I'm in the market for a gas powered pressure washer, primarily for cleaning concrete.
I saw a Honda washer at Costco but when I read the reviews they were terrible. I remember reading bad reviews on the Subaru powered ones there also.
I did read good reviews on the Harbor freight washers.

What do you suggest and what features should I look for or avoid.

Avoid anything with a Honda G"C" (for "consumer") series engine. They are plastic crap.

A Honda G"X" series engine is the shit, but costs more.

I replaced a GC on a Northern Tool (sort of upscale Harbor Freight) washer with a Harbor Freight "Predator" Chinese Honda clone and it's been fine.

I like my Simpson pressure washer.

Triplex pump, not axial cam.

I have Troy Bilt Professional 2800 PSI 2.5 GPM. I picked it up at Lowe's a few years ago. It only gets used a couple of times a year, but it says does a good job.

Bought one of these Generac One wash units, been happy with it so far.http://www.generac.com/for-homeowners/pressure-washers/pressure-washer-products

Not sure what the hit on the subaru powered ones was. They make a very good small engine. Have them powering my snow blower and pressure washer.
I have a HD pressure washer with a Cat pump and a subaru engine. First pull start and takes paint off concrete 10 years later.

quote:

Originally posted by PeteF:
Not sure what the hit on the subaru powered ones was. They make a very good small engine.

^^^This. Every rental pressure washer at my local HD is running a Subaru engine, and the guy there that maintains them claims they are every bit as reliable, if not more so, than the Honda powered units they used to have.

After having gone through the pressure washer research process myself a couple years ago, I think anything under maybe $700-$1,000 dollars should be viewed as a disposable unit. Until you get into a Honda GX motor and a CAT, or General, or even AR rebuildable tri-plex pump, anything else should be treated as a limited use, throw away product. And trust me, when the pump fails (i.e. the weak link in cheap pressure washers), it will be non-repairable and too expensive to replace.

So your choices are....

• Rent one at HD when needed. A good option for most do-it-yourselfers.
• Buy cheap and replace when it fails, and it will. Think Harbor Freight or Northern Tool.
• Cry once on price, buy quality, and have it forever.

Of course you could always opt for a fourth course of action (like I did), that being, buy a garage sale, non-running unit for $20, spend some time and $10 worth of new parts getting it running, and then use it until it expires. So far after a year and a half and maybe 25 hours of use, my little garage sale score is still going strong.

quote:

Originally posted by PeteF:
Not sure what the hit on the subaru powered ones was. They make a very good small engine. Have them powering my snow blower and pressure washer.
I have a HD pressure washer with a Cat pump and a subaru engine. First pull start and takes paint off concrete 10 years later.

I can't remember the exact problem with the Subaru unit, it was in a post here a few years ago.
I was surprised when I read the negative response, I always associated Subaru with quality.
I seem to remember the problem was not with the engine but with the pump or location of the pump.
Newer models may have changed.

For me, a cheap Costco one was best. I use it about twice a year and it does what I need.

I rented a 3,200 psi washer a few weeks ago. It was not powerful enough to remove the paint I was trying to strip. When I buy a pressure washer, I will be looking for a 5,000 psi or greater washer.