Powerwasher PWS1800-U 1,800 psi 1.6 gpm Electric Pressure Washer
by Powerwasher
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List Price: Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Powerwasher PWS1800-U 1,800 psi 1.6 gpm Electric Pressure Washer
Customer Review: Not happy with mine.
Summary: 1 Stars
I really wanted to like this pressure washer, and I did - for the first five minutes. It was all downhill from there.
I wanted an electric pressure washer for its ease of storage and this unit had all good reviews at the time. The price was right. Somebody has to make a good electric pressure washer, right? After all, my last one worked for ten years before it quit.
The PWS1800-U assembles easily, is relatively lightweight and is attractive looking. The first five minutes of use were a joy. The motor was much quieter than expected and the wand felt light and easy to hold. The cleaning pressure was very good. I had a smile on my face.
Unexpectedly the seal on the variable pressure wand burst with a popping noise and water sprayed sideways in all directions.
Crap. It lost usable pressure.
I tried to reseat the nozzle and troubleshoot but still couldn't fix the problem.
I thought I would call the manufacturer's tech support and maybe find a quick solution. But the only way I could contact them was through a "live chat" feature on their web site - which was closed during scheduled operating hours. Not a good sign. I left my email address (but am still waiting for a response).
I replaced the defective wand with the included turbo wand and that solved the immediate problem and got me back to work. It was doing a nice job of cleaning until...
The auto stop feature shuts off the motor when there is no water flowing through the unit to cool it. The auto stop feature started to act up, requiring additional "press and release" cycles to turn off the motor. Eventually the motor would not shut off at all but would instead wind up to a continuous high rpm in the idle state. I shut it down for fear that the motor would burn up.
Did I mention that this unit is made in China? Total time of use: one half hour.
If this thing had worked properly I would have rated it four or five stars. But having two major malfunctions in the first half hour and considering the time wasted in purchasing, returning, refunding the money and then starting over again - it earns it a big fat one star rating from me.
If you get a unit that works as advertised, this would be a good deal. If you don't, you hope for a generous return policy.
On the bright side, I returned it to Amazon without a problem and they refunded the full price I paid including shipping (which is significant on a product this heavy). UPS even picked it up at my location. Thank you, Amazon for the easy return.
Since then I've purchased a more powerful and more expensive gas unit. I'm still not sure where I will store it but it has been very reliable so far...
Customer Review: How do you say @#$! in Chinese?
Summary: 1 Stars
After looking on amazon for the best compromise between power/affordability, I chose this washer which at the time had an overall four (4) star rating. I was hesitant because most of those who reiewed this unit only had it for a short time and those who had a bad unit were convinced this whole unit was a cheap Chinese rip-off. So I rolled the dice and bought the unit. It arrived quickly and was packaged well, came with two sprayer nozzles and it was already completely assembled. But my wife foreshadowed things to come. When she saw the box, she said "Uh oh made in China!". I shrugged my shoulders and said "what isn't made in China these days?" The next day, I decided to try it out. I followed the instructions and hooked the garden hose to the rear of the unit and the "high pressure" hose to the front, and turned on the water. To my surprise, water gushed (not leaked) from the bottom and side of the unit. Turns out the piece that connects the garden hose and pressure hose is made of cheap black plastic and it cracked in half. I also suspected that someone returned this same unit back for the same reason, and this company never took the time to investigate it or fix it, and just re-packaged it and re-shipped it. The screws appeared worn, as if someone took them off and put them on multiple times, and the plastic bottom was dimpled because the screws were on too tight. What a waste! It's a shame amazon doesn't sell an American electric 1800 psi pressure washer or equivalent for around the same price (I paid 159.99 with free shipping). Luckily I didn't rip apart the box and it is now at the doorstep waiting for UPS to pick it up for a amazon refund.
Needless to say, don't waste your time with this, if the company is sending out damaged units, what does that say about their customer service? Buy at your own risk, it seems even if your unit arrives in good condition and works, it'll only be a matter of time before it's shoddy craftsmanship breaks and angers you too.
Customer Review: You must have the right expectations
Summary: 4 Stars
Granted this is not a 3000PSI power washer, if you want a 3000PSI washer then buy one. I had spent a summer when I was 21 power washing gum off of the sidewalks of megaplex theaters for extra cash. I bought a 3000+psi gas powered unit and pretty much etched the top layer of cement off the sidewalks. So I'm very familiar with what powerwashers can do.
This is not that kind of unit. Nor is it priced like those.
This unit does the job it is designed to do. Cleans the basement and garage floors nice. Cleans the vehilcles. Cleans your outdoor items well too. It comes with a fan nozzle and a turbo nozzle which is nice. The fan nozzle has a low pressure setting which will suck up your soap or chemical to apply it, The fan nozzle will also adjust from a pin point stream to a wide fan jet. The turbo nozzle spins a thin jet with the pressure to "scrub" a surface. So far this unit lives up to it's expectations. It is meant for occasional use to clean with high pressure water. It is not a heavy use or professional model. If you plan on 3-4 uses a year than this is your pressure washer.
The gutter accesory is quite nice and seems to jet the pressure very effectively. Another nice feature of this unit is it will not over compress the water and hurt the unit. It stops compressing if you are not shooting water from the gun. I thought it was broken at first, but it's simply desinged to to do that, which is a good thing.
While I wish it had more power, I did not pay for it. It will do a fine job on the random cleaning tasks I have in mind.
BTW, I bought a 3 year extended warranty on the unit, which I normally would not do. For $30, it's a good investment on a chinese-made economy outdoor appliance.
Lastly, ALWAYS have the water on before you start a pressure washer. And Always release all the presure from the "turned off" unit before you disassamble.
Customer Review: FAIP - Terrible Customer Service / Useless Pressure Washer
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased the PowerWasher PWS 1750 about 2 years ago. I only used it for a few small jobs, but it kept tripping after short periods (about 5 minutes) of operation. It would automatically reset itself after 30-60 seconds It also had an oil leak. So, I paid to ship this heavy machine back to FAIP for warranty repair. When I got it back, it ran for longer durations, but still tripped periodically. Since I only used it for relatively small jobs, I decided to live with it, rather than pay for returning it again.
A few months ago, the washer starting tripping more frequently and finally it would only run for about 3-5 seconds before it tripped. It reset itself after being off for about 30 seconds. Talk about frustration - trying to clean a deck or patio with a washer that was off about 10 times more than it was on. I could not locate a number to call FAIP for help, so I tried their online Chat. I ended up wasting 4-5 hours chatting with their only help rep. It was obvious that the washer was tripping due to an internal electrical problem. All other possibilities had been eliminated in the with input from the chat rep and my testing. The Chat guy did not have an electrical schematic to trouble shoot the problem and continually refused to check with his service personnel to get one. He kept saying that even he could not get a schematic for "security and safety reasons". That sure didn't make any sense to me. I think he was just lazy, but their was nobody else that I could talk with. Since it is essentially impossible to solve electrical problems like this without a drawing, I did not end up getting any help from the chat sessions. So now I am stuck with a washer that will only run for 3-5 seconds before tripping off. Needless to say, this unit will be garbage as soon as I can purchase a reliable washer from a reputable supplier.
Customer Review: Great power washer considering it's electric.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have owned mine for about 2 years now and it still works like new. I have used it for a lot of stuff including the cleaning of 2 decks and a drive way. The turbo nozzle that comes with it works really good on decks but don't buy this thinking it will be a quick job. To clean a 16x20 deck you can count on spending most of a day to clean it. It is an incredibly tedious process but generally speaking, the results are worth it. The only problem I have had with it is the power plug went bad after about 20 hours of use. For me this was no big deal because I just replaced it with a standard one though most people would want to send it in for warranty repair which I would imagine would be a pain to do.
The soap line on it is very handy though it does use a lot more than is neccessary so you have to water down any car washing liquid you buy.
I bought the all accessory set (FAIP 80007 PowerWasher Universal Pressure Washer All Accessory Kit, 17-Piece) for it and I would say that that is probably not worth it unless you really think you will use all the attachments. They sell all the attachments separately so if you only need one, that is a much better way to go. That said, if you are going to use more than one, it is a good deal. The reason I don't care for it is that it comes with a bunch of completely useless adapters.
I gave it 4 stars because of the power plug going bad but I would still recommend it to anyone. In fact, I washed my in-laws deck with it and while I was doing it they asked me to spray some mildew off there new siding and it worked so well they had me buy one for them.