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Karcher

If you’re shopping for a new pressure washer for simple cleaning tasks at home, you likely will discover that manufacturers have put more cleaning muscle in the most expensive electric-powered models. Today’s souped-up premium electric models will blast dirt from a deck or power wash an automobile in a quarter of the time that it took premium models when we last covered the topic 5 years ago.

However, even the most powerful electric pressure washers can’t tackle any more cleaning tasks than the previous generations of electric models. So, you shouldn’t buy a new electric pressure washer and expect that you can do more with it; you’ll simply be able to do the same tasks in less time.

In general, if you plan to use a pressure washer for heavy-duty projects, such as stripping chipped paint, you still will want to buy a gasoline-powered unit. In some cases, it might even cost less than electric.

PLUGGING POWER. The power boost for premium electric models comes at a time when such units appear to be gaining (at least somewhat) in popularity. There are no industrywide figures to prove that there has been a significant increase in sales of electric-powered models over the past 5 years. But there’s some anecdotal evidence. For example, Jon Hoch of online retailer PressureWashersDirect.com says “there is a little bit of a switch in the marketplace where people are gravitating toward these high-end electric units.” But we’re not convinced that buying the most powerful electric pressure washer is worth the extra expense.

Manufacturers made their premium electric pressure washers more powerful by increasing the maximum pounds per square inch (PSI). The highest PSI on electric models has jumped to 2,000 today from 1,600 about 5 years ago, but that’s still not enough pressure to blast away chipped paint or to clean caked-on mud off of your pickup truck. The fact is, the extra 400 PSI has no practical benefit beyond reducing the time that you spend on a cleaning task.

Still, the added PSI on some electric washers means that they pack more cleaning units, which is the true measure of a pressure washer’s capabilities. Cleaning units is a measure that is determined by multiplying a pressure washer’s maximum PSI by its gallons-of-water-per-minute (GPM) output. Because gasoline-powered models always have a higher PSI and GPM than electric models, their cleaning ability always will be greater.

For instance, the most powerful electric models today come with 3,200 cleaning units (2,000 PSI multiplied by 1.6 GPM), compared with about 2,600 cleaning units 5 years ago. But that doesn’t come even close to the least powerful gasoline pressure washers, which typically deliver at least 4,800 cleaning units.

You should keep this in mind, because you’ll have to shell out anywhere from $240 to $350 for the most powerful electric pressure washers. But it is likely that you will find gasoline pressure washers that deliver more power and cost the same or even less.

Nonetheless, several manufacturers say electric models have hit a power ceiling, because adding more pressure and power to electric models would trip the circuit breakers on 110-volt 15-amp outlets and make the pressure washer unusable. (More-powerful models that work with 220-volt outlets are available in Europe but likely will never be sold in the United States, manufacturers tell us.) But here’s the most important question: Will prices come down in the next few years for the most powerful electric models (which would make them more appealing)? At this point, experts don’t expect any price drops for premium electric models in the years ahead.

GASOLINE GAINS. Today’s gasoline-powered models also have more cleaning muscle—perhaps more than most consumers ever will need. Today, you can buy a gasoline-powered model that has as much as 3,800 PSI—that’s 400 more PSI than the top models from 5 years ago. But you’ll pay at least $1,000 for those models.