My first pressure washer

[kornjulio]

Somewhat of an impulse buy, but I've been meaning to get one of these things for a while. When the local coin operated car wash increased their price again, I decided to get serious.

Picked up the Ridgid 80704 at my local Home Depot last Saturday. 3Kpsi & 2.6 GPM. Has the CAT pump & Subi motor with an "idle down" feature. When the spray wand trigger is released, the motor kicks down. Works pretty well, I must admit.

Spent about an hour with it so far, and I like it. Really cleaned up the carpeted floor mats, grill, and weedeater. Only complaint is the hose is not very flexible & too short. Now I understand it'll stiffen up when it's charged, but I'll be looking for a premium hose & more length.

Going to try some detergent solutions this weekend for more general cleaning.

Any other tips/advice?

 

[MarkJ]

Just make sure you drain the lines and gas for storage if you're not going to be using it for a while. Congrats though, pressure washers have a lot of uses so you may not be putting it up for long periods ;') Get used to your buddies asking for a favor! LOL

 

[jhelrey]

May I borrow it so I can pressure wash my house?

 

[Greatbear]

Get yourself a 50' non-marring (clear or gray) hose. No pressure washer hose will be anything other than stiff, it's the nature of the beast because of all the reinforcing cord inside the hose. Almost all of it is metal/wire. Because the hoses vibrate due to the pump impulses, black rubber hose laying on driveways/decks leave black marks wherever they lay for a period of time. The clear and gray ones don't do this.

Get yourself a couple extension wands to fit your lance/gun. This makes cleaning house siding much easier, and gets you away from the backwash. You can get a double nozzle gutter cleaning attachment that works very well. If you have decks, patios and/or driveways to clean, get a "water broom" attachment, or a rotating surface cleaner.

If your pressure washer didn't come with one, get a "turbo" nozzle. These are the best for power cleaning, since they keep the pinpoint spray in constant circular motion, preventing damage and "scribbling" marks. An assortment of fixed fan spray nozzles, if your washer didn't come with them, is better than most ajdustable fan nozzles.

 

[crewchief888]

congrats !!

i've put off buying one to have around the house. only thing i really needed it for was to clean mud off my off road truck,

ok my DD too

got home from work yesterday, wife says c'mere i have something to show you... and heads outside


i'm thinkin' ok
wtf happened now,
or wtf did you break this time....

and i'm starting to get p*ssed

she bought me a pressure washer for my bday

all i asked for was a bj

 

[Koolbreeze]

Let us know how the Rigid does. I've owned 3 Troy-Bilt units from Lowe's over the last few years. The pumps died on 2 of them in no time and someone relieved me of the 3rd. I've been eyeing one these bad boys, but just can't justify it with no more than I'd use it.

http://www.pressuretek.com/bedr4gpm40ps.html

 

[Az Scooter]

Good pump, and a motor worth having. Nicely done. A commercial hose is the way to go if the quick connects will allow you to adapt the hose. Any quality hose won't leave black marks, but you will have to pay upwards of $2 to $3 a foot.

 

[Koolbreeze]

congrats !!

i've put off buying one to have around the house. only thing i really needed it for was to clean mud off my off road truck,

ok my DD too

got home from work yesterday, wife says c'mere i have something to show you... and heads outside


i'm thinkin' ok
wtf happened now,
or wtf did you break this time....

and i'm starting to get p*ssed

she bought me a pressure washer for my bday

all i asked for was a bj

LMAO! BJs are harder to come by than new tools around these parts these days.

 

[crewchief888]

LMAO! BJs are harder to come by than new tools around these parts these days.

i'm used to buying new tools....

i hate to beg

 

[toyotadriver]

I have that Ridgid model pressure washer and it's been a good one. I think it's the best value for the money....especially when it was $399 for awhile!! That's what I paid for mine!

I'd even recommend it for the higher price that it is now.

The Troybilt ones mentioned by a poster above are garbage compared to the Ridgid.

 

[MarkJ]

Let us know how the Rigid does.

http://www.pressuretek.com/bedr4gpm40ps.html

We're still talkin' pressure washers, right?

 

[michaelwoodcock]

Somewhat of an impulse buy, but I've been meaning to get one of these things for a while. When the local coin operated car wash increased their price again, I decided to get serious.

Picked up the Ridgid 80704 at my local Home Depot last Saturday. 3Kpsi & 2.6 GPM. Has the CAT pump & Subi motor with an "idle down" feature. When the spray wand trigger is released, the motor kicks down. Works pretty well, I must admit.

Spent about an hour with it so far, and I like it. Really cleaned up the carpeted floor mats, grill, and weedeater. Only complaint is the hose is not very flexible & too short. Now I understand it'll stiffen up when it's charged, but I'll be looking for a premium hose & more length.

Going to try some detergent solutions this weekend for more general cleaning.

Any other tips/advice?

I just read an article in one of my dirt rider magazines where the author said he bought the pressure washer for the same reason you did! then worked out the math and figured it'd be tens of years before it paid itself off

haha but you get the convenience though. And as mentioned before your friends WILL ask to borrow it. My family has a honda one. Just change the oil once a year, put some stabil in gas when it's in storage and it should last a good long time, ours sure has! Another thing is get a mesh wire screen filter for the water inlet. Or you can have **** from your hose jam the valves or such in the pressure washer. It's the only trouble we have had with ours in years of use.

 

[kornjulio]

Thanks, all.

Not loaning this out. I'll loan a lot of tools, but this won't be one of them. Had a neighbor who did that & the "loanee" ran the unit w/out the water hooked up!

The unit came with a turbo nozzle and three different tips. Haven't played with the turbo nozzle yet, though. Maybe this weekend