Customer Reviews

Campbell Hausfeld PW1805 1,800 psi 1.5 gpm Electric Pressure Washer with 20-Foot Hose

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I have only owned this pressure washer for 48 hrs. but I have had it working hard and it hasn't let me down! I'm a painting contractor and I have a bigger gas powered hydroblaster but I wanted something to use while my partner was blasting the heavier stuff like deck floors. I figured I could just clean rails and pickets. This machine does a fine job on them and more, it surprisingly tackles even the heavier work, but... and this is the part I love...it doesn't gouge the wood as easily as the bigger units. It is easy to operate, light weight, well designed. It comes with two wands, an adjustable fan spray and a turbo nozzle....the turbo is my favorite....aggressive cleaning without gouging. The fan spray is a twist adjustment...no stopping to change tips. I've owned Karcher's and they were ok but didn't last long. This is a better unit and if it keeps on running it will be worth every penny. If it dies I'll be back to amend this review.

This pressure washer gets the job done for modest tasks around the home. It's loud close-up, but no noisier than a lawn mower from a few feet away.

After regularly borrowing friends' washers, I decided I needed my own, but didn't want to spend too much for something I'd use once or twice a year. I also required an electric model to minimize maintenance. The many models of Karcher here on Amazon seemed to consistently get negative reviews, so I gave this new model (which had no reviews at the time) a shot instead. So far, so good, after a few hours use. No leaks, no problems.

So far, I've washed various plastics (birdbath, recycle bin), brickwork, concrete sidewalks/porches, doormats, and concrete garage floor with the adjustable "fan" wand. Things seemed to clean off well, but the grime (about 3 years worth) on the sidewalk required a very slow close-up pass, followed by a second pass to focus on spots where mold was stubbornly clinging to the concrete. And after all that, the front walk looks like new! But the process was slow enough that I don't think this would be a good choice if your livelihood depending on the machine. But for my infrequent usage, it's fine.

The unit doesn't lack in power, and it's worth minding the manual's warning to test a small area first (and adjust the spray pattern); I noticed that in the process of getting the dirt off my garage floor, the cleaned-area's formerly very smooth concrete now had a slight but noticeable rough texture (by touch or eye).

Range is good; I was able to clean siding/gutters about 10 feet away, with the "fan" wand turned to its narrowest setting. But it wasn't able to clean the 2nd floor's siding (about 15 feet up).

There are some nice safety features over the last model I used, including a GFCI reset on the A/C adapter, and a recessed/sealed power switch.

One less-pleasing safety-feature is the trigger, which has to be held closed the whole time you're washing-- it takes a fair amount of tension to hold, and my hands notice the effort after 30-60 minutes use. This may also make this unit more suitable for home-use than for the pro who's washing all day long. There's a modest level of vibration through the pressure-hose and handle, which adds to the hand fatigue after extended usage.

Instructions are minimal, and don't discuss assembling the various plastic bits. But, I think they can safely assume anybody who wants to use a pressure washer has some degree of mechanical aptitude (or is willing to figure it out, at least). And being electric, there's no-muss no-fuss with gas or oil or draining things for storage...or the heavy environmental exhaust footprint of small engines.

I'll update this review if any leaks or failures develop later. Recommended for casual jobs for the homeowner.

This pressure washer works great. We have already used it to clean a large wooden deck and wash numerous cars. The only flaw I have found so far is that the connection between the high pressure hose & the wand leaks a little, but for this price that is a minor thing. The unit didn't include much extra documentation (the assembly instructions were one diagram with very little verbage), but it doesn't take much to use a pressure washer anyway.

We have only had this for about a month now, so we will have to see how a pressure washer in this price point holds up over time.

I have had other pressure washer, and after reading the reviews thought this would be a good fit. I was wrong the connector for the hose & the pump leaked, I went out a purchased a brass connnector, before I realy tried the machine. Once I turned up the water pressure, water poured out of the bottom of the machine. Besides this the plastic handel keeps falling off. I would never buy another one.Campbell Hausfeld PW1805 1,800 psi 1.5 gpm Electric Pressure Washer with 20-Foot Hose

Several years ago, I puchased a larger, gas-powered, unit to clean my house. I soon found this to be too much of a chore including dealing with soap coming down on my face. So, I hired this job out. After the last use, I neglected to empty the gas so, not unexpectedly, the carborator gummed up and the engine would no longer start. Now, I wanted to clean my sidewalks, pavers, and hurricane panels. I could have rented a machine for about $50 bucks. I really did not want to invest in a large machine again, especially a gas-powered one. Recently, I saw a small, about $100, Karcher advertised on TV so I ordered it. I expected quality because I have a Karcher steam cleaner and it is of the expected German quality. But, the Karcher pressure cleaner was defective out of the box with oil all over the machine and packaging so I returned it for a refund. It was not made in Germany. Then, I did what I should have done in the first place - research this class of pressure cleaners on Amazon. Basically, none of the electric-powered machines in the $100 to $200 price range seemed to be very reliable. I chose this Cambell Hausfield, even though it had only 5 reviews, because most were positive. My machine worked out of the box and I have used it several times now. So, I think it works as expected but there could be simple improvements. I'm guessing that there's not much difference in results from all suppliers between 1600 and 2000 psi units in most cases. The main difference seems to be "bells and whistles" -wheels or no wheels, internal or external soap dispensing, etc. Managing a cleaner like this is a chore considering there is an AC cord, a water hose, and a pressure hose. It was easiest to do when my wife took care of all these connections and I did the spraying. While not a fault of this unit, I preferred to wet down the area to be cleaned with my hose rather than with the cleaner wand because it went faster. But, this meant that I had to disconnect and reconnect the hose to the cleaner. The cleaner comes with a swival hose connection but it is not easy to connect/disconnect with soapy hands. So, I installed a quick-disconnect. This was not a perfect solution since the quick-disconnect would not connect under pressure so I had to run back and forth to the main to open and close the water supply. I can imagine installing a "Y" in the line to make it unnecesary to disconnect from the cleaner. Next, I would like to see the Detergent Bottle made of clear plastic. This one, and others, are not. So, when filling, you don't know when it's full or later, when it's empty. Simple fix. Furthermore, it is somewhat difficult to attach the bottle to the wand. If you put too much pressure on the bottle, it will just pop off the fitting that attaches to the wand. No damage, but again, soapy hands make this more difficult than necessary. I might try getting a longer bottle hose and see if the cleaner can just suck the detergent out of the gallon container instead of using the Detergent Bottle. But, here would be another hose to wrestle with. On-board Detergent Bottle storage for this machine is "nice", but then when you store it between washes you have to turn it sideways which lets some of the contents escape on the machine. A nuisance, but, did any of the designers actually USE this machine? Some machines, like the Karcher I returned, have an external detergent hose and a "mix" position on the variable wand. This might be better since you don't have to change wands. As far as wands, I wound up only using the "turbo" wand. This blasts off surface dirt well and blasts off more if you put detergent on the area to be cleaned. But, as with all machines like this, you are cleaning a very small area at a time. Expecting about 15 minutes to clean my sidewalk turned into an hour job. Lastly, deep down dirt and stain did not come off (and I really didn't expect it, I just hoped it). I plan to try other solvents including pure oxygen bleach. The bottom line, for me, with this class of pressure cleaners is: 1) I didn't blow a hole in my arm or foot; 2) It didn't damage any of my property; 3) It did actually clean some things; 4) It worked at least two times. 5) It didn't cost too much so I won't be too upset if doesn't work very long.

I purchased this model from a store (not from Amazon, although these reviews helped me in my purchasing decision). The unit appeared to be perfect for my needs. When I opened the box and read the 2009 owner's manual, item 12 on the first page states explicity that you can never use an extension cord w/ this model. I refrained from using it before doing more research since the unit's power cord was not long enough to reach my sidewalks.

So, I went to the C/H website and downloaded the only manual from that website (which was dtd 2003). Upon comparing the manuals, the 2003 model was more forgiving in that it allowed use of certain lenghted cords based on AWG and length vs. the wattage of the machine. The 2003 version of the manual does a better job of explaining the electrical and grounding aspects of that version of the machine.

Finally, I called the C/H phone service (number was in the owner's manual) to compare notes and they stated that this exact model, because it is the 2009 version, will be damaged when used w/ an extension cord.

As a result, I took the unit back for a full refund.

I hope this post prevents for future users some of the malfunctions noted previously.

Purchased this pressure washer based on good reviews. Now granted I may have received a lemon but the power washer worked for about 10 minutes and then started to smoke. I unplugged the device. Waited until the smoke stopped and tried again. After about five minutes the power washer stopped completely.

Amazon's return was great. Amazon immediately granted a return based on my description of what happened. The next day UPS picked up the unit.

Five stars to Amazon.
One star to the smoking power washer.

Ran for all of five minutes correctly, then started stuttering on and off and then started gushing water out of several places. Now it doesn't run for more than 1-2 seconds at a time. It took forever to get here, was really looking forward to using this but I am returning it after only one very frustrating day. I am very disappointed as I was looking forward to using this on lots of little projects and keeping the small deck clean. I had really wanted this to work but it was a complete failure.

I received this power washer and began cleaning a concrete walkway with it. The pressure seemed inconsistent and weak at times, and then, within 10 minutes, the unit began smoking. I unplugged it immediately. I had purchased from the manufacturers website, so I called their 800 number for customer service and did get to speak with a rep pretty quickly. He emailed return authorization information, and I will get a full refund when they receive the return.

Good medium duty washer. My only complaint is the lack of different nozzles, as there are only 2 to choose from. Machine is built well, but the tips are plastic. I think if I had to do it over I would spend a few more dollars and get a heavy duty model with more choices in spray nozzles.