PowerStroke Electric Pressure Washer PS141912
“I use it to clean the grill”
It really only took one sentence to convince me.
“I use it to clean the grill.”
I had been contemplating getting a pressure washer. It seemed like a great tool for concrete cleanup outdoors. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that you can also use it on grills. Now I know how apartment complexes get theirs so clean so quickly. Before this, cleaning the grill was one of those giant mysteries I couldn’t unravel.
This pressure washer is really amazing. I mean, really amazing. Initial assembly was fairly easy. Out of the box, just the wheels, two ends of a hose and the tool tray needed to be put together. After it was assembled, I took out the used cast iron grill grates and blasted them. In five minutes, they were far cleaner than if I had done them by hand for an hour. Since I had already hooked up the pressure washer, I shot down the concrete deck. (see image) Fifteen minutes later, it was done.
My only complaint about this tool is that when it’s not in use, it takes up space. But really, that’s part of the price of owning a pressure washer. Other than that, it’s a great time saver. The Hawaii price was $169.99. Here are the manufacturer specs.
Three Nozzles: Turbo Nozzle, 15°, Low Pressure Soap Nozzle
The one time I really needed to consult the extended manual for was connecting the quick release attachments. The washer comes with three different types. One is an oscillating high pressure nozzle, the other is a steady high pressure stream nozzle (yellow), and the last one (blue) is gentle enough to be used on screens. As it turns out, seating the nozzle mechanism was much easier than it first appeared. All I had to do was pull down the outer ring of the wand (collar), insert the nozzle and release.
Soap Dispenser
The pressure washer also comes with a soap dispensing unit. The instructions say to only use pressure washing detergent. Since I didn’t know what that was, I had to do some research. Based on its all-purpose nature and reasonable price, I selected Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner. To test out the soap dispenser, I decided to wash my car. Not surprisingly, the instruction manual doesn’t specifically say you can wash your car with it. However, a number of guides, like this one, explain how to do so.
What I found strange about this pressure washer, is that the soap dispenser can’t be removed. Basically, you have to guess how much you need, then use it up and rinse it out one more time with water. For washing the car, I guessed I needed two cups of Simple Green. The pressure washer dispenses it in a ratio of 20:1 automatically. As it turned out, two cups of concentrate was just about right, although I could probably have done with 1 3/4 cup.
I found washing the car easy. It took 10 minutes from applying the detergent with the blue nozzle to using the yellow nozzle at about 5 feet away from the car to rinse it all off. Then I wiped it down with a soft cloth and scraped away any debris that made it through the first round. Easy-peasy.
Good for Households
All in all, I would recommend this product. I now know that pressure washers come in even stronger varieties. However, for household use, this is strong enough for me. It’s comparatively compact; I doubt it weighs 140 pounds, as stated on the product website. Either that, or I’m much stronger than I thought. I picked it up off the warehouse floor, wheeled it to my car, loaded it, and took it home all by myself. The box fit in the back seat of my midsized sedan.
I’m fairly certain that the novelty of cleaning concrete and grills will wear off quickly. However, I know this machine will continue to get good use If you have room to store it, it’s worth the space it occupies.