Power washer?

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lilsullivan04

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Hi,
I'm interested in getting a power washer and was curious to what is a good brand. I'm looking for quality and reliability and I would be using it with a foam cannon. I hear gas powered power washers are better.
Thanks,
Jake
 
I have a gas powered 2000psi 1.6GPM Craftsman i got from Sears for $150 shipped in January. Works great with my MTM cannon . It is a tiny loud but for the short time you are using it, not bad at all.
 
Gas powered washers are better IMO. I have 2 power washers. I have a gas powered DEWALT Honda GX200 3400-PSI 2.5-GPM, and it is awesome with my MTM foam cannon. I had this one already to use at my house before I got my MTM. I got it on sale last year at Home Depot for $499.99. 2 weeks ago, I picked up a little electric one from Sears. It is a Craftsman 1,700 max PSI, 1.3 max GPM Electric Pressure Washer with Steam Cleaner. It has the regular quick connect on it, so I can use my wand that came with my gas one, and not have to use an adapter to hook up my MTM. It also has a steamer on it, which I have used, and it works great. You get a lot of steam out of it. I haven't used the washer with my MTM yet, but I plan on doing that this weekend. I paid $209.99 for it bc it was on sale and I used some Sears points. I just looked it up, and Sears has it on sale right now for $159.99. I will report back after this weekend to let you know how it worked with the MTM.
 
My $.02 is that an electric PW is better for cars while Gas is better for nearly everything else. Since this question is on AGO, I'll list the main points in favor of an electric PW for car washing (I'm a hobbyist):
- quieter in general (in my case, this is a big deal b/c it allows me to get the weekend wash done while my wife is still having coffee without waking the neighborhood)
- quiet during downtime like sponging/brushing/washing (silent, really)
- no trips to the gas station
- fewer PSI so less inherently dangerous to paint/finishes (debatable, surely, but this is my opinion)
- cheaper (generally)

One thing that I eventually realized while researching is that PSI is only one factor in the time it takes to clean a surface. Here's an excerpt from ultimate washer dot com:

"To illustrate the importance of this concept, we have a spec known as CU (Cleaning Units). CU is simply a number derived from multiplying a machine's PSI and GPM, but it is a representation of the amount of time a pressure washer will take to clean a surface.2 The higher the CU, the less time it will take to clean, and again, the more time you save, the more money you save."

Hope this helps!
 
I appreciate all the input I will probably go with an electric power washer for the reason it's quieter and for my vehicle and I'm sure I could use it to clean other stuff around the house. Just want to know what a good brand to buy?
 
craigfilly said:
Gas powered washers are better IMO. I have 2 power washers. I have a gas powered DEWALT Honda GX200 3400-PSI 2.5-GPM, and it is awesome with my MTM foam cannon. I had this one already to use at my house before I got my MTM. I got it on sale last year at Home Depot for $499.99. 2 weeks ago, I picked up a little electric one from Sears. It is a Craftsman 1,700 max PSI, 1.3 max GPM Electric Pressure Washer with Steam Cleaner. It has the regular quick connect on it, so I can use my wand that came with my gas one, and not have to use an adapter to hook up my MTM. It also has a steamer on it, which I have used, and it works great. You get a lot of steam out of it. I haven't used the washer with my MTM yet, but I plan on doing that this weekend. I paid $209.99 for it bc it was on sale and I used some Sears points. I just looked it up, and Sears has it on sale right now for $159.99. I will report back after this weekend to let you know how it worked with the MTM.
Click to expand...

Sounds great and I went to Sears today and I saw one style of electric power washer and I'm guessing that's the one you are talking about. Definitely let me know how it is and next time I get paid I'll get it! Also what does "MTM" mean?
 
lilsullivan04 said:
Sounds great and I went to Sears today and I saw one style of electric power washer and I'm guessing that's the one you are talking about. Definitely let me know how it is and next time I get paid I'll get it! Also what does "MTM" mean?
Click to expand...

MTM is the brand of foam cannon that I have. It is an MTM Hydro. There are a lot of good electric power washers out there, but with the Craftsman that I bought, there are no adapters to buy to be able to use the foam cannon. That model uses quick connect's where as a lot of electric ones you have to buy an adapter for. The Craftsman that I have is built well, has power comparable to other brands electric models, and it has a steamer. I used the steamer on my engine, and it cleaned it up really nice.
 
lilsullivan04 said:
Sounds great and I went to Sears today and I saw one style of electric power washer and I'm guessing that's the one you are talking about. Definitely let me know how it is and next time I get paid I'll get it! Also what does "MTM" mean?
Click to expand...

Here is the one that I have.

Sears.com
 
^I have an electric PW for my MTM Hydro low pressure, but that steamer is intriguing...
 
craigfilly said:
MTM is the brand of foam cannon that I have. It is an MTM Hydro. There are a lot of good electric power washers out there, but with the Craftsman that I bought, there are no adapters to buy to be able to use the foam cannon. That model uses quick connect's where as a lot of electric ones you have to buy an adapter for. The Craftsman that I have is built well, has power comparable to other brands electric models, and it has a steamer. I used the steamer on my engine, and it cleaned it up really nice.
Click to expand...

So you think I should buy the Sears electric power washer and then buy an adapter for the MTM Hydro foam cannon?
 
lilsullivan04 said:
So you think I should buy the Sears electric power washer and then buy an adapter for the MTM Hydro foam cannon?
Click to expand...
If you do get an electric power washer, be sure to order the low pressure version of the MTM Hydro. Its max PSI is like 2600 PSI and max GPM is I think just over 2.0 GPM.
 
craigfilly said:
Here is the one that I have.

Sears.com
Click to expand...

How is the steamer part of this?

Also, with some others as well....How are the attachments of the detergent dispenser work?

Do they act as the foam canon ?

AR's has a bottle hook-up...Campbell has a attached dispenser too, like the sear's..How are they?

Mike
 
lilsullivan04 said:
So you think I should buy the Sears electric power washer and then buy an adapter for the MTM Hydro foam cannon?
Click to expand...

Nope, if you buy the Sears version that I linked for you, you DO NOT have to buy an adapter for it. It will hook right up to the quick connect. If you don't already have a quick connect wand, you will have to get a wand, but you can get a nice heavy duty wand with different sprayer attachments for around $20 at Lowes, HD, etc. If you were to buy like a Karcher or something like that, you have to buy an adapter to make the MTM work properly.
 
mikesal57 said:
How is the steamer part of this?

Also, with some others as well....How are the attachments of the detergent dispenser work?

Do they act as the foam canon ?

AR's has a bottle hook-up...Campbell has a attached dispenser too, like the sear's..How are they?

Mike
Click to expand...

I was really surprised at how well the steamer worked. I used it to clean my engine, and it worked great. I used it around the emblems on my Tahoe, and it cleaned them up too.

The attachments can act as a mini foam cannon. You aren't gonna get the thick shaving cream foam out of them, but you will get some foam. I used it to spray the windows on my house. I sprayed them down good with the detergent, had a good amount of suds on them, went over them with a long handled brush, and then rinsed them. Turned out great.

Depending on the ratio of soap to water that you put in the bottle, I can see where you would get foam, just not as much as with a cannon.
 
craigfilly said:
Nope, if you buy the Sears version that I linked for you, you DO NOT have to buy an adapter for it. It will hook right up to the quick connect. If you don't already have a quick connect wand, you will have to get a wand, but you can get a nice heavy duty wand with different sprayer attachments for around $20 at Lowes, HD, etc. If you were to buy like a Karcher or something like that, you have to buy an adapter to make the MTM work properly.
Click to expand...

Ok sounds great I will check it out! Thank you!
 
craigfilly said:
I was really surprised at how well the steamer worked. I used it to clean my engine, and it worked great. I used it around the emblems on my Tahoe, and it cleaned them up too.

The attachments can act as a mini foam cannon. You aren't gonna get the thick shaving cream foam out of them, but you will get some foam. I used it to spray the windows on my house. I sprayed them down good with the detergent, had a good amount of suds on them, went over them with a long handled brush, and then rinsed them. Turned out great.

Depending on the ratio of soap to water that you put in the bottle, I can see where you would get foam, just not as much as with a cannon.
Click to expand...

Is this steamer good enough for interior as well as exterior wash? sorry for the question new to this whole idea of steamer and doing washing, but it has def been catching my eye lately... so I've been wondering if its worth the buy.. i mean its no 6K steamer like i saw on another thread but would it be an entry level? if someone can point out a good thread that talks about steamers if there is one i would appreciate it...
 
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