I'm looking at getting a small electric pressure washer. Compact, something in the 1500 to 1900 psi range. It's primarily going to be used to wash my car but also other small tasks.

I would like to keep it under $200.00. I have looked at a couple of Ryobi pressure washers, and Joe sun. Is there anything else to look at?

ARman

Karcher at HD. I have two, and they’ve worked fine.

Greenworks. There are several models from 1500-1900 psi and work well. I've been using a 1600 psi model that I picked from Lowe's for $99 for two years.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Green...sure-Washer/50353388

I dont think you can go wrong with the Sun Joe or Greenworks. They almost appear exactly the same.

I borrowed a buddys and it was fantastic for small jobs.

I bought a Sunjo from Lowes. Had to order it online as at that time they didn't carry them in store. Or you can order from the manuf. website... https://www.snowjoe.com/. I bought the SPX3000,2030PSI for $149.00 and free shipping, from manuf. Lowes was the same price but don't remember about shipping. I don't use it but my son does and the washer does everything we neeed done.

Just a thought, but you might consider checking Craigslist. So many people buy pressure washers of all types with good intentions, and then never follow through on using them.

I'm on my second small ones. Both were fine and lasted for years despite many loans out to friends and family and being left out in freezing weather. Sorry, can't remember the brand and my Daughter has it now. At a couple hundred bucks they sure are handy but I consider them disposable. (I have a 13 HP Honda 4300 PSI for "real" jobs, over $1K) Also, don't get too hung up on rated pressures, any will likely be fine for car washing, it's just marketing / Mfg ratings I would not trust anyway.

You need a rotary nozzle as well as the regular fan nozzles and a soap tank, preferably with variable soap volume adjustment. (probably standard on most) You CAN effect the rate of soap consumption via dilution as well. I have one that has dual tanks, that is nice. I put car soap in one and a bleach based in the other for house siding etc. A dial allowed selecting the desired soap and volume of uptake as needed. I do prefer a tank vs just a suction tube but I can see both have their advantages.

In case you didn't know, on every one I have seen anyway, you won't get high pressure soap, just low pressure application of soap, and that requires a special included nozzle.

Believe not or not the feature I actually like the most, and wish I had on my big one, is a hose reel. So nice to just crank and reel up the pressure hose for storage. Just pull it out and it easily unwinds when needed. Even better if it had one for the electrical cord, but I haven't seen one with that.

Not responsive to the OP because I don't have one, but are these small electrics up to washing vinyl siding on a two-story house? High pressure not needed or wanted, but it's gotta go up almost 20 feet.

They have extension wands that are unwieldy and awkward to use. With an extension wand, you may be able to put a dent in it with pressure and a fan nozzle.

Vinyl siding is typically cleaned using a soft wash method using surfactant (detergent) mixed with sodium hypochlorite (bleach). This solution is sprayed with a large orifice and allowed to cascade down the siding. For this, high volume and pressure is needed. A small electric pressure washer is not going to cut it for a two story in my experience.

With the above method, you are not mechanically spraying off the grime. It is done chemically, the same method is often used on shingled roofing.

I have had a Karcher for about 10 years. runs good. Never used the soap function. Always just sprayed water. Worked great when we had chickens and once every few weeks would blast the sun dried crap off the patio. Also works great on doing the driveway. Pro tip. If your doing a huge space like a driveway give your self plenty of time to so the entire area in one day. Partially cleaned areas look like fresh concrete. Oil stained and water stained and dirty in general areas next to it look like hell. Ask my wife how I know. Lol.

I always thought a great side hustle business would be having a quality pressure washer and getting in some local realtors and blasting the driveway and sidewalks of listed houses. Really easy and quick thing to radically improve curb appeal. Then going around monthly or quarterly to the people who bought the house and getting them to pay you to keep it clean like a subscription yard or pest service.

I finally sprung for an electric unit after using a gas one helping my father in law with lots of odd jobs at their place and decided the size of it and hassle setting it up and maintaining it wasn't worth it when I finally decided to spring for one of my own and chose the Ryobi - specifically the 1,800 psi 1.2 GPM Electric Pressure Washer

I have been using it quite a bit, did the driveway and sidewalk with the driveway attachment by ryobi, brick on our home and our cars multiple times and its handled it very well. Its easy to stow, easy to setup and easy to use.

Does it have the sheer psi of the gas unit, nope but I am not trying to strip deck or trim paint off and certainly not off my vehicles - it will absolutely strip mildew off though and does it exceedingly well

Thanks, shifty.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I dont think you can go wrong with the Sun Joe or Greenworks. They almost appear exactly the same.

I borrowed a buddys and it was fantastic for small jobs.

I have used two models of Greenworks and have had issues with both. The first was replaced under warranty with a different model. The issue with both was shutting off from the built in breaker tripping. When I went on line to download the manual, I found that the reviews were not good on Greenworks.

quote:

Greenworks

The one I had was a piece of junk. Would only run for a few minutes without shutting down. Finally it tipped over & broke off the intake nozzle.

another vote for karcher. had 0 issues with mine for about 9 years. use it once a month for small tasks, and do all my poured concrete surfaces outside twice a year. any floor work i highly recommend anyone get a floor attachment (the wand with a round head at the end (like this) worth its price 10x over.

I have the Ryobi electric 1700psi, 2.1gpm, and very happy with it. Got it at Home Depot.

Bought a Karcher off Amazon that came with a whole assortment of attachments. The whole thing was maybe $150.

I gotta quit hanging out here. You guys talked me into a SunJoe SPX 3001 with an extension and a gutter cleaning attachment. It's 2030 psi and 1.76 gallons per minute. I do have a 6.5 horse gas pressure washer for bigger jobs.