As a painting contractor, I have owned several pressure washers over the years. Imo, an electric pressure washer isn’t very useful if you have any tough cleaning to do, but if you are washing your car and boat once in a while, they will work.
The smaller more compact washers are of the direct drive variety. They offer high psi, but marginal gpm for effective cleaning. The best cold water washers are belt driven, gas powered with a Honda engine. The one I have now, which will likely be the last one I ever buy is belt driven with a 13 HP Honda motor. It has a Cat pump. It is rated for a max of 4000psi and 4 gallons per minute. The flow rate in gpm is the best measure of how effectively it will clean, not the psi. Imagine the difference in the amount of water thrown by a garden hose and fire hose at the same psi, theoretically speaking.
My washer is considered commercial quality, but would not be overkill for someone who washes farm equipment or other machinery, house/buildings, concrete driveways, etc. regularly.
The washer I have now was custom fabricated to my specifications in 2006. It has nearly 1000 hours on it, and the only thing I have ever done to maintain it is put oil and gasoline in it, keep it warm in the winter. Water in the pump could freeze and destroy the pump. This is the kind of longevity that is possible with a quality belt-driven washer. I paid $2000 for it 17 years ago. Some of the best money I ever spent on equipment like this.
Bottom line is that you will get what you pay for. Buy a little more than you think you will need in a pressure washer and you will never regret it.
