Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hey gang! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

Curious.... I want to "invest" in a good gas power washer. My boat sits in the water year round so they get a little "gunked" up. Usually swimming around and underneath I can scrub it all off. I'm tired of scrubbing.

I don't want to buy too much psi or too little. What PSI pressure washer are you all successfully using out there to blow all the crap off of your toons?

Thanks!

I can't recommend a minumum pressure, but I'll suggest going electric (you can get them very powerful). Electric means zero-maintenance and instant silence then second you let go of the trigger.



LC.

I agree plus they are lighter to drag around. Without extra hose a gas model is hell to get up inside the toon.

You've got to be careful with pressure washers. Too much pressure can do damage--especially to wood decks.

The 3500 lb. units are really for blasting concrete and for cleaning tractors and heavy equipment for re-painting. They'll get an inexperienced person in trouble.

If you're having problems keeping your pontoon clean, try one of the muriatic acid based cleaners or a/c coil cleaners. Then, hit the aluminum polish with an electric buffer.

I just pulled my toon out of the lake after fishing & camping for 14 days it had moss growing on the toons took it to the quarter car wash which is $2.00 bucks for 4 min took 4.00 bucks did a fine job.

Last fall we pulled our boat out late and put her away with some "Real Nasty" pontoons. Well during a warm spell last winter I rented a steam jenny on somebody else's dime to do a job. Now I have this pressure washer from hell with hot enough water to scald yourself if you were stupid enough to somehow flash yourself, and don't even ask how I learned .

Anyway with a bit of daylight left and wand in hand I proceeded to the boat and proceed to blast shit literately everywhere. I mean maybe between the cool day and the extremely hot water and thermal expansion the buildup of gunk I couldn't touch before with everything short of explosives literately pealed away in hunks under the pressure this washer exerted upon mess. It was simply a amazing marvel to watch especially when considering all the wasted time and effort and money we've spent in the past trying to achieve what this rental pressure washer was able to do in minutes with nothing harsher than "hot water". And you know what if by chance I happen to have the opportunity to have both boat and the pressure washer from hell together at hand I wouldn't hesitate to hose her down again.

I'm just down the road from you in Columbia and I sell and service pressure washers. PM me, I'd be happy to set up a demo. We have some affordable industrial washers that are far superior to anything you would get at a big box store.

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I have a 2800 psi gas unit and personally would not go any smaller. Once you get one you will find many other uses for it. Cleaning decks, sidewalks, the house, outdoor furniture, etc. You can get a large psi unit but just use the correct tip as to not cause damage.

If it has removable tips, don't worry about psi, just get a larger gpm tip, that transfers the flow from psi, to gpm. When I was in the business, my rig was 5 gpm, and I used 8gp, tips, I even used home built tips to wash homes.

Get the smallest one that will clean everything you have, house, boat, truck, deck. Probably in the 2.5-3 gpm.

Thanks for everyone's reply. Perhaps I'll pick up a cheapie and test it out today. Worst case, I'll return it to Lowes. Otherwise, I'll go rent one for now. It's boating season and spending $300 on a good power washer doesn't sound feasible right now. I'd rather spend that $300 on rum and beer.

Back in May I bought a Generac 2700 pressure washer. It's great, I cleaned the carpet & outside of the toon better than ever before (checked with some guys on here first). Also washed my deck, siding and patio. I have a canvass cover for my portable gas tank on my toon (I don't like having the tank exposed) and over the past 5 years it has gotten pretty dirty & messy. I soaped it up real good and tried scrubbing with practically no results. Took out the pressure washer and carefully sprayed it clean. It came out great. I love the thing & well worth the investment.

Whatever you buy, avoid Kaarcher electric power washers. They are good for about a year and that's it. I have a Troy Bilt gas with a 5 HP Honda and it's been great.

badmoonrising wrote:Whatever you buy, avoid Kaarcher electric power washers...

Funny, my pressure washer is an electric Karcher I bought for $80 at a surplus store about 5 years ago. Being a Jeeper, it's hosed a lot of mud and never a problem with it. Perhaps I'm just lucky or you're just unlucky.


LC.

No, the newer Kaarcher products are known to last about a year tops. Search online. I return one under warranty and the second one failed under a year. They used to be made in Germany, now they are made in China.

Good to know, thanks. I guess they sold out like so many other companies...




LC.