pressure washers

[40cpe]

I've been needing a commercial style pressure washer for a while. I'll only use it for personal house/shop cleaning. I'm thinking at least 3500 psi/3.5 gpm but prefer 4000/4. I really need to get on with it so I can clean my floor to seal it. I've been watching Craigslist for months and there aren't any deals in my area.

When do pressure washer go on sale? I know there are lots of good ones out there and some not-so-good ones. I would like a Honda engine with a General or Cat pump, although I read good reviews on the Generac. Am I missing something? Any suggestions?

 

[Fyrme]

Gas or electric? I currently have a 220v 3000/4gpm with a diesel burner. That I bought used for $1200 that I use at home for washing equipment. But I bought it from a dealer/repairman that I had done business with before. The other machine I had before that was for my business and was a 3500/5gpm hot water gas skid unit. I think I paid $2300 for it. Both were used. If it is for home use, I would recommend electric. Your best bet is to find one from a used dealer. If you buy from CL or the like, it will likely be well used and worn out. I now do small engine work for this guy on his gas machines. And let me tell you, the ones he gets on trade in's are worn smooth out. He strips them down and refurbs them to a good used sellable condition. Most of the time a commercial company uses their machines in two phases, front line machines, that get retired to back up machines before getting traded in or sold eventually to repeat the cycle. By this time they have well over 3000 hard working hours on them. Gas machines typically have hour counters on them, and I've noticed most of the counters no longer work when I get them for repair and they read very high hours. The electric machines typically don't have counters. Be cautious and b
Don't buy someone's junk. The question of when do they go on sale? They typically don't but other than close outs on new stuff. But used stuff comes around all times of the year, more in the late spring when commercial washers are being replaced after the user makes a few buck in the early spring and buys a new one for $8k-$10k

Edit: just reread and saw the Honda. So, gas I take it. Stay away from Generac. Landa was the gas machine I had and I loved it. It had a 16hp Vanguard with a general pump. I had no complaints. I'd still recommend electric though for home use.

 

[40cpe]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was speaking of a sale on new units.

I haven't seen an electric unit with the pressure and gpm that I think I need. The larger ones are 240V and that would make portability prohibitive. Thank you for the heads-up on Generac. I'll do do some looking for a Landa.

 

[SNOW JW]

Not sure on the sales keep an eye on Costco. I would stay with Honda for a powerplant even if it cost you a bit more I think it's well worth the extra coin.

 

[Fyrme]

What are you washing that you need over 3000psi 4gpm? From experience, anything short of heavy equipment can be cleaned with 3000-3500 and 4 Gpm. If I get time in the next week or so before you make a purchase, I will try and get a video of my machine cleaning grease and dirt off of equipment with 190* water. It is very effective, and will strip loose paint. With a gas powered machine, you have to consider the fact that you HAVE to use it out doors so it has to be mobile. Gas units have a lot larger foot print. I will try and find a old pic of my gas unit. And stand by for a pic of my elect. Unit tucked away neatly.

 

[Fyrme]

Oh and you will obtain no more than 3500 psi and 4 Gpm with a 13hp engine. I don't care what ANY dealer tells you. To get 4.5-5 Gpm you will have to jump to a 16-18hp twin cyl. Big bucks if looking for a Honda.

 

[Az Scooter]

Costco units are typically designed to last 100 hours. I have found that to be optimistic. Since they are a specialty piece of equipment, used ny commercial enterprises, the sales are few and far between.
In Mississippi, I dount that there is really a down season. I would wait for a contractor that was a start up that did not make it.
Be careful what you buy. I recently bought a used hot water gas machine with 450 hours on it. A very nice Landa, except it had been horribly abused and had leaking seals, a leaking fuel pump, and a few other ticky tacky things wrong with it. I was happy that I only paid $2500 for it, and have a mechanic to repair it. BTW, Pressure washer mechanics start at $75 per hour, and go up from there.

 

[fred d]

Why not either rent one or just pay someone to clean it

The problem with pressure washers is that the set so long between uses that they are usually a real pain

I have a 24hp Honda with a 200 degree heater and 5.4 gallon per minute
I use it 16-20 times a year, each time is roughly an 8 hour day

 

[Fyrme]

This is my 240v 4gpm unit. I am in the process of converting it from a dolly style to a 4 wheel caster semi portable. It has a foot print of 32"x24" after i take off the rubber tires. I will be venting the burner through the ceiling using,stove pipe and hard plubmbing it to a water supply. The door will always be up when using the machine so I'm not worried about a little CO. But it will be nice not to have to drag it out every time I need to use it, and never worry about it sitting outside when the temps are below freezing. I hated having to run antifreeze through my trailer unit after each use in the winter time.

This is the only pic of my old gas powered skid. This pic is not mine but from the website of the company i sold the guy. Just for a good example I sold the skid pictured for $4200. That doesn't include the trailer that was just the machine and tank mounted to a skid. And the unit Had 1250hrs on it when I sold it. The skid alone was around 42"x 30"

 

[SNOW JW]

Costco units are typically designed to last 100 hours. I have found that to be optimistic. Since they are a specialty piece of equipment, used ny commercial enterprises, the sales are few and far between.
In Mississippi, I dount that there is really a down season. I would wait for a contractor that was a start up that did not make it.
Be careful what you buy. I recently bought a used hot water gas machine with 450 hours on it. A very nice Landa, except it had been horribly abused and had leaking seals, a leaking fuel pump, and a few other ticky tacky things wrong with it. I was happy that I only paid $2500 for it, and have a mechanic to repair it. BTW, Pressure washer mechanics start at $75 per hour, and go up from there.

They sell good ones and bad ones if you watch you can pick up the brand name units at times for a great price. Ours takes care of a 5 Truck-Pup fleet so on average it runs 5-8hrs a weekend every weekend with a 2-step acid-soap wash going through the pump as well been doing this for 4 years and it has never missed a beat.

 

[40cpe]

I going to buy a cold water washer. Investing in a hot water rig is a little much for my needs.

We don't have Costco here, but it looks like most are made from various combinations of engine/pump/wand and finding the package that best meets your needs is the key regardless of brand. The ones that meet what I think I need are in the $900-$1100 range. I was hoping to find some discounted a couple of hundred. I know there are on line sellers with prices in the lower end of the range but they seem to "discount" from an inflated retail. I would prefer to buy local in the event something does go wrong soon after purchase.