I bet THAT title got your attention. Ha!
This is a review of the Husqvarna 3200 PSI Gas Pressure Washer on sale at Costco. I saw this listed on sale for the low price of $349.99 with free shipping and thought it was a good deal. Then a lot of people wrote bad reviews and Costco dropped the price by $80 to $269.99 with free shipping too.
I read the reviews closer and discovered a few things;
FIRST; most home owners are idiots and probably shouldn't be allowed to own gas powered engines.
SECOND; the bad reviews were based on the first thing listed.
THIRD; the problems/ complaints were that it wouldn't stay running or wouldn't start.
FOURTH; the solution to these 'problem's was to fix operator error.
So, this is the standard B&S engine. Nothing fancy, this motor is in a lot of power tools I own, so I'm familiar with the motor. I have one in my compactor/wacker and my log splitter. This is the 208cc version, not sure how many hp, but probably around 8 or 9hp. You can't find a motor of this caliber this cheap, let alone a whole pressure washer, so if you just need a great horizontal shaft gas motor, this is a great price. Got a mini bike? Whoop! This will send it down the trials.
The 'fix' is two fold; people don't take the time to read instructions or even the labels on the machine. Folks were confused as to choke. Most lawnmower engines have automatic chokes these days but this motor has the old fashioned lever you need to move. One way is on, the other is off. This choke sits above the fuel lever. Here's where the confusion comes in; the ON position is not labeled ON, it's labeled RUN, but hard to see. The graphic icon shows the choke butterfly open or closed depending on if you have the lever to RUN or START. The gas lever under it has OPEN and CLOSE, hence the confusion. Just push the fuel lever to OPEN, the choke to START and pull. It will catch and stop. Move the choke lever to RUN. Not the fuel lever too! Pull the rope it will start. Move both levers and it will run for a few minutes, then stop. See where I'm going here? Idiots would move both levers, the wrong levers, the right levers the wrong way, etc.....
The second 'problem' is the oil level cut-off switch. If there's not enough oil in this thing, it will turn the motor off. If the motor is not sitting on flat ground, it might think there's not enough oil in it and turn itself off. If it's only a little bit sloped ground, it will start until oil is pumped to the valves, then it will stop, thinking it's low on oil. The trick is; add ALL the oil in the 600cc bottle they give you. Fill that thing until it over flows, then put the plug in. In fact, tip it a little on a slope to get maybe a few more ounces in there.
The pressure washer is on a rolling cart. Tip it back onto it's wheels while it's running and the oil level cut-off switch will engage, killing the motor. Then the idiot home owner tries to start it, moving the gas and choke levers, and can't get it started again. They walk away, come back in 5 minutes and it starts. Ha!
There are some neat features on this pressure washer and a couple that I don't care for. First the good; It starts first pull cold after one pull with choke on. Choke on, pull. Choke off, it will now start. It has a cool multi position head. Like those adjustable selection spray nozzles on your hose, this rotates to several optional spray patterns. Saves stopping to swap them out. It has a lighter hose that is easier to wind up than heavier duty ones. It has BIG wheels for rolling that are not rubber inflatable. Hate those because they bleed out air and the rubber deteriorates and you end up with one or two flat tires and can't move this sumabitch! These large hard rubber tires are much better for scooting round the yard.
It has a HUGE gas tank. Ran for 2 hours straight and there was still fuel in there. The carb is easy to access on these motors. I've taken them off my other engines with ease. They are not finicky like the TW200 carb. Once my wacker was running poorly. Pulled the carb and the bowl was near full of gunk. How it ran at all is a mystery. I flushed it with some gas out of a can on hand, slapped back together and it runs as good as ever. I never store these inside, drain gas or change oil. These motors run forever.
For the bad things; the hose is light duty and will kink. The handle is a bitch to fold. I'll work on that myself, but it's a tall machine that won't fit under the work bench as it is. The wand has a safety switch that must be pushed in order for the trigger to work. What a pain! The trigger is stiff, my hand cramps after several minutes of operation. Swap hands and you gotta engage that dam safety interlock to get the trigger to work again.
There you go. If you are in the market for a pressure washer, this is a great unit. Much more powerfull than my old one, which works, just old and at this price of $270 plus tax, (shipping free) I could not pass it up.
Cheers!
Husqvarna 3200 PSI Gas Pressure Washer (costco.com)
Oh, sale ends 5/23
Husqvarna 3200psi 2.
