Convince me to (or not to) buy a better pressure washer

[Shanarchy]

I am currently using a 1700 psi/1,4 gpm Greenworks pressure washer I got from Lowes. I have no issues with it. I have never used one of the bigger more expensive units. I have heard some people who have them find them to be better. I'd like to know what, if anything, I am missing. If I was to but a more expensive unit what should I expect to see different, and which model do you recommend, and approximate price.

Is the RhinoSpray RS1500SA just a re-branded CamSpray 1500A?

My question is for only those who have used both the box store pressure washers and the more expensive ones.

Thanks!

[jvanick]

I started with one of the karcher ones from menards and burned it up in around a year.. then changed over to the harbor freight ones that would generally last us 6 months or so... these were the 1400psi-ish ones.

In June after having yet another HF unit fail, we bought a refurbed Landa 1000psi - 2.9gpm belt drive commercial unit.

It's worth every penny.  It cleans the screens better and cleans faster.  Even though it's rated at 1000psi, it has much more cleaning power than the so-called higher psi junky units.  Ours has a timer on it, if you don't run the wand for a minute, it auto shuts off.

It's also much quieter when running.  The entire thing is rebuildable, and ours is in a stainless steel chassis, so nothing to rust.

Do it.  You'll be glad you did.

[jvieira]

We've been using a Karcher for the best part of a year. No problems so far but it's a bit noisy. Still, cost us $120, it does its job perfectly. Not sure if I would spend $600/900 for a commercial one

[jvanick]

We've been using a Karcher for the best part of a year. No problems so far but it's a bit noisy. Still, cost us $120, it does its job perfectly. Not sure if I would spend $600/900 for a commercial one

How many screens are you doing per day?

[ScreenFoo]

The rhinospray looks very much like the 1500A here.  It's a very old design, but that's not a bad thing, per se.

I really like the 1500, but we've had issues with the reclaim help either not turning the water on, not turning the water off, or leaving it running without using it for too long.  Fortunately, it still hasn't self destructed, but realize you need to take care of it if you want it to be a decent investment. The wands IME have been crap as well--still looking for a truly good one.

That being said, the cheap ones just plain stink, IMHO.  The 1500 has ratings similar to the crappy home cheapo models I've run, but absolutely destroys them in speed/efficiency.  I'd also add that if you want to do even better, as jvanick implied, it's the GPM that cleans the screen faster.   

[Onewithpez]

I am a fairly low volume shop, maybe 30 screens a week. (Don't judge me...) I have had a cheapo Walmart model for 3 years now and it is still going strong.


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[jvieira]

We've been using a Karcher for the best part of a year. No problems so far but it's a bit noisy. Still, cost us $120, it does its job perfectly. Not sure if I would spend $600/900 for a commercial one

How many screens are you doing per day?

I'd say about 6/7 a day

[mooseman]

here is the unit we bought. It is relatively quiet, very compact. Over the last 6 or 7 years we have had 2 or 3 washers. When and if this one blows out I will go out and buy the same exact one again. By the way it costs $99.00
If you don't like the specific model here you should look at the brand in general we are quite impressed with the unit we have.
Qualifications we are a small one man shop, I operate everything, clean about 4-6 screens a day.
mooseman 

http://www.pressurewashersdirect.com/AR-AR118-Pressure-Washer/p2765.html?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=shop+portals&utm_campaign=AR118&gclid=CN6crP71m8cCFckYHwodNm4MQw

http://www.pressurewashersdirect.com/quick_search.php

[GKitson]

This is kind of like a carpenter asking when to buy a circular saw or an air nailer.

Of course you can keep doing it with what you have, but how much more efficient could you be with better tools.

It is all about throughput of consistent stuff, does not matter if you are building a workbench or reclaiming screens.

If you build one bench the hand tools are more than good enough, if you are in the business of building workbenches automate.

If you think you are a screenprinter accept the fact that you are more of a screen maker than a screenprinter and do everything possible to improve your screen loop.

ESPECIALLY if you are a mid-sized growing screenprinter a better pw can save you 2-3 minutes per screen, EVERY SCREEN.

My 2 cents,

~Kitson

[jvanick]

ESPECIALLY if you are a mid-sized growing screenprinter a better pw can save you 2-3 minutes per screen, EVERY SCREEN.

^^^ This right here is VERY true... I feel we save at least 2 minutes a screen due to the fact that you can take about a 6-7" strip of emulsion each pass of the wand.. I literally can clean the emulsion off of an entire 23x31 screen in about 10-15 seconds. 

however I will add if you're doing less than 10 screens or so a day, the el-cheapo pressure washers are just fine.

when you are doing 20-30 a day, you'll get less than 5-6 months out of the cheapo units.

[jvieira]

when you are doing 20-30 a day, you'll get less than 5-6 months out of the cheapo units.

looking forward to see ours break down after 5 months

[royster13]

Some folks can equip their shop with all the finest equipment and never make a dime.....Others can put stuff together on a "shoe string" and be rolling in dough..What you need to do for your operation may not be anything anyone else does....So just do what you think feels right....

[jvieira]

What you need to do for your operation may not be anything anyone else does....So just do what you think feels right....

Sometimes things may feel right because you don't know any better that's why sometimes I am annoying and keep asking stuff on the forum. It has helped me immensely and I am sure Shanarchy will have a better understanding of what to do when his washer breaks down

[mooseman]

Some folks can equip their shop with all the finest equipment and never make a dime.....Others can put stuff together on a "shoe string" and be rolling in dough..What you need to do for your operation may not be anything anyone else does....So just do what you think feels right....

This is the best sage wisdom of all time......this should be rubber stamped onto EVERY question that starts out what do you think....do...buy....use.....
mooseman

[1964GN]

We recently upgraded our reclaim pressure washer and agree with the 2-3 minutes per screen time saving. I also feel we are getting cleaner screens with less effort and time.