Need Pressure Washer recommendation

[quarterback]

We bought a new house a couple years ago and it's starting to get dirty.   We have vinyl siding and after a couple years of rain and weather, it could use a good washing.

I've never owned, used, seen, borrowed or really even thought about pressure washers, so I'm not sure how many PSI is enough.  What about GPM?

Amazon has one with 1,400 psi and 1.3gpm for $70 after rebate here.

Is that a good deal?  Would that take care of the layer of dirt that's stuck to my house?   Will it reach the 2nd story without needing a ladder?

Thanks

[ChadTower]

Don't spray at an upward angle.  That will shoot water up and under the siding, which leads to mold in the siding.

[quarterback]

Don't spray at an upward angle.  That will shoot water up and under the siding, which leads to mold in the siding.

Thanks!  That's exactly the kind of tip I need.

[Ed_McCarron]

For what its worth, when my gas pressure washer siezed up I was tempted to buy one of the new electric ones.

The guy at the repair place told me to stay away from the electrics.  They simply don't have the power - you have to look at both the pressure and the flow rating combined.  Even tho the PSI rating may seem similar, the flow will ofter be lower for the electrics.

I guess common sense finally snuck in on me - how can a little electric motor keep up with a 6 HP gas engine?

I stuck with gas.

[ChadTower]

He's only cleaning vinyl siding.  That thing is more than sufficient.  It's not like he's stripping paint from a fence or something.

[Ed_McCarron]

Maybe now.  But somewhere down the line, when cleaning a deck or something...  He'll be cursing that little electric one.

Always better to buy the proper tool once than the wrong tool twice.

<psa> Oh, and don't ever store your pressure washer outside.  The ceramic pumps do not take kindly to freezing water. </psa>

EDit:  Of course, if you are only going to do small cleaning projects, the electric is probably fine.  I just know I always expect my tools to do more than they are designed to.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, he may not want to spend $250 to wash his siding.

[Zakk]

I had a gas one, and it was way too powerful for my deck.

[Ed_McCarron]

"but it also pulled up thousands of tiny slivers."

Hm, never noticed that.  My deck is 15+ years old, so maybe the wood is finally worn smooth, tho.

I wish mine had more power, most times.

Whats the ratings on the Karcher?  I've heard others with good esperiences with that brand.

[Zakk]

Let me check...

It's a Karcher 'Binford' 1650.  The one wand has 4 nozzles built in.  It really is killer. (Looks like that is a Canada-only model number).

I've used it to clean the windows on the second floor of my house, from the main level.  Also cleaned the bricks, sidewalks, decks, hottub, fence and driveway very well.  I don't remember what I paid, but it didn't break the bank, and it's held up over a long period.

[TOK]

Go easy on the siding. Low PSI and stay back a bit.
Vinyl siding has a shiny look to it. If you hit it with too much pressure, it will get a flat look and more crap will stick to it. If some hammerhead has already washed it with high pressure, it might already be screwed up.

[Zakk]

I'll second that.

[DrewKaree]

I'm guessing all you knobs loved playing around with the object of this next tip:

DON'T -- DO NOT -- USE THE ZERO TIP!

There may or may not be additional tips included.  If so, DO NOT use the 0^o tip.  It's basically a stream of water....at high pressure.  We use bigguns at work, and with a zero tip and enough pressure, you can make yourself a nice hole in concrete, cut through a cheap canvas shoe, or break a window.

Not that I've tried any of these things or had an accident that produces those results.  No SIR!  Not me!  Hey, what's that over there?

[pointdablame]

We bought an electric craftsman pressure washer a few years back and it died in a few hours.  Apparently, electric PWs just aren't that reliable (or so the guy said).

Ours was replaced with a gas pressure washer and it's worked really well.  if you could swing it, I'd get a gas one, but if you only plan on doing your siding, you'd probably be ok... just hope you got a better one than the dud I wound up with at first.

[ChadTower]

My electric power washer has lasted years without a single issue.

The soap dispenser is dumb, though, it doesn't keep the mix very controlled and the soap is all out in a minute or so.