Pressure washer recomendations,gas or electric?

[bigbikerrick]

Hello Folks, my old craftsman/ briggs and stratton gas power washer has gotten long in the tooth,and is giving me the blues. Its hard to start if the weather is slightly cold, and seems to always require carburetor fiddling, and a new spark plug anytime I want to use it and its sat for a while, even if I use stabil or seafoam.I think its time for replacement. I never need to use it anywhere there is no electrical power, so I dont really need gas powered. Ive heard alot of the smaller electric ones are pretty weak, so I would either need a new gas one or a fairly powerful electric unit.  What have you folks had good luck with and recommend for cleaning the bikes, and general household use?
Rick.

[Kev m]

I have a portable electric by Kobalt (Lowe's house brand). It's fine for what I need, but yeah not all that powerful. I did strip both the dock and the deck with it before treating them last summer. It probably took twice as long as it would with a gas unit, or maybe only time and a half.

But I don't need one often and it works on the same batteries as our little electric lawn mower, hedge trimmer, and leaf blower (so I can charge some batteries while using up the others).

[Vagrant]

I'd put a carb kit or a new carb on the old one first. Clean up the electrical contacts and check the air gap on the fly wheel.
A good quality new gas isn't cheap. Stihl does have a nice electric one at a reasonable price with much better quality than the other cheap electrics.

[kballowe]

Gas.

And bring it inside when the temps are going to be below freezing.

[Matt Story]

I am very happy with my 120VAC plug in washer.  No more gas, oil or difficult starting in spring.

Oh, also it's really quiet

[bigbikerrick]

I didnt know Stihl makes electric power washers. Their biggest electric unit the "100" series seems pretty nice at a $300. price.  A bit more pressure would be nice, but 2000 psi isnt bad.
Rick.

[Tom H]

Here is the way I look at it. If you NEED HIGH PRESSURE to STRIP decks and the like, then gas is likely the best option.

If all your doing is cleaning the grunge off the bikes and auto's, then a decent electric should do you fine.

I have an electric, I forget the pressure, 1700 something psi and it cleans the oil grunge off the bikes and 40 year old caked on grease and grime off my '62 F100 running gear very decently. Sometimes wish I had more psi, but then if I had it I would probably like a little less for delicate cleaning.

The HF electric about 1700 something psi might be a decent one to try for the PRICE to see if electric will work for what you need it for. Whatever one your looking at, READ the reviews for it and see how others like it.

Hope this helps a bit,
Tom

[Bisbonian]

I have a Craftsman electric (plug in) that I probably bought a dozen years ago. When I need it I just plug it in and go. It has never failed to work and I've never worried about how old the electrons are. I do not regret selling off my old gas version and moving over to this.

[Wayne Orwig]

I have a gas, and an electric. I forget the models and the exact specs for each. But in general, I have found that the electric does as good a job as the gas. BUT, the electric is lower in pressure, and a lot lower in volume. So a big job can take days. Where the gas one has more pressure and a LOT more volume, so it can do that same big job in a few hours. The electric one will still damage the wood if you are not careful.

Last year I did my friends driveway, that had been neglected for many years under a lot of trees. My electric one would have taken many many days. The gas one knocked it out in an afternoon.
So it depends on how big the job is that you want to do. A couple of times a year for a porch or sidewalk, an electric will probably be fine and you don't need to fart with gasoline.


BTW, that friend had a gasoline riding lawn mower that had set idle for a few years. The idle mixture passage was totally blocked. I was unable it clear it out. I got a replacement "Asian made" carb for $15 and it runs great. It even included the air filter. Maybe that is all you need.

[Cam3512]

Rick,

Over the last couple years I’ve move to electric on all my outdoor equipment.  Powerwasher (plug in), lawn mower, weed wacker, blower, small chain saw, etc.  Most are Dewalt with interchangeable batteries.  I was fed up with trying to start the gas powered stuff after sitting in the shed for 5 months.  No regrets.  We still have winter out here.

Cam

[Vagrant]

I didnt know Stihl makes electric power washers. Their biggest electric unit the "100" series seems pretty nice at a $300. price.  A bit more pressure would be nice, but 2000 psi isnt bad.
Rick.

For over 35 years they have had them in the US.
I have an early RE90 and it works great for most everything. I do the boat, cars, bikes etc. A big gas will tear things up if not careful.
I also have a 4000 PSI commercial unit with a 21" rotary. The rotary head is the only way to clean a driveway. But, you can rent a big gas when you need one.
I have a cheaper Kartcher electric in Az that was my dads. It's a POS but because it was his I have tolerted it. The Stihl might be a few bucks more but you really get your moneys worth. JMHO!

[Zenermaniac]

I have a Masterforce (Menards house brand) electric @ 3000 PSI. I can’t imagine needing more power.

[matt franklin]

I would never use a pressure washer on one of my bikes.

[bigbikerrick]

Thanks alot Guys for all the advice and recomendations. I think a mid sized electric will work fine for what I need it for.  I am leaning towards the stihl electric. I rarely power wash my bikes. about the only part of the bikes that I clean with the pressure is the tire sidewalls when they get brown and grungy, and underside of the engine after an oil change. I rarely use it on the Guzzis, its mostly quads we use off road that get cleaned with the power washer. I make sure never to point it at bearings and any other parts where dirt can get pushed past seals.
Rick.

[Gliderjohn]

I have been using a pressure washer on my T-3 for over 30 years now with no bad results. Just keep the wand away from the sensitive parts. Otherwise I have a washer with a Honda motor. It can sit for a year with the old gas in the tank and will start on the second pull.
GliderJohn

[kballowe]

Our local car wash has great soap, and the wax ain't too bad, either.
They also have a big blow dryer.

Meh, it's nice to have choices.

[bigbikerrick]

Our local car wash is pretty good, except for the inconvenience of having a bike not start after power washing. I had that happen the other day with my convert. I was cleaning grunge off the transmission, and a wire blew off the starter. I had a couple of guys there help me bump start it, so I could get home, and figgure out what happened.

Its kinda nice, and convenient, powerwashing it at home, then putting it up on the table lift for detailed cleaning/ drying/ blowing out the nooks and crannies with compressed air.

Its one of my most "therapeutic" activities.   

 
Rick

[Tom]

I have both.  I need to go thru the carb on the gas one.  Don't really need it.  The electric one is fine most of my purposes.  Dry climate here and only street riding.