Which of these undesirable pressure washers would you choose if forced to?

Newbie Questions
1

So Im not going to sugar coat it. I have to eat a poop sandwich or a fart burger. I know you guys dont like new people blowing in here, asking questions that are easily answered by searching and having thin skin so what i will do is i will present you with my problem and tell you the research that i have done and you can chime in with advice or a good tongue lashing if i have missed a post that perfectly answers my question.

I am in Alaska. My budget exceeds these machines I will be showing you but not much locally is available new or even used. Shipping is out of the question so far as no one wants to ship stuff up here. I am currently researching barges that could potentially deliver bigger equipment for me but so far it is not looking good unless i am down there with a vehicle and bring the pressure washer back in it.

Looking locally I have a home depot and a few mom and pop hardware stores. I have been looking through a lot of these posts but had not made an account until recently, but have definitely been busy reading posts and theres still a ton to learn so im not stopping any time soon.

I am currently budgeting/pricing out everything and the biggest issue im having is the pressure washer itself. I am able to get a whisper wash ultra bought and delivered up here for about 720$ So far i have not been able to find any 10-12% SH because we have no pool supply store…or walmart unfortunately. I have found 7.75% Bleach at Home depot and might have to use that for a while until i figure out the Concentrated SH solution. I will check with the one agricultural store tomorrow as they are closed today for a last ditch effort. Amazon wants 60$ for 4 gallons which i consider to be highway robbery and not conducive to a profit.

The good news is that I only have like 3 businesses that are here and the population is about 30,000 so i think theres room for me to work myself in. This town is known for its shoddy contractors and terrible customer service because frankly…they are the only place in town so i feel that with a little soft touch, personal skills, and decent equipment i might be able to make some serious money and be able to scale quite a bit long term.

Ok, so the biggest pressure washers available locally are 4 gallons a minute and around 4000psi. Regrettably two of these three at least i have seen made fun of in these very forums so with hat in hand, i genuinely am asking which you would choose to start with if you had no other choice.

The three that i found are…

4400 PSI 4.0 GPM Gas Cold Water Pressure Washer with DEWALT 420cc Engine

# BE BE4040-HGD Pressure Washer w/ Honda Engine & General Pump, 4000psi, 4.0 GPM

STIHL RB 800

I included links to their specs to make things easier for you and to show you that i am willing to put in work and research as well, just need a little help from all of you guys because clearly you know much more than me.

The Price of the BE and Stihl are 1600$. The Dewalt is 879. Reading on here both the BE and dewalt brands are not great. I have read that honda engines are more desirable engines though. The BE at least has a honda engine on it so I am unsure of which way to go with all these inferior products. The Stihl is a newcomer to me to the equation as i just discovered it but have known the Stihl brand from using chainsaws and leaf blowers and they are pretty good quality in that regard so i would assume (probably wrong) that their quality would extend to pressure washers.

Im sorry for writing such a long post but figured the more information i gave you the better shot i had at getting a thoughtful response and if you read this far id like to thank you for your time. At this point im dreading the responses as i would expect you guys to say to wait to start working for yourself until you can go down south and buy better equipment nut who knows…im wrong pretty often :rofl:

Once again, thank you for your time reading this and i hope to hear your input soon.

-J

P.S. Before you even ask…i have my business license and have priced out my general liability (1 million) insurance and have it ready to rock and roll for 88$ a month when i have all my ducks in a row!

3 Likes
2

Buy used

3

Where at in Alaska?

Is there any way at all you could find a Honda GX390 with a busted pump or whatever, then have the gearbox and 5.5gpm pump shipped from the lower 48 or a used belt drive from Anchorage even?

Really though you could do well with a 4/4 you mentioned, just takes longer.

1 Like
4

Grab the BE 4040, decent engine and pump, start making money

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5

Some of the BE are made in Canada. Start looking there.
Otherwise justvstart with one and buy parts and build yourself the ine you want.

6

I live in Juneau. Thats 600ish miles as the crow flies from me and unfortunately I am land locked here. 3 ways into Juneau…plane, boat, birth canal :grin:

I have looked on craigslist for that model as well as ebay. I am seeing one and only one motor that would be 1000$ shipped. Im not sure if thats a good deal or not so maybe you could help me with what prices i should be looking at for those parts? I would appreciate it. I will start looking through old posts for a reference point for prices as well. Maybe over the next year or so I can get lucky and piece something together like what was mentioned.

I really feel that while its an initial setback, this is actually good news for business as we live in such a wet and miserable environment, i see all sorts of moss on roofs and mildewey vinyl houses. Theres gold in these hills i tell ya!

I forgot to mention there was 3 hotsy pressure washers but i from what i have read unless im washing commercial parking lots i have very little need for them.

7

Don’t buy anything yet. Do your research, make sure you can get decent 10-12% bleach, make sure there’s even a market for such a service there in such a small town. Are you even allowed to use bleach there?

I made the grave mistake of moving from the DC area to a small 25k population town 75 miles away and four years later I still couldn’t make a decent living despite a high level of experience.

2 Likes
8

Overall all 3 are crap, but they’ll get you started. if I had to get one I would go with the one with the best warranty, all 3 pumps will be toast in a year.

9

So far from contacting city hall and EPA as long as I’m not directly spraying stuff into a water source like a lake,river,ocean I am ok. I have left a message with the director of water specializing in storm drainage to check base with him as well but so far, it seems promising.

On the legal side I’ve gotten my business license, set up a business credit card and bank account as well as have that general liability insurance quote ready to roll when I finally DO buy stuff. There’s still snow and crud on the ground so I have a little but of time left before people start summer cleaning.

I mean at the very least I’m going to be able to write off household equipment such as a shed/pressure washer/leaf blower etc so it can’t be all that bad right? :joy:

The SH is a bit of a problem. I have sourced 8% for 5 dollars a gallon locally but have struck out with the agriculture store as well as local swimming pool as they don’t use liquid for their chlorine unfortunately.

10

Honda all the way! The cool thing about GX390’s is you can find lightly used, garage kept homeowner-owned engines for cheap if you get lucky. Whatever you’re looking to do with it, there are great pumps out there if you look for them.

11

The good news is a found a new GX390…but its attached to a BE professional model. I also cant find much information on the pump model. Its a comet Triplex pump but has a warranty for 3 years on engine and 5 years on pump for 1529$

At this point its the only honda gx390 in the area so…do i just go with this one or go ultra cheap with the Homedepot model?

12

I started with a GX390 and GP pump 5 yrs ago. They still work and are now my back up. 8% will do everything you need it to, it just might take higher concentrations in your mix. Having been fortunate enough to have been to AK several times (not Juneau) I would think the spring cleaning would be a great market, not to mention boats etc. and every other thing that gets mud and snow covered. So everything. Good chance the Honda outlasts the pump, if so you can order a gear drive and udor pump so you can use a buffer tank. BTW, a direct drive can run off a buffer tank, I’ve done it. Good luck with your venture, I think you can kill it.

1 Like
13

Do you have Benjamin More or Sherwin Williams near you? Here they sell some semiprofessional machines with 4gpm or 4.5gpm and the prices not to bad.

14

Is the Sherwin Williams one designed to discolor the paint of other paint manufacturers when you softwash? :joy:

15

I DO have a sherwin williams and just got off the phone with them. To be honest i never even thought that they would have pressure washers.

They have two models available.

Troybilt 4200 and
job pro 4000

I am doing research on these now but figured id share that news with you. Not sure about either brand as ive never used them

16

Troybilt is Northern star - no good
Job pro is mi t m - better choice.
See maybe than can work a deal for you in form of a kit with a surface washer and some hose ( don’t get the telescopic wand, I use aluminium extensions).
Good luck!!

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17

Just on their own paint!!!

18

Nothing notable there then…every manufacturers systems do that :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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19

They both were under 4gpm and that was kind of a dealbreaker. Also I have ordered a whisper wash 16in online so i ended up pulling the trigger on the only one in town with a honda motor.

BE Commercial 4200PSI @4GPM
Honda GX390
Pump Comet ZWD-K 4042 Triplex
Direct Drive as thats the only pony in town im afraid
Out the door right at 1600$

1600 for PW
700 for whisperwash pro, Hoses, and quick connects (shipping was rediculous)
I am starting to feel it in the wallet department. It is no longer a pipe dream, but becoming a reality.

My starting budget is 3000$ and I am working on my website and business cards currently. After that I will have enough money to probably Put some vinyl lettering on the truck and see what happens when snow starts melting :stuck_out_tongue:

3 Likes
20

I still have a be machine belt driven 3 year old that still works. I think is a good choice.