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Cheap pressure washer .. I know I know ..

Stick Figure

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Omaha, Ne
before anyone says it I know you get what you pay for, and I know a good pressure washer is a bit costly, but i'm going to ask anyway.

Is there a decent pressure washer for car wash duty in the $200 or less price range?

For those that don't know me, I live in an apartment :dunno: housing prices here are ridiculous, in addition to the apartment we rented shop space :thumbup:. The down side to the shop space is there is no hose hook up near our portion of the building. I have been using a chemical siphon gun from Binks ( http://www.binks.com/Products/Spray...gGuns/Model140B.aspx#LiveTabsContent179577-lt ) with a bucket for rinse duties. I'm thinking there has to be something better than this set up with out spending a fortune and ended up with a large piece of equipment that I don't have need or space for.

Anyone have any reviews or recommendations on cheaper big box/sears/HF units?
 
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kngelv

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Costco currently has a Honda powered Simpson for $259.00. It's 3000 psi. I used it with a foam cannon to wash two vehicles last week. It worked great.

James
 

All

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I got Zero (0) results on Costco's website for "pressure washer". Do you have a Costco Item number?
 

All

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Searched "Honda" and got two lawnmowers. Searched "Simpson" and got No results. "Power Washer" no results. "Washer" got 19 results, all big white whirly boxes to clean clothing.
 

doan

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Frisco, TX
I got this little one from Lowes. I had a $100 gift card from x-mas, this one is $99

LINK

I would not buy it if the main purpose was cleaning big areas like driveways or houses. I used it to clean the engine bay and undercarriage for a car I'm restoring, it is perfect for that. I have used big gas powered 4000 psi washers, this does not compare. But it is fine for car and other small cleaning chores. (and does not have enough power to hurt the paint)

I don't think there is much value in buying a more expensive electric one. The cleaning power is pretty much limited by the wall outlet. Lowes also sells a 2 year warranty for $10

At $99 it is basically disposable, if it last 2-3 winters you have still saved a lot vs. going to the car wash.

Note: for any pressure washer you will need a water hookup.
 

the1nonlyjl

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Westchester County, NY
I got Zero (0) results on Costco's website for "pressure washer". Do you have a Costco Item number?

There are still many of them in my local warehouse. If I were you, call the costco 800 customer service nbr and tell the rep exactly what you are looking for...zipcode of nearest stores... (Item #613870). Model # MSV3024. They will check which one of stores has them in stock.

Good luck!
 
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All

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I've gone through 5 electric pressure washers in the last 15 years.

The first one was an Excell. It lived up to its name. It was EXCELLENT. There was only one problem with it. It worked so good, my next door neighbor wanted to borrow it to wash their 4x4. Within 5 minutes, they broke it. I'm not even sure how it happens that I can use something for 5 years, and then lend it to someone else and they break it in 5 minutes.

Just say no? Have you heard how pressure washer's sound? Even the itty bitty electrical ones make a noise that is unmistakable. Having a pressure washer is not something you can very well hide in suburbia. The neighbors can hear it. They KNOW you've got one. They KNOW you are not using it when they plan their walk over to your house. They KNOW you'll feel like a heel if you say no.

No financial compensation from the neighbor who broke my first one... not even a payment of guilt or sorrow. Must be a generational thing. At least that gave me an excuse to say no to HIM, but he never asked again. Perhaps the new generation is not lost afterall.

The second electric pressure washer was a Campbell Hausfeld. That thing broke on it's own. The first thing that happens is the gun trigger fails to shut off the water stream, so you have to walk back to the machine everytime you want to just squeeze the trigger for water. If you haven't yet experienced this in an electric pressure washer, trust me, it gets old. Quick. But I put up with it, because I've already spent twice the amount of money I intended to spend on pressure washers. Eventually, and inexplicably, the CH quit working all together.

The third electric pressure washer was purchased under duress... from Harbor Freight. I swear, they design their 66% off ads like they are just giving tools away for no reason. As if they were a non-profit. Well, the reality is, they really SHOULD be giving their **** away, for 100% off, because it costs more money to pick it up, un box it, build it, and watch it fail before your eyes, than it would to just save their clever ads for kindling to light the bonfire you'd like to smelt down their pot metal plastic **** in. So I did what HF should have done. I left it in front of my house with a sign that said FREE. It was gone before I reached the front door. Good riddance. Still have the cardboard box it came in though. It was a good, sturdy box. I store laser level in it, it's that good.

For my fourth electric pressure washer, I decided to spare no expense. I went to the nearest Home Depot, and bought the biggest, baddest, boldest Husky electric that they had, and picked up all the extra attachments, including the fake floor sweeper, to clean brick patio with. The specs were 1,750 psi, at about 2 GPM. No store bought electric on 110 volts boasted more flow or pressure at the time. Like the HF model it replaced, it was an awkward configuration, like an upright household vacuum cleaner, which made it tip prone in use. My previous two pressure washers were low to the ground, shaped like a big fat hand held boombox with a handle on top. Easy to carry, easy to sit still. Not the case with the HF or the HD.

The HD Husky developed the same triggering failure as the CH. However, that failure did not propagate to condemn the machine. It still worked, albeit awkwardly and inconveniently. The Husky's demise was theft. I used it to clean someone else's property as a favor, left it there for a while because I couldn't haul it home, and they in turn sold it on CL. Nice.

For my 5th and FINAL electric pressure washer, I must give credit to my sweetheart. She found it in an ad at Tuesday Morning, of all places. If you're a single guy, you probably haven't heard about Tuesday Morning. If you're married, you've probably been dragged there a time or two to compare thread counts in bamboo sheets. Yeah, somewhere between crock pots and wicker baskets, TM finds occasion to sell a pressure washer now and again. It seemed like good deal, so she brought it home for me.

No videos of unboxing or anything, but I do remember thinking that the little thing looked small and chincy. But I kept that to myself, as I was very happy for the gift and always thankful for the care and thought behind it. Well, little did I know at the time that that little closeout at Tuesday Morning would be prove to be the best electric pressure washer I've owned out of the five. Every bit as good, if not better than the first Excell pressure washer that I had liked so well many years before.

Turns out, it is made by AR (Annovi Reverberi). AR makes pumps for big commercial hot water pressure washers that cost in the thousands of dollars. And they made this little guy for less than $200. I think we paid half of that at TM's close out. The trigger works every time. All the attachments engage and disengage reliably. It just works.

One surprising thing I've learned to keep in mind when shopping for an electric pressure washer: Pay attention to how the supply hose and the pressure hoses are oriented relative to the machine. The easiest configuration to work with is if the supply hose enters on the opposite side of where the pressure hose exits. If the machine has wheels, these opposing sides should be parallel to the rolling axis of the wheels, not perpendicular to the way the machine rolls. Ideally, the supply hose should enter from the rear of the machine, and the pressure hose should exit from the front of the machine. That little detail makes a surprising amount of difference in maneuvering and manipulating the machine, the supply hose, the pressure hose, and the power cord all at once.
 
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Stick Figure

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So where do you get the water from or do you move the car to the hoses bib ?

Right now we fill 3 5 gallon buckets with water. One to siphon from for the Binks gun for rinse duties, one for soap water and one to rinse the wash mitts in. I have a generic hose adapter on the bathroom sink faucet with a short piece of hose to make it to the floor for bucket filling duties. I was really trying to avoid running a hose from the sink to the outside if I can help it, but I've only come across a few people with pressure washers and a siphon set up.

I may already be using the most convenient method for me already.
 

malibu101

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I've heard that pressure washers need a pressurized water feed. They are not designed to pull (siphon) feed water in.
But I've heard things that were wrong too.

Anybody agree or disagree with me.
 

antinym

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I've heard that pressure washers need a pressurized water feed. They are not designed to pull (siphon) feed water in.
But I've heard things that were wrong too.

Anybody agree or disagree with me.

I can only disagree with you on conjecture.. There are mobile pressure washing companies here that store water in large tanks on their truck.
I'm certain that those tanks aren't pressurized.
 

N.I.

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I've heard that pressure washers need a pressurized water feed. They are not designed to pull (siphon) feed water in.
But I've heard things that were wrong too.

Anybody agree or disagree with me.

Alot of the cheapy electric ones don't siphon. They need about 1 bar pressure (10m head) to prime them.

However once you get them primed then will work off a relatively low pressure. We have one fed from an overhead tank with about 4 metres head and I am sure it would work with much less.

Our big 15hp one siphons - just stick the hose in a tank or container and away you go.
 

justanengineer

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I'm not even sure how it happens that I can use something for 5 years, and then lend it to someone else and they break it in 5 minutes.

The biggest issue with pressure washers I see are people starting/turning them on before water reaches the pump. Run a pressure washer dry or without enough flow (effectively running it dry) and its very easy for it to destroy itself inside of 5 minutes.

I've heard that pressure washers need a pressurized water feed. They are not designed to pull (siphon) feed water in.
But I've heard things that were wrong too.

Its not pressure youre worried about so much as flow. The big concern is just not to be having too little flow into the pump, or you will create a big negative pressure upstream of the pump when its running, which stresses and will destroy it. If your household plumbing is supplying just enough water flow to keep up with the pump, youre at basically zero pressure upstread with it running bc its flowing directly into and through the pump which is perfectly fine, as is having too much flow/pressure into the pump - not gonna hurt it. Conversely, if youre using a high flow pressure washer and have tiny old household plumbing, the flow might not keep up with the pump, creating a big negative pressure upstream of the pump and destroying it - its like sucking hard through a tiny straw - it makes you blue in the face. :p

Looking at this from a pressure standpoint is rather deceiving. You dont need positive pressure, as you can pull out of a tank at zero pressure and it will work. Also, you can have high pressure out of your house but low flow, and as soon as a high flow pump kicks on that high pressure goes negative bc the pump is sucking.
 
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All

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Some good points are being made here. Turning on my electric pressure washer is a 12 step process, not counting a preliminary step of putting a flow and pressure meter on my water supply to establish that the district is providing me with 10 gpm at 55 psi.

1. Turn on supply hose water, let water flow out of hose to push air and earwigs out.

2. Turn off supply hose.

3. Hook supply hose up to electric pressure washer.

4. Hook pressure hose up to electric pressure washer.

5. Turn on supply hose water.

6. Squeeze trigger on pressure washer (machine off and unplugged) to expel air out of pump and high pressure line. This squeeze takes about a minute in length (basically forever).

7. Make sure pressure washer switch is off. (VERY IMPORTANT STEP prior to 8)

8. Plug pressure washer in.

9. Reset GFCI on pressure washer plug (I hate this step, always a pain when forgotten)

10. Re squeeze high pressure hose trigger one more time.

11. Turn on pressure washer.

12. Finally, I can start cleaning something. But by this time, I'm exhausted, and decide to just put everything away and go to back to bed.
 

Stuart in MN

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Nothing wrong with wanting a pressure washer, but do you really need one for washing the car? I get by pretty well with a garden hose and a bucket.
 

fatfillup

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Jan 17, 2009
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Finksburg, Md
30 years in the pressure washer industry, selling and servicing industrial pressure washers.

Cheapest unit I sell is a 110 volt cold water for $900.

As far as the cheap units, and also for the expensive ones is do not let the machine run in by pass for more then a minute. Bypass is the machine is running and the trigger is shut off. Causes heat to build up in the pump prematurely wearing the packings. Number one cause of pump failures.

Also, as stated above, you must have an adequate water supply. Measure it by taking a 5 gallon bucket, a watch with a second hand and seeing how much water you get in a minute. If you have a 2 gallon a minute machine, you want to get 3 gallon per minute to it. A little cushion will help cover drops in pressure when someone flushes a toilet or washes their hands.

Cheap machines will not **** water out of a tank long term. Elevated tank will help with 3/4 inlet hose to machine, but still asking for trouble.

Don't let the machine freeze in winter with water in it.

NEVER EVER loan out your machine. If it is a good friend, go do the job for him. You wouldn't believe how many horror stories I have heard about loaned out machines.

As far as washing cars with a pressure washer vs. a hose, the washer will use about a fifth of the water and will clean wheels, fender wells and dirt behind trim better then a hose.

Most of the cheap machines are throw aways and the lifetime warranty at Hammacher's will cost them dearly.
 
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