Pressure Washers

[kiwi]

So I have a lot of items that need cleaning and a pressure washer would be a great time saver. Electric would be ideal due to the fact it's one less gas powered tool to worry about draining gas, starting and noise. Will an electric be powerful enough? I bought a Ryobi from Home Depot. Well after using it for a few days it does work but it's a very slow process. I have no experience with pressure washers so is this normal? Should I get a gas powered one? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also what brands and models do you own that you like.
Nick

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[milomilo]

Mine is a 2100 psi and it works great. However, as you mentioned, it is slow if you have it on max pressure, i.e., a very narrow spray. If the item your cleaning is easy to clean, you can adjust the spray wider and it goes much faster. Basically it is all determined by what the base material is and how much pressure it takes to get it clean. I don't think it makes any difference whether it is electric or gas driven.

[Whitetrash]

When your trying to clean stuff off. there are several factors involved. When it involves mud sheer volume of flow you can pour on the job is huge think fire hose. Washing your car small pressure washers are great. Old,Nasty,Grease encrusted equipment. There is only one tool. A true steam Jenny. Being in the waste disposal industry. I have working experience them think full fuckin raingear safety glasses, gloves and a face shield. You will still end up with splashback in your underwear don't ask me how I know

[kiwi]

Thanks Chris. I didn't know if the larger gas models would clean faster. Yes it has a very narrow stream which is like painting a parking lot with a 1" paintbrush.
Nick

[milomilo]

I sometimes have to set mine to 1/2" on tough stuff to clean. Mostly it works well on 1 1/2" wide for easy to clean stuff like wood.

[kiwi]

Originally Posted by Whitetrash

When your trying to clean stuff off. there are several factors involved. When it involves mud sheer volume of flow you can pour on the job is huge think fire hose. Washing your car small pressure washers are great. Old,Nasty,Grease encrusted equipment. There is only one tool. A true steam Jenny. Being in the waste disposal industry. I have working experience them think full fuckin raingear safety glasses, gloves and a face shield. You will still end up with splashback in your underwear don't ask me how I know

Since you have a lot of experience with these type of units are any brands better than others? Also there is another unit that has 100psi less but puts out 1.65 gpm so would there be a noticeable difference between the two (2000psi with 1.2gph vs 1900psi vs 1.65gph).
Thanks,
Nick

[SmokinDodge]

Nick there are variables at play but gas vs. electric doesn't really matter until you get to the really big dogs.

Get the biggest gpm (gallon per minute) you can afford and go like hell. All the pumps will be in a similar psi range the deciding factor on getting work done is gpm. 2,000 psi at 1 gpm is a paint brush painting a parking lot. 1,800 psi at 20 gpm is like knocking a fire hydrant off its base.

The advertisers find fun ways to play with numbers. Sent from my ipotato

[Whitetrash]

Here it is in a nutshell Hotsy is king of the industry. 5GPM is what it takes to strip dirt and whatnot efficiently. Which requires 220+ single phase. Anything else is a toy in comparison. But, If you are willing to spray down what you are trying to clean with a a stout detergent Wisk or Simple Green are high on my list and attack it with a good stiff brush. You can make a smaller unit perform just as well on a smaller scale. It just takes extra elbow grease and patience.

[SmokinDodge]

Originally Posted by Whitetrash

I have working experience them think full fuckin raingear safety glasses, gloves and a face shield. You will still end up with splashback in your underwear don't ask me how I know

Been there, done that and have the T shirt!

Nothing like having to dig to find bolt heads......

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[GWIZ]

Yes the electric is good for about 10' x 15' feet, then you start saying this is slow.

The next would be gas about 2600 psi 2.5gpm, about 10' x 45' you start thinking the next one above this.

Some of the gas ones don't have a pressure adjustment and will destroy wood at full pressure.

The best is keep the electric and RENT a larger gas unit about 10hp.

try that rotary spinner head,, most of the time it does better also does a good job getting leaves out of grass better than a blower.

once you know the psi and gpm., you have to ask what make engine you are willing to pay for.