Bucket fed pressure washers

[oneheadlite]

I've been re-thinking my current detailing situation, and have been thinking about making a change for 2021.

Short version of situation: Limited time for detailing due to other areas in life taking priority + refusing to do non-Geek quality washes mean both my wife's and my car are consistently driving around dirtier than they ever have. It's ironic when the "guy into detailing" at my work (me) has the dirtiest car of the bunch. Sure, it's swirl free and protected under there; but to your average civilian it's not the best looking of the bunch. Due to my rear bumper and hatch having been damaged in an accident (thanks 19yo...), I can't cheat and go through a touchless wash.

So, I've been thinking about really leaning into rinseless washing to cut down on the setup/tear down involved. Even though I know deep down a Geek level rinseless wash is arguably safer than your standard beater-brush car wash, I still can't get over that mental hurdle of testing the limits of how dirty the car can be starting off. I put on 80+ miles a day, so build up can happen fast.

To counter this, I've been kicking around the cordless pressure washer options. I know the Hydroshot has gotten mention here, but it looks like there are a number of options out there now.

Any updated thoughts on any of these options? Dewalt, Kobalt, Hydroshot plus/ultra (whatever it is), Sun Joe, Etc.?

The one I'm eyeing is actually a Greenworks unit. You can get the bare unit for around $145 (I already have a couple of the 40v batteries). "800" psi, 1.1 GPM. 3 year warranty (sent them an email to confirm).

I don't wanna spend a ton of money as there's no guarantee this is the right fit. But at $145, I could justify picking one up to try. Then, either just use it as an initial "grit" rinse, or (probably the best version) pick up a pump-up foamer to use my Griot's Surface Wash as a pre-wash before doing a rinseless. I've done this with my regular pressure washer and BOSS cannon, it's just a lot more setup/teardown to drag all that stuff out. Trimming down the time involved is the big focus.

I'll update if I end up picking up the Greenworks unit - I may be able to work it into my work routine (auto repair) which would help justify having it around.


Addendum: just focusing on pressure washers/car washing speed tips for this conversation; LSP's, while obviously also coming into play, are a different topic. Thank you!

[Azure]

I have a 20v Hydroshot I bought a few years back. It's unusable for car washing, IMO. I do use it a couple of times a year with deionized water to spot-free rinse, since I have to wash in the sun. It works pretty well for that. I have thought about buying this Sun Joe 48V setup for the winter months so I don't have to get the hose out, but it's kinda pricey for part time use.

Access Denied

Maybe the Greenworks unit will work, since you already have batteries..?

[PaulMys]

Subscribed.

I am always curious about these, but I would be pissed if I dropped the coin on one and it was too weak for my liking.

It is very difficult for me to give up on my gas powered equipment, so I'd have to be super impressed with anything else to pull the trigger.

[psnt1ol]

To OP...

Since you work on cars then you might have a air compressor. If so then this might work for you.

Guardair Pneumatic Syphon Solvent Spray Gun 79SG012 with 12-Inch Aluminum Extension and Brass Nozzle

[UncleDavy]

The Worx Hydroshot is easy to use and inexpensive. I use it in the winter months when it’s too cold for the garden hose but I can hear the salt eating the paint on my vehicle. It’s not as powerful as a pressure washer but it does a good job. I also use it on the road. I can fill a couple of gamma seal buckets and wash the vehicle in the hotel parking lot.

[PaulMys]

The Worx Hydroshot is easy to use and inexpensive. I use it in the winter months when it’s too cold for the garden hose but I can hear the salt eating the paint on my vehicle. It’s not as powerful as a pressure washer but it does a good job. I also use it on the road. I can fill a couple of gamma seal buckets and wash the vehicle in the hotel parking lot.

When is your next trip on the CSF to Orient, UD?

[Markymapo]

Been using theSunjoe 6001c but mainly during the winter as all the outside water lines are shut off. Works fine for 4 months, but once it warms up the hose comes out n the theSunjoe is just used with DI water for the final rinse

[oneheadlite]

To OP...

Since you work on cars then you might have a air compressor. If so then this might work for you.

Ironically since I've been working on cars so long I refuse to do any work at home beyond winter/summer wheel swaps, so no compressor.

I have looked at that style sprayer for underhood cleaning in the past though - thanks for sharing!

I'm gonna pull the trigger on the Greenworks. Higher pressure than a lot of options, and a low enough price point where I feel comfortable trying it. I also noticed on Best Buy's site that they give you a 15 day satisfaction guarantee. Worst case I'm out $22 in restocking fee to return it.

If I end up really digging the concept, then maybe I upgrade to a higher spec'd unit once this one wears out/justifies the upgrade.

No matter what, I'll be posting follow up to share with the class.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Im somewhat in the same situation and put together a thread/video on my process using a battery powered unit.

Apartment washing without a hose

[oneheadlite]

Finally got the Greenworks yesterday.

Even before ordering it, I noticed it wasn't on the Greenworks website anymore - looks like they no longer sell it anywhere. Best Buy removed their listing from their site while I was waiting for my order, for a while I was wondering if they'd actually be able to fulfill my order. But, they managed to get one direct from GW. If they failed, I was getting ready to go for the newer SunJoe (24v-x2) because I really wanted to try cordless. Would have been quite a jump in price though since I would have had to get a unit with batteries also.

Gave the GW a test run last night and have to say I'm happy with how it went. Gave the wife's Q5 a bath in the garage - Did the wheels first with normal car wash soap and a boars hair wheel brush. Used the pressure washer to rinse the wheels then pre-spray the car to remove any road grit. Followed that with a Rinseless wash with Griot's Brilliant Finish Rinseless (I'm really digging that stuff).

Water wise, I think I went through about 5 gallons. I used my 4.0aH battery from the leaf blower I have and only used 1/2 of it.

Performance wise, it's exactly what I was expecting (again - rated at 800psi, tech specs in the manual say 1.0gpm). You're not going to strip paint off a bridge with it, but to clean up a car for RW duty it was just fine. Definitely looking forward to getting a stubby gun for it - in close quarters in a garage it's tight moving around with the full wand that comes with it. I was also really happy with how quite the machine was. I'd say it's quieter than my 1600/1.2 Ryobi for sure.

At some point, just for giggles I'll hook up my BOSS cannon and see if it can make any kind of foam. I'm also curious to play with the cute little soap bottle it came with and see what kind of dilution ratio it's putting out. Who knows, maybe I could use that to apply a Rinseless of choice as a pre-soak before putting towel to paint.

Initial impression: If you're someone like me who doesn't have a coin-op car wash anywhere in a reasonable vicinity, and even a touchless tunnel wash is hard to come by, this could be a solid option to consider.