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Power Washers - Birthday gift

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asuthrnbelle

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Hi everyone, I'm doing my best to research Power Washers as I want to give one as a gift for my husband's birthday. I've scrolled the threads. My struggle is which brand. Budget: less than $1500 is ideal but I like the buy once, cry once strategy I've seen here. Other specs include Honda engine, Cat Pump, Minimum of 3.5 gpm, gas power, Purpose is for washing vehicles and house. Any suggestions? (take it easy on me, I'm new at this research and tired of reading reviews on product pages). Thanks in advance for your help!
 
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rust in the eye

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$1500 is a very generous budget and unnecessary in my opinion for the uses you specify.
I have a small gasoline powered one I use frequently for the purposes you describe. It has performed well for 15 years now with just regular maintenance. I think it cost around $300 dollars on sale in 2010. Mine is branded Homelite and uses the Subaru "Robin" OHV engine.
Honda small engines are good but not the only ones, Hondas come at a premium.
EDIT: I got curious so started looking at what's available these days. Seems most that don't use a Honda engine use a clone which, arguably, may be as good. Especially for homeowner use.
 
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RonnieC

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Yeah $1500 is quite a bit for homeowner use. I’m still using a $300 troybilt for the last 20 years. Wash vehicles, house, concrete driveway.
 
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asuthrnbelle

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Thank you all for your feedback and help!! Not that I want to spend that much, but that's the budget I set aside for this year's birthday. Appreciate it!!
 
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PoorUB

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asuthrnbelle said:
Hi everyone, I'm doing my best to research Power Washers as I want to give one as a gift for my husband's birthday.
Click to expand...
Check out Northern Tool. They have some options close to the price. Keep in mind, more is better! :ROFLMAO: I like your 3.5 GPM requirement. yiu can spend a lot less, but you get less!

I have a 4 GPM, 1800 PSI unit I bought many years ago I really like. $1500 wouldn't buy the pump for the tone I have!
 
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Stelzer

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The brand isn't nearly as important as the components, since most pull from a collective pool of parts & pieces. That said,
-Belt drives last much longer than direct drives and belt drives can pull water easily from water tanks, but they're more expensive and heavier than direct drives.
-The higher the GPM, the more efficient, (faster), you'll clean. PSI means very little. I have rigs that can wash at 9GPM but I rarely ever exceed 2k PSI.
-Look for a pump that has an external unloader, since that's usually one of the first things to fail, but when you purchase a pump with an integrated unloader and it goes bad, you'll have to buy a whole new pump. Not a deal-breaker, but still worth mentioning.
-Honda GX 390 or equivalent will last for a long time.

For the money, you won't ever find more washer for less than money than this one.
-
 
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16again

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