flunder

Slightly out of topic... Looking for suggestions on a pressure washer... I owned an electric washer for about 3 years and it died recently. I am looking to upgrade to a gas power one. I am looking for something long lasting. I am not satisfied with Briggs engine as my lawnmower has one and it is dying with minimal duty (purchased in 91 and I only have a 1/4 acre lot).

I have never owned other small engines. I did some research and found that people recommend Honda, Subaru and Yamaha. I read that Costco carries pressure washer with Subaru engine. Which I am not sure about as the Subaru car engines are known for high NVH and oil burning. I have also read that Costco is starting to bring back pressure washer with Honda engine (not yet sure if it is a GX engine), I am also unsure about the pump. Both carry sticker price of ~$320. Neither one of the above pressure washers are built by Subaru or Honda.

Yamaha seems to make a pressure and it is entirely done by Yamaha presumably with better long term parts availability. But, it costs about 2x the price and comes with a good pump.

Any suggestions? THX!

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

A 24 y/o engine is dying and you're not happy? Lol.

As far as engines, . But, my friend suggested a minimum of 2K psi able to be generated for any pressure washer to be considered for purchase.

TacoBello

I've heard time and again that Briggs engines have nothing on Honda engines and that it is always worth spending the extra money for a Honda engine equipped piece of equipment.

However, if you got 24 years of use out of it, I dunno, I'd say that's pretty good value, lol.

When I was researching pressure washers, I checked out this site: Pressure Washers Direct | Power Washer Superstore

It's not the most comprehensive, but it gives you a good idea what to look for in a pressure washer and even rates them, which is nice.

I've heard Generac makes some pretty solid pressure washers for great prices, however, they apparently rely on their own engines and not Honda or Briggs. It all depends on how much you want to spend, I guess. If you pay $300-400 and get 10+ years use out of it, I'd say that was a good return on investment.

Personally, I would be looking in the $600-800 range. That thing will likely have more pressure than you need and will likely last until you die.

TacoBello

This is a pretty good deal. I've heard pretty good stuff about Karcher also.

Karcher G3200XH Expert Series 3200 PSI Gas - Cold Water Pressure Washer w/ Honda Engine

flunder

Thanks, my dad has a Karcher electric, he is very happy with it. I am actually using his to finish my Spring cleaning of where mine left-off. I did see the Karcher gas power unit. I have taken it off when compared to the Yamaha unit due to the pump being an axial pump instead of a triplex pump. I have read that triplex is suppose to be longer lasting; however, I am not sure what the true implication is. &, yes, I am greedy. When I use things, I squeeze the last out of them :-D

doopstr

The pump is more important than the engine. But usually you will not find a good pump on a cheap engine. You may find cheap pump on a good engine, since consumers usually just know that they want a Honda engine.

With that said I have a simple Briggs engine based ~2000psi pressure washer with no-name pump. I only use it a few times a year and it's about 8 years old now. No issue except that the engine will surge if there is no water flowing, but that doesn't bother me. Don't let the pump freeze and I recommend that the fuel have Stabil mixed in.

If you plan to use it a lot step up to a quality motor/pump and research what PSI you need for the jobs you want to do. These things get expensive fast after you move past 2500PSI.