Some years back I had a Sears Craftsman 3000 PSI gas pressure washer - it seemed to work fine, until I found out it was impossible to restart when the engine (a Briggs & Stratton Ready Start) was still hot. So it went back for a refund. (Sears forums revealed plenty of other people with the same hot restart problem - which Briggs refused to admit to any of us.)
Since my patio, driveway, and retaining wall have gotten really grungy since then, I'm looking for another one - Home Depot sells some that look interesting.
* Ryobi 2000 PSI electric pressure washer for $199. Uncertain if it would have the power I need to do a patio or driveway, especially with about 1/2 the water flow of the following gas units.
* Ryobi 3100 PSI with electric start, on sale for $299. Subaru engine, generic pump. Except for color, it looks nearly identical to one that Costco sells. Onboard detergent tank. 3 year "limited" warranty.
* Ridgid 3000 PSI with Subaru engine, now on sale for $499. Has a triplex CAT pump. Idle-down. Siphon connection for "offboard" detergent bottle. 3 year "commercial" warranty.
* Ridgid 3000 PSI with "OEM" engine, now on sale for $449. Has a triplex CAT pump. Idle-down. Siphon connection for "offboard" detergent bottle. Since Ridgid doesn't make engines, I suspect the "OEM" engine is a RATO, made by Chongquing Rato Power Company. 3 year "commercial" warranty.
So . . . does anyone have experience with these pressure washers, know anything (good or bad) about them, or have tools that use small Subaru or Rato gas engines?
Recommendations?