I need a new one and I am having a hard time deciding which one to get. Gas or electric? Model? I have been tire kicking the ryobi electric one from Home Depot. I like that the electric ones only come on when you pull the trigger. Using it mainly for car cleaning.
Gas is overkill for a vehicle. If you're looking at doing your home or machines they are a good option but much heavier and obviously louder. If you want electric I'd lean towards Karcher simply due to the availability of spare parts. Seals and gaskets do wear out and you're going to have an exponentially easier time finding a part for one of those. The only other tip I can give you is look for one with a low center of gravity that looks more like a wagon than a dolly. Its an absolute pain in the ass when it falls over everytime you pull a little to hard on the pressure hose. They are becoming more and more popular. I was looking at at 3000psi model from Karcher last week for this reason. PS 3000psi is way to high for a car so make sure that the nozzle can be adjusted.
My car cleaning pressure washer is the small 1600psi ryobi one from Home Depot. Works great. Only complaint is that the hose is very rigid. I'm actually looking for a better hose but the damn things seem to cost more than the pressure washer itself. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ryobi-1-600-psi-1-2-gpm-electric-pressure-washer/1001088060
Stay away from Simoniz. I bought one last year. Worked great for the first few uses. Thing died this spring. Warranty wouldn't touch it, couldn't take it back and I paid close to $300 for it. After looking at their reviews, turns out it's quite common for Simoniz pressure washers to just up and die after 5 or 6 uses. I'd stay stick with Karcher as well.
Well I pulled the trigger on a unit and some accessories to make it easier to use. I posted it in latest purchase
I got the Certified brand 1800 psi electric one from Canadian Tire. I use it mainly for washing vehicles. So far it’s been great for the price. Even came with a foam cannon.
I bought one for our company fleet vehicles and I think it’s a Simoniz but am not 100% sure. It runs a Briggs and Stratton motor and has been used a couple hours a week every week of the year and no issues.
Mine wasn't cheap. Was electric and worked amazing while it still worked. But it just up and quit. Pump wouldn't start up at all anymore. Turns out it goes for close to $500, I must've gotten it on sale. But this is it.... And the reviews are definitely not good.
I've got this one. Has handled everything I've thrown at it... Probably pretty good bang for buck. She got it at CT, paid ~$75 more than what it was on Amazon, so it went back to CT, and we got it from Amazon..
Looking at this discussion - the problem at our place is no outside power so a battery option would be good but none of the options I've researched so far look any good. I might just rent one when I need it.
After some investigation, I found that a gas model would be the one for me for longevity. I waited for an end of summer sale last year and picked this up for a good price: So far, so good. Time will tell if I bought crap or not.