Did I make the right choice?

[fronty 14]

I purchased a 2550psi 2.3 gallon Troybuilt pressure washer from Lowes. It has a Briggs and Stratton engine. I want to clean my drive way, fence, siding, etc... with it. I know my concrete will not look perfect when done, but I can't justify spending the money to buy an industrial grade pressure washer. Well, there was another Troybuilt 2500psi with a Honda engine that was only $20 more. I guess I'm having buyers remorse right now. Also, for about $100 more I could have bought a 3000 PSI w/ Briggs in Stratton engine. Which one of these would you recommend or should I find a better deal somewhere?

All of these are at Lowes and are Troybuilt.

2550psi Briggs and Stratton engine $279

2500psi Honda Engine $299

3000psi Briggs and Stratton engine $389

3000psi Honda Engine $449

The reason I am buying from Lowes is because I have a 10 percent off coupon. I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Also, are Honda engines a lot better? Is the difference between a 2500 and 3000psi washer significantly noticeable? Worth the extra money??? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I just need to know what to look for.

[Jarrod 22]

Yes, I am a homeowner. I looked over some pictures on this site, and I didn't really expect results anywhere near that. So, are you saying that you are okay with substandard results? I tried cleaning things today with it. I think I did damage my fence a little bit, but it still looks clean. I just tried it on a couple of boards where no one could really see it. I was using a short up and down motion and I believe it left some scarring on it. I then switched to a sweeping motion and it worked better. I did by some chemicals, but it uses quite a bit relatively quickly. I was wondering if I was supposed to dilute it before sticking the intake tube into it. I know you guys probably do exceptional work that I couldn't accomplish on this system. However, I am happy with what it achieves. The only thing is that it takes a while to clean things. I am just using the 25 degree tip, but I have to be really close to the concrete to get the dirt out (no chemicals. I may end up hiring a professional, but I would still like to have one of these for maintenance. It makes cleaning the algae out of my pond a snap.

Well, what do you guys suggest for a homeowner? Which one of these is the best fit? I mean these things can't be worthless or they would have stopped selling them due to the amount of returns. People probably don't know what actual results they could get from a pro, but I'm sure these things do something.

Actually, those things are worthless. That's why everyone that buys one is letting it collect dust in their garage. Please don't think that I'm being harsh, I'm just trying to save you a lot of headaches, some money & some damage.

[Jarrod 22]

BTW, if Fronty is still reading this; I'm not trying to do a sales job on you, but make the point that you cannot dig a swimming pool with a teaspoon. And the home centers like lowes make a living marketing teaspoons to would be pool owners. I was deadly serious about people like you being my best customers. Obviously, you are smart or you wouldn't be here. And obviously you're not cheap, because you just dropped $300 on a cleaning tool. Once you have done this a few times, damaged a few things, and seen first hand the labor and expense involved, you will have a new appreciation for why people who own PWers still hire pros.

You mentioned that your unit used alot of chemicals? That's another reason it pays to hire it out. To do the job right does take alot of chemicals. Once you back out the chems, the price of a professional cleaning isn't nearly as expensive as it seems.

FWIW, because of a career change I got out of the business this spring and sold all my equipment. In the future, I will be calling on a local pro to do my own house. Why? The right tools are too expensive to keep laying around for an annual cleaning and the HD stuff is a waste of money.

You asked how home depot can keep selling PW'ers? Because every year there are new home owners who haven't bought one.

AMEN!!! Now pass the offering plate around!

[schrec 64]

You probably are talkin to the best of the best here.

Atleast you are doin the right thing, learnin how to do it right

[PressurePros 248]

yo Shane. X-nay on da Xjetay

[Doug Dahlke 114]

Take this test. Check out the concrete at the entrance to your local big box stores. Good chance it looks pretty bad. Ask the manager who cleans it. Chances are they will tell you they have their employees do it. Their employees do the work with the machines and chems they sell and the concrete looks bad. Enough said about the cleaning power of the machines they sell.

[PLD 14]

Doug, I disagree. Around here Home Depot farms that work out to a pro. Even the one with the big tool rental store that has a 1/2 dozen any employee could grab at any time.

Wanna guess why they farm it out? So it doesn't take forever and look like crap...

[MMI Enterprises 289]

I wouldn't say they are junk for their intended purpose but that folks are under a false impression of how fast them lower gpm machines can do some jobs or how long the direct drive pumps, or accesories might last. Our commercial pumps are belt driven, built to last or be rebuilt, and satisfy many types of PWing. They can easily cost more then the machine discussed here. Although I regularly see plenty of home owners using cold washers in my neighborhood I don't forget to notice they spend hours and hours in just doing their drives and walks for them to look like a zebra. In the real world time is money so when a professionals machine has a problem that changes it's effectivness down to one of them 4 gpm or under machines they usually fix right away. Now plenty of painters prep with them small cold water washers from the box stores and they are the bread and butter of sales most likely for the stores. But thing to remember is if you'll notice they are up on dangerous ladders and are fully prepared to work with the result of what would normally be considered damage from too much pressure. If it weren't for post PWing sanding tasks and painting tasks already planned it would be a mistake to consider using them washers as they do on a house or it's trim areas. They use them to remove loose paint and some dirt prior to painting and is a whole other animal to considered compared to a home owner being allowed on the hose to do more harm then good. Also there are the plenty of gas stations sending their cheap labor out at night with them cold machines to mesh around with. I can testify how their results are kin to a horror show in them commercial situation. Not uncommon to see a guy out doing a 4k sq ft. pad for the better part of an 8 hour shift and yet gum and grease is still everywhere or there are pencil marks or vebra stripes all about. They don't get gum or grease in a commercial situation worth a darn without chemical and heat.

[Doug Dahlke 114]

Phillip,

I am speaking of a specific store in the area. Didn't want to name names. I don't doubt that some stores farm out the work for the very reasons you stated. You can easily tell which stores have it done and which ones try to do it themselves.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Did you make the right choice on the equipment? My guess is you did the best you could do with a start up budget. We stared with used, refurbished cold units, and worked our way up to new cold units and from there to commercial grade equipment. If you learn how to use the tools you have purchased with the proper safe techniques, you will be fine, and you will eventually be able to get other equipment. Never be ashamed of the tools you use, it's the service you provide with those tools that will speak volumes. ;)

Beth

[PLD 14]

Phillip,

I am speaking of a specific store in the area. Didn't want to name names. I don't doubt that some stores farm out the work for the very reasons you stated. You can easily tell which stores have it done and which ones try to do it themselves.

Yep, just like you can tell someone who tried to cut their own hair. :)