I have a gas pressure washer for heavy duty stuff, but I'm in the market for something lighter and easier to use (for Mrs.BurtonRW, especially) for lesser jobs.

SunJoe seems to be a top rated contender in electric units, but I'm naturally skeptical, so I figured I'd ask the SF Brain Trust what we think of SunJoe electric pressure washers.

Any thoughts/opinions/comments, good/bad/otherwise? Tales from actual hands-on experience are preferred, of course.

Thanks.

-Rob

I bought a SunJoe electric about three years ago. I also have a Honda gas engine pressure washer. For smaller or lighter jobs the electric has done well. Setup is quick and no fussing with an engine. The reel on the hose is pretty cheesy and needs more engineering which perhaps has been done since I bought mine. Don't scrimp on the rating you select if you buy one and have larger jobs. I haven't put a lot of hours on mine so I can't speak for the longevity of it. If I was cleaning older farm equipment with lots of caked on grease I would get something bigger.

I also have a Honda gas pressure washer.

I bought this a few weeks ago and it does everything I need it to do. I’d buy it again.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097...dt_b_product_details

No experience with SunJoe, however the wife wanted a smaller electric pressure washer for cleaning off the pool deck vs dragging the big gas honda unit around.

Bought a Harbor Freight electric, Portland Pressure Washer, yeah I know all the issues people have with HF, but, for $89 just buy the extended coverage and you have an inexpensive pressure washer that doesn't break the bank.

So far it works very well for the light work she wants to do and it has a soap bottle for washing cars, I've used it a few times to wash the bike and car.

Link

For under $100 bucks it's a good deal and if you watch the ads online/email sometimes they knock off $10.

The other unit we had was a Karcher and it ran for 10 years before it gave up, up to then it was a nice unit from Home Depot we used up to getting the Honda.

I have a 3 year old Sun Joe SPX-4000 pro and it's on its last leg.

One basic concept is for all pressure washers is cleaning units = GPM * Pressure. Most of the stuff I do (e.g. washing vehicle) high GPM is more important that high pressure (i.e. 2 GPM at 1000 psi better than 1 GPM at 2000 psi) as I want it clean, but not damage what I'm cleaning.

Most of the Cons are common for budget electric pressure washers:

Their specs are misleading and you have to read fine print to find the actual GPM and pressure (kudos to them for including the fine print as few competitors do that). In other words, cleaning units are much less so it takes longer. Mine they advertise at 1.76 gpm at 2030 psi, but it's more like 1450 psi and 1.1 gpm.

They are 100 hour units and then you throw away. I think I'm on the verge of this after 3 years.

The hoses, wand, and other accessories are throw away junk. For example, the hose failed within 2 months.

This con is unique to about half of budget electric pressure washers:

You need adaptors to replace any of the throwaway junk accessories because the industry standard for 1/4 fittings is M22-14, but Sun Joe elected to go with M22-15. To change out their junk hose, I had to buy a M22-14 to M22-15 adaptors.

Several of the YouTube automotive detailing channels do pressure washing comparisons (i.e. published specs vs actual). By all accounts, this $99 Ryobi will perform equally with any of the Sun Joe 3000 or 4000 series and be more reliable.

I think I'm going to replace it with a brand called Active that gets better performance (i.e. actually gets 1.9 to 2.0 gpm):

Their $225, 100 hour unit (they also make the CAT brand which is $265 for same thing). Downside is they use M22-15 so adaptors necessary.

Their $350, 200 hour unit. One of the upgrades was switching to M22-14.

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

Had an SPX 3000 for 5 years now, it's done well every time I've needed it. For huge jobs like driveway, I've got a local source that will do the whole thing for $200.

Cheaper than getting a bigger unit that will run one of those large rotary cleaners and maintaining it, plus saved me 3-5 hours of time.

I've had a 3000SPX since 2015. The detergent adding thing packed up after 2 years and the price of repair was prohibitive. That said, the actual washer part is still going strong.

I use mine for deck washing, car cleaning and patio washing. It's got enough pressure to peel paint and wood splinters.

I'd probably buy another if I was going electric over gas again.

Have a four year old SunJoe that has been OK, soap dispenser quit, and the hose real does suck, but it works OK , use it mainly to wash the cars.

Don't know about SunJoe, but, we have a little Greenworks electric pressure washer I bought maybe ten years ago for light, quick jobs. Other than the O-ring for the wand fitting into the pressure washer breaking: It's performed admirably.

I briefly had a Ryobi electric PW
Briefly, only because the surface cleaner failed, and it was a pkg deal, so I had to return the whole thing.
Reminds me I need to replace it, will likely buy the Ryobi again. Was happy with the performance I got from it, but will buy the unit alone this time & A surface cleaner separately.

I have several friends that use SunJoe 3000 series for light residential use, and they all have good things to say about them. They mainly use them once or twice a month to wash their cars, a few times per year to do stuff like clean siding/walkways, and once every several years for stuff like cleaning gutters or washing a deck prior to restaining. For that kind of light duty, they seem to perform well

Online reviews are similarly positive as well, with a few quibbles like the nonstandard fittings (though there are adapters available).

I myself just purchased a SunJoe 3001 that should be here later this week. I'll be using it similarly to the above, primarily to wash cars with a foam cannon, so it seems like a good option for that level of light duty, especially for the price.


I have also heard good things about these Karcher units: https://www.amazon.com/Karcher...essure/dp/B01N20PROC

SunJoe and Karcher seem to be the primary go-tos for sub-$200 electric pressure washers, with Greenworks the next step up for a bit more money.

No experience with the Sunjoe line, but I’ve owned two of their electric snowblowers from their Snowjoe line for about 9 years. They performed great for the kind and amount of snow I get. I only upgraded to the second one because a newer slightly wider, stronger battery version had come out. Battery performed excellent, allowing me to clear my 2 car drive, sidewalk on 2 sides of house, and the rest of the sidewalk of a 7 home cul-de-sac on a single charge.

I know it’s not a pressure washer, but I thought it might give a little insight in to their electric equipment. Only downside I experienced was when I picked up the second one, the snow deflector that aims the ejecting snow exiting the machine was permanently warped. It’s made of heavy rubber material and was pinched probably when originally packaged and didn’t make a full seal at the joint where it connects to the exit shoot, so when cranked more downward, the gap at the elbow blew snow all over the machine. Now from the time I bought the machine in October until the first snow a month later, the box was trashed. Nothing looked out of spec until it was used, but the box was long gone.

It was under warranty but whomever I got on the phone was the most disinterested person on earth. He made the call like pulling teeth. Maybe it was just the one person and not indicative of all their customer service, but the dude was being a dick over identifying the part number or part name. I explained the part exactly like I did above. He kept repeating “siiir I’m going to need the part name or number or I can’t help you”. I explained it had no documentation, their website listed nothing from which I could name a part, only describe it. This went around and around. When I asked if he had a parts list or diagram he said yes but repeated the same shit at me. I said “Dude it’s a eff’n piece of rubber and sits on top and deflects snow in the direction you aim it. There is only 3 pieces that come in the box, the entire assembled machine, the extension of the handle bar, and THIS PIECE!” Its only job is to deflect snow. His response was “sir COULD it be the ejector port snow deflector?” Hopefully it was just this individual clown shoe.

Either way, I’ve been satisfied with the machine. Also a buddy had their sunjoe small chainsaw on a pole for cutting branches and liked it as well.

Not sure how their pressure washers are but I bought a little SunJoe electric dethatcher/scarifier 2 years ago and it's been a nice little tool to have.

I did buy a Ryobi electric pressure washer from Home Depot last year and it's been great. While it wouldn't ever beat a gas powered one, it does have some good power for electric.

I have a SunJoe and ran it 4 hours straight yesterday.

It has been my go to as like some have said, I have a gas unit but prefer the quieter work space.

It is definitely slower than a larger surface cleaner that you get with gas models.

I have one and its done everything I need around the house or spray foaming the cars. Good to go.

They are definitely more money, but if you want a buy once, cry once solution for an electric pressure washer, then AR or Kranzle are the only 2 names you should be looking at. Lifetime purchases on both for a typical homeowner. I have an AR 630 TSS, and I seldom drag out the gas PW anymore.

I have a kawasaki ninja pressure washer, it doesn't do wheelies, but it does a pretty good job. It was on clearance for < $150, about the same specs as sunjoe/greenworks/et all

1 upgrade is a no-extension gun for $15-50 + QD for the gun. I went cheap & it's made the pressure washer so much more useful to wash cars/mower/windows/ATVs etc. The plastic 2' gun with a foam cannon on the end is a bitch to use. With the short one, it's handy. I'll pick up a 6" & 12" extension for it at some point, but it's not really a priority.

Short gun

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
1 upgrade is a no-extension gun for $15-50 + QD for the gun.

Yep, those are literally the first two things I bought for my new pressure washer: a "stubby" gun with QD on both ends and a QD kit for the hose. Seem like must-haves for car washing.

I have one of their 10" snow shovels (snow blower) that seems to work ok to clean off my deck.
I tried one of their battery operated pole saws. Could not keep the chain tight on it so I returned it to the store.

Please post how the power washer works out if you get it.

I will, once the weather cooperates. Supposed to rain for the next week plus straight.