Painting and Decorating Concourse
734-464-3883
SM
Choosing Your Power Washer
The pressure washer is a primary tool used for surface preparation by painting contractors. Water under high pressure will remove loose paint with the swipe of the wand. Chalk and dirt are blasted off without the need for heavy scrubbing.
If you are looking to buy a machine the things you will primarily look for is PSI ( force of the water under pressure) and GPM ( flow rate measured in gallons per minute).
Pressure Washers
selecting a pressure washer
The advantages of the electric pressure washers are:
- Easy start - you don’t have to pull start a stubborn engine that just refuses to run. With electric washers, you simply plug them in.
- No engine maintenance. Electric motors don’t have the maintenance issues (oil changing, new plug) that gas engines have.
- Lightweight. Very portable, you can hand carry some units like you would a brief case, they are that light. Some heavier models are equipped with wheels (they are still easily carried) for rolling around.
- No exhaust fumes. No emissions to be concerned with using an electric motor driven washer. Your breath clean air when using an electric washer.
- Price. Electric pressure washers are very inexpensive. You can get a decent machine for under $200. This is the primary motive for most who buy an electric model.
Gas Pressure Washers
This is the workhorse of the house painting trade. Even though hot water is more effective for cleaning some types of grime (greasy and oily), if you use a good detergent , you will have no problems with a cold water washer, and not have to deal with the bulkiness and extra weight of a hot water model.
Weight
The FIRST thing I look at when buying a pressure washer is the weight of the machine. Even before I look at PSI, I know that if I can't get it on the truck by myself , I can't use it. I will usually go straight to the direct drive pressure washers because they are always lighter than the direct drive models. You can buy ramps for certain trailers and vehicles ( the lawn mowing contractors use them to get their mowers loaded ), so if you need a big heavy pressure washer for your desired use, it is doable. Also, if you work with someone, two people of course will be able to load a heavier machine. But if you usually work alone and the ramps aren't going to work for you then weight is a primary concern.
Using a ramp
A bigger and heavier washer can be loaded and unloaded from a van or pick up truck using a vehicle ramp. This is the only way to get a real heavy machine in and out of the truck.
Direct Drive or Belt
You will see the virtues of both being listed as something like this: Belt Drive results in less wear and tear on the pump because the belt/pulley assembly reduces the high RPM of the engine to a lower RPM ratio so that the pump turns slower resulting in less wear on the pump bearings and seals etc.... Direct Drive is simpler with less moving parts. Is cheaper ........... Fifteen years ago the only type of pressure washer you could buy was a belt driven washer. Today there are probably more direct drive models (in the 2000 PSI - 3000 PSI range which is optimal for pre-paint preparation of residential house painting and house washing) than belt driven models. I think the reason for this is supply and demand. Consumers have voted by their purchasing habits - consumer demand has converted the manufactures over to direct drive machines. I have both direct and belt drive versions. I think for most residential painting contractors and home owners the direct drive is the way to go.
Advantages of Direct Drive Pressure Washers:
1. Cheap You can get a 2500 PSI unit that is easily handled by one person for less than you'd think. I have a North Star 2600 PSI model that I have had for three or four years and I have not had one problem with this unit. It starts easy (Honda Engine), I have never had a seal leak on this washer yet. 2. No belts to break: Prior to the North Star model I had a belt driven model that would beak a belt at a pace of about once a month ( I converted the single belt drive that it came with to a heavy duty dual belt pulley system to help alleviate this problem), I don't know if all owners of belt driven pressures washers have this same problem or if it was my machine only. These days you can get some serious PSI and GPM with direct drive machines. 3. Lightweight: The first place to go for a lightweight machine that can be handled by one person should be the direct drive section of the pressure washer store. Look at the listed weight of the machine before you buy - be sure you can handle it or want to handle it after a long day of washing when it comes time to load it up onto the truck.
Hot or Cold Water
Hot water machines are best for greasy types of dirt and more suitable for industrial or commercial cleaning. As a residential painting contractor, I never felt the need for a hot water model. A machine with enough PSI and a chemical injector attachment is usually all most residential cleaning jobs require. But if your cleaning jobs will be in greasy, oily environments ( such as gas stations, or auto mechanic repair shops etc..) then, a hot water unit might be a good choice.
In summary:
If you are going to use the pressure washer for residential pre-paint preparation and residential house cleaning, I would recommend a direct drive, cold water, gas operated pressure washer in the 2000 - 3000 PSI range and 2.5 - 4.0 GPM range. This type of pressure washer should be sufficient for your jobs in a residential setting.
Our "terms of use" governs your use of our website; by using our website, you accept this disclaimer in full. If you disagree with any part of our "terms of use", do not use our website.
Gas & Electric Pressure Washers
The Internet Paint Store
 | ||||
The most popular machines on the web!!!
Karcher Pressure Washers
Pressure Washer Accesssories
Karcher power washers and accessories
| ||||
Pressure Washers and Accessories
at
The Internet Paint Store
| ||||
Extend the reach of your pressure washer with a telescoping pole
copyright Paint-N-Stain Inc. / Terms of Use
©
Other factors to consider are whether you want direct drive or belt drive, hot or cold water, gas or electric model, and finally you must consider the weight of the machine and how you are going to get in on and off the truck ( if you are a contractor) as well as ease of moving it around - including up and down stairs and terrain occasionally.
Gas or Electric
Electric pressure washers as a rule, are very lightweight, and intended light cleaning duty washers. I would recommend a gas model for most uses and users. For pre-paint preparation you want to be in the 2000 - 3000 PSI range, with the flow rate in the 2.5 - 4.0 range.
Electric Pressure Washers
The electric pressure washers are not suitable for water blasting. They don’t have enough output for paint preparation, even though some models will supply enough pressure (the lower range of acceptable PSI) they don’t run enough GPM (gallons per minute). The cleaning effectiveness of a pressure washer is arrived at by the following formula: PSI X GPM = Cleaning Effectiveness. Most electric pressure
washers are in the 1.5 GPM range, you really need to be around 3 GPM or better for most exterior paint preparation. Also, most electric pressure washers are in the 1000 - 1800 PSI range, you really need to be in the 2000 - 3000 psi range for prepaint water blasting.
What electric pressure washers are best suited for is household light job cleaning. The type of jobs they are most often used for is for cleaning cars, Rvs, bikes, vinyl siding, aluminum siding (not pre-paint prep of aluminum), barbeques, pools, driveways, etc… Electric pressure washers are made with a lot of plastic parts (instead of metal, brass, aluminum etc…) which won’t hold up under heavy use of hard cleaning chores.
Karcher Gas Pressure Washer
| ||||
The Internet Paint Store
Return to
