2500psi vs 3100 psi pressure washer?

I've got permission to buy a pressure washer from HF. The two options are the gas powered ones at 2500 and 3100psi. They're $90 apart price wise so I'm wondering if I really need that extra 600 psi. This is mostly for pressure washing the vinyl siding on the house and spraying off cars after rallycross and cleaning super gross car parts. 

You’re really going to appreciate that 600psi when washing  a chassis.  

Edit: $369?  Get a real one.  I have the Generac one wash that has 4 settings up to 3100psi and it’s a monster, and menards is doing their 11% rebate through today, which gives you $43 to spend later on more tools.  

https://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/outdoor-power-equipment/pressure-washers-accessories/genrac-reg-onewash-trade-2000-3100-variable-psi-pressure-washer/p-1444431297344.htm

fyi that generac at menards uses the same chinese honda clone engine as the predator from harbor freight. same pump too. 

looks like the generac and predator both have the same warranty.

if you buy a harbor freight gift card from one of the various resellers you can get an additional 10%-12% off. https://www.cardcash.com/buy-gift-cards/discount-harbor-freight-tool-cards/ or https://www.giftcardgranny.com/buy-gift-cards/harbor-freight-tools/

Looks like northern tool has a highly rated similar one on sale for $300 right now, https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200664483_200664483 add coupon code "257137" for $20 off for a total of $280 w/ free shipping. hard to beat that

if you want the absolute best, find one with a genuine honda engine and a CAT pump. you are probably looking at $700-$900+ for one of those though.

old_ said:

fyi that generac at menards uses the same chinese honda clone engine as the predator from harbor freight. same pump too. 

looks like the generac and predator both have the same warranty.

if you buy a harbor freight gift card from one of the various resellers you can get an additional 10%-12% off. https://www.cardcash.com/buy-gift-cards/discount-harbor-freight-tool-cards/ or https://www.giftcardgranny.com/buy-gift-cards/harbor-freight-tools/

Looks like northern tool has a highly rated similar one on sale for $300 right now, https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200664483_200664483 add coupon code "257137" for $20 off for a total of $280 w/ free shipping. hard to beat that

if you want the absolute best, find one with a genuine honda engine and a CAT pump. you are probably looking at $700-$900+ for one of those though.

 

I was hunting for pressure washers and wanted to be cheap and buy the harbor freight electric one.

ou just spent 280 of my money....

Gonna head pver tomorrow after church and grab one.

You can always turn one down. It's hard to turn them up when they are already turned up all the way.

Moss off the sidewalk or driveway needs full pressure to move fast.

I have $200 in HF gift cards from Christmas, so that was driving me toward the HF ones. How often do these go on sale? 

3600. Because more is always better. 

I bought a Generac Model 7019  3100 PSI washer last fall from Walmart on line. I had it delivered for less than $300.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

I have $200 in HF gift cards from Christmas, so that was driving me toward the HF ones. How often do these go on sale? 

 

Check http://www.hfqpdb.com, there might be a coupon out 

Can't seem to find a current coupon for the 3100psi model, coupon code 15025750 brings the 2500psi one down to $249

Edit: found one for the 3100psi unit. Coupon code 14615682 brings it down to $349.99

Costco has one made by Subaru. I think it is 3600 psi. It is less than $300. I have one and it works great. 

Ill let y'all know how the northern 3100 psi does. Leaving there with it in the bed of the truck now.

I’ve done enough damage with a 2500 psi  unit.

I was nice and content with my standard consumer grade 2k something psi pressure washer, then i used the slightly larger one at work, now the smaller one i have seems like a garden hose. 

Go for the larger one. Any worries about the HF pressure washer, just get the warranty. 

Holy carp, are these things really this expensive? I’ve been using the same electric one for 25 years and got two free gas powered ones over the past few months. 

I understand the gift card but I have the northern tool unit and it is great. It always works. 

So i said earlier that we would see how the previously mentioned northern 3100psi unit dors.

This thing is berkeleying amazing.  Stripped plastidip and 23 years of grime with the 15 degree nozzle without issue. Blasted the mildew and moss and dirt out of the grout and rock on the retaining wall.  And stripped paint off the deck.  Best pressure washer ive ever used.

I have that Northern Tools one, now with a harbor freight engine thanks to a fuel float failure. 

The one feature that would sway my away from any of these is the ability to use the wheeled floor washing attachment that Northern sells. It requires 4gpm and 3500psi and I want one badly enough to seriously wish I had a bigger pressure washer.

I used to sell these things.

PSI sells machines but it's way less important than GPM.

Think about it. A garden hose at 30psi vs a fire hose at 30psi. Which one will do more cleaning?

One of the best machines we used to sell was 500PSI at 5GPM. I used to put a rotary nozzle on one and cut a sheet of door skin plywood as a demonstration.

Always buy the one with a higher volume (gpm) rating.

Zombie thread, canoe deleted

dean1484 said:

Costco has one made by Subaru. I think it is 3600 psi. It is less than $300. I have one and it works great. 

I can second this. Mine will strip POR 15 off your hotus.

Honestly PSI is not going to be worth it. You will want a higher GPM for both applications. We do [canoe power washing] and started with a harbour freight $329 pressure washer and moved up.

With vinyl siding you are going to just get one of those downstream injector things to spray straight bleach on the siding. You can let it sit for about 10 minutes and rinse. No need to pressure.

As for a car, as long as there is no grease or oil you will be fine. If there is oil you can downstream a chemical called EBC or put a little head through the hose. Don't go to hot or you will blow your seals. Those pumps are not professional grade btw.

It all depends on what you're wanting to do with it. I bought my Dad a nice gas one some years back and really liked it, but when it came time to pick one up for myself, I grabbed some amazon gold box deal for an "AR Blue Clean 1900psi" electric unit. Why?  I've already got a ton of gas powered objects that need maintenance/winterizing/attention, and for something that's not getting used daily, it made more sense. Sure, a 3000psi+ gas pressure washer would make whitening my patio quicker, but also I wouldn't haul it out for the occasional car wash or small job like I do now.

We just got into [power washing canoes] and we use 2500 PSI with hot water to clean. Honestly when it comes to a car, hot water and a good soap is better than PSI. 

I think we've had enough canoes here to lock this thread.