Sub-$200 pressure washer - useful features?

[stickshift]

As I understand it, sub-$200 electric pressure washers are largely the same in terms of realized pressure and flow rate, regardless of the marketing hype, because they are using a motor designed for 120v circuit. So my question is more about which features do you find useful on a washer, such as form factor, standardized connections, etc.

One of my use cases is washing the fence, so I'm thinking the upright vacuum cleaner form factor with 2 wheels would be handy compared to the short box form factor. Or do you find this doesn't matter much given the length of the pressure hose? I see some people replace/upgrade the hose or gun. Is it worth getting a model with standardized hose or gun connection vs a proprietary connection? Is it useful to have the soap dispenser built-in vs one that attaches to the gun, or are the built-in dispensers more prone to have problems? Any other creature comforts or nice-to-haves to consider when looking at sub-$200 electric washers?

 

[Beerhippie]

The only sub-$200 PW we've used was a Stanley we purchased to see if the brewers could be persuaded to use it in the brewery to save on water--brewers are a highly conservative lot when it comes to habits.

The Stanley used connectors that weren't industry standard 13mm. Instead, they're 15mm, so none of the various tools we had to use with our gas-powered washer would work with it until I made an adapter.

So be sure your PW uses industry-standard connections if you want to use anything but the wand that it comes with.

Other than that, the Stanley was actually a complete POS. Nothing good to say about at all.

 

[Skyman]

I very recently bought this:

https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-ePX3500-Anti-Tipping-Technology-Pro-Style/dp/B0BVGSX46M/?tag=atomicindus08-20

and this:

https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-Outdoor-Equipment-PWSC12-Surface/dp/B0CQMWRJZ2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I didn't expect it to be professional/industrial quality and it isn't, but I've been pretty impressed with it so far for general purpose use at the homestead.

 

[bwringer]

Get the box style. The upright vacuum style is forever tipping over. Just not a great feeling when your electric appliance tips over on wet ground, ya know?

I got a really cheap box style on clearance last year (Black & Decker brand, I think), and it's been an absolute champ.

 

[cody1325]

Been looking at the Hart to replace a 20-year-old gas Craftsman that croaked. Ollie's has them on special for like $125.

Given Walmart's Hart brand is TTi, guessing I should expect it to be on-par with Ryobi?

 

[u2slow]

I'm on my 2nd one in about 10 years.

This latest one doesn't have the ability to wind up the pressure hose while still connected. The old one did. Minor, but annoying....

 

[Beerhippie]

Been looking at the Hart to replace a 20-year-old gas Craftsman that croaked. Ollie's has them on special for like $125.

Given Walmart's Hart brand is TTi, guessing I should expect it to be on-par with Ryobi?

We're using a Hart for the brewery now:



Everyone likes it.

 

[zendriver]

We have our second AR brand pressure sprayer. Pretty good quality and function. Other than switchable tips not aware of too many other features for any brand.

Blue Clean - AR Blue Clean

arblueclean.com

 

[rustedgoat]

I had a big gas powered one that was a pain to use for smaller jobs. I bought a cheap electric upright style, I did run into the tipping over problem. I also used adapters to be able to use my regular style wands and hoses

 

[Paco Pena]

My experience with the household grade electric ones is that they tend to have short unhappy lives. I rent a gas powered one on the rare occasion I need one.

Paco

 

[landstuhltaylor]

Pretty much all of the cheap consumer pressure washers are the same with a ~100 hour life expectancy. The more expensive ones sometimes have a nicer motor that is less sensitive to input voltage and put out slightly better pressure with sub-par sources but are otherwise the same, and the pump will still die around the same time.

I like the boom box looking ones because then I can just throw them on a cart with any accessories I might need. Only upside of the upright ones is built-in accessory storage, but you can't add any additional storage.

 

[Just_Steve]

i have a Sun Joe SPX3000, pretty good for washing the house, cars and concrete. It's 5 years old and never an issue. By no means a pro unit but good for my seasonal needs.

 

[stickshift]

So be sure your PW uses industry-standard connections if you want to use anything but the wand that it comes with.

From what I'm reading, it seems most of the aftermarket attachments for consumer grade PWs use a M22 14mm connection, which I understand is the standard for gas washers. And most of the cheap electric PWs use either M22 15mm connection or a proprietary connection. So I guess eventually I'd want to adapt from M22 15mm to M22 14mm to be able to use aftermarket accessories.

I found a lightly used Karcher K2 electric PW for $50, but seems the pressure hose connection to pump and gun are proprietary, and the wand attachment to gun is plastic. The wand attachment connector looks somewhat similar to HF Portland washer, so I'm wondering if this quick connect spray wand would fit the Karcher K2?

https://www.harborfreight.com/quick-connect-pressure-washer-spray-wand-57580.html

Or maybe after paying for the various fittings, I'd be better off going with the somewhat more standard (for budget electric PWs) Sun Joe washers, which seem to all use M22 15mm connections on both ends of pressure hose and uses quick connect nozzles. Can get the Sun Joe SPX 3000 for $84 new, so that might be the better option.

 

[MiteyF]

As long as you know the limitations, I think they're great. In my experience, the biggest issue is making sure you purge ALL of the air out before using it. If there are bubbles and the thing spins up too fast, too regularly, you'll fry the pump running it dry. Most of US HERE wouldn't do this, as we'd hear/smell it, but my uncle fried mine when borrowing it, and my mom fried her first one until I enlightened her.

 

[ChainSaw]

I've got an electric Sun Joe SPX3500, 2300 psi I bought in 2020 that's still going. It gets used weekly. It was $129 at the time.

• It's an upright style, I don't recall ever tipping it over. Hose connections are pretty low, as is the center of gravity.
• I wish the pressure hose was about 10 feet longer. I've got to move it 4 or 5 feet to get around all sides of a car.
• On board soap dispenser requires the use of a 'pump safe' soap, options seem to be limited. I bought a foam cannon instead.
• I added a brass quick hose connector. Much more convenient than screwing/unscrewing a hose 6 inches off the ground.
• Surface washer attachment is great for cleaning garage floors and driveways. No splashback, concentrates the water on the floor, you don't end up getting your walls or shoes wet.

 

[stickshift]

I've got an electric Sun Joe SPX3500, 2300 psi I bought in 2020 that's still going. It gets used weekly. It was $129 at the time.

• It's an upright style, I don't recall ever tipping it over. Hose connections are pretty low, as is the center of gravity.
• I wish the pressure hose was about 10 feet longer. I've got to move it 4 or 5 feet to get around all sides of a car.
• On board soap dispenser requires the use of a 'pump safe' soap, options seem to be limited. I bought a foam cannon instead.
• I added a brass quick hose connector. Much more convenient than screwing/unscrewing a hose 6 inches off the ground.
• Surface washer attachment is great for cleaning garage floors and driveways. No splashback, concentrates the water on the floor, you don't end up getting your walls or shoes wet.

Sun Joe's model numbering makes no sense to me. Looks like the SPX 3000 has a 14.5 amp motor, while the SPX 3500 has a 13 amp motor. They play all kinds of games with advertised PSI and GPM.

I borrowed a neighbor's Sun Joe upright PW and I don't recall tipping being an issue. But clearly there's more risk with this style than the compact box style or the exterior frame style. Yeah seems in this price range they all come with 20ft hose, which is a little bit too short to easily wash a vehicle without moving the PW, but I guess that's how they get you to upgrade to a longer hose.

Yeah, seems separate foam cannon is the way to go for car washing. But maybe onboard dispenser could be useful for a concrete cleaning solution.

 

[mslim]

Wife saw on CNN or Wired the Westinghouse ePX3500 electric pressure washer. I was initially (mentally) dismissive of the "Westinghouse" moniker. It kind of pisses me off to see cheap brands trading on the reputation of once great American companies. A perfect example is "Bell and Howell". The first motion picture camera put in hands was Filmo 16 hellbuilt for stout.

Okay rant over... Back to the subject at hand. Knowing my penchant toward "buy once, cry once" and over-spec'ing my wife stressed she wanted something she could handle herself. (She has never forgiven me for the purchase of Kirby industrial grade hotel vacuum cleaner.)

The ePX3500 seems to have favorable reviews given its price point and consumer grade use. However I did find a similar Karcher K2. It looks kinda mickey-mouse but Karcher says it's made in Germany. I know the better Karchers are made in Italy I think. We have a Karcher factory or distribution center here in NW Arkansas so I feel better knowing some Ozarkians are earning a paycheck.

TLDR: the cheap Westinghouse or the equivalent cheap Karcher?

 

[PWC Repair]

I've had a few through the years. My thoughts........
*the hard plastic hose *****! Get the better style.
*quick disconnects ESPECIALLY at the wand. It's a huge pain in the a$$ to try to roll up the hose WITH wand attached. Oh,.....you can just unscrew the wand.......NOPE! Not after it's been on there for a while, you'll need 2 pairs of pliers!
*soap dispenser WILL get plugged up and also WILL corrode the cheapy potmetal **** they build the fitting with right where it siphons into. Just use an attachment or spray it on first out of a bottle before you start washing.
*WHEELS.......WHAT A JOKE!! When the hose is hooked up you can't tip it back enough to roll it. Just pick it up and move it.
* Storage.....there HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY to mount a rolled up hose and cord!!!

 

[Beerhippie]

I've had a few through the years. My thoughts........
*the hard plastic hose *****! Get the better style.
*quick disconnects ESPECIALLY at the wand. It's a huge pain in the a$$ to try to roll up the hose WITH wand attached. Oh,.....you can just unscrew the wand.......NOPE! Not after it's been on there for a while, you'll need 2 pairs of pliers!
*soap dispenser WILL get plugged up and also WILL corrode the cheapy potmetal **** they build the fitting with right where it siphons into. Just use an attachment or spray it on first out of a bottle before you start washing.
*WHEELS.......WHAT A JOKE!! When the hose is hooked up you can't tip it back enough to roll it. Just pick it up and move it.
* Storage.....there HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY to mount a rolled up hose and cord!!!

And the cons are?

 

[landstuhltaylor]

I'm willing to bet Karcher and Westinghouse have a very similar US footprint.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Pressure is nice, but VOLUME is what gets the job done !

Any PW with less than 2.5 GPM will take you a long, LONG time to get your job done !

Oscillating nozzles do seem to work better,

 

[WWheeler]

i bought a Karcher K1700 back in 2020 mostly because, unlike most electric pressure washers in its price range, it uses the same industry standard M22 threads and 1/4” quick disconnects that our gas pressure washer does. It gets used pretty often in the summers, mostly by my son, and is still working which may be the longest we've ever managed to keep an electric pressure washer alive so far. I have not ever had much luck with them before. I've had a couple other Karchers, and a Sun Joe, and a Harbor Freight one, and most were toast after a year or two. I did replace the hose and gun on it a few years ago, about a year after I bought it. I've also used the Karcher 15" surface cleaner attachment with it, and it did pretty good on a small sidewalk, but that attachment does work a lot better on a gas pressure washer about twice the gpm or whatever they are rated at.

My son used to clean our cars, and dabbled a bit with detailing, and I think it was this article was why I bought this one for him.

The Best Budget Electric Pressure Washer For Car Detailing
...
Karcher K1700 Series: Best Under $200

Best Budget Pressure Washer For Car Detailing | Obsessed Garage

Since OG started, I have spent countless hours trying to find the best budget electric pressure washer. I've tested everything from Ryobi to Greenworks to Stanley. Out of all of them, I've concluded that the Active pressure washer is hands down the winner for a quality unit under $400.

www.obsessedgarage.com

https://www.amazon.com/Karcher-K1700-Electric-Pressure-TruPressure/dp/B01N20PROC?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[mikedodge]

I've had an electric for years. It has 2 nozzles, one is a flat one that I use for cleaning cars and other stuff. The other is a turbo one that will clean concrete and is strong enough to strip paint and eat away at asphalt. The flat one can use a built in dispenser but I've rarely used it.
I've never had an electric go bad, I have had them get calcium build up from well water but gas ones would have that problem too.