Craftsman 3000 MAX PSI, 2.7 MAX GPM, Briggs & Stratton Power July 30, 2010

This has been an amazing pressure washer. It has been as powerful as our commercial pressure washer.

The first time I used it the hose busted, costing me $109.00 to replace!!!!

Powerful washer marred with low grade hose, hot restart trouble April 14, 2010

This pressure washer was on sale and seemed like a good deal at under $400 out the door, including tax and a "free" 50 foot Sears garden hose. It went together readily with no issues, except the high pressure hose was defective out of the box. A call to the Sears pressure washer helpline at 1-800-222-3136 and another hose was shipped to me promptly - a Briggs & Stratton part. I have doubts about its durability, but so far, so good.

When cold, the pressure washer starts easily and is very powerful for a consumer unit - it did a good job cleaning the rocks on my retaining wall, and really cut through the grime on my driveway. (If you're going to be doing large flat surfaces, here's a hint: get yourself a surface cleaner. One of the big box home improvement stores has one for $69 at this writing that works very well with this unit, and is well over 5x faster than using the wand.)

My mother asked to try out the pressure washer - she's 80! - and she found that the required grip to keep the wand active was tiring for her, so extended use might be an issue for some petite senior citizens or anyone else with limited hand strength.

The BIG problem is that the "Ready  Start" engine WILL NOT restart when hot. Period. Releasing the pressure makes no difference. Another call to the Sears pressure washer helpline actually connected me to the manufacturer, Briggs & Stratton. The tech there said that running the washer until it's out of gas will drain the carb bowl, making restart take a couple of pulls. But I had problems with hot restart even when I shut off the engine off myself, with plenty of gas in the tank. The Briggs tech said it could be a gas-cap related "vapor lock" and asserted that there is NO problem with incorrect jets in the carb (as an earlier reviewer was told) but I'll have to call back and talk to him when I'm looking at the unit so he can try to troubleshoot it over the phone. Have to wait for a day off, since the phone helpline hours are about the same as my work hours.

I'll post another review when/if my hot restart problem is solved. 

Hard starting hot engine on pressure washer Model 75221 April 04, 2010

Before purchasing this pressure washer I also read as many reviews as possible.  I have had occasion to use a pressure washer almost daily at a golf course for 4 years.  I am somewhat familiar with their use.  My first surprise out of the box was the lack of a throttle or choke.  Assembly was fairly easy.  Added oil and fresh fuel and it started after two pulls.  I started cleaning my deck which was the main reason for buying the washer.  The machine then ran out of fuel.  Upon refilling it took 4 or 5 pulls to start.  I immediately thought of all the reviews mentioning hard start when hot.  Ran out of gas again.  Refilled and pulled 10-12 times before it would restart.  You could smell gas and gray smoke came out of exhaust as well as the engine ran rough and shook.  To me it appeared to be flooded.  Long story short I ran it out of gas 7 times.  It never restarted on one pull.  At times after 8 to 12 pulls I was ready to toss it off the second floor deck.  Waiting 15 minutes seemed to help.  To the reviewer that wrote about pulling the trigger on the wand to relieve pressure, I held the trigger with my left hand and held it that way all the while I was pulling the starter cord. I contacted the Sears  Pressure Washer Customer Helpline at 1-800222-3136.  Expect a lengthy wait on hold.  I eventually could hold of a human english speaking female that was amazigly helpful.  After giving her the background and the model with the serial number she informed me that they have a fix for this and that it is a known problem.  She explained that the jet in the carb is not the right size and as the machine heats up it causes gas to vaporize.  It can shut down in the middle of a tank from overheating or vapors will collect as the tank runs our of gas.  She states that when the jet is changed the machine will restart easily, and a tank of gas will last longer.  The machine is currently in for repairs.  Evedently I will have to call the service center back to find some bulletin number to assist the place I took it to for repairs.

As an aside, when the machine is running it was doing a nice job on the wood deck. 

Hardest Starting Engine Ever April 04, 2010

I have had dozens of small Briggs engines over the years. This model is the absolute hardest to start and then restart. I am not sure where the issue is with it. I triple checked that fresh gas was being used, but this has NOT made any diffrence. I am taking this back today! It is even under Sears Recommended  Pressure Washers, I am disappointed with Sears for ranking it so high.