I will be the first to recommend against electric pressure washers

 

I actually love electric power washers. I have a cheap greenworks 2000 psi that I use for 95% of tasks. I almost never use the gas one simply because I rarely need that much power, in fact I think it might ruin the finish my cast aluminum patio set, while the electric is great at just getting off the pollen, old food, bird poop, etc. Same with the composite decking.

The one piece of guidance I can provide for the OP is I purchased the Dewalt 20v Power washer this spring. I would avoid that item. It was laughably under-powered. Basically no different than my hose with a fan nozzle. I tried to clean my deck with it and returned it the same day.

 

Karcher is supposed to be a nice budget-friendly option. Matt at Obsessed Garage says they "have better construction, motors & pump than 99% of the cheap consumer pressure washers."

I put a Kranzle in my new garage, but they are pricey. Comet is supposedly a good mid-tier option.

 

I actually love electric power washers...

+1, they're great for car washing and other odd jobs around the house. No doubt for some tasks there is no substitute for the raw power of a gas pressure washer - but similar to battery powered OPE, they definitely have their place. :thumbup:

 

When I worked for a heavy-equipment dealership (think excavators and bulldozers) we had a dedicated indoor wash bay with a large electric powered pressure washer permanently installed. Just pick up the wand and get after it. A gas-powered unit would have cost a fortune to run like that day-in and day-out. Recently, I was at a QT (gas station) and noticed that the building was pre-plumbed for a centrally located pressure washer somewhere, presumably electric. They walked out, plugged in a hose reel cart, and were washing down the sidewalks and parking lot in no time at all.

 

Good point. There are some powerful electric pressure washers. I think the biggest constraint with the common consumer grade ones we see is the size of the motor/pump you can run on a typical 120V/20A circuit.

 

The electric ones are absolutely a viable option. 2000-ish psi is great for most cleaning around the house. I like not gouging the fence boards. I also like being able to run my pressure washer at night without bothering the neighbors.
I'm going to look into the brands you mentioned, @Ware.

Thanks, guys.

 

I sold my electric pressure washer last year after I purchased the gas Simpson 3300 PSI unit with the Honda engine & I definitely regret it. I love my gas pressure washer, but there are also times where all I need is the electric (washing cars, quick clean of grass/debris on driveway). I had a Greenworks 1800 PSI unit I bought off of FB Marketplace for $100 & I had no issues with it.

I'm in the market for a new one & I'm going to go with the Karcher. I'm going with the setup that Matt from Obsessed Garage has. I still need a plumber to come install two hose bibs in my garage & then I'll purchase the kit from his website.

The one thing that keeps me from pressure washing more often, is the annoyance of all of the hoses & initial setup.

 

This is something I just spent a great deal of time and research on. My goals were for some house cleaning tasks (concrete/siding/fencing) and car washing. Homeowner electric pressure washers are limited by the standard 120V/15As. PSI can only get so high with this power limit, and with this limitation, there's an inverse relationship between PSI and GPM.

Ideally, you want both to be high. The highest PSI homeowner electric is the Greenworks 3000, but it gets 1.1 GPM at that pressure, and usable pressure is maybe 2200 when you watch YouTube testers. High flow speeds up time. The highest flow homeowner model is the Active VE52 at about 2 GPM but 1800 max PSI (around 1200 usable). Higher flow is recommended for car washing. Higher PSI recommended for outdoor cleaning.

I looked at the Greenworks models. While they have 2000+ PSI and 1 GPM, I didn't like how the motor kept running during idle. I decided on the DeWalt electric pressure washer. It has slightly lower PSI for slightly higher GPM, but it has the auto-stop motor that shuts off when idle, plus it's the only one I've seen with pneumatic wheels.

High PSI models will get 2000 PSI and 1.1 GPM for $250+. Most mid-tier models will be around $150 for 1600 PSI around 1.2 GPM. The car detailing models at 1600 PSI/2GPM are around $200.

Note, I didn't look at Kranzles as they are $1,000+.

 

I do not recommend Sun Joe. I've had two that leak internally. Not very durable.

 

I looked at the Greenworks models. While they have 2000+ PSI and 1 GPM, I didn't like how the motor kept running during idle.

My Greenworks does not run unless you pull the trigger. The only time it runs when not pulling the trigger is if you didn't purge all the air out of the water supply hose before turning it on.

I have a 2000psi Greenworks and perfectly happy with it for what I use it for.

I was going to buy karcher originally but it seems like their quality went down the drain.

 

Here is my Kranzle setup. I used it a few times before we moved, but haven't had a chance to test out the built-in setup yet. I had our plumber pipe the inlet side. There are some things I might have done differently there, but I think it will work fine.

 

Here is my Kranzle setup. I used it a few times before we moved, but haven't had a chance to test out the built-in setup yet. I had our plumber pipe the inlet side. There are some things I might have done differently there, but I think it will work fine.

@Ware
Nice with hot and cold. I thought about going with a setup like that before I bought my cheapo Greenworks.

 

I would say it depends on your use and how much power you need. If it is light pressure washing around the house and mainly to wash your car, electric is great. Matt at Obsessed is now pushing the Active electric pressure washer https://www.obsessedgarage.com/collections/active-pressure-washing-solutions/products/active-ve52-pressure-washer
and for $210 it is a great little unit. I have the Active and also have a Stihl gas pressure washer which is a beast but overkill for washing your car. Having an electric that cycles on and off when you need it is very nice and not as loud as a gas washer. The Active also works well with a foam canon, but we'll have to see how long it holds up. So far I have not been disappointed with it but doesn't have the power that the gas washer has but good enough for my needs. I looked at the Kranzle but it is pricey and I had no interest in trying to plumb it like the previous poster, but is a very slick set-up.

 

I initially got the spx3000 in 2018. It was a refurb from amazon and worked great till I sold it. Got more than what I paid for it. The 32k+ reviews are not wrong. I used it to wash our hideous moss ridden and dirty patio, old rugs/matt, cars etc.

I upgraded to the Sun Joe SPX 3500
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076TLS7F6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_DPZ4V0YZDQ4DDDDY94QH

I've only used it once. It works good for now. Cant comment on long term. I did upgrade to the HDX Hose and it is great.

That said if I knew that I was staying for even 5+ years at a house, I would invest in a Kranzle K1622. The convenience of it is amazing, to pick and go.

 

I looked at the Greenworks models. While they have 2000+ PSI and 1 GPM, I didn't like how the motor kept running during idle.

My Greenworks does not run unless you pull the trigger. The only time it runs when not pulling the trigger is if you didn't purge all the air out of the water supply hose before turning it on.

I have a 2000psi Greenworks and perfectly happy with it for what I use it for.

I was going to buy karcher originally but it seems like their quality went down the drain.

It might be the Greenworks Pro models with the brushless motors that don't seem to have the total stop system.

 

A handful of neighbors pitched in and bought a gas-powered pressure washer that we share. Of course it will depend on the type of neighbors you have and how long you plan on living in the neighborhood but it works surprisingly well for the limited times we need to use it. There was a former neighbor that bent the rules and occasionally took it out of the neighborhood for extended periods. Even before they moved it only happened a couple times and they were up front and asked permission first.

I wanted one to use when washing our cars and the gas powered one was too powerful so I bought a 20A Kranzle and I haven't used the gas-powered shared pressure washer for anything since. I've used it to clean my stamped concrete patio, tile roof, driveway, lake chairs, just about anything and it has plenty of power. Granted it is around 8 times the price of the one mentioned in the first post.

 

Good point. There are some powerful electric pressure washers. I think the biggest constraint with the common consumer grade ones we see is the size of the motor/pump you can run on a typical 120V/20A circuit.

I should add 30A 240v twist-locks to my "must-haves" in a custom home/garage build. Welder/plasma cutter, heater, pressure washer, etc. The possibilities are endless!

 

Dude! 👀
This is what I'd do if I didn't need mine to be portable.

Since some of my neighbors saw me washing my wood garage door before I restained it, I've been able to make a few bucks here and there over the last couple of years by washing/staining their garage doors. 💵

 

Pressure Pro makes quality items, both electric and gas.

I have their gas model that is 4GPM/3500psi. You are able to chose pumps, pressures. GPM, and voltage.

 

I looked at the Greenworks models. While they have 2000+ PSI and 1 GPM, I didn't like how the motor kept running during idle.

My Greenworks does not run unless you pull the trigger. The only time it runs when not pulling the trigger is if you didn't purge all the air out of the water supply hose before turning it on.

I have a 2000psi Greenworks and perfectly happy with it for what I use it for.

I was going to buy karcher originally but it seems like their quality went down the drain.

It might be the Greenworks Pro models with the brushless motors that don't seem to have the total stop system.

The brushless Pro model does have auto start/stop.

This afternoon, I picked up the Greenworks Pro GPW2301 to try out. To be honest, I'm super impressed with the thing. It's built like a tank. The turbo nozzle included in the box works awesome.

But there are 2 other models I'm curious about. May bring those home to test out.

 

@Ware - nice setup. Didn't know you were into car detailing.

Here is my setup with an AR Blue TSS Hot. Specifically made to handle hot water. I have a Kranzle mobile unit and can say with certainty I like my AR better. Both would be the big leagues though and comparable.



I'm also running hot water to mine which makes car detailing in the winter a breeze.

I know we got sidetracked but to those interested in a long term investment - I would recommend building something similar in your garage.

 

The brushless Pro model does have auto start/stop.

This afternoon, I picked up the Greenworks Pro GPW2301 to try out. To be honest, I'm super impressed with the thing. It's built like a tank. The turbo nozzle included in the box works awesome.

But there are 2 other models I'm curious about. May bring those home to test out.

That's good to know the GPW2301 does. I mainly looked at the 2700 and 3000 PSI models and you could hear the idle noise on the video reviews. Another well-reviewed model I looked at was Ryobi's 2300 PSI model and that doesn't have the auto-stop feature, either.

 

@Ware - nice setup. Didn't know you were into car detailing.

Here is my setup with an AR Blue TSS Hot. Specifically made to handle hot water. I have a Kranzle mobile unit and can say with certainty I like my AR better. Both would be the big leagues though and comparable.



I'm also running hot water to mine which makes car detailing in the winter a breeze.

I know we got sidetracked but to those interested in a long term investment - I would recommend building something similar in your garage.

So glad you posted this. I have been putting off the purchase and gone back and forth with the Kranzle a few times. :thumbup:

 

@Ware - nice setup. Didn't know you were into car detailing.

Here is my setup with an AR Blue TSS Hot. Specifically made to handle hot water. I have a Kranzle mobile unit and can say with certainty I like my AR better. Both would be the big leagues though and comparable.



I'm also running hot water to mine which makes car detailing in the winter a breeze.

I know we got sidetracked but to those interested in a long term investment - I would recommend building something similar in your garage.

So glad you posted this. I have been putting off the purchase and gone back and forth with the Kranzle a few times. :thumbup:

That's why I love this community!

Matt doesn't sell the ARRTSS-HOT - in fact in his testing (which I found valuable) he says that the HOT isn't even necessary as the regular TSS can handle pretty high temps.

I spoke to AR Blue NA and they hands down told me the guts are beefed up on the "HOT" model and actually showed me what part #s were different between the two.

Check out kleenrite corp - they have the best price. if your really interested in this setup I can send you my invoices - I even made Matt's Mosmatic gun setup (at a fraction of what he charges).

I'm kind of a car detailing nut first and then lawn care nut second!