I use mine all the time. It's amazing that you never notice just how dirty your front porch, steps, and sidewalk really are until you've pressure washed them.

 

If you do winterize your pressure washer be really carefull to get antifreeze that will not attack the pump seals or you will be wasting your time come spring. My unit has a German made Kranzle pump that can deadhead for hours or be run dry without damage so I just run the pump out off water and put it away. I also highly recommend Honda engines as they run great, store well and most have low oil shutdown. The biggest factor is what you intend to do with your machine. Be honest, if your just washing your truck or blowing off the siding every now and again, then the smaller electric or gas units that they sell at Lowes-Depot will suit you fine. If you have bigger aspirations then seek professionall help.

 

1. I'll stick with gas. I've always been one to believe water and electricity don't mix.

2. The Honda unit that I have has an overhead cam, latest technology.

3. I like the idea of using it as a leaf blower. I'm in a heavily wooded area.

4. If you're gonna paint your house, this is the way to go for cleaning. I did find one limitation, like another gentleman did....I had dirty stain on the lower boards of my siding, from dirt kicking up over the last eight years. The washer cleaned it somewhat, but once I did it manually with bleach/detergent, it was much better.

5. How can I use it remotely, away from a pressurized water source? I have a 55 gal barrel for water storage. I also have a small water pump. Think I could put the water pump in between the barrel and the washer?

 

"5. How can I use it remotely, away from a pressurized water source? I have a 55 gal barrel for water storage. I also have a small water pump. Think I could put the water pump in between the barrel and the washer?"

You don't need a separate pump to get it to the inlet of the high-pressure washer. Just elevate the 55-gallon barrel so the water flows to the high-pressure pump by gravity. Don't syphon the water from the barrel, though, because you can lose the prime. Always make sure there's water at the H/P pump, otherwise it'll overheat & burn out.

Many people use this method at motor-cross motorcycle races, to clean their bikes after a race. They carry a large (30 or 55 gallon) plastic container inside their enclosed trailer used to transport their bike, and it usually has a valve and hose connection on the bottom of it for the connection. They set the washer on the ground outside the trailer, and the 2-foor or so elevation is sufficient to gravity-feed the washer.

The amount of pressure between the water supply and the H/P pump is insignificant relative to the output from the washer, whether you're using gravity with just a foot of head pressure, or 85 PSI from a city supply. .

If you use a 55-gal barrel, just make sure the water is clean and there's no rust pieces or other gunk in it. A filter installed in the line to the washer pump would be ideal.

 

Mine cost 4 or 5 grand,,, but a couple of my buds bought small gas ones, one with a 5 hp Honda, dont remember the specs and its ok, another just bought one with a 6.75 hp Briggs on it and its pretty impressive. It was fairly cheap. I have used a lot of them and I washed a couple cars with it, worked well.

 

I've got a 5.5hp/2300psi Honda powered Devilbiss unit I picked up at Sams Club for $279 about 3 years ago. It's great! Two things I've learned about owning pressure washers:

1. Turn off the water supply as soon as possible after shutting off the engine...

2. Pick up (and use) a can of "pump saver" available at Lowes - it protects the internal seals during the off-season.

 

4200psi, steam, heat that is soo darn hot I have to wear 2 pairs of gloves to be able to use it(not very often, it will just blast paint away. It is a stationary landa that I put on wheels, and it is a bear to move, let alone get loaded in a stock trailer, or pickup in the ditch. New it would be around 11k dollars, but I got it for 800. Not 8k, hehe. It is a bit overkill at times, but saves your butt at others. After having this thing, I would never use anything smaller, car-washes suck now.