Briggs & Stratton 020500 Review

(Rated: 3.9 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
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Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
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Serious cleanup jobs call for serious tools. And when you own your own home, serious cleanup jobs are abundant. There is the property itself to keep clean – sidewalks, driveway, walls and windows, decks and the garage floor. Then there is the car – or cars – that need to be washed every now and again. Your yard and garage are probably full of appliances and furniture that need cleaning periodically. Your lawn mower is going to need to have grass and mud removed almost every time you use it, and that grill is going to need a good cleaning every so often.

You could do all of this by hand, of course, but the amount of time that is going to take will probably be unreasonable. Much better is using a residential pressure washer like the Briggs & Stratton 020500 to get these jobs done. With the Briggs & Stratton 020500, you can tackle a multitude of different cleanup jobs in minutes.

Review Summary

The Briggs & Stratton 020500 has everything you need to deal with all kinds of different cleanup jobs around the home and yard. This is a pressure washer that is truly designed to be quite versatile – which is great news, because the more applications you can use your residential pressure washer for, the more time it is going to save you in the long run. And the Briggs & Stratton 020500 is going to be saving you plenty of time. It has a powerful spray that has a cleaning power rating that is well above average for its class, and plenty of pressure options to choose from so you can get the right one for every job.

The Briggs & Stratton 020500 is supported by one of the best engines you can find these days. It is not just a powerful engine with high displacement, torque and horsepower, but it is also manufactured by one of the best companies in the industry. The Briggs & Stratton 020500 as a whole is a similarly well designed and solidly built machine, so you know you can rely on it to deliver solid performance for many years of use – even under the toughest conditions. Best of all, the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has a very competitive price tag.

Specifications

The Briggs & Stratton 020500 is a gas powered residential pressure washer that weighs just 63 pounds and has a very compact footprint for easier storage and use. It has a 190 cubic centimeter, Briggs & Stratton engine with Overhead Valve design that provides reliable power to its axial cam pump.

Because of its powerful engine and pump, the Briggs & Stratton 020500 can provide a pressure of 2500 PSI with a flow rate of 2.3 gallons per minute, giving it an overall power rating of 5750. It has a cold water spray and a Pro-style spray gun with four nozzle options, including a soap dispenser. It has a 30 foot PVC plastic hose and big pneumatic tires. The Briggs & Stratton 020500 comes with a one year warranty.

Description

As soon as you get the Briggs & Stratton 020500 unpacked and put together – a process that just takes a matter of minutes, using typical household tools to attach the hose – you will be ready to start tackling big cleanup jobs around your house. Fuel it up and the Briggs & Stratton 020500 is ready for just about anything. This is a small, compact pressure washer that does not weigh too much, so you should have no difficulty taking it around your yard and home – or even tossing it in the trunk of your car to take offsite for cleaning your boat or RV.

But do not be fooled by how small and lightweight the Briggs & Stratton 020500 is. This is a pressure washer that is packing a lot of cleaning power into a very small space. It is able to do that because it has one of the best, most powerful engines you can find on a pressure washer in its size class. That engine drives an axial cam pump that provides a pressure and flow rate that are well above average for a residential pressure washer. Because of that, there is almost no limit to what the Briggs & Stratton 020500 can do around your home.

With four pressure nozzles to choose from – and swapping one out for another is a piece of cake and only takes a few seconds – you can be sure you are always working with the very best pressure for whatever job you might be dealing with. Got a serious oil stain in your driveway? Crank the pressure up to the full 2500 PSI. Washing your car and don’t want to damage the finish? Use the lighter mist nozzle to get the job done gently and quickly. The Briggs & Stratton 020500 really has everything you need to deal with all kinds of different jobs around your home.

Pros

The Briggs & Stratton 020500 is able to provide that much versatility and outstanding performance because of a few outstanding features that really set it apart from other pressure washers in its class. This is a pressure washer that is designed to provide optimal cleaning ability, and do so over the long term. For that reason it is equipped with a high-performance engine, durable parts, and a PSI and flow rate that are well above average.

1. Higher PSI and flow rate : The PSI and flow rate of a pressure washer are really the two product specs you should be looking at first. Everything else is secondary. That is because these are the two features that will determine the pressure washer’s overall cleaning power rating, which is what will allow it to tackle big, tough jobs easily. And the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has a PSI and flow rate that are both above average in its class – and so is its power rating.
2. Durable parts : You do not just want your pressure washer to have a high cleaning power rating – if you intend to use it on tough jobs for a number of years, it should be built so that it can last over the long term. And the Briggs & Stratton 020500 is. With a steel frame, pneumatic tires, and a PVC plastic hose, it is built to handle tough conditions without breaking down or needing any maintenance at all.
3. High-performance engine : The high pressure and flow rate that the Briggs & Stratton 020500 is able to offer would not be possible if this pressure washer did not have one of the best small engines in the business backing up its pump. At 190 cubic centimeters, this engine is a beast. And Briggs & Stratton is a worldwide leader in small engine manufacturing, so you can count on the engine in the Briggs & Stratton 020500 to provide reliable power over the long term.
4. Plenty of uses : Because it has a high cleaning power rating along with several nozzles of different pressures, there are plenty of applications for the Briggs & Stratton 020500 around your home and garden. You can set the pressure to the highest PSI for tougher jobs, apply the soap dispenser for dealing with stains that are not water soluble, or select the lowest PSI for cleaning more delicate surfaces. There is really no end to what you can use the Briggs & Stratton 020500 for.
5. Lightweight and compact : In spite of the fact that the Briggs & Stratton 020500 packs a high cleaning power rating and has an engine with a displacement of nearly two hundred cubic centimeters, it is still a surprisingly compact and lightweight machine. That means you should have no trouble storing it in your tool shed or even your utility closet. And it will be a breeze to take it with you in the trunk of your car if you have other cleanup jobs to take care of away from the home.

I think that you will agree that the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has a lot of really impressive features. This is a pressure washer that is built to perform well under a variety of different circumstances and take on lots of different jobs. It can stand up to the toughest conditions without breaking a sweat. And it consistently clocks in as one of the most powerful residential pressure washers in its size class. This is a very solid pressure washer with a lot to offer.

Cons

When you take all of those great Pros into consideration, it seems that there is nothing the Briggs & Stratton 020500 can’t do. But in spite of all of the excellent features it has to offer, there are a few areas in which the Briggs & Stratton 020500 is not quite perfect. For the most part, these Cons really do not take anything away from all of its good points, and some of them are common to all gas powered residential pressure washers. Let’s take a look.

1. Not CARB compliant : Serious pressure washers with high performance, robust engines are rarely compliant with California’s Air Resources Board standards governing carbon emissions from small engine appliances. It just is not something you can find easily. This is not really a Con, since it does not affect the pressure washers’ overall performance in any real sense. But it is bad news for anyone who lives in a State that enforces CARB regulations – because you can’t buy the Briggs & Stratton 020500.
2. Few accessories : The Briggs & Stratton 020500 is sorely lacking when it comes to accessories. While it has a soap dispenser and a hose that is longer than average, as well as a Pro-Style spray gun, there is little else on offer. Of course, you do not need a whole lot of extra add-ons to make sure you have a pressure washer that can get big jobs done fast, so I do not really consider this a serious problem.
3. Just four nozzles : For most cleanup jobs you will encounter around the home, four spray nozzle options is usually going to be more than enough. This gives you a fairly wide range of pressures to choose from, and it ensures that you can use high pressure on tough stains and low pressure on delicate jobs. But it would be nice to have a couple more options, just to give the user a bit more control over the spray.
4. Can’t use indoors : This is the one major drawback that gas powered pressure washers have when you compare them to electric models. Because they do produce a fair amount of exhaust, you cannot use them indoors and should not use them in any enclosed space that is not very well ventilated. If you do, you can encounter serious health risks. So while you can’t use the Briggs & Stratton 020500 to clean your kitchen or bathroom, it still has plenty of other applications.
5. No hot water option : There are gas powered residential pressure washers that offer hot water sprays and those that do not, and unfortunately the Briggs & Stratton 020500 falls into the latter category. Of course, this is not going to be a problem in terms of its overall performance, as it has a high enough power rating that it will be able to take on most stains easily. Still, it is always nice to have a hot water option for the toughest stains.

As you can see, the Briggs & Stratton 020500 really does not have any of the kind of serious issues that could present problems in terms of its overall performance or cleaning ability. The issues detailed above are all fairly minor in my opinion, and most of them represent fairly common drawbacks to gas powered residential pressure washers. All things considered, I think the Briggs & Stratton 020500 should perform quite well in spite of these few minor Cons.

Product Comparison

Now that you know a bit about the individual Pros and Cons the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has to offer, I think it could be very informative to do some comparison shopping. That way, you can get a good sense of how the Briggs & Stratton 020500 stacks up to similar pressure washers in its class. This also should give you a better idea of where its power rating and other features fall, and whether they are in fact above average. Let’s take a look.

	Briggs & Stratton 020500	Generac 6020	DeWalt DXPW4240
Type	Residential	Residential	Commercial
Dimensions	25 x 22 x 24	17 x 27 x 21	30 x 25 x 27
Power	Gas	Gas	Gas
Engine Manufacturer	Briggs & Stratton	Generac	Honda
Engine	190cc OHV	196cc OHV	GX390 OHV
PSI	2500	2500	4200
GPM	2.3	2.3	4
Power Rating	5750	5750	16800
Pump	Axial cam	Easy-access axial cam	Easy-access axial cam
Cold/Hot	Cold	Cold	Cold
Spray Gun	Pro-style	Ergonomic	Professional grade
Nozzle	4 (0°, 25°, 40°, soap)	3 (0°, 25°, soap)	5 (0°, 15&dedeg;, 25°, 40°, soap)
Hose	1/4-inch x 30-foot	1/4-inch x 25-foot	5/16-inch x 25-foot
Hose Material	PVC/plastic	PVC/plastic	High pressure poly-braided
Wheels	10-inch pneumatic	10-inch solid	10-inch pneumatic
Weight	63 pounds	82 pounds	129 pounds
Warranty	1 year	2 years	1 year

As you can see the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has a PSI and flow rate that are typical for residential pressure washers, and more than half of what heavy-duty commercial pressure washers like the DeWalt have to offer. All of this is packed into a small, lightweight frame that is easier to store and operate. Best of all, the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has as many nozzles as the commercial model, which ensures it will be more versatile than other residential pressure washers.

Conclusion

By now you are probably as impressed with the Briggs & Stratton 020500 as I am: after all, it compares very well to other pressure washers in its own class, and even has impressive stats when you compare it to commercial pressure washers. Before you decide to purchase it, though, let’s take one more look at the Pros and Cons lists, just to be sure.

Conclusion Pros

1. Higher PSI and flow rate.
2. Durable parts.
3. High-performance engine.
4. Plenty of uses.
5. Lightweight and compact.

With a higher PSI and flow rate than many pressure washers in its class, durable parts and design, and a high-performance engine under the hood, there is almost no limit to the number of applications the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has. This is a great, compact pressure washer that should serve you well.

Conclusion Cons

1. Not CARB compliant.
2. Few accessories.
3. Just four nozzles.
4. Can’t use indoors.
5. No hot water option.

Those few areas in which the Briggs & Stratton 020500 is not quite perfect are frankly rather common issues to gas powered residential pressure washers, and I do not consider them to be very serious problems. Overall the fantastic Pros the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has outweigh all of these Cons combines.

Final Word

Keeping your home and yard looking great all year round can be a great deal of work, and you need to be certain that you have a pressure washer on your team that can help you get big cleanup jobs finished more quickly and efficiently. With a pressure washer like the Briggs & Stratton 020500 on your side, you should have no problem doing just that. This is a powerful and versatile machine that is designed to take on lots of big jobs, and cut down significantly on your workload.

The Briggs & Stratton 020500 has a high-performance engine under the hood that is guaranteed to deliver all the power you need to blast away tough stains from a variety of surfaces. The body and frame of the pressure washer are made of durable steel: this is a machine that is built to last. The Briggs & Stratton 020500 is easy to use and has plenty of options for different applications.

Best Price

One of the best features the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has to offer is its price tag. This is a pressure washer that has PSI and flow rate specs that are well above average for a residential machine; it boast one of the best engines in the business; and it is built of high quality, long-lasting parts. Yet it has one of the most reasonable prices you can find on a unit in its class. This will be very good news to anyone who is on a budget, and in this economy, that is most people. But the Briggs & Stratton 020500 has the kind of great price that should make it very affordable to everyone.