Customer Reviews

Power Boss 020309 3,000 psi 2.5 Gallon-Per-Minute Honda GC190 Gas-Powered Pressure Washer

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is my second Briggs & Stratton power washer. The first one died an untimely death, but I blame myself for not draining all the water out before a winter freeze.

Anyway, when I decided to replace it I knew I needed more power (who doesn't?), so I looked seriously at 3,000 psi units. Here's what I liked about the Briggs Power Boss:

1) Honda engine. Kind of strange that Briggs would put a Honda engine on one of their products, but I think Honda makes some of the best small gasoline powered engines. It starts right up and runs great.
2) The sealed pump that requires no maintenance. Considering how much homeowners actually use their pressure washers, I doubt that many (or any) were changing the pump oil as recommended. This eliminates that hassle.
3) The large gas tank lets you run the unit until you're probably thankful that it finally ran out of gas.
4) Pneumatic wheels make the unit easy to move around.
5) Quick-connect sprayer tips.
6) On-board detergent tank. My old p/w just had a suction tube, so if you wanted to move the unit you had to be careful not to knock over the detergent bottle and spill it.

In a perfect world, the pump would be made of solid brass, but that would entail a major cost increase. I would also prefer a longer (maybe 50') hose, but maybe that's the laws of physics kicking in -- it may not be practical on a 3,000 psi unit.

Overall operation is simple, and the unit does pretty much everything I could reasonably expect it to. Anything more and I should get myself a true commercial model, but that's a big jump in price.

I can highly recommend this unit.

First, let me say that I'm a Mechanical Engineer w/ 32 years experience and this is my first review after several years buying from Amazon.com. Amazon is fantastic.

This pressure washer is OK. It does the job in the category it was intended, homeowners.
The second instruction in assembly is incorrect, the first being removal from the box. They instruct you to put the tree clips in the top hole. WRONG. The top holes are for the carriage bolts which tie the handle to the mainframe. Getting the tree clips out of the holes is a major pain, but needs to be done. There are only two holes, one on either side that tie the handle to the mainframe. I now had two less tree clips (no extras) to use on the bottom holes of the detergent reservoir.
The wheels are secured to a dowel axial. Cheap axial, cheal wheels. They wobble.
The accessory tray? That's what they call it, is all but useless. The hook for the high pressure hose does not keep it secure. The hose is stiff. It does not want to stay on the hook.
The unit is not layed out well. Briggs Development Engineers really need to "use" what they design to get it.
I now throw the gun and hose on a hook in my garage. The various angled tips are stowed on the gun and have fallen off. They should be securely positioned on the accessory tray. I can walk back 25 ft if I require a different tip.
The Honda fired right up. Not the case with my other Briggs power tools.
It took me one hour to clean my 15' x 20" cement patio. I also cleaned a pressure treated adirondack chair. This pressure washer removed all the mildew and mold.
I have another 15' x 20' cement patio to do as well as a 100' long cement driveway. It will take awhile to get it done, but I understand the limitations of a 3000 psi units. I could try to find a sweeper attachment, but do not want to throw another $300-400 into it. I'll just take my time. I bought this unit not only for the cement cleaning, but outdoor redwood furniture being retreat, brick house cleaning as well as to wash all my cars, lawn tractor and other power tools. The onboard detergent reservoir is a nice addition. I purchased Monster Labs Concrete and Vehicle Cleaner, but did not have them for my initial test.

Bottom line: The Honda engine is the best part of this pressure washer. It says something that Briggs & Stratton would put a Honda on as opposed to their very own claim to fame.
Now, Briggs needs to figure out how to design better products. Fit follows form and function.
Cheap components. Layout not thought through.

This is a great machine. The Honda engine is the best. I just finished a three hour non stop job on a friends patio and used 1.5 tanks of gas. It never missed a beat. I highly recommend this product. When I opened the box, the power wand handle was shattered. I called the 800 number and I had a new one in 3 days. Great customer service.

Recently purchased this pressure washer for home use, and have used once so far. Assembly was fairly straight forward, but I feel that the product hardware is flimsy. I always look for quality products, and don't mind paying for it. I purchased this based on the Honda Engine, and I'm pleased with the engine. It started easily, and ran well. The fuel seemed to last a long time.

The pressure washer itself is not up to my expectations. The wand is shorter than I would like, the 4 nozzles are stored in a plastic holder on the bottom side of the wand, and I'm afraid that if I hit them on something, they will fall out, so I don't store them there. The hose is ok; it is smaller diameter that I would like, and only 25' long. The wheels are plastic and flimsy; there is not a solid axel between the wheels. The fuel tank is plastic, which is fine, but it is thin and the connections to the engine don't appear to be very rugged. The soap dispenser tank is conveniently mounted above the high pressure pump, which is good, but I have not used that feature yet. The frame is adequate, but not what I would call heavy duty.

My bottom line is that I will keep the pressure washer, as it is fine for normal household jobs, but if you intend to use this for industrial purposes, I would not recommend.

I replaced an electric pressure washer that never really did the job. What once took days, now takes hours. This is a very convenient package that is easy to move and to store. With a great Honda engine I expect years of good service.

Cut out cleaning time to half compared to the other pressure machine I own. Great motor and great quality. Really worth every dollar.

Received a few weeks ago. I've used it three times since receiving it, twice on vehicles (without soap) and once on the garage floor to rinse out the winter dirt.

Works great on vehicles, especially the undercarriage on my pickup. I look forward to trying out the soap tank (soap is due in from Amazon tomorrow).

Did a great job on the garage floor without using soap. Washed out ground in grime and dirt that had been dropped from vehicles - MUCH cleaner than I have ever been able to manage with broom and mop.

The water pump sounds a bit clanky when starting until it builds back pressure, but smooths out quickly. The engine is easily started and runs smoothly.

So far, I'm completely satisfied - I would purchase this again and would recommend it to others.

I bought the PowerBoss pressure washer, model #020309, sold by Briggs & Straton, 15 months ago. After only light use, there are 3 pot metal caps that are part of the unloader circuit. One of those blew apart today (they screw in), as I began to use the washer, and upon removal of the other two caps, I discovered that both were badly corroded and would soon fail. I visited the dealer where the purchase was made and discovered that B&S does not even list them as a repair part. Thus, supposedly, the only way to make the washer usable again is to buy a new pump assembly for about $266.00. B&S needs a ear full. The assistant manager of the store said he has seen the same problem with the same model, before. The toll free number for B&S is 1-800-473-4115. TWO DAYS LATER: I discovered [...]. I ordered the replacement parts for $2.98 each plus $.98 each for O-Rings plus $8.95 shipping, for which B&S wanted to sell a kit for about $69.00.

This pressure washer is far superior to any power washer I've rented or borrowed from a neighbor. In less than two hours, I had my deck stairs cleaned, at a level they hadn't seen since the deck had been built. The unit was very easy to get from box to use, and equally easy to put away. That said, apparently the hose brushed the muffler as I was carrying the unit up the deck stairs, and it burst less than five minutes after resuming the cleaning. Briggs & Stratton refused to honor the warranty, despite the unit being less than a week old. The warranty service center explained to me that they see this all the time -- the hoses provided with the unit are economy-grade, and can be damaged by the heat of the muffler or the spray of the finest tip. So either watch carefully or expect to drop another $100-150 on a higher-grade replacement hose!

I must have gotten a huge DUD of a machine when I bought this unit. It ran ~20 hours the first time I used it when it failed. Apparently the "unloader valve" went bad. Pull the trigger and no water came out. Took it in at the factory recommended place to get it fixed. It ran another ~10 hours and failed the same way. Took it back to the same place, they called themselves fixing it, got it home, and it failed immediately again the same way. Ordered a part to fix myself and it worked a couple of hours and failed again. The only good thing about this unit was that the Honda engine always easily cranked. I spent over $350 in repair bills on this thing, almost as much as it cost and I now have a piece of junk that is bound for the junk yard..