# Forum Home Renovation Tools & Products  Petrol or electric pressure washer?

## dan76n

I'm looking at a new pressure cleaner and have found two that seem pretty similar bar one is electric and one is petrol.
What are the pros and cons of either option if both are similar PSI? RYOBI Tools@$299
Or, SCA Pressure Washer - 1900 PSI, 2.6Hp, 4 Stroke Petrol - Supercheap Auto Australia@$249.

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## plum

Not sure about the electric, but the petrol one will give you about 5 hours before the cheap chinese pump craps itself. I did a bit of research on them before I bought a genuine Honda 13hp which cost a few k, but I was assured I'd get 5000 hours out it.

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## nww1969

Have used the Ryobi and seemed effective and has a 2 year warranty from Bunnings.
Friend returned his expensive Karcher back to Bunnings for replacement after it started to smoke. 
I was given a 15 year old honda spitwater 5 years ago which was used for commercial use and flogged to death 
and still works fine, pulls first go.

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## Strom

You need to pay more attention to the LPM rather than just the PSI..
If you are going to be using the machine to make a living from Honda Motor with Interpump is definitely the way to go.. 
Lots of good info hear- New Pressure Washer - Paint Talk - Professional Painting Contractors Forum

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## Marc

What are you going to use it for and how often is the question.
Both are budget tools likely to give dubious performance and last as far as your luck goes.
Karcher is a better tool but still aimed at the home user in the smaller versions.
I bought a Karcher with a 5HP Honda motor 2500 psi and 9 l/m and when it is not for commercial use it can be used for hours on end and it costs less than $500 if you shop around. It only just drives a patio cleaner, that is a gadget like a lawnmower to clean large surfaces that would take a day to do with a nozzle.
For commercial use, you must go for minimum 3000 PSI and Minimum 13 L/M. Pressure is not everything, water flow is just as important.
If you want to sandblast with a water pressure you definitely need 13 L/M and a lot of umph behind it

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## wozzzzza

> You need to pay more attention to the LPM rather than just the PSI.

  exactly, was watching my neighbour the other week with his karcher electric pressure washer cleaning his concrete pathway in front of his house. he was sitting there one hand with the beer in it, one hand with the pressure cleaner wand in it and very very slowly zig zagging his way up the path way. took him about 2 hours to do 4 metres.
my pressure cleaner is petrol powered 4000psi, 19l/m and i could blow through what he did in in a matter of minutes. if i sat there with ab eer in one hand and the wand in the other, as soon as i pulled the trigger i would be loosing that wand through the closest window knowing my luck.
if you want to do it properly and fast and regularly, get a decent petrol powered one with a decent flow rate.

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## johnc

I'd agree with what the others said, if your use is light duty and infrequent I would go for the electric. Petrol motors don't always like to start easily after long periods of inactivity and the cheap end isn't going to give you much. The Ryobi at least will probably start each time you plug it in and is likely to have a few more hours of use before wear and tear kills it. The small electric washers are fine for 95% of home use but don't expect them to be very efficient if attempting large areas.  
If you intend to get a lot of hours out of the unit (commercial use) it is going to cost more, price is an indicator of longetivity and power.

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## BLWNHR

> the petrol one will give you about 5 hours before the cheap chinese pump craps itself.

  My friend got 15 minutes out of his. Five months after putting in a warranty claim he ended up just buying a petrol Karcher.

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## Kyle

I have a Miller Falls brand petrol 'Pressure Wahser'  
No that is not a typo, the big sticker across the front of it really does say Pressure Wahser.
Obviously no spell check at the QC end of the factory! 
2 years on and allot more than 5 hours on the pump
and she still chugs along nicely, not bad for $350. 
I originally bought it to clean the concrete roof tiles on our 22 square home.  Did that no dramas, but now just serves duty as a car, bike and path cleaner, with an occasional trip to the inlaws to clean the pool deck.  It's served its purpose and if it dies now I'll replace it with a decent electric one.

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## Markw

This might only apply to those in Sydney (Sydney Water area), during the 2010 water restrictions I purchased a petrol (Honda) Kartcher then found that the flow rate was greater than the water restrictions allowed for. Whilst everybody else could use a wheelie bin with the hose refilling the bin to supply their pressure washer, if I had of been caught I would have faced fines. 
An additional issue with the larger petrol Kartcher (at least in mine) is the wand connections are different to the electric units and therefore none of the accessory tools will fit ie the deck scrubber.

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