Anybody use one of those electric pressure washers like a “Karcher” brand about 1700 psi at 1.5 gpm? My mother wants one to clean off the patio and lawn chairs ect. I think I will be the one doing it though as I do most of the clean up and lawn mowing for my parents as it is now. Mom is 71 and dad is 82 and they don’t get around so well. I’m thinking it may be better to get the nice honda powered washer (2600 psi at 2.5gpm) mom and dad can keep it at there place and I can use it when I need (which isn’t much).
Seems like the electric may be easier to use but limited, and the gas one more uses but heavy for mom to tote out and start.
thanks Jeff
Replies
Either one will cut a hole in the deck and take the finish off the chairs if your not carefull.
Ok did I scare you enough yet????
I have an electric 2000 psi model and it works just fine for all that I need around a house. Best part is I got it for $50 cheeper than the sale price because it was a returned unit.
Turns out people buy them on a Friday and return them on the Monday saying that it trips the breaker. Well most models are rated at 14 amps so it has to be on a dedicated circuit. No other loads on the circuit.
Or the guy has finished cleaning and returns it for a full refund. I don't care I still get $50 off again because there is no box. Look for one of these deals!
Anything with a gas engine has to be maintained. You'll have to decide if the additional power is useful enough or not.
Amazon typically has reconditioned Campbell-Hausfield ones for around $90. A friend of mine had a Karcher and it didn't last long.
I've had an electric one for several years now and I like it fine. It has plenty of power for my needs. No maintenance, either, like you'd have with a gas engine unit.
I have a Karcher electric. The factory nozzle was poor in quality and durability, but the unit itself is trouble free, comes with a fairly long cord that has GFCI built-in. Since the the sprayer gun/handle was replaced, never had a problem. For the around-the-house uses, the electric is not really limited, as far as we have noticed. From cleaning the wood deck, brick patio, to blasting paint off of the concrete foundation, washing cars, etc never had a complaint.
Got one, like it fits my needs, if I needed more power I would rent
Go to home depot,buy the little 1300 psi husky pressure washer. I paid $69.00 plus tax a couple of years ago. This little unit does everything I asked of it, maybe not as fast as a large gasoline model. I've pressured washed siding with lots of mold,no detergent was necessary. Did my sons deck, also very moldy. The deck was small ,12x16 ,took two hours to clean it. A large pressure washer would have done this job much faster of course. I wash my truck using a fan spray, does a nice job without doing any damage to the paint. I only used detergent once, couldn't safely get sap off the truck with just the fan spray. If you haven't used a pressure washer before, experiment a bit with the different spray patterns,the tighter the spray pattern the more pressure you get.Works great on lawn chairs too.
mike
I have one (or did if nobody stole it down on the Cape) and it's a great basic use unit. It will do some damage if used in the wrong hands but no where near as quickly as the gas 2600 PSI unit I bought to use here.
I'd buy another if the price was right.
I have one. Works well for most general cleaning tasks. You really cannot use much more pressure than it has to offer for wood surfaces.
It may come up short for masonry or metal, depending upon what you need to get done.
It's light, and small, and has no gas engine to maintain.
The hose is shorter than I would like, but it is light enough to even bring up on staging with you.
I have a gas 2400psi @ 2.2----- I'm not impressed cause I have used the 2800psi @3.5 gpm belt driven pro.
I have an electric 240v 350psi but can force a meaty 18gpm through it. More if I run bigger hoses.
To me gpm is more usefull than pressure.
But for retirees a husky electric I think works just fine with less maintenance than a gas --- like others have posted.
I wonder if Cindy Sheehan ever thanked her son for her freedom to be a moron.
As far as I'm concerned any electric powerwasher- except maybe the one that plumbill mentioned - is a toy.
Actually I've have a 5.5 HP Honda gas one very similar to the one you describe for about 10+ years. I make sure I don't leave gas in it for long periods of time and use gas stabilizer in it. No maintenance as of yet - OK - maybe I changed the oil once :-). Probably use it about 6 hrs a year, for exactly the stuff you descrbe. Took it to work a few times too. Even it underperforms in my opinion.
A few weeks ago I rented a 10 hp gas at work. I showed a laborer how to use it, then handed him the wand. He is a small guy who is probably better suited for intelectual stuff. He positioned himself and pulled the trigger :-) Knocked him back about 2'. :-) I couldn't help but to laugh out loud! He liked it for about the first 1/2 day until he got tired of getting wet. After than one, I went home to use my 5.5HP Honda, and wondered what the problem was - actually it was working fine.
Like someone said above - the GPM is as important, if not more so, than the PSI.