Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

See my "UPDATE" at the bottom. Like many of the reviewers I have had a few of the electric pressure washers. The first one I had was a Generac 1800 PSI unit. It was a hand carry item with a long power cord and a variable rubber coated metal wand. It wasn't on wheels but was a very solid unit with a good amount of pressure behind it. If I could find another I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I put it through its paces and my teenage sons abused it. I even drove over it when they left it behind my car. It is still working today as I gave it to my youngest son after about 12 years of use but is probably now working around 1600 psi. Why all the talk about this one you ask? Well, like I said I have had others as well since giving the Generac away and the claims of high pressure don't quite meet with what that old one did nor do they take the abuse. This K5.540 Karcher comes with two wands. The variable pressure one is just that. A fan pattern that decreases in pressure verses one with the same pressure that varies in width. This one allows you to siphon soap but only when the pressure is reduced to open hose flows. The other wand is a single stream turbo wand which means you don't get a straight shot at what you want to clean. It spins the stream in a cone shape from the tip of the wand outward. That does have its purposes I suppose but isn't what I'm used to. Neither wand seemed to produce the pressure of that first Generac I had that was slated at 1800 PSI verses this one at 2000 PSI. Interestingly enough I bought a single stream kit from Amazon with orifices for different pressures for this washer. I installed the 1800 PSI one and this Karcher oscillated on and off because the pressure increase would shut the machine off. Hmmmm! Does it sound like they truly have rated their pressure accurately or even correctly. Dropping to a 1600 PSI orifice did the trick which in comparison to my old Generac seems to be about what I am experiencing. Next we have the embellishments. Moveable cord holder that is placed at the front right and it is very flimsy. In the end I ran a screw through the upper hook to keep it in place. What they really need is a ratchet mechanism with a trigger to move it when you want to remove the power cord. Oh and there really isn't a good place to put the GFI plug when wrapping it up either. I ended up boring some holes in the upper holder/hook resembling a receptacle and plug it in before I wind up the cord. The upper holder for the "wand" is likewise too flimsy and irritating to work with. Again, they are in need of something more solid we need it to adjust to different wand lengths. Here again I ended up just throwing a screw in it to hold it in place which works for storage ok and occasionally for temporary storage while in use. The unit wheels are ok and the height of the unit is adequate to move it around with them; however, the crazy thing will tip over very easily with the slightest tug on the pressure hose. Not acceptable! I installed a bracket and caster out front, center that stopped the tipping. Next I'll have to find a locking caster to takes its place. The hose real isn't too bad so far. If the wand your using will latch up in its holder you can crank the excess in quite readily - I like it. The soap dispenser is better than most I've had but it is just that - a dispenser. Finally, I know these companies are required to keep things safe so I can imagine that is why we can't lock the trigger open but I like to have a way to run the air out of the line so a small wood block was formed to keep the trigger open while that process is going on. I have added a little partition to the rear top behind the cord holder to hold that block of wood and now that the washer doesn't tip over it stays there too. Bottom Line: If you need a serious washer this isn't it and I can only guess they cheapened up the motor/pump and that is why they need water cooling. Time will tell how long this will run but are the dollars worth the risk. Go commercial electric or gas if you need something that will "stay the course" and do the job. I will even take my own advice next time. UPDATE :( 7-1-2014 I just downgraded my review to a single star due to losing the connection to 'capacitive motor start'. Look in the comments for my last post on this model & problem. It was a hassle tearing it apart and cobbling up a spare switch I had from an older 'L Cheapo' pressure washer to get this running again. If I get another season out of it I'll consider myself fortunate. Update :( 8-27-2014 The variable pressure wand that dispenses/siphons soap started leaking today. I took it apart, locked the nozzle into place and turned the machine on. The plastic wand was split along the seam about 2/3 of the way toward the nozzle which is protected by the twist grip (outer shell). Perhaps I just got a lemon but there sure are a lot of negative reviews on this thing. The wheels haven't fallen off yet and I do have one wand left so I hope it lasts until winter sets in.