Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a review of the Simpson model MSH3125-S with the Honda GC190 engine. The short of it is the unit’s easy to setup and use, starts easy (really, it’s just one pull) and has great cleaning power. The container of engine oil provided with the unit is just the right size, pour it all in the crank case, add gas to the large fuel tank and you’re ready to go. The Honda engine has tons for power and the unit is a blast (pun intended) to use. I’ve already used it to clean my patio, the eaves and house siding. I also purchased a soap lance to use while washing my cars which worked great. My wife was a bit skeptical when I told her I was buying a power washer but after seeing the result with the patio and eaves she’s sold. Definitely 5 stars, if you want to know why read on… I shopped around beforehand and looked a multiple brands, size units and features before deciding on this model. Boy, am I glad I did. If you plan to do any heavy cleaning of decks or prepping a house for painting stay away from the electric units or lower (2000) PSI gas units, you’ll want the 3000+ PSI this size engine puts out. I would also like to note that I read the reviews for this unit and saw a lot of complaints about poor customer service. I figured I’d take the chance since I was purchasing through Amazon and if there was a problem with the unit when received Amazon is good about accepting returns. When I received my washer the plastic spray wand was broken. The unit had shifted in the box and the front bumper on the unit pushed against the wand cracking it and breaking a chunk out of the handle. I called Simpsons customer service the next day and a nice lady took my name and confirmed the model and serial number on my unit and then shipped me a replacement spray wand. The whole ordeal took about 5 minutes, done. While trying to decide on a power washer I went to two of the big chain hardware stores and looked at power washers they had on hand. I was looking at the craftsmanship, features and materials the various units were made from. 1) One of the first things that attracted me to this unit was the Honda engine. Honda is well known for their small engine reliability. I love Honda engines; my car, motorcycle, lawn mower are all Honda. 2) All the other high PSI units costing about the same as this unit had plastic bumpers and plastic hose and spray wand mounts. They were pretty colors and looked nice but almost all the display models had their plastic spray wand mounts broken off. Obviously no plastic parts was top of my list. This Simpson unit is all heavy gauge metal that will hold up to abuse. 3) The units with vertical crank shaft engines had the water pump mounted underneath. This made the units taller, less stable, and made it difficult to reach down and connect hoses. This Simpson unit has a horizontal engine shaft with the pump mounted in the rear where it’s easy to get at. 4) Another big plus is that the metal frame on this unit completely surrounds the engine and pump housing protecting them from accidental damage. Units with the pumps on the bottom are susceptible to being damaged when pulling them up stairs or across rough terrain. 5) One unit I looked at had the muffler mounted next to the hose storage and water pump. There were numerous complaints in the review section about melted hoses. This Simpson unit has the hose storage and pump in the back and the muffler up front. The muffler also has a head shield around it. Definitely no problem there. 6) The majority of units I saw had aluminum pump heads. This unit, like the larger more expensive units, has a brass pump head which will hold up much better than the aluminum units. A harder metal means no soft threads to strip and brass, unlike aluminum does not oxidize.