Electric Pressure Washers

[Aaron Carrell]

My wife and I were walking through Home Depot today just browsing around waiting for some other stuff to get taken care of and we saw that the electric power washers were fairly cheap. After browsing around online tonight, I'm considering buying one of the $100 models that almost every hardware or home improvement store seems to sell. Does anyone have any experience with any of these pressure washers? Most of the ones I've seen are around 1450 to 1600 PSI and vary in gallons per minute. Its just hard to tell how long some of these will last. I'm mainly thinking it would be nice to use to clean the cars, boat (interior as well), and spray off the patio when needed. Just seems like a pretty good deal at that price, but will it hold up?

Any input would be greatly appreciated from personal experience.

[heat checker]

I've had one for about 7-8 yrs and it seems to be holding up well. Use it to wash out the hog trailer, wash cars, the boat, camper, insides of the grills. Don't expect miracles with these little machines, they don't do that great of a job, although if you can hook them up to a hot water source, they will do a much better job.

[Ryan_V]

my dad has gone through a few of them, they don't last, and don't have as much pressure as a gas. I just got a 2500psi gas one for x-mas and love it. I'd recommend gas if you can swing it, but you should take into consideration how much you'll use it and how often.

[lookin4fish]

i bought a 2200psi B&S gas pressure washer for $200 a couple of weeks ago. i used it once and took it back because it did not have the pressure i thought it would have. i ended up just buying one that had 1400 psi that was electric becuase i still needed one. in my opinion the 1400 psi electric had more power. i can explain it, but it worked much better. it was worth saving the $100. i dont know how long it will last, but i do know i wont have any carb problems and i wont run out of electricity someday when i want it. I am using it for boats and trucks and it works fine. one thing i dont know yet is if it will peel bugs off the front bumper this summer. i will see

[cold one sd]

I have a small Coleman electric and have been using it for about eight years. I use it to wash my decks, driveway, vehicles, ATV and basically everything I drive. My son also comes over and uses it. No problems except a worn spot in the hose so far.

[hondarider550]

When I was looking for a power washer for washing my barn I was told that it is not the pressure that you need to get things clean but it is the number of gallons per minute that does the real cleaning. Like I said earlier I went with a 3000 psi 5 gallons per minute unit. (It takes me 20 hours to wash my barn out). The commercial guys that have their power washers loaded in a trailer or truck have power washers that have around 3000 psi BUT put out 10 gallons per minute. These guys can wash the same sized barn in about 4 hours. Same pressure but more water apparently does a better job.

Lookin4fish, that might be the reason why your 1400 psi electric washer works better than the 2200 psi gas...

[Tom7227]

That GPM thing is something I don't think I've ever seen mentioned before but it sure makes sense. I just went to the Northern HSOforum and saw that they had a rig for $100 that went 1400 psi and 1.5 gal min. They had a couple more lower cost units and one didn't even have a gpm rating and it but showed a 1800 psi but cost $220. Gues a guy has to really look at the details.

BTW there was a thread on power washers not that far back and there was a lot of back and forth on that one about gas vs. elec. You may be able to find it and get a few more opinions.

[jigging-matt]

I had an electric one for quite a few years. Worked well. Finally wore out last fall. Am planning on getting a gas one for the convience this spring. Hate hauling extension cords and hoses all around the house.

[S.D. Ice Angular]

I have had both but I only have the gas version now.

The honda engine is great.

[opsirc]

I have been thinking of getting a gas one, just don't like the idea of all that water around an electric source.