Which pressure washer?

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wallyuwl

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My electric pressure washer is dying, so I'm looking to replace it this summer with a gas model. The two I'm looking at are:

http://www.pressurewashersdirect.com/Generac-6598-Pressure-Washer/p13016.html

and

http://www.powerstroketools.com/catalog/pressure_washers/PS80310E

The Subaru is on sale at Costco for $270 until the end of the month. $115 less than the Generac (accounting for tax).

I am not concerned about either engine. I don't care about the electric start. My main concern is the quality of the pump. The Generac has an AR brand axial pump. The Subaru has a Hilmore brand pump. I have no idea which is better.

I also don't want to have to run a pump preserver solution through every use at a cost of $8 per use as is suggested for the Subaru. I looked at the manual on the Generac and it says the pump comes pre-lubricated and doesn't require any maintenance.

Any thoughts?
 
The horz engines are usually in the better pumps. All the cheap pumps are vertical shaft.

AR makes quality pumps as does Comet and CAT. Unsure of Hillmore.

Both pumps will be prelubricated I am almost sure.

Some companies suggest to run the "pump saver" stuff to lubricate & prevent corrosion of the valves, etc not really lubricating the actual pump guts.
 
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I have a 4 year old Black Max that looks almost exactly like the Subaru except it has a Honda engine. I use it once or twice a year and it works every time.

As far as cleaning ability and time savings and costs, I wonder that it's not better to have have saved the $300 and used that to rent a more powerful pressure washer each year.

I think it comes down to how you will use it. If you plan to devote a full day to pressure washing your house and deck once each spring, it might be better to rent a powerful pressure washer.

If you plan to use it periodically throughout the year, the Subaru should work fine for you.
 
Honda and cat after shutdown just pull antifreeze through it with a cut off hose off the pump.
 
Originally Posted By: dave123
Honda and cat after shutdown just pull antifreeze through it with a cut off hose off the pump.

RV antifreeze or pump saver according to my manual.
 
My Dad has a Generac, a different model than shown in your link but similar pressure rating. Lots of cleaning power but a real bear to start due to what feels like high compression in the engine or the pump building pressure. I turned it over once trying to start it up. I pulled the rope and the whole thing flopped over. Never had that problem with my cheap Troy-Bilt.
 
Just bought a Generac 2500 psi yesterday on sale for $249. Haven't tried yet but will work better than most for the money.
The really annoying thing is nowhere did it spec the oil capacity. Say just check dipstick. But you need to roll it over partway just to use the nearly horizontal oil fill. Just dumped the 20 oz bottle in that came with it, them had to dump a couple oz back out. So, I guess the capacity is around 17 oz.
 
Originally Posted By: Traction
Originally Posted By: dave123
Honda and cat after shutdown just pull antifreeze through it with a cut off hose off the pump.

RV antifreeze or pump saver according to my manual.


I never do this but mine is kept away from freezing temps. Should I be doing this for other reasons? Thanks!
 
I have not had good performance from my Generac engine. I have a 16K Generac standby generator and I wish I'd spent the extra bucks on a Kohler. I'm partial to power washers with Honda engines, but the Subaru model that you show looks good. Don't know about the difference in pumps. 3100 psi is alot, as in commercial grade. Do you need that much?
 
Originally Posted By: Chris B.
Originally Posted By: Traction
Originally Posted By: dave123
Honda and cat after shutdown just pull antifreeze through it with a cut off hose off the pump.

RV antifreeze or pump saver according to my manual.


I never do this but mine is kept away from freezing temps. Should I be doing this for other reasons? Thanks!


Hard water or lime well water yes every shutdown I do deposit will build in pump if you don't.
 
Originally Posted By: dave123
Originally Posted By: Chris B.
Originally Posted By: Traction
Originally Posted By: dave123
Honda and cat after shutdown just pull antifreeze through it with a cut off hose off the pump.

RV antifreeze or pump saver according to my manual.


I never do this but mine is kept away from freezing temps. Should I be doing this for other reasons? Thanks!


Hard water or lime well water yes every shutdown I do deposit will build in pump if you don't.


Crud! Can you post a link to a product I could buy to keep hard water deposits out of my pump? I have a Devill Bliss Honda powered pressure washer with a AR pump. I must be lucky because it was new in 2002 and my water is hard but I have had no problems so far. I'll start doing the treatment. How do I get the cleaner fluid in the pump?
 
Pressure washers are a case where size (=power) matters. Bigger is better. Go big or go home.
 
I got a craftsman with a Briggs engine. Good unit till it became hard to start. I figured out I over filled it with oil. It's three years old. If it used five or so times a year like mine does I recommend tru fuel instead of ethinol gas. Now it starts on the first or second pull.
 
I think I'm going to get one of two Generacs. I like the engine on the Subaru and the price but have done a little research and the Hilmore pump doesn't seem very good. And the AR pumps seem really good for a consumer grade pressure washer.

So I'm looking at these two. They are very similar, just a slight difference in gpm and "ease of use".

Thoughts?

http://www.pressurewashersdirect.com/Generac-6598-Pressure-Washer/p13016.html

http://www.pressurewashersdirect.com/Generac-6602-Pressure-Washer/p13021.html
 
That Subaru engine is junk. They are hard to start, they break often, and parts are so expensive that a simple repair STARTS at about $100, and that's if you are doing the work. Avoid that thing like the plague, seriously.

As far as vertical pump vs horizontal pump, ALWAYS get the horizontal pump. The vertical pumps are all low quality and are rated for 50 hours. Horizontal pumps are rated for 300 hours and up, depending on which one you buy. The horizontal pumps are eons more durable than the vertical pumps, it's almost comical that people still buy them. When they take a dump, you spend the $140 and just put a new pump on them as they are generally not rebuildable and almost all of them are made in China now.

The Generac would probably be decent, for what it is.

My best advice would be to find a pressure washer with a Honda GX200 or GX200 clone engine with a horizontal pump. The pump will last you a long time and when(if) it dies, you can simply swap out the pump with a better unit. The Honda/clone engines pretty much last forever and might need a $12 carburetor at most to keep it going every few years. They are very easy and cheap to maintain.

Look at the Harbor Freight units. This unit is $224 after 20% off coupon, comes with a Honda clone engine and has a horizontal pump. Very good unit for the money. If you dont have a store close to you, I believe that they will ship it to your house for like $7. The unit is $175 bucks cheaper than the Generac units you were looking at. Even if the pump is better on the Generac, it's $175 cheaper, and you still come out ahead if you have to buy a new pump in a few years. The engines on the Generac and Harbor Freight unit are 212cc, and could possibly be the same exact engine, made in the same Chinese factory.
http://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garden...-iii-69734.html
 
Originally Posted By: Burt
Pressure washers are a case where size (=power) matters. Bigger is better. Go big or go home.


Run a big 13hp pressure washer and it will eat 10 gallons of gas per day(about $36, PER DAY). A 6hp pressure washer will eat 2 gallons of gas per day (about $7, per day)

If you are just doing general cleaning around the house, the 13HP unit will be overkill, and will cost about $30 more to run each and every time you use it. It's overkill, and unnecessary.

The only real plus is that the bigger units put out more water and will clean faster, which is a concern for a commercial operator that goes from job to job. It's not a real concern for a homeowner if it takes 10 minutes longer to clean.
 
All the big box stores hawk the engine brand in pressure washers but say little about the pump. If they did few would know anyway. I am not sold on Generac. They make many levels of products from value brand to very good. One can assume if the engine says Generac then its a Chinese engine.

I would rethink electric. It all depends upon what you are doing. They are handy and easy to setup and run. Maybe buy electric for the normal stuff and rent a monster one for the big stuff every few years.

The number one killer of most gas pressure washer (besides freezing) is leaving it running full bore for a period of time without the trigger being pulled. When you let go of the trigger, the unloader kicks in and loops the output side back to the input side. Relieves the pressure OK, but the water starts to get hot and can melt some nylon parts in the pump. So leave it running to rearrange the pump to another location to be sprayed, but not to have lunch, then to call your wife and then to pick up the kids stopping for more beer at 7-11.
 
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Recently purchased the Generac 2,500 PSI gas pressure washer from Walmart. Had a few Costco model with Honda motors before. This Generac is much quieter and consumes far less fuel. It ran last weeekend for three hours. I filled the integrated fuel tank 1.5 times. The Costco Honda models seemed to need fuel every half hour and their integrated tank seemed no smaller than this Generac. As far as starting - it's easy. Turn on petcock, turn on choke, pull cord until you get to compression stroke on motor (TDC), and then one hard pull and it fires right up when cold. Same technique when hot but no choke of course.

Unit came with a "turbo" nozzle. It removed paint from my home's siding and paint from wife's car bumper. Whoops! Xlnt at cleaning drives and walks of moss and algae that grows here in the Pac NW.

I paid $240 delivered to Walmart store nearby which included the turbo nozzle. I feel it's a solid buy but could have even saved $40 more with this deal.
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http://slickdeals.net/f/7826823-generac-6595-2-500-psi-2-3-gpm-196cc-ohv-gas-powered-pressure-washer-200-fs-lowe-s?&src=SiteSearchTest+-+Past+Month+-+%2B2+Thumbs+-+Title+and+First+Post+-+Hot+Deals+Only
 
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