Anyone have something good (or bad) to say about their pressure washer ? I
am thinking of the Ridgid RD80701 at HD. It is more ($579) than I want to
spend, but am am a bit leery of getting too low-end of a model.

I have some vinyl siding, brick patio, landscape masonry, and perhaps a
moldy roof I want to clean.

Thanks.

On Sun, 6 Jun 2010 16:25:02 -0400, "Frank McElrath"
wrote:

Anyone have something good (or bad) to say about their pressure washer ? I
am thinking of the Ridgid RD80701 at HD. It is more ($579) than I want to
spend, but am am a bit leery of getting too low-end of a model.

I have some vinyl siding, brick patio, landscape masonry, and perhaps a
moldy roof I want to clean.

Thanks.


That unit is a "Commercial Grade", so the cost. Can you rent one
locally, once or twice a year as needed?

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/RD80701-...r/EN/index.htm

My PW (Excell) might be 18 years old? Happy as pig in mud with it.
Look for a unit with a brass pump and not some chepo unit.

On Jun 6, 1:25*pm, "Frank McElrath" wrote:
Anyone have something good (or bad) to say about their pressure washer ? *I
am thinking of the Ridgid RD80701 at HD. *It is more ($579) than I want to
spend, but am am a bit leery of getting too low-end of a model.

I have some vinyl siding, brick patio, landscape masonry, and perhaps a
moldy roof I want to clean.

Thanks.

That Ridgid is probably overkill for the 2 or 3 uses per year that
most homeowners need. I bought a Karcher 2400 PSI unit from Costco
about 5 or 6 years ago for $300. It has a 5 HP Honda engine that
always starts on the first or second pull and does everything that I
want it to do. Here's a link to a factory-refurbished one for $280:

http://www.cpopressurewashers.com/pr.../k2400hhr.html

Mine came with 5 fan tips and a power nozzle, but this one comes with
only 3 fan tips. I've never had the occasion to use more than 2 or 3
fan tips, so a good assortment of 3 may suffice, but the power nozzle
is nice for blasting stubborn dirt.

On Jun 6, 3:25*pm, "Frank McElrath" wrote:
Anyone have something good (or bad) to say about their pressure washer ? *I
am thinking of the Ridgid RD80701 at HD. *It is more ($579) than I want to
spend, but am am a bit leery of getting too low-end of a model.

I have some vinyl siding, brick patio, landscape masonry, and perhaps a
moldy roof I want to clean.

Thanks.

You will ruin the roof if its regular shingles, its just for your
house, Ive used many gas powered units over the years, for my personal
use its electric, gas is a heavy pain in the ass, and the units cant
freeze in winter, my Karcher is a one hand carry. Electric are less
power but get the job done and are easy to move.

On Jun 6, 4:25*pm, "Frank McElrath" wrote:
Anyone have something good (or bad) to say about their pressure washer ? *I
am thinking of the Ridgid RD80701 at HD. *It is more ($579) than I want to
spend, but am am a bit leery of getting too low-end of a model.

I have some vinyl siding, brick patio, landscape masonry, and perhaps a
moldy roof I want to clean.

Thanks.

I got my experience for the first time this year with $179, 2,000 psi
electric unit from Lowes.
For household use, I did not want another small gasoline engine to
baby since use might only be a couple of times a year.
Worked fine for cleaning deck, walks and aluminum siding. You do have
to be careful and I would worry about vinyl siding as I've seen some
that is fragile. Also, water output is not that high and spray loses
effectiveness after a few feet, so you're not going to clean roof from
several feet away.

You've definitely got me re-thinking the gas. I've been reading the user
reviews (FWIW), and the variability of opinions is worrisome. One guy
raves, and another guy rants. So I don't know who to believe.

But gas definitely has a down-side.

"Frank McElrath" wrote in message
...
You've definitely got me re-thinking the gas. I've been reading the user
reviews (FWIW), and the variability of opinions is worrisome. One guy
raves, and another guy rants. So I don't know who to believe.

But gas definitely has a down-side.


As with most reviews some raves and some rants.

The gas units can provide more pressure and more flow. . This might be
something if you do large jobs. Not so much for small jobs. Usually have
several more nozzle choices.If you go more than a short distance from the AC
outlet you need a heavy duty dropcord. It is recommended not to go over 100
feet with the dropcord.

The gas units do have some more upkeep.

While I doubt it is a worry as the electric units have a ground fault
detector, I don't like the idea of all that water around the electricity.

While not likely but you can use the electric unit inside a house or closed
up space. Even in a garage with large doors you need to leave the gas unit
outside and have a long hose and still be careful of the carbon monoxide
gas.