Honda vs. Briggs & Stratton Engine in a Pressure Washer?

[EBottema]

Hey guys



Looking to buy a pressure washer. . Im looking at the excell or the sears models. They have a briggs engine or a honda GC. I dont want to spend more than 400 dollars on a pressure washer since im not gonna be using it a bunch. What engine should i get? Briggs makes a few like the intek and some others. Whats good?

Def. getting one with an axial cam pump





Thanks

Erik

 

[Camara]

I have a 12 hp Briggs and a 13 hp Honda. Honda always starts first pull! Both have the same size gas tank and the Honda runs longer per tankfull. Everytime I go to use the Briggs it needs oil. The Honda does not use any between changes. The Honda is quieter. I'd go with the Honda.

 

[RustyJC]

I had the choice of either B&S or Honda on the Troy Bilt 2500 PSIG pressure washer I bought. I paid extra to get the Honda, and I haven't been disappointed.



Rusty

 

[E7mack96]

My pressure washer has a Honda on it, starts on first pull.

 

[SGibson]

if the gc is the ohc honda then i'd take briggs, if the gc is ohv i'd take the honda

 

[lil red cummins]

even though i have used and repaired briggs and most other small engines all my life, i don't think i could find anything wrong with a honda engine.



the most severe duty on these small engines is on a mortar mixer.

mason contractors don't generally do preventive maintainence. i have seen hondas covered in cement with crushed gas tanks, low oil sensors disconnected and oil hasn't been checked probably in years and they still run.



unfortunately i cant say the same for the briggs. however, the new intek series of engines is leaps and bounds better than the old flathead designs. the intek IS a honda copy.



if you want to just "gas and go", the honda may be worth the extra $.



jim

 

[Bill Lins]

Originally posted by SGibson

if the gc is the ohc honda then i'd take briggs, if the gc is ohv i'd take the honda

Why?

 

[SGibson]

as I had posted on an earlier thread I had problems w/a honda ohc powered powerwasher in the past, not with the motor but with the unloader, part of the pump, when I took it to the repair shop , a place in st. louis called clean water solutions, I asked the boss had he had any exp. w/ these ohc hondas and he said "like these?', opened the door to the repair shop and if there was one there were a hundred of those ohc hondas in there all in various stages of disassembly, plastic cam driven by a belt that doubled as the oil slinger, a angular cut crankcase-bore that looked unservicible, I am not a small engine mech but he had been one for 40 years and said it was the sorriest engine out there. I have been a jet engine mech for 25yrs. and would like to think I can ID p. o. s. engine components and I did then. The guy I sold that powerwasher to blew it apart not long after he owned it, sold it for 200 bucks after I paid 419 for it @ home depot six months earlier, I guess if you just used it to blow the dust off the daffodils every few months it would be ok, but I worked it, my big Dodge has a 6-71 so there is always an oil slick about,right bmoeller? any way I bought a ohv honda the red and white one for a few dollars more got removable tips a better pump and thats that.

 

[bmoeller]

Honda hands down. NEVER have had any complaint with any of them that I have used. Briggs on the other hand... .....

 

[snowracer69]

I use/run over 30 Honda motors/pumps at work and not a single one has ever broke down where it couldn't be fixed with a new sparkplug (my fault) or something else very minor. The couple of Briggs we have on the other hand... forget even trying to get them to run... ...



I will never buy another gas powered device that doesn't have a Honda motor strapped to it. From the little 4. 5 HP up to the 18. 5's we have, they are all great!



Oh, and try to get the better "commercial" motor and not the cheaper ones w/ the plastic/smaller gastank on the side. While the cheaper ones still run great, they have small drawbacks compared to the upper end models. Yes, you're gonna pay for them upfront, but at least you won't be cussing every day when you go to start them.



Josh



P. S. We have pumped over 700,000 gallons of liquid fert out this year alone through the 5 Honda motors on our delivery trucks... . that's just since May 1 when I got back to work.....

 

[QRTRHRS]

I really can't fault Briggs.

I was under the gun when my pressure washer quit so I reluctantly went to the closest place which I dispise anyway (Wally World) and got a BS powered Campell Hausfield washer. Biggest complaint is the gas tank is too small. Other than that it runs okay, starts right up.



When I was shopping for a new mower last year, I had a chance to buy one at the "show special" price but it had a Briggs. I told the salesman whom I know well that I would rather go with the Kohler or maybe a Honda or Kawasaki. He said, "regardless of what you hear, we don't have that many problems". I thought about my then current 19hp Briggs mower which I barely maintained. While the rest of the MTD built mower was a pos, I never had a problem with the motor.



So, I bought the machine which has a like a 23 or 25hp Briggs. It does not use any of the synthetic oil I run. It's a big mower with a 5' front mount deck and seems reasonable on gas.



So, really, I would buy a Briggs again if the gas tank was larger.

 

[JARichard]

Well I usually buy 100% American. But my exception is Honda small engines and their recreational vehicles. They are just AWESOME and make B&S look like a POS. The only time my Honda lawn mower acts up is after I wash it. So HEY i dont wash it

 

[HEMI®Dart]

EBottema

We Just bought an Excell 2600 PSI model 2 weeks ago. It has the Honda OHC 6hp engine.



When I hooked up the water hose to the pump, without it running, there was a leak coming from somewhere on the pump. Can't take the black cover off the pump to see where it's coming from without removing the intake and output plumbing. Emailed Excell and they said this is no good. returned it for another. This one drips from the pump too. Not as bad as the first. It works fine and has a 1 year warranty. In other words, I give up.



If you get an Excell, see if you get a drip from the pump too.

 

[dresslered]

I have the honda, but I think that either engine is probably going to hold up to the job. I would put more emphasis on the pump when it comes to pressure washers.

 

[Hohn]

The trick with Honda engines is making sure you get the GX Commercial series, NOT the GC consumer series.



I'm told the GX series uses metal parts where they GC uses plastic. Should be stronger.



LIke was said, the pump is gonna be the main issue with the P. W.



I'd say a CAT or COMET pump is what you want-- they're worth paying extra for.



In all the research I did, I think the best P. W. is the NorthStar house brand from www.northerntool.com



Justin

 

[Cummins Pilot]

Honda for the engine.



Anyone know what a Herman Nelson is? Its a liquid fuel buring heater blower. We use them to heat our aircraft in the winter. Temps as low as -45f. They run long times on "trash gas" all winter long. But they always go. The Honda OHC engines work great in this harsh enviroment.



But I'm also a Honda fan. Been there, dragged the others home with my Honda powered toys. Never been dragged home when I've been on one. But hey, my view is kind of slanted.

 

[ramtifosi]

I agree with Hohn on the Honda GX series and more importantly on the pumps (heart of the machine) but I ought an Excell from Home Depot last week cause they had $100 off (probably every Holiday week) its an Excell Commerical model ZR2800 with a GX 200 (6. 5 hp) and a CAT pump (3DX29GSI) the only short coming was a 25' hose, bought a 50' for an extra $44. They also threw in a bunch of accessories. This was a better deal than I could find anywhere else (including Northern) the pump is the most important piece of this machine. IMHO

 

[MFalkinham]

Briggs has been good for me

I bought my 2400psi at Sears around 2 years ago. It has a 6. 5HP Briggs Intek on it. The unit was actually made by Generac, which like Briggs is also a Wisconsin company. So far I've had zero problems with it, and I use it every weekend in the summer. I also bought the extended 5-year warranty from Sears, so that if anything does go wrong it will be covered.



- Mike