power washers?

the northern tools washers all seem to get good reviews. i have a hot water electric powered washer that is more trouble than it was worth. when it is working right the hot water makes a difference, but it got to be so aggravating that i just went & bought a new pump for my gas powered cold water one. i didn't buy either one from northern,but i will the next one.just my .02.

 

IMO yes, the heat will remove a lot of stuff like grease that cold can't. Also I've noticed with hot water you don't need as much pressure. I wouldn't own another gas powered washer after having electric. less than half the noise, almost zero maintenance. I have mine on a wireless switch so I can turn it on and off from the other side of the truck. If your doing a lot of engine washing I recommend a washer/steamer but their a little more expensive. My neighbor has a 4000 PSI hot washer and it's overkill, will literally cut air lines in two. Works great for stripping paint though. Mine's only 1k psi, if I was to buy another I'd at least go for 1500-2k.

 

I have one of these
http://www.delco-cleaning.com/Product PDF Pages/Versa Steam Series 1-1-2008.pdf

that is 30 years old. Purchased it off craigslist.
The orginal pump puts out less then the 1000 advertised PSI. With the burner on cleans better than my 3500 psi cold washer.
I wash some nasty, greasy parts than have not seen daylight since about the same time my delco was made. Wash it once and it is clean ready for disassembly, handling and machine work.

 

My first pressure washer came from home depot 2500 psi. I thought it worked well. Used it for 2 years. Neighbor borrowed it and never saw it again. Last summer I replaced it with a unit from Northern Tool. Paid around $350 delivered (both are gas). This one rated 500 psi more than the home depot, it will cut anything the other one wouldnt. Glad the neighbor borrowed the old one.

Northern Tool 3000 psi washer

Hot water you only really need something about 2500 psi. Like some one else mentioned, 4000# and your cutting hoses and peeling paint. Not something you want to do on our rigs. Steam is nice, yet you need to remember, if you live where it may freeze? One winter of poor winterization and you will be replacing more than just the pump. The heater coils are often more than the original unit.

 

RW,
Am posting on here so I remember this tomorrow. Where I use to work we had a diesel/electric & the heat cleaned most anything. The dealer was nearby us, well closer to Decatur, IL I think. Will see if they are still around tomorrow & get the contact info.

 

If you do any thing off road or that gets muddy you have to wash you need more water, like something with 4 to 5 gpm. it removes dirt faster than than higher pressure with less water. i went from 2.5 gpm # 2500 psi to 4 # 3000 and cut my wash time from 2.5 hrs to 1 hrs for truck and trailer. get the down stream injector and get after it.