It seems every pressure washer you look at on tthe web has a “comercial” pressure washer, heck even at harbor freightt yyou can find one labeled as such,
My question is, just who are the good brands on the market, “Karcher”, hotsy, there is even one called azure blue, what is the Mitm like?
I tried to search for a list of good quality pressure washers but heck even he little plastic bodied 110 volt ones come up
so what brands are the ones to look at, ill be using it mostly for cleaning equipment like skid steer, trailers, the engine compartments on these, (so i might even look att a hot water one)
i have been looking for used, trying to find a good deal on a GOOD machine to start off with
im located in NE ga, opening a small business up here and might even put one into the rentals here
My suggestion is call Bob at Pressure Tek, or Russ at Southside
Eqipment. Tell them what you plan on cleaning and they will give
you advice from there. Best of luck!
has anyone used powerline industries equipment?? I’m looking to upgrade from my cold water 4 gpm 4500 psi to a hot water 7gpm 3000 psi trailer set up and the equipment seems comparable to Mi-T-M, Shark etc. Just wondering if anyone on here has used their set up. Thanks
Hey Tom,
My advice is to be concerned as much or more with the engine and pump brands than the company marketing to you. Stick with a Honda engine. ALWAYS.There are many good pump manufacturing companies. Go with a brand that is repairable not expendable. For service find a GOOD and EXPERIENCED LOCAL mechanic who knows pumps. (Every mechanic will TELL you they know about pumps. MANY do not.)
At that point it doesn’t matter whether you go with hotsy, karcher, or anyone in particular. Most marketing is just a deal made between a brand and the makers of the engine and pump and then it’s put on a nice frame and viola- a ‘commercial’ pressure washer. I would recommend a minimum of 3000 psi (3500 would be better) and 4 gpm. MORE gpm is better. Less is NOT enough. My business focuses ONLY on serving residential customers for their ‘hardscape’ (driveway, patio, deck, sport court etc.) surfaces. So, I don’t do roofs, gutters, or buildings. A good SURFACE CLEANER is paramount. Each nozzle on the spray arm needs at least 2 gpm. Therefore a 4 gpm surface cleaner can service a spray arm with 2 nozzles. Many companies now offer a 3 arm nozzle. That’s just fine but now you’d need a 6 gpm pump to serve each nozzle at 2 gpm. A 6 gpm pump will be harder to find and WAY more expensive. I’m NOT convinced a 3 nozzle spray arm does better than a 2 nozzle. All my surface cleaners are BE but there are other good brands as well. You WILL replace the swivel at some point. They do wear out. Buy a surface cleaner that is durable. They are your workhorse. I have two BE stainless steel units. Indestructible.
For all that, I DO have a brand I prefer, LANDA. They’re expensive but high quality. I’ve always bought them used on craigslist by watching EVERY day (early on I did that for 3 years). I became familiar with what a ‘good deal’ looked like, kept to my Honda and repairable pump concept, and continued to buy up and improve my equipment every year. I got killer deals on used LANDA pressure washers because I was patient and waited for a great deal. I paid $1,100 for a used LANDA that puts out 3500 psi, 6 gpm, belt driven, with a 20 hp Honda engine, electric start, on wheels (I don’t think you can find a more powerful machine that is still portable). It took me years to get there but I have 2 of everything so I never have down time on any job. I look forward to EVERY job and LOVE the instant gratification that pressure washing brings me and my customers. It’s not my property but when you make something look fantastic that looked crappy two hours ago— that’s great! Good luck starting and growing your business.
BTW - a call to some of the companies selling on the web that service our industry would be wise. Shoot the bull with them about gear and you’ll learn a lot but they will all be brand loyal so filter out the bias. Determine the particular gear you need for the services you’ll be offering.
thanks, there is a trade show here now, there are several manufactures here, there is one out of canada that seems pretty well built, easy kleen they use Italian made pump, ill be sure to see if all these pumps are serviceable, some have plastic adjustable pressure and unloader, some have fixed brass,
and some have honda and some have kohler gas engine,even on the hot water pressure washers, I see it is hard to keep to the 4gl per minute on the smaller models, many are 3.5 3 and 3;7 on the hot water ones they all seem to be at the 3.5 gl, im being told its because of keeping the water hot, Makes sense, one company mentioned they make a dual burner for anything more than 3.5gpm
Mitm , shark, easy kleen, pressure pro, and a couple others are here, in not sure about mitm, thhey seem o be all over craigslist here at a big range or prices, sees when CL is over loader itt is usually not a very good product, but hat is all i have to go by
I highly recommend Powerwashstore.com. I emailed them and asked for a specific machine not on their site. They answered all my questions and provided me with exactly what I wanted. Bob stopped replying to me after my second email.
