hey what's going on everybody welcome back today I've got another review for
you today we're looking at the new bauer 2000 psi pressure washer from Harbor
Freight this is model 20141E - B currently just launched at a price of
$199 so I picked it up and as per usual first gonna unbox it we're gonna put it
together and then we're gonna try it out and see how everything works alright
let's get to it before cracking or open we can see this is outputting 1.3
gallons per minute which is about what similar units from competitors offer at
least according to the box furthermore we've got an integrated soap dispenser
hose reel and spray nozzle storage this setup along with its price of just under
$200 puts it right in line with competition from Ryobi, Greenworks,
Sunoe, Karcher and probably a dozen other no names on Amazon opening it up and we
get that first unmistakable whiff of Beijing air and that is really not meant
to pass any judgment but that distinct odor caused by what I assume is a
combination of chemicals and smog leaves little doubt about where this unit last
saw the light of day on top is the instruction manual that we'll need in a
minute to finish some light assembly duties under that is one half of the
spray wand it appears identical in all respects except for color as the one
supplied with the Greenworks unit I reviewed last year the extension is out
next it's all metal a combination of stainless steel and brass fittings feels
quite sturdy actually after that we've got the wand holder packaged in a little
ziplock with the wheel axle Hardware right next door to that is another zip
lock containing the nozzle and cord holders then packaged in just a small
amount of bubble wrap is the carts handle holes for accessory holders are
pre-drilled and the top is covered in neoprene foam a nice
touch the motor and cart assembly are out next it's surprisingly weighty one
gets the feeling there's a decent amount of metal under the hood so initial
impressions and equating pounds with quality is very good finally last out
are our two wheels before we move on to assembly let's take a minute to talk
about this units warranty traditionally this is something Harbor Freight and the
Bauer line have been a bit stingy with like most of the other tools sharing
this pressure washers brand name it comes with just 90 days that is really
quite bad competitors Ryobi and Greenworks both provide a full three years on
their units and that's including accessories Karcher pressure washers
come with one year on the pump plus 90 days on accessories while SunJoe offers
two paperwork out of the way let's move on to assembly step one includes the
installation of the wheels a simple 1/2 inch ish bushing setup is all we've got
to work with no bearings here but then again I wouldn't expect them at this
price point we'll go ahead and install the handle next before snapping into
place I did notice a little rust inside not the end of the world otherwise
assembling this is quite easy it just snaps into place secured by two
spring-loaded locking pins the accessory holders go on next and will require a
driving device I just used a number 2 phillips for the cord hanger to secure
the wand bracket and nozzle holder one must penetrate a couple of rear holes
with some coarse threaded screws it's metal into plastic so be sure not to
over tighten and strip anything out here finally I'll go ahead and install the
stainless steel wand extension it's held in place with some solid feeling brass
threads and double O rings hopefully that should mitigate the chances of any
water being ejected mid wand and that's about it for
assembly of the Bauer 2,000 psi pressure washer after it's all together we can
see that overall the unit looks pretty nice we've got a top mounted power
switch side mounted pump front mounted hose inlet and rear mounted high
pressure outlet everything is held together by hex cap screws all-in-all it
doesn't scream Harbor Freight and I think that's a good thing before firing
up for the first time I'm going to install some quick disconnects nicely
this unit uses the industry standard M22 - 14 fitting some competing units use
the less common m22 - 15 connection or even worse proprietary Hardware I
ordered these off of Amazon and they make setup and breakdown so much easier
I'll place a link below it's an associate link for which the channel
will earn a small commission use is greatly appreciated
now when initially turning on I noticed the unit suffers from what I consider a
problem that pretty much all electric pressure washer suffer from the lack of
a no flow motor shutoff mechanism let me demonstrate
if you inadvertently plug the machine in without water connected and while the
power switches on the motor will spin up dry it really seems like this is a
problem that shouldn't exist but again is definitely not unique to the Bauer
minor gripes aside let's go ahead and see this unit actually shoot a bit of
water
oh yeah a tip would help
so it sounds like just about every other electric pressure washer with a
universal motor to put a number on that comment I'm going to see exactly how
loud it is using my decibel meter
the Bauer 2,000 psi pressure washer settles right in around 88 decibels at
about five feet that's right in line with competing units from Greenworks
for those without a good frame of reference my Dyson Ball Animal+ was
about eighty four point five decibels when i tested that last year in other
words the pressure washer from Harbor Freight is a little louder than a vacuum
cleaner in our first actual practical test of the unit I'm going to be giving
my truck a little hands off washing action for this I'll be hooking up my
shorty gun to a foam cannon and spraying it on dry this is another Amazon
purchase that worked out really well for around thirty dollars I got the shorty a
foam cannon and five spare tips really not a bad deal when doing this type of
wash those quick disconnects once again demonstrate their value as one is able
to quickly switch between power soaping and power rinsing after a quick blow-dry
were about done I know this type of wash isn't as good as one done by hand but it
is a lot faster and quite a bit more fun you know for those days you just want to
knock off the big stuff but aren't planning on taking any Autotrader or
Tinder pics now because one doesn't really need a whole lot of power to take
care of a Tacoma let's try something that does here I'm going to use the 25
degree tip to clean a year's worth of dirt and mildew off some concrete after
viewing this footage it's obvious the fact that the concrete was already wet
makes the before and after difference not quite as stark as it appears in real
life that said I think it did a very good job performing this homeowners task
and while a more powerful gas unit would have done it quicker I don't know that
it would have done any better speaking of power I wonder how much this
one has to find out I'm going to set up my amp meter in line and pull the
trigger
okay so we're settling in at about fourteen point five amps considering my
home is serviced by 123 volts this means the unit is drawing one thousand seven
hundred eighty three point five watts or 2.4 horsepower just for fun let's have a
look at the Honda GCV one sixty engine it's very commonly used on small
gas-powered pressure washers it's rated at 4.4 horsepower
so our bauer 2000 psi unit from Harbor Freight is roughly 55% as powerful but
how about some other around the home chores can it remove bird poop from
asphalt
yes yes it can can it remove pine needles and the associated goo that gets
ground into a driveway when cars have been backing over it for several months
yes yes it can can one use it to remove annoying weeds no not really without
making a mess and not accomplishing much finally let's talk about the one item on
this unit that I really don't like the stock hose it feels incredibly cheap
kinks at the slightest misdirected tug and has more memory than a savant
after first unreeling I took a couple of minutes to try and straighten it out
that only kind of worked as it immediately recoiled back into a rat's
nest frustrated I thought I just used the built-in hose reel to store it away
and do battle another day this endeavor proved to be quite annoying as the
location of the retention clips position the fittings in a manner that causes
them to hit the motor every rotation I was eventually able to get it done by
manually holding down and then using the rest of the host to hold the beginning
in place not ideal ultimately I initially liked the idea of having a
built-in reel but now feel it just gets in the way and can definitely see why no
pro units have one so conclusion time should you buy the Bauer 2,000 psi
pressure washer from Harbor Freight maybe but probably not but that's not
because it's a bad product it's actually quite good it's because competing units
for the same or less money are better take the Greenworks 2000 psi unit from
Lowe's that I raved about last year this item has near as makes no difference
power and build quality but for the same price one gets a warranty that's over
ten times as long a high-quality braided nylon hose and a turbo nozzle for those
really tough to clean areas furthermore that unit frequently goes on sale for
$179 and for that price I think there's no question what's the better value that
said I highly expect the Bauer to be discounted in the future I've recently
thought that Harbor Freight has been getting a little ahead of themselves
price-wise if this unit is offered on sale or with a coupon for 140 to 160
dollars it becomes much more competitive and that will about do it for today if
you found any of this helpful a like or sub would be great if not I'm sorry
okay take care