Recommend a pressure washer

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Hey all! I need to buy a pressure washer to use around the house. It'll be used for cleaning our deck, driveway and walkways, the brick exterior of our house and hopefully gutters and soffits. It has to be gas powered. My research is showing Simpson and Generac units among the favorites. I'm not sure how much power I need but 3000 psi seems like what I'd need for concrete and brick. I don't know anything about the subject, so please take me to school! Thanks in advance
 
Are you sure you want a gas washer? For around the house I prefer electric. I’ve washed the deck, the siding and concrete with it.
 
Originally Posted By: dave123
Two things I look for
#1 Honda GX engine
#2 Cat pump



That's usually a wise choice.
 
Parts for Generac engines are expensive and get discontinued.

Cat pumps are a brand name but now used as a name like coke, careful of cheaper pumps, same for triplex.

Don't put too much emphasis on psi, look at gpm.I

I have and have had electric, have 4 5hp, 1 8hp, 1 12hp. Big big big difference between the 5 and 8. The only one I would buy today would be the 8 after using them all. The 12 is really powerful but heavy.
 
Stick with a CAT pump, I prefer the Home Depot units, CAT pumps and Subaru engines. I have a 3200psi unit with idle down feature. Works great!
 
bought a ryobi last year , has power honda engine. love it. like not having to run extension cords to power wash my house . Has power is hassle free to move around and that was important to me
 
Originally Posted By: Kage860
Are you sure you want a gas washer? For around the house I prefer electric. I’ve washed the deck, the siding and concrete with it.


That's what I'm looking for, but unfortunately, the ones sold at places like Lowe's, Menard's, Home Depot, etc, are the cheap made-in-China cheapos. I've had 3 different ones over the last couple of years, and none of them work for very long. And they all seem to do the same thing. Something trips in the electric motor, or in the wiring, that prevents the motor from turning on. I've yet to find a decently made electric, but I'm going to keep looking...
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
That's what I'm looking for, but unfortunately, the ones sold at places like Lowe's, Menard's, Home Depot, etc, are the cheap made-in-China cheapos. I've had 3 different ones over the last couple of years, and none of them work for very long. And they all seem to do the same thing. Something trips in the electric motor, or in the wiring, that prevents the motor from turning on. I've yet to find a decently made electric, but I'm going to keep looking...


For the consumer grade pressure washers the electric ones are terrible and use way too many plastic parts. Gas ones re OK, but then you have the hassle and noise of gas. Commercial electric ones are supposed to be good, but the pricing is way more then a good gas residential one.
 
I bought the Rigid pressure washer from Home Depot years ago. It has the Cat pump and Suzuki motor. I have been very happy with it. I use it for everything around the house.

Wash driveway down.
Wash crud and bird bombs off side of house.
Wash windows around the house.
Wash vehicles.
Clean the fence.
I know there is more but you get the idea.

I did have an electric one but it wasn't worth what I paid for it. I have not had any trouble with the Rigid pump. I am glad I have it.
 
This one is my area of expertise:

1) NO vertical pumps. They are garbage.
2) You want a horizontal pump
3) Honda GX200 or clone engines.
4) If confused, please read #3 again. These engine run, and run, and run, and run, and almost never break, and when they do, you can buy parts for them for $10. New coil? $10 Need a new carburetor? $10. They are CHEAP to keep running, and easy to keep running. Best engines in the world for a home owner pressure washer.
5) A real Honda GX200 with a real Cat pump will set back $750 to $1000 ish.
6) The clones are almost just as good.
7) Absolutely avoid ANY Honda GC engines. They are not durable enough for a pressure washer and you WILL break the plastic camshaft within 100 hours. DO NOT BUY a pressure washer with a HONDA GC engine.
8) Do not buy a pressure washer with a Subaru engine.
9) You really cant go wrong with the Harbor Freight or Northern Tool (horizontal shaft engine) pressure washers, for the price.
10) Pump is not all that important. Why? Because the cheapy horizontal pumps will give you hundreds of hours of use before they die. And then, if that happens, you go buy a replacement CAT pump, slap it on your perfectly fine engine, and then you are back in business for another 15 years.
11) Generac sucks. Avoid.
12) Definitely use ethanol free gas in them if you have that in your area. And store it with Stabil fuel stabilizer. Pressure washers get stores a lot more than they get used, and you don't want the ethanol fuel gumming up your carburetor.

Good deals for the money, with Honda GX200 clone engines:
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200664483_200664483
https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garde...-iii-62200.html

The real deal, good stuff, if you want to spend the money(try to find a GX200 instead of the lower power GX160 though):
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200594736_200594736
 
I’ve had a Hotsy Shark for 15+ years. 11hp IC B&S. Hawk pump. 1 carb rebuild, many oil changes and that’s it. Tons of hours on it. Use it for jobs a once or twice a month. GPM is key. 3000psi mist is worthless.
 
Everyone answering here has intel and experience. I too am reading with interest.

Why? ...because everywhere I go people own broken, cheap, electric units. One guy (a friend) even said, "Get a cheap one. You'll get your money's worth out of it".

No thanks to that line of "logic".

How do you know if it has a CAT pump?
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
Everyone answering here has intel and experience. I too am reading with interest.

Why? ...because everywhere I go people own broken, cheap, electric units. One guy (a friend) even said, "Get a cheap one. You'll get your money's worth out of it".

No thanks to that line of "logic".

How do you know if it has a CAT pump?


CAT is the brand name of the pump, usually light blue in color.

http://www.catpumps.com/
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
This one is my area of expertise:

1) NO vertical pumps. They are garbage.
2) You want a horizontal pump
3) Honda GX200 or clone engines.
4) If confused, please read #3 again. These engine run, and run, and run, and run, and almost never break, and when they do, you can buy parts for them for $10. New coil? $10 Need a new carburetor? $10. They are CHEAP to keep running, and easy to keep running. Best engines in the world for a home owner pressure washer.
5) A real Honda GX200 with a real Cat pump will set back $750 to $1000 ish.
6) The clones are almost just as good.
7) Absolutely avoid ANY Honda GC engines. They are not durable enough for a pressure washer and you WILL break the plastic camshaft within 100 hours. DO NOT BUY a pressure washer with a HONDA GC engine.
8) Do not buy a pressure washer with a Subaru engine.
9) You really cant go wrong with the Harbor Freight or Northern Tool (horizontal shaft engine) pressure washers, for the price.
10) Pump is not all that important. Why? Because the cheapy horizontal pumps will give you hundreds of hours of use before they die. And then, if that happens, you go buy a replacement CAT pump, slap it on your perfectly fine engine, and then you are back in business for another 15 years.
11) Generac sucks. Avoid.
12) Definitely use ethanol free gas in them if you have that in your area. And store it with Stabil fuel stabilizer. Pressure washers get stores a lot more than they get used, and you don't want the ethanol fuel gumming up your carburetor.

Good deals for the money, with Honda GX200 clone engines:
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200664483_200664483
https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garde...-iii-62200.html

The real deal, good stuff, if you want to spend the money(try to find a GX200 instead of the lower power GX160 though):
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200594736_200594736





How does this look? https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200664483_200664483?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Pressure%20Washers%20%3E%20Gas-Cold%20Water%20Pressure%20Washers&utm_campaign=Powerhorse&utm_content=750143&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj9nA0trr2gIVj7bACh1XPw4QEAQYAyABEgI5wvD_BwE
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
Everyone answering here has intel and experience. I too am reading with interest.

Why? ...because everywhere I go people own broken, cheap, electric units. One guy (a friend) even said, "Get a cheap one. You'll get your money's worth out of it".

No thanks to that line of "logic".

How do you know if it has a CAT pump?


I have come up with a new strategy for buying electric ones. I'm going to keep the receipt and either take it back for a refund when it breaks, or when summer ends, whichever comes first, and I'll either get a refund, or exchange it for a new one. I been screwed so many times with these things that I won't feel one bit guilty about doing it either...
 
Originally Posted By: PW01
How does this look?


For the money, that pressure washer is hard to beat. Honda clone engine will give you good service. The cheap pump will work fine for years, and if it dies, you can swap a new pump on in 5 minutes.
 
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