Will someone with experience please help me choose a PW supplier?

So I need help deciding who to buy from. I’ve pretty much narrowed it down too pressure-tek, power wash store, kec supplies, and southside based on what people recommend here.

I’m looking at 3000-3500 psi/ 8 gpm cold water belt drive machines with Honda engines. My budget is around 3-4000, preferably on the lower/ middle of that range.

I’m leaning towards Pressure Pro but I’m also considering the Water Dragon from Power Wash Store.

I’m cleaning mostly residential, house washing and concrete. But I do have a few commercial concrete jobs I do already, and I could definitely get more if I tried. It’s just not something I’ve been actively pursuing.

I realize a lot of these machines are pretty much the same for the most part. My main concerns the type/ quality of the:
-Pump
-Unloader
-Is it hot box ready (I plan to add one at the end of the year)
-How sturdy is the frame (I see that the Pressure Pro units come with life time warranties on the frame)
-Warranties in general ( You can’t understate the benefit of a good warranty)

One of my other main concerns is that since I’m buying online, I want to make sure that if I receive a damaged/ defective machine that whoever I buy it from has my back and will take care of me.

I’m looking at these units in particular but am open to any suggestions.

Southside
http://shop.pressurewasherky.us/Pressure-Pro-8-GPM-3000-PSI-Belt-Drive-PPVB8030.htm
http://shop.pressurewasherky.us/Pressure-Pro-8-GPM-3500-PSI-Belt-Drive-PPVB8035.htm

Pressure-Tek
http://pressuretek.com/bedr8gpm35ps.html

Power Wash Store

http://www.powerwashstore.com/P/1703/Pro-MaxSeries8.0-3000NoB8030HGEA406
http://www.powerwashstore.com/P/1705/Pro-MaxSeries8.0-3500NoB8035HAEA406
http://www.powerwashstore.com/P/1706/Pro-MaxSeries8.0-3500NoB8035HGEA406

KEC
I just realized that KEC is a little more expensive for what I think are basically the same machines so I’ll just leave it at that for now.

I like the Water Dragon based the gx690 engine and Udor pump. Alot of these machines come with General Pumps which my research shows are good starter pumps but will need to be rebuilt after 1000 hours or so ( I could be wrong, that’s just what I read.)

I would really appreciate honest unbiased feedback. I know a lot of people here have they’re preferred suppliers.

If there are any manufacturers/ distributors on the forum this is a great chance to sell me on why you’re better than the competition. I plan to buy reels, hoses, misc supplies, and chems also. And as long as the first transaction goes smooth I’ll most likely buy everything from the same place in the future.

I’ve dealt with Bob from Pressure-Tek before and I know he has great customer service and really cares about his customers. I bought just one measly little turbo nozzle from him 3 days before I needed it and he had it expedited to me even though he only offers standard ground shipping.

Alright… so I know that’s long winded but this is a big decision for me.

If @Innocentbystander or @Tim4 are around I like reading your comments and trust what you have to say.

Thanks in advance to any one willing to chime in.

Oh and Happy Easter

Edit: I found this thread and I know shi*t happens but it kind of worries me.

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Russ and Bob have pretty much the same deal. Both are dropped shipped from pressure pro. Decent machine but cheap pump, cheap muffler and cheap unloader. Water dragon has udor so much better but still cheap unloader and muffler. All are on a sub par skid and all but inaccessible means to service belts. All are ok but none are great so if it was down to preference of vendors it would be pressuretek then waterdragon. I am lucky that i have a landa dealer that realized nothing commercially available held up to commercial applications and built his own line.

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I use Bob for pretty much everything and bought my 8 @ 3500 pressure pro from him as well. But in hindsight, I wish I would have went with the water dragon and the Udor pump.

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Thanks for chiming in. I would love to buy a landa. I have a local dealer but I just can’t afford it.

Would you say that the water dragon is potentially a better buy then because of the pump and the fact that it ships directly from pws?

Thanks man. Much appreciated. I’m leaning in that direction.

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The power wash store has free shipping whereas Bob doesn’t on the machines. So factor that into your price.

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I was just looking into that. Thanks again. I’ve pretty much decided on the Water Dragon at this point.

Do the muffler an unloader really make that much of a difference? I’m assuming I could have a different unloader installed if it’s worth it.

PWS actually offers a k7 unloader for a slight upcharge. But I read that it’s not good for DSing. thoughts?

Personally, I wouldn’t give too much worry about upgrading the unloader right now. Down the road you can upgrade to a zeromatic for a little over $100

Water cannon will match any competitor and they have all the same p.w stuff and a little cheaper. Free shipping to

I know this is a old thread but I thought id see which one you went with. I’m pretty much going through the same research and options. This is the one I’m debating Water Dragon electric pressure washer 8gpm @ 3500psi | FREE SHIPPING | Electric Power Washer | Honda GX690 Engine | UDOR Pump | Power Wash Store
The idea of a gear drive seems nice because it’s a little more compact as well as not messing with belts going bad. I’m not even sure how often that happens to be honest.

Any suggestions to what you picked or maybe wished you would have got later.

I have this same unit. I love it. We haven’t had any problems with it. Call Shaun at the Power Wash Store in Nashville.

Don’t let that distract you from the fact that your machine causes cancer in California.

prop%2065

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I think California causes cancer in California. The politicians and their followers in California are like a cancer for the whole country in my opinion.

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I just bought a new brush and belts for my Oreck vacuum and had to peel a sticker off the brush that had that same prop 65 label. How much plastic, ink and money will be wasted by this ridiculous law? I honestly wish vendors would just revolt against CA and stop selling merch there. Then maybe the people would wake up. We have a Briggs & Stratton factory where I live and they have two lines, one for building California motors and another for building motors for the rest of the country. SMH

It’s crazy. They’ve ruined Colorado also. I would love to go back to Colorado that’s the one place our family agrees on but their epa laws are crazy.

Do you know how long the gear drives are supposed to last on a machine like this? I would assume if you change the oil it would last quite a while.

I think this is a debate that could go around and around…gear drive vs belt drive. Belts are cheap and can last 1000s of hours but do need adjusted here and there. Gear drives have the two gears encased in an oil bath. Both pumps pull water the same and run much cooler at half the speed of a direct drive. I don’t even know if you have to change the oil much in the gearbox. It’s 90w oil…maybe every year or two. As mentioned the gear drive gives you more room on your trailer if its tight spaced but both perform about the same. You can build a 8gpm Udor gear drive machine for much cheaper than buying a machine new since it’s just 4 bolts.

Like I said I love mine but can’t speak on longevity. The water dragon is well made and Shaun’s customer service is second to none. I had questions regarding my proportioner while on the job today and he was just a phone call away.

Why is the k7 not good for downstreaming?