I Finally Broke Down And Bought A Pressure Washer

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A month ago I had my driveway widened. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while. Since we bought our new car, I needed a place to park my truck alongside the house. Anyway I had about 9 yards total poured. In the process of excavating for the new concrete the Bobcat driver managed to rubber up my existing driveway with tire tracks everywhere.

I made a stink about it, and the guy apologized and knocked $200.00 off the job. I contacted a few commercial pressure washing outfits, but most of them charge too much for small jobs because it's not worth their time. They want to do gas stations and parking lots. So I ended up biting the bullet and buying one. Home Depot had a nice Ryobi for $400.00 with a Honda engine. It received good reviews, but when I looked at the thing it just looked cheap.

So I went to Lowe's and bought this model:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SIMPSON-PowerSh...CARB/1000151725

A guy on another forum I frequent has been using a similar model for years, and he's been very happy with it. It has a 6.5 H.P. Kohler engine, and 3,300 PSI pump output at 2.5 gallons per minute. And it's got a much nicer and larger triplex pump than what the Ryobi had. It's more of a commercial type of unit. I also bought a 15" rotary cleaning head attachment to go with it. Along with a rotating cleaning nozzle.

The unit came fully assembled except for installing the handle and connecting all the hoses. The last 2 days I've been breaking my back hanging racks and shelving trying to get my garage organized so I'll have a place to store it. Between that and getting this thing all ready to go, I'm going to take a break before I go out there and try it out. Today I'll take a trip to Tractor Supply and get a good 3/4" hose to feed it. The manual say's to be sure it receives 5 gallons a minute to the pump at 20 PSI. If the intake part of the pump starves for water, they can burn out real quick. My hoses are all 5/8", and while they might work O.K., I'm not going to risk getting cheap in the wrong place, so I'll just get a good one.

I'm going to be running it off a hose bib that tee's off the main water line where it comes into the house. So between that and a good hose, I should be good to go. I'm anxious to see how well it all works. I've got enough concrete now where I can get my money's worth of out of it.
 
I didn't know Kohler made a Honda GX knockoff too.

A 5/8 hose is fine if you have decent water pressure. I run 5/8 and have a 5 GPM belt driven machine.
 
My water pressure is excellent. I think what I'll do is time it to see how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket. If it's under a minute I'll just go with what I've got.
 
I was in the same boat as you. Had new concrete poured and the guy left marks everywhere on my drive. Not to mention a horrible cleanup job.

I bought one as well. We (Oklahoma City) have a company that just does pressure washers, and mostly high end commercial rigs. I went to them and bought one of their custom built consumer models. Around the same price as the two you posted. From what the owners son was explaining to me, the big difference isn't so much in the motors that are on the units but in the pumps that are on them. The pumps are what make the most difference on what can make or break a power washer.
 
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Nice! About 10 years ago I had a street drain from my back yard to the street sewer at the road that had broken and was making a sinkhole in the easement. The city came out and dug it up but the backhoe did quite the number on the concrete. After they were finished, the city employees used a thing similar to what you just posted and pressure washed my entire driveway. Now that is getting value for tax dollars!
smile.gif
 
I'm not a fan of those hose connections. Standard 3/8 quick connects are the way to go but I guess they're not something that comes on $500 machines. I see Amazon has a similar model with the GX series Honda for $499 if anyone else is interested in these machines.

Amazon
 
The pump is what always goes on pressure washers. Buy the extended warranty. Also you need to buy a name brand pump to ensure parts are available. I have a 11hp with a large pump, large, heavy, uses 2 belts and dual pulleys to drive it. The repair rebuild kit alone is $400 but it's large and commercial.
 
Anyone with a pressure washer use this stuff?

https://www.grainger.com/product/45TP60

When you're finished using your washer, you screw it into the low pressure hose inlet into the washer pump. Then with the ignition "OFF" you pull the engine around a few times while spraying this into the pump. It's suppose to help keep everything lubricated, and prevent any corrosion and mineral deposits. Seems worthwhile for $8 bucks, so I picked up a can.

I also bought a bottle of this, per the Kohler operating manual. It's supposed to offset the effects of Ethanol in fuel, and help prevent any rust and corrosion in the fuel system.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/ETHANOL-SHIEL...13=&veh=sem

I've also got Sta-Bil, and Sta-Bil 360. So I have enough additives to preserve my fuel until the Asteroid hits. I won't be using this thing very often, and I don't want the engine to get gunked up from sitting.
 
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What really got me, was with the exception of my Homelite chain saw, which I haven't had the need to run in eons, this is the first engine powered tool I've bought in a long time. So I bought a new 1 gallon gas can to go with it. WHAT A GIANT PITA! Who designed these things? And what did they do to them? If I ever figure out how to get gas out of this thing, the first thing I'm going to do is set it on fire!

No vent valve at all. Real smart. And it's got some stupid EPA contraption that will break your fingers off before you're able to get any fuel out of it. It is without question, the dumbest, most useless thing I've ever seen. I'm already making plans to saw off some parts, while drilling out others. This is what happens when the government gets involved in something they know nothing about..... Which is just about EVERYTHING!
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
What really got me, was with the exception of my Homelite chain saw, which I haven't had the need to run in eons, this is the first engine powered tool I've bought in a long time. So I bought a new 1 gallon gas can to go with it. WHAT A GIANT PITA! Who designed these things? And what did they do to them? If I ever figure out how to get gas out of this thing, the first thing I'm going to do is set it on fire!

No vent valve at all. Real smart. And it's got some stupid EPA contraption that will break your fingers off before you're able to get any fuel out of it. It is without question, the dumbest, most useless thing I've ever seen. I'm already making plans to saw off some parts, while drilling out others. This is what happens when the government gets involved in something they know nothing about..... Which is just about EVERYTHING!


I don't know what can you purchased. I have a few of these and they are fantastic for me.

https://www.amazon.com/No-Spill-1405-2-1-2-Gallon-Poly/dp/B000W72GBC
 
i consider a pressure washer and air compressor a must have for a DIY home owner . they are so useful

i have had the same pressure washer for 25 years an never used that pump oil stuff. always kept it inside to protect from freeezing. i do don't think you will have that problem in AZ
 
Originally Posted By: geekster
I don't know what can you purchased.


It's the same one that's in this video at the 0:45 mark. Except mine is a one gallon model.
 
I know it well..it stinks. I gave that thing to my neighbor. I think they were made for each other.

The one I linked to is way way better. I'm a big fan of the No Spill cans.
 
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Originally Posted By: billt460
Anyone with a pressure washer use this stuff?

...

I don't want the engine to get gunked up from sitting.


I have a Honda/CAT pressure washer, then an uber cheap electric ryobi.

The cat pump I pulled G-05 through it; forget where I learned that from...

For fuel, I wonder if there's tru fuel type product that isn't for two strokes. If so, it might be sensible to run the last while on that, then run the carb dry before putting it away.
 
billt460 said:
I found this video of the rotary Turbo Nozzle cutting through the boards of a pallet. It doesn't say what PSI they're running. Pretty impressive.

yikes! Don't want to hit your foot with that!
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
...The cat pump I pulled G-05 through it; forget where I learned that from...

For fuel, I wonder if there's tru fuel type product that isn't for two strokes. If so, it might be sensible to run the last while on that, then run the carb dry before putting it away.


Can you elaborate on that a bit? G-05?
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
I found this video of the rotary Turbo Nozzle cutting through the boards of a pallet. It doesn't say what PSI they're running. Pretty impressive.

Those nozzles are a good way to screw up what you're cleaning if you don't know what you are doing. We used them to strip paint off of steel buildings. Keep them away from wood.
 
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