Another major factor in the power of a washer is simply how far away you hold the nozzle from what you’re cleaning. As Kramar explains at his site, “A little trick is to remember moving 2x further away will 1/2 the force the surface feels.” So just moving the nozzle lets you control the pressure. The weaker pressure washers can still get a lot clean, but with one of those models you need westinghouse pressure washers to do the job with the spray tip right up against the surface you’re spraying. Sam’s Club carries pressure washer accessories from brands like PowerFit that allow you to protect the surfaces of your equipment and provide a deep cleaning. Combining industrial degreasers and cleaning solutions with the power of a pressure washer breaks the chemical bond between surfaces and stains.
However, the real showstopper is this pressure washer’s unique 5-piston pump. Patented by CAT, it is a tier above standard axial pumps found in most electric pressure washers. Simply put, it can run longer and sustain higher flow rates compared to run of the mill pressure washer pumps. Karcher shows once again why they’re the king of pressure washing. Not because they were the first, but because they continue to innovate and deliver quality products.
This one comes with five spray wand tips for a variety of cleaning tasks. All the hose fittings are made of high-quality brass for secure connections. Paint started to chip when we used the 15-degree tip, and when we switched to the zero-degree tip this machine completely destroyed the piece of wood. So with enough care, you can definitely get out stubborn stains with the Generac and remove chipped paint from tougher surfaces. Since electric washers are much lower in cost than gas models, we were surprised to see the Sun Joe was the only electric model to feature a stainless steel wand extension and brass fittings.
As nice as the DWPW2400’s tires are, they aren’t a necessity for most people. We feel the same about the additional nozzles, and although we like the detergent tank, the electrical cord’s storage faults outweigh that positive, so we still prefer the Ryobi as our first choice. The major downside of the DWPW2400 is that the cord wrap is awkward to get at and difficult to use, which in our tests made stowing the washer away a tedious and dreaded chore. At the back of the motor are two “horns” that you’re meant to wrap the cord around. These horns are positioned very low, and with a 35-foot cord, wrapping up the entire length takes quite a while.
This may be more effective if you’re trying to remove old and already chipped paint, but it would have taken hours on a full fence with these weaker units. The gas-powered washers we used had impressive power and were even capable of severely damaging the two-by-fours. These models should be used very carefully to remove paint while avoiding damage to your property. The simplest way to categorize pressure washers is by their PSI, or pounds per square inch, rating and fitting them into three groups.