Please Don't Make the Mistake of Buying the Wrong Pressure Washer, Read This First...
Gas Powered Pressure Washers: When Electric Just Isn't Enough
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In the comedic sitcom world of Home Improvement, the main character's "big thing" was more power; he would try to increase the power to every tool he had to unsafe levels. Now, if you've got an electric pressure washer and ever felt the need to do the same thing, STOP. Instead of performing surgery on your pressure washer, hoping to squeeze every last bit of PSI from the hose, why don't you try the simpler solution: upgrade.
When electric pressure washers no longer cut it, the next step up are gas powered washers. Obviously, instead of being powered by electricity they are powered by gas. This leads to several advantages, and disadvantages, over electric models. The first and most obvious benefit is power. If you're looking for 1500+ psi from your pressure washer, odds are you'll be looking at gas models. The time savings from the additional power could be huge, depending on your application. For most wood decks, a 15 electric minute job would take about 7 minutes with a gas powered pressure washer. Vinyl exteriors? Don't even attempt that with an electric. When you want to play with the big boys, gas is your only hope.
As an added benefit, you'll no longer be limited by how far your machine's power cord is. You can simply move the pressure washer to where you need it to go. However, this leads us to our next point: size. The largest of gas powered pressure washers for the biggest jobs are usually attached to trailers! Kind of a pain to move those when you need to move the truck that the trailer is attached to.
However, the largest downside of using a gas powered machine is simply the amount of gas used. A 2000psi commercial grade machine can consume up to 3 gallons of gas per minute! With the cost of gas these days, that machine might cost you $6 a minute to use! Of course, a large commercial grade machine will do the job 4x faster than an entry level electric machines, and for some jobs well you're just stuck with the cost. This is definitely something you should consider if you're concerned with long term cost of use.
Clearly, a gas powered pressure washer isn't right for everyone. It's loud, has enough power to damage fragile surfaces, and drinks gas like water. However, if you need the power and don't mind the gas consumption, the gas powered machine might be your only choice.
NAVAGATION