New Toy!!

Well my trusty Karcher 1800 psi electric pressure washer was starting to act up a bit. I noticed it on my last two details. Pressure just didn't seem as strong and when I hooked up the foam cannon it looked just a litte better than a foam gun. I was really disappointed as the Karcher had been a very good unit. I bought it almost 2 years ago at Lowes and it has done about 175 washes!! I have used the snot out of the thing and it still works just doesn't have as much power as it used to.

Well I have been researching pressure washers to all lengths the past week or so. I really wanted to step up to a quality electric pw. I was looking hard at the Camspray units but damn I just couldn't pull the trigger with such a high price tag. I almost did it when Phil at DD was having 20% off but still could bring myself to do it. I even found a used one on Ebay that I could have gotten for about $550 but thats a lot for a "used" pw. I knew nothing about it and the last thing I wanted was $500 pw that might play out on me and not have a warranty.

Well I gave my pressure washer consultant a call. He supplies me with all my pressure washer accessories, including both of my foam cannons. He owns a business in Georgia and is extremely knowledgeable. He told me to just stay away from the Cat pumps. He said they are very good but if and when they need repair it is VERY expensive. He suggested that I look for a pw with either a General, AR or Comet pump as they are very dependable and cheap to repair when needed. He also said I wanted a Triplex pump.

I kept finding myself coming back to the 1700 psi North Star PW at Northern Tool. I called my guy back and he said they were very good units and they had had one before that they rented out and said it ran forever through many many users. Well I went to a Northern Tool on Saturday and was looking at it. I was still hesitant about getting one and paying $440. One of the clerks walked up as I was looking at it and told me that this weekend they were having 10% off everything in the store. Well I figured that would be enough of a discount to get the extended warranty and I'd be covered for 2 years. Well that was all the push I needed and I took the plunge. It has a Comet Triplex pump and Leeson 1.5 HP motor. Thing is when I got to the register I not only got 10% off the PW but got 10% off the extended warranty too!! Well here are the pics




Now with my hose and trigger gun on it along with some nice new decoration:applause2:.



A little more decoration to give it a personal touch.



Well I used it today on my cars and I must say it was a pleasure to use. It is extremely quiet and so much more powerful than my Karcher was even when it was brand new. The thing felt like it had almost as much power as my old gas powered PW had. I am thrilled with my newe purchase and even though it was a bit of money I think in the long run it'll be worth it.

 

Great buy here JL, that thing looks very interesting!

 

that thing just looks funny!!! I guess I'm just use to lookin at my big gas powered one vs. an electric. I'm sure in the long run you'll save alot of money, where I have to pay for gas, oil, air filter and spark plug!

 

nice buy!

 

JL..Good for you, man! It looks kinda funny, but it's probably easier to service being all exposed and probably runs cooler too. I just got a 1800 Karcher about a month ago and it, along with my foam cannon, are great additions to my work. Congrats!

 

Nice one! Let us know how you like it, JL!

 

Cool machine but where is the rest of it :giggle:

Sorry I couldn't help my self.

To be honest I've never had a pressure washer till now and boy what do they work well, it's one of those things that after you've used it you think to your self how did I get by before.

Any who congrats on the new purchase.

 

Wow, very cool! I honestly at first though it was the smallest engine I've ever seen on a petrol powered powerwasher, never thought to think it was electric! Awesome!

 

Looks like a nice unit JL. What made you opt for an electric pump as opposed to an gas powered unit?

 

Hey guys thanks for the compliments and jokes, LOL. It does look funny on that cart like that but sure makes it easy to move around. This thing is actually very heavy. If I had gotten the Camspray I would have wanted a cart to maneuver it around with and that would have just been more added expense.

michakaveli I started out detailing with a gas powered unit and hated it, as I'm sure my neighbors did too. I hate that its so loud and I need to wear earplugs when using it. With this quiet unit if my cell rings I can still hear it and talk in a normal tone while it's running. I also hated having to worry about gassing the thing up too, as I would inevitably forget to check the gas before I started and would run out right before rinsing.

If anyone is interested in one of these high end electrics I'll give you a small warning though, make sure you have a dedicated outlet to run it of at least 15 amps. 20 amp dedication is actually preferred. I tripped several breakers using various outlets until I found a 20 amp supplied outlet to use. I actually used the one for my garage door opener since I don't operate the door when washing a car so there is no load on it. Once I plugged into that outlet it never tripped off again.

 

Congrats on the purchase :thumb:

Him telling you a CAT pump is a bad purchase is funny. Lets say for every wash you did the Karcher saw 1hr. Thats 175 hrs on the machine and its toast. I have two CAT pumps at work. The rig has run 270 days a year since 2004. Out of those 270 days I would guess those pumps would have ran a minimun of 200 days at 18-20 hrs a day. That turns into 3600hrs a year. I have rebuilt both pumps once since they were new and will do them again this year again. I dont remember what it cost to rebuild the fluid ends but Im sure it was under $250. Now these pumps dont see city water.....Its all water from a dugout, river, creek etc. Granted we run a pre-screen for the larger stuff the solids in the water will still be way more than treated water in town. Looking at the hours I see with these pumps and your usage....this pump should last you roughly 40 years before needing a rebuild. Theres a reason the oilfield runs CAT...simply put...they are the best.

 

Oh he said they were great but that when things went wrong you end up spending some major money on repairs when compared to General, AR or Comet pumps. Now you also have to remember that you are probably using pumps that cost a ton more than a Cat pump that I would be buying. The next step up in PW at Northern Tool used a Cat pump and the cost was $630. You have to think that if you are going to have trouble with a company's product line it will be on the lower end units (the kind I would be purchasing) and if you incur a large repair bill it may not be worth it. I think that is what he was getting at. To have pumps that do what you use it for I can only imagine what they cost and are probably their higher end units thus less breakdown.

 

Very nice buy! :thumb: :worship2: :applause:

I know what you mean about having to use a dedicated circuit. :yikes:

Do you notice any difference when you foam now?

 

Oh yeah I do. It looks like it did when I used to use my gas powered pressure washer.

 

Does that make you a "mofoamer" then??? :crasy:

 

Nice PW.. does it have to have a pressurized water flowing into it or could a mobile guy use a water tank that is gravity fed to the pressure washer? Just wondering cause i like the quiet of the electric as opposed to my gas one.

 

Congrats on the purchase JL! I might consider purchasing one of these units if I have too many problems with my Karcher.

 

Sweet machine JL, that looks like it will last forever. I to have been flirting with these high priced units for the last couple of month. I never used a pw for detailing so its just been a foam gun for me and I am getting very bored with it.

 

Yes it does need pressurized water for a source. You are not suppose to use a tank to gravity feed to it. You need enough pressure to fill a 5 gallon bucket in 2.5 minutes.

Corey I would highly recommend getting one for your first machine if you are serious about detailing like we are. You are going to spend around $170 for a Karcher at Lowes and you can put that money toward a higher end unit. I wish I had done that when I bought my first electric.

 

Very nice purchase. I just bought a camspray 1500a and I am blown away by it!
the GPM is rated @ 2.0 however I read a few reviews that says it puts out more like 2.2GMP and I believe it. Very quiet running as well. All I need is a nice cart like you got because everytime I move the camspray I feel like I am putting my back out!