Pressure Washer Advice
 

Don’t worry, I am not planning to use it on my car. I just thought many of you guys might be obsessed about cleaning things other than your cars and that you could give me advice about buying a pressure washer.

I think my wife will kill me if I try to buy something for over $500.00, but I have her convinced that we need to spend enough money to get a REAL pressure washer and not just something slightly better than my garden hose. My wife took a look at the Home Depot and found the "Excell" brand. I have not seen it myself. Based on my brief education about pressure washers, it looks like it is all about the pump. The motors are very often Honda or Briggs and Stratton, just like lawn mowers. I think I am partial to the Honda motors, but I think it is really all about the pump.

How much do I have to spend to get a REAL pressure washer? I have a huge deck and my house has algae growing on the siding. My house has an exposed basement and a steep roof that makes it 4-stories tall at the peak. I will need some pressure to apply algaecide to the top panels of siding. I know not to use high pressure to just blast off the algae. I saw a house turn completely green after they made that mistake. I also know not to blast water up under the siding so that I am sure I won’t get water and algae up under the siding.

I assembled a partial list of pressure washers below. As I said, I am very sure my wife will resist spending more than $500.00, but I included a couple of machines with better pumps that do cost more. I am just starting the education and shopping process, so I would love some advice. How much do I have to spend to get something that will really do the job? Note that I like good equipment, for example I have a 48" deck professional walk behind mower that I use to cut my 1 acre yard. I like overkill.

Model 165328
2600 PSI Pressure Washer
5 HP Honda GC (OHC) engine.
Pump Make DAPC (DeVilbiss Air Power Company – Brand Excell)
Maintenance free pump.
2 Year Engine and 1 Year Pump Warranty.
Area cleaned in 5 minutes: 40-45 sq. ft.
Price: $417.00

Model # ZR2800
2800 PSI Premium Pressure Washer
6.5 Hp Honda GX (OHV) engine
Premium CAT crankshaft pump
2 Year Engine & Pump Warranty
Area cleanned in 5 minutes: 60 to 65 sq. ft.
Price: $699.00

Briggs & Stratton Power Products
Model 1808
3400 PSI Pressure Washer
4 GPM
10 HP Briggs & Stratton OHV engine
Annovi Reverberi Triplex Plunger Pump
Adjustable pressure regulation
Price: $799.99

I'm a little confused about the " area cleaned " statement.
With my lowly little Karcher washer, it depends if I just springclean my cedar deck, or my concrete walkway.
I can clean the deck at a much faster rate than the concrete.
About the only advise I can give you on this subject is, don't overspend & make absolutely sure, whatever you buy, you can still get parts for it 10 years from now ! ;)

Availability of replacement parts is important
 

Hello manny,

I think the "area cleaned" must be some rating based on psi and GPM. It was just one of the specifications listed with the washer. Most washers just specify psi, gpm, HP, and type of pump.

So are you happy with your "lowly little Karcher"? Does it clean the deck? My deck has never been power washed, so it has gotten very dirty in 11 years. Do you think your Karcher could apply detergent or algaecide to the peak of my house that is 4 stories off the ground? How many psi is your washer? Do you wish it had more power? How much power do you think a homeowner needs?

I am not opposed to buying a smaller unit, if it can do the job. If I purchase a washer for a much lower price, I suppose I can use it until breaks and then just get another one. Then again, a more expensive unit might break just as easily as a less expensive model, so I certainly understand your comment about being able to get parts.

Thank you for your reply.

Had my Karcher for about 5 troublefree years now.
It is a 110 V model. Sometimes I wish I had bought a self-powered unit.
Too long an extension cord will blow the circuit breaker in the house.
As far as psi output, I believe it is rated at @ 1800.
Plenty of power to clean anything I ever wanted to clean.
It also has a soap dispensing feature, which I seldom use.
I don't believe it would effectively reach a 4 storey peak.
Maybe an extension ladder & safetybelt would be called for. ;)

My brother who farms and uses a pressure washer regularly for livestock facility clean up said the Karcher brand is the way to go. I did some research and agree with him. They are German made and parts are readily available at Karcher dealers. I bought their small electric model about 5 years ago at Home Depot and it worked well, but I wanted more power and something that didn't require an electrical cord. I bought the 2400 PSI model last fall and am happy with it. It was purchased directly from the company linked below, after seeing their ad on eBay. Mine was brand new although the current listings are for refurbished machines. If you call them they should be able to answer any questions and guide you toward the best model. Since they are pressure washer dealers, I'm sure they have new models in stock. Here is an eBay link with their phone number. Karcher washer

Karcher looks good
 

Hello Bob I,
I will take a good look at the Karcher line of pressure washers. Their website is good and it sounds like parts are definitely available. I also received Karcher recommendations from posts at a couple of other sites, so I will be sure to check them out. Thank you for the tip.

More questions for Bob I
 

Hello again Bob I,

I am seriously looking at the G 2400 HH. The product description says that it has a built-in detergent injection system. I think the detergent application only works on a low-pressure setting and wondered how far it can shoot detergent or algaecide. Since you have a similar or identical machine, I wondered if you could give me an idea about how well your machine sprays detergent. Do you think I could apply detergent or algaecide to the peak of my house that is about 4 stories high? I am pretty sure it would reach on the high-pressure settings, but I need to know how well it will shoot detergent or algaecide. Can you fill the detergent reservoir and have the machine MIX in detergent with the high-pressure setting? You know how you can attach a little bottle to a garden hose and the stuff in the bottle is mixed with the water in the hose? Is there something like that on a pressure washer?

Here is a link to the machine that I am considering.
http://www.karcher.com/usa/products/cpe/1194306_USA.shtml#

Thank you for your help.

Ksing44,

I don't think you will be able to shoot any product very far since you are correct in that a special nozzle is used for this. It just puts out a nice low pressure spray and doesn't shoot very far at all. I think if you use one of the higher pressure nozzles and have the product siphon hose also attached, it won't put much if any into the spray mix. The people at the pressure washer place might be able to guide you further on this.

Good Luck!