provides amazing power. Yes, it is bigger, heavier, and noisier than my old electric Karcher but it does the work in a fraction of the time that the Karcher required.

pirranna wrote: ↑ Done a lot of research on this as been totally frustrated with pressure washers. My .02 is that unless you go industrial/over $1k - electric pressure washers are really a 1-2 season unit. They typically use a wobble plate pump that wears out quite quickly. I've gone through three of them (one was through Costco but it died after a year)...winterized and babied them...and got frustrated and bought a refurbished Ridgid gas one from Home Depot (great price - what can possibly be wrong ). That one was temperamental because I later learned that the pump ran dry (not by me). I was thinking of scrapping it but the superb Subaru motor worked fine - so I picked up a new pump from Princess Auto - an A/R axial one for under $250 and has been a tank. The motor I have is only around a 6.5 hp and it can't power the typically "industrial" triplex pumps that give you more GPM and more PSI. That said, a good axial pump is better than a cheap triplex pump. Most of the rental units (which are gas powered) seem to use either CAT or Comet pumps and I imagine they are extremely abused. If this pump dies (as typically they last for a certain hour threshold) unbolt it from the motor and buy a replacement - as the rebuild kit is almost as much as a new pump.

For a pressure washer, it ultimately depends what you want to do and how much you want to use it. What's sad is that pumps are typically rated by hours so, for example, a cheapie may give you 40-60 hours whereas an industrial one can give you, from what I have researched, up to 1200 hours or more. A cheapie wobble plate (likely what you're looking at in the $200 range) is a throw-away whereas an axial and triplex can be rebuilt (typically only a triplex is rebuilt - better to put $120 in a $500 pump vs. $100 in a $250 pump). If you want something that will last you'll definitely pay for it. Also, if you want decent pressure and longevity, you'll need to go the gasoline route. They have some good electric ones but to get decent pressure you're running at 220 volts which most people don't have the setup for (as a house is wired for 110 volts). Unfortunately the Costco ones are not heavy duty that they carry in the stores. They have some nice online ones but you pay for it. Also note that it's not the motor that typically goes - it's the pump. That's why you'll note that the cheaper ones brag about the motor.

Thus - unless you want to spend $600+ and buy a decent gas one (BE makes some nice units and they are based out of BC I believe) you may be better off renting one when you need it. You may find one cheaper but be careful about the pump. Mine works excellent but I actually don't use it more than several times a summer. Typically too much pressure for the car (even with a green or white head nozzle), only clean the siding 1x a year, etc.) and is a bit of a hassle unless it's a big job. Also, may be able to pick up some end of season units/people selling them off Kijiji before winter. Just make sure you test them before you buy them.

If you do go gas - use fuel stabilizer and use pump saver antifreeze and cycle it through the pump if you are not bringing it indoors.

Good luck and hope this helps.

pirranna wrote: ↑ Done a lot of research on this as been totally frustrated with pressure washers. My .02 is that unless you go industrial/over $1k - electric pressure washers are really a 1-2 season unit. They typically use a wobble plate pump that wears out quite quickly. I've gone through three of them (one was through Costco but it died after a year)...winterized and babied them...and got frustrated and bought a refurbished Ridgid gas one from Home Depot (great price - what can possibly be wrong ). That one was temperamental because I later learned that the pump ran dry (not by me). I was thinking of scrapping it but the superb Subaru motor worked fine - so I picked up a new pump from Princess Auto - an A/R axial one for under $250 and has been a tank. The motor I have is only around a 6.5 hp and it can't power the typically "industrial" triplex pumps that give you more GPM and more PSI. That said, a good axial pump is better than a cheap triplex pump. Most of the rental units (which are gas powered) seem to use either CAT or Comet pumps and I imagine they are extremely abused. If this pump dies (as typically they last for a certain hour threshold) unbolt it from the motor and buy a replacement - as the rebuild kit is almost as much as a new pump.

For a pressure washer, it ultimately depends what you want to do and how much you want to use it. What's sad is that pumps are typically rated by hours so, for example, a cheapie may give you 40-60 hours whereas an industrial one can give you, from what I have researched, up to 1200 hours or more. A cheapie wobble plate (likely what you're looking at in the $200 range) is a throw-away whereas an axial and triplex can be rebuilt (typically only a triplex is rebuilt - better to put $120 in a $500 pump vs. $100 in a $250 pump). If you want something that will last you'll definitely pay for it. Also, if you want decent pressure and longevity, you'll need to go the gasoline route. They have some good electric ones but to get decent pressure you're running at 220 volts which most people don't have the setup for (as a house is wired for 110 volts). Unfortunately the Costco ones are not heavy duty that they carry in the stores. They have some nice online ones but you pay for it. Also note that it's not the motor that typically goes - it's the pump. That's why you'll note that the cheaper ones brag about the motor.

Thus - unless you want to spend $600+ and buy a decent gas one (BE makes some nice units and they are based out of BC I believe) you may be better off renting one when you need it. You may find one cheaper but be careful about the pump. Mine works excellent but I actually don't use it more than several times a summer. Typically too much pressure for the car (even with a green or white head nozzle), only clean the siding 1x a year, etc.) and is a bit of a hassle unless it's a big job. Also, may be able to pick up some end of season units/people selling them off Kijiji before winter. Just make sure you test them before you buy them.

If you do go gas - use fuel stabilizer and use pump saver antifreeze and cycle it through the pump if you are not bringing it indoors.

Good luck and hope this helps.

pirranna wrote: ↑ Done a lot of research on this as been totally frustrated with pressure washers. My .02 is that unless you go industrial/over $1k - electric pressure washers are really a 1-2 season unit. They typically use a wobble plate pump that wears out quite quickly. I've gone through three of them (one was through Costco but it died after a year)...winterized and babied them...and got frustrated and bought a refurbished Ridgid gas one from Home Depot (great price - what can possibly be wrong ). That one was temperamental because I later learned that the pump ran dry (not by me). I was thinking of scrapping it but the superb Subaru motor worked fine - so I picked up a new pump from Princess Auto - an A/R axial one for under $250 and has been a tank. The motor I have is only around a 6.5 hp and it can't power the typically "industrial" triplex pumps that give you more GPM and more PSI. That said, a good axial pump is better than a cheap triplex pump. Most of the rental units (which are gas powered) seem to use either CAT or Comet pumps and I imagine they are extremely abused. If this pump dies (as typically they last for a certain hour threshold) unbolt it from the motor and buy a replacement - as the rebuild kit is almost as much as a new pump.

For a pressure washer, it ultimately depends what you want to do and how much you want to use it. What's sad is that pumps are typically rated by hours so, for example, a cheapie may give you 40-60 hours whereas an industrial one can give you, from what I have researched, up to 1200 hours or more. A cheapie wobble plate (likely what you're looking at in the $200 range) is a throw-away whereas an axial and triplex can be rebuilt (typically only a triplex is rebuilt - better to put $120 in a $500 pump vs. $100 in a $250 pump). If you want something that will last you'll definitely pay for it. Also, if you want decent pressure and longevity, you'll need to go the gasoline route. They have some good electric ones but to get decent pressure you're running at 220 volts which most people don't have the setup for (as a house is wired for 110 volts). Unfortunately the Costco ones are not heavy duty that they carry in the stores. They have some nice online ones but you pay for it. Also note that it's not the motor that typically goes - it's the pump. That's why you'll note that the cheaper ones brag about the motor.

Thus - unless you want to spend $600+ and buy a decent gas one (BE makes some nice units and they are based out of BC I believe) you may be better off renting one when you need it. You may find one cheaper but be careful about the pump. Mine works excellent but I actually don't use it more than several times a summer. Typically too much pressure for the car (even with a green or white head nozzle), only clean the siding 1x a year, etc.) and is a bit of a hassle unless it's a big job. Also, may be able to pick up some end of season units/people selling them off Kijiji before winter. Just make sure you test them before you buy them.

If you do go gas - use fuel stabilizer and use pump saver antifreeze and cycle it through the pump if you are not bringing it indoors.

Good luck and hope this helps.

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ OP: In my experience, PW's go on sale in early spring and early fall - essentially the clean-up seasons as the manufacturers aim to shore up market share and some retailers add to the mix by clearing out older stock. So, you should start to see some sales very shortly - obviously, none of us can predict how good those sales will be and/or if Costco will be participating.

I agree with piranna. Triplex units are normally too expensive for most homeowners' needs. My B&S unit is axial-based and I take care of it - clean out the carb, drain the fuel tank, drain hoses, squeeze anti-freeze into the pump, store it in my garage, etc. One autumn a number of years ago, we had a snap early hard frost and, sadly, my pw had been left outside while I was out of town on business. While the (axial) pump still worked, the pressurized outlet side leaked like a sieve. Rather than weld the crack, I bought a ~$60 replacement and 10 minutes later it was working as new. That was 5 years ago and it still works like a charm. Prior to that, I owned Karcher and Simoniz units that lasted maybe 5 years each and were either irreparable or not worth repairing when they died.

One last thought - unfortunately, it's really hard to do research on all the pw brands out there as so many spring up out of nowhere and there seems to be so much rebadging, etc.

pirranna wrote: ↑ Hi,

The Pulsar is probably a cheaper one. Likely a Honda-clone motor (perhaps good perhaps bad...) but the Axial pump seems a bit on the low side. Low GPM and low PSI typically does not typically mean great quality. Pump build reminds me on some of the Walmart pressure washers they were selling on clearance for cheap...

For what it is worth, a neighbour bought a sweet BE triplex pump that probably retails over $1,300 for $700. I think it is 3gpm with a nice little Honda GX200 on it. Puts my setup to shame (quite quieter than the Subaru). Although he likes it, he wishes that it was a bit larger like a 4gpm which really is what gets the cleaning power - not the PSI believe it or not. You don't get that much pressure/gpm without around 400 cc's (thus 2x the engine size) ...and around $1,500 for something like the DEWALT DXPW4240 (which, incidentally, I believe is actually made via another company but has a nice Comet pump which you can get parts for outside of DeWalt/Company X). Their smaller one the DEWALT DXPW3425 uses an AAA triplex pump which is a house brand for Simpson or something. I believe you have to go through DeWalt but had a really hard time getting information on the AAA pumps. They also seemed a bit cruder than a Comet/CAT pump. Think they were referred to as a "ProSumer" pump.

I agree with the CaptSmethwick - research is exceptionally hard. I actually just started asking lots of questions at rental places when I noted that BE Units with Honda motors and Comet pumps seemed to be rather common place (the CAT pumps are expensive and i've not seen one in person yet - mostly Comet and some A/R and a lot of throw away pumps). That's probably why, if I would buy one, i'd get one from BE since you actually can get a specific model number with the specific pump as well as the specific motor you want. It's not an "easter egg hunt" to figure out the pump brand and model number. Have to be careful though...again...as I almost purchased a BE pressure washer through Home Depot but realized it was a "HD" edition. One through a BE dealer has a 5 year pump/3 year motor warranty. The one through HD is 1 year on the pump (and downgraded the pump from a "commercial" one to a "residential" one). From what I recall, not a huge $ difference to get a "commercial" grade one. My philosophy is that if it can stand up to commercial abuse - it'll likely survive your garage .

For the Pulsar - my gut says save your money since, looking at some of the connections, I suspect finding parts could be tough. Sorry. I'd suggest you take your money that you'd spend at this price point and see if you can pickup a used "homeowner's regret" unit (i.e. a guy from Hamilton selling a pressure washer that he spent several thousand on a Honda GX390 and his wife found out....) which pop up on Kijiji from time-to-time. Or, alternatively, you can do nothing and save your money . Or, you could go off the deep end and sell some of your stuff and buy a hot water one from Princess Auto for $4,200. Probably not suggested if you are married...or engaged. Ran into a guy at Princess Auto who bought one for $400 at an estate auction but had to rent a cube van to take it home (who, interestingly enough, lived in the city). He bought several 4 liter jugs of degreaser and was planning on "cleaning his car/cleaning siding at his parent's house". Was curious how he was going to move likely a 500lb "train" around his city lot...

Again it comes down to what you want to do. Mine is great when I need it (around 2-3 times a year) but most of the time it collects dust and takes up storage space. When my unit dies (or shall I say the 2nd pump decides to die....) I don't know if I will replace it. I'm limited by putting on a bigger pump with more PSI/GPM. If I did though, i'd probably splurge and get one with a Honda GX motor (side shaft) - so I can rebuild/replace the pump while the motor keeps running. A 200 cc seems to top out at 3000 PSI/2.5GPM and then you seem to have to move up to 2x as much power to get up to 4gpm/4000psi. That's likely far overkill for the average home owner though unless you want to strip paint off your car/make holes in your vinyl siding. Ultimately though you're buying a Motor, a pump and a frame and some accessories...the rest is just marketing