I’m marginally happy with the unit with just a manual start (easy enough and it pulls smooth). I’d be happy if the battery would work as it’s supposed to. I’m in Alaska and guess what, there’s not a service location within 100 miles of my house. They wrote back and said that they don’t provide written instructions beyond what’s in the manual, and that I should bring it to a service center. I’m handy enough to deal with an issue like this, or at least diagnose if I likely have a bad battery (brand new?) or charger (again, brand new?). I e-mailed PowerStroke’s customer service about diagnosing the issue. I charged it for 36 hours and it was still dead. The battery won’t start the thing, and the charger appears not to do anything. If the pressure washer dies then I will take it back and get the newer one. I bought mine last year so I can’t justify taking it back to get these two features even though it does appear better. The newer model simply had a “start push button that appeared much easier/better way to start the unit. The older model has the front facing red push start button that you have to click and then push down. The newer model has a front facing slider button for the choke/off. The older model had a thing metal rod/ring that you would push in /out for the choke. I went to Costco today and it appears they have improved the design from this model. It does not start on the first push of the button, but cranks on the second button push. I have this model with the red starter button. Hence why in the manual it states to check the oil level before use… Isn’t that common sense with anything with a motor? Lawnmower, car…etc. And if your unit goes through oil and you haven’t checked it the motor will seize, just like a car motor. In fact if you are spilling half the contents then perhaps stay away from power tools. So, I mostly try to pour sideways, this means about half the oil I’m pouring goes over the wheel cover and the surface below - this is the surface you’re likely interested in cleaning! And the engine appears to need a LOT of oil refills! Mine is now seized up (after running it maybe 30 hours) won’t even hand crank. I bought a plastic oil funnel, but what’s needed is a sort of flexible narrow spout - couldn’t find such a thing to buy. I didn’t get the funnel with mine didn’t even see an indication that there was such a thing. This means you need some significant finger contortions just to get the cap screwed back on. The cap is situated at about a 50% angle to vertical and the engine cover is very close overhead. Handling the oil is just ridiculously difficult for such a simple operation. This was after leaving it plugged in overnight as well as after running (hand cranked) for hours. The power start has never worked never even made a sound indicating some sort of electrical connection. Overall I would give this pressure washer a 5 out of 5 stars mainly because it features 3100 PSI at $300 with Costco’s lifetime warranty. I could also just buy a better one, but I will wait until this one fails. I am guessing it will uncoil more over time so its not that big of a deal. The only thing that I do not like is the included hose it tangled really easily and liked to coil up.

I also used a surface cleaner to finish it 10x faster. With 3100 PSI it did an amazing job at cleaning it. I needed to clean it so that I could seal it. The first use with this power washer was to pressure wash my concrete driveway. All I had to do was attach the arm to the frame, plug in the hoses, add the included bottle of oil and lastly add the gas. I really enjoy it even though you have to play with the choke every now and then, but I guess that is expected. Starting the PowerStroke Subaru engine is a breeze with the electric start. I figured it was still a great deal all because of the excellent warranty. In the Costco coupon book there was a $30 off coupon for this pressure washer.

I paid $300 for this unit and missed the sale that they had a week before. Most pressure washers only have a 1-2 year warranty, but since Costco has a no questions asked satisfaction guarantee warranty, you basically have a lifetime warranty. I would have to say that for the price I paid and Costco’s lifetime warranty this was a great buy.

Powerstroke 3200 psi pressure washer