Generac 6412 Review

(Rated: 4.2 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Result Quality
Check Price
Related pages: Best Commercial Pressure Washer, Best Gas Pressure Washer, Best Pressure Washer, Commercial Pressure Washer Buying Guide, Commercial Pressure Washer Reviews, Gas Pressure Washer Buying Guide, Gas Pressure Washer Reviews, Generac, Generac Pressure Washers, Pressure Washer Buying Guide, Pressure Washer Reviews,

Whether you are looking for a pressure washer to use for simple cleanup jobs around the house like washing your deck, windows and car, or you are a subcontractor or landscaper and need something heavy duty for use on job sites, the Generac 6412 is a great option. This is a pressure washer that is solidly built, and it can provide the kind of superior PSI and flow rate that you need to deal with a variety of tough jobs. It is durably built and packs a lot of power into a relatively small machine, which means you will not have any trouble finding space for it in the back of your work truck. When you have to clean tough stains or wash a big surface area, the Generac 6412 is the kind of pressure washer you are going to want. It has everything you need to deal with tough jobs quickly.

Review Summary

The Generac 6412 is a high quality commercial pressure washer that has a superior PSI and flow rate to other models. It has the kind of high cleaning power rating that you are going to want if you are looking for a machine that can take care of serious stains easily. Whether you are planning to use it around the home or for professional purposes, the Generac 6412 is going to have everything you need to take care of big jobs. It is designed to have a wide range of uses, and it’s built tough so that it can stand up to the demanding environment of the work site as well as frequent use.

But even though the Generac 6412 is a durably built and powerful pressure washer, it is not so big or bulky that it is going to be difficult to use or hard to find room for in your garage or work truck. Because it has big wheels and a low center of gravity, it is very easy to move the Generac 6412 around the job site. And its hose is a full thirty feet long, which gives you plenty of range of motion while you are using it.

Specifications

The Generac 6412 is a commercial pressure washer that weighs less than seventy pounds and has a footprint that is less than two feet square. It has an overhead valve engine with 212 cubic centimeters of displacement, which gives it plenty of power to provide lots of torque to the easy-access axial cam pump.

The pump on the Generac 6412 provides a max pressure of 3000 PSI, and the flow rate is nearly three gallons per minute, which gives it a cleaning power rating that is close to six figures. The spray gun is ergonomically designed and comes with three nozzles. The hose is 30 feet long and made of PVC plastic. The Generac 6412 comes with a two year consumer warranty.

Description

As soon as you take one look at the Generac 6412, you can tell right away that this is a commercial pressure washer that really means business. While it is not particularly heavy – in fact, at less than seventy pounds it’s fairly easy to lift it in and out of your work truck – it does pack a lot of power all the same. It’s also designed to have a low center of gravity, so you never have to worry about it tipping over on you. But even if you should have any accidents while you are using the Generac 6412, there is nothing to worry about. That is because it is made out of impact resistant steel. This is a very solidly built pressure washer.

The toughness is not just in the build of the Generac 6412, either. This pressure washer has a powerful engine that allows its easy access axial cam pump to provide a cold water spray that has a max pressure of 3000 PSI. That is powerful enough to strip loose paint off of most surfaces, and it is certainly more than enough for the vast majority of jobs you are going to encounter. But because there are three nozzles with lower pressure options, you can use the Generac 6412 to take care of fairly delicate cleanup jobs, too, without having to worry about damaging the material you are washing.

There are a number of great features that make the Generac 6412 very easy to operate, too. The axial cam pump can be accessed very easily, so you won’t have any trouble with connections. The control panel is simple to operate, and has specific settings for multiple cleaning applications like washing cars, decks, and masonry. The spray gun is ergonomically designed, and the recoil start only takes one or two pulls to get going. Overall this is a great pressure washer.

Pros

There are plenty of great features that make the Generac 6412 one of the better commercial pressure washers in its price range, but I have managed to narrow it down to the top five. With a PSI and flow rate that are considerably higher than what you can find on most pressure washers, a great overall design and plenty of convenience, the Generac 6412 has everything you need to take care of a lot of different kinds of jobs.

1. Superior PSI and flow rate : The PSI and flow rate are always one of the first things you should be looking at when you are deciding whether a particular pressure washer is the right one for you. That is because these are the two specs that are going to directly influence how much total cleaning power the pressure washer has. On the Generac 6412, there’s a lot. With a max pressure of 3000 PSI and a flow rate of 2.8 gallons per minute, it’s got plenty of cleaning power.
2. Lightweight and compact : And even though it has all of that power, the Generac 6412 is surprisingly light and compact for a commercial pressure washer. Typically, machines in this class weigh at least a hundred pounds, and are often considerably bigger than the Generac 6412 is. Because it is so small and lightweight, it is very easy to get the Generac 6412 on and off of your work truck. You will also have no trouble finding enough room for it in your garage.
3. Durable build : The Generac 6412 is a commercial pressure washer, and because of that it has the kind of durable build that is going to be able to hold up to the rigors of the job site. It is also going to have no problem being used on a daily basis; you can run the Generac 6412 for literally hundreds of hours and it will never need maintenance or repairs. This is the kind of toughness you want from your pressure washer.
4. Easy to use controls : On a lot of pressure washers – especially commercial grade ones – the design of the machine is really inconvenient, and the controls are difficult to get used to. I don’t understand why any manufacturer would do that, especially when there are such great design examples like the kind the Generac 6412 has to offer. All of its controls are centrally located, clearly marked and very easy to use. The machine even has specific settings for different surfaces.
5. Four in one settings for different jobs : One of the most convenient features the Generac 6412 has is its unique four in one settings that are designed to make it much easier to use on different jobs. The four in one design on the Generac 6412 makes it simple to use for specific jobs like washing the car, cleaning your deck or washing siding and masonry. This makes switching from one mode to the next as easy as flipping the switch.

The Generac 6412 has all of the features you want to see on a commercial pressure washer. With its high PSI and flow rate, durable build and convenience and ease of use, this is a well rounded machine. It is going to provide plenty of cleaning power for taking care of all kinds of different jobs, from the fairly easy to the really tough ones. It’s built to last and will provide consistent cleaning power for a very long time.

Cons

Still, even though it does have a raft of fantastic features, a great design, and the kind of serious cleaning power rating that you need for big jobs, there are a couple of things that I didn’t like about the Generac 6412. Overall, none of these Cons can really take away from its ability and performance, but it would be nice if these were improved on. Let’s take a look at the five biggest Cons on the Generac 6412.

1. Not CARB compliant : It really is not easy to find a commercial pressure washer that can provide the kind of high PSI and flow rate the Generac 6412 has – but also one that does not produce high emissions – yet they are definitely out there. While the fact that the Generac 6412 is not CARB compliant is not going to affect its performance in any meaningful way, it does mean that residents of California will not be able to buy it.
2. Only three nozzles : In most cases, the three different pressure nozzles are going to provide enough options that you should have no trouble getting the right setting for whatever job you need to do. But on a commercial pressure washer like this one, it is always better to see a few more options. At least four nozzles should be standard, and as many as five or six can give you much more control over the pressure setting.
3. Cold water spray only : On a commercial pressure washer, you are going to be expecting that it can deal with lots of different jobs quickly and efficiently – even the toughest ones. And having a hot water spray option is always a great way to ensure that. While not having one is certainly not the end of the world, it would be nice to see more commercial pressure washers offering it. That would increase the range of use considerably.
4. PVC plastic hose : PVC plastic is generally the preferred material for hoses on pressure washers, because it is tough enough that it won’t wind up developing micro-leaks or cracks at the seams, even when you are running several thousand pounds per square inch through it. But the one drawback of PVC plastic is that it tends to be so firm that it will coil back on itself, which can make it a bit of a hassle to work with.
5. No electric starter : The Generac 6412 has a recoil starter, and when the engine is warm it usually only takes one solid pull to get it going; if the engine is cold you can usually get it going in two. But it would have been a nice extra feature if the Generac 6412 included an electric starter – that way, you could always get it going right away, and never have to worry about priming the engine or anything like that.

As you can see, the Cons that I did find on the Generac 6412 are not the kind of serious design flaws or manufacturing oversights that would affect its overall performance in any way. This remains a very solid commercial pressure washer that has all of the power you need to take care of tough jobs quickly and easily. Overall, it’s got great features where it really counts, and it is going to be a pressure washer you can rely on for lots of hardy use.

Product Comparison

While you can certainly learn a great deal about the best and worst features of a particular pressure washer from Pros and Cons lists like the ones above, they do not really give you a sense of how that machine stacks up to similar models made by the competition. The only way to really do that is by doing some comparison shopping. To make that easier on you, I’ve provided this chart that compares product specs of three machines.

	Generac 6412	Champion No.76522	Karcher G3050OH
Type	Commercial	Residential	Residential
Dimensions	20.6 x 21 x 39.5	29 x 25.2 x 24.1	22 x 23 x 35
Power	Gas	Gas	Gas
Engine Manufacturer	Generac	Champion	Honda
Engine	212cc OHV	196cc OHV	GC190 187cc OHC
PSI	3000	3000	3000
GPM	2.8	2.5	2.5
Power Rating	8400	7500	7500
Pump	Easy-access axial cam	Axial cam	Direct-drive axial
Cold/Hot	Cold	Cold	Cold
Spray Gun	Ergonomic	Ergonomic	Commercial grade
Nozzle	3 (0°, 25°, soap)	4 (0°, 25°, 40°, soap)	5 (0°, 15°, 25°, 40°, soap)
Hose	1/4-inch x 30-foot	1/4-inch x 25-foot	1/4-inch x 25-foot
Hose Material	PVC/plastic	PVC/plastic	PVC/plastic
Wheels	10-inch solid	8-inch never flat	10-inch pneumatic
Weight	68.5 pounds	99.4 pounds	72 pounds
Warranty	2 years	1 year	1 year

As you can see, the Generac 6412 has the most powerful engine of the three machines, and while they all have the same max PSI – at 3000 – the Generac 6412 is the only one that has a flow rate of more than 2.5 gallons per minute. That extra flow is going to give it a much higher cleaning power rating than the other two machines, which means you are going to be able to take care of big jobs faster.

Conclusion

By this point, it is pretty clear that the Generac 6412 is one of the top pressure washers on the market. But before you make your final decision to buy it, I think it is a good idea to take one more quick look at the Pros and Cons lists, just to be absolutely sure.

Conclusion Pros

1. Superior PSI and flow rate.
2. Lightweight and compact.
3. Durable build.
4. Easy to use controls.
5. Four in one settings for different jobs.

With a higher PSI and flow rate than most commercial pressure washers have, a solid build and convenient design, the Generac 6412 has everything you need for lots of different jobs. Whether you need the Generac 6412 for work use or just to have around the home, it’s going to get the job done.

Conclusion Cons

1. Not CARB compliant.
2. Only three nozzles.
3. Cold water spray only.
4. PVC plastic hose.
5. No electric starter.

None of the issues I could find with the Generac 6412 really have any effect on its overall power or performance. I do not think that any of these Cons are so serious that they would take away from all of the great features the Generac 6412 has to offer. Overall it’s a solid machine.

Final Word

Whether you are looking for a pressure washer to use on job sites or just want to have a high performance one for use around the home, the Generac 6412 has everything you need. This is a pressure washer that is very well designed, and because of that it is able to pack an impressive amount of power into a very compact, lightweight package. That will mean that while it won’t take up too much room the way bulkier commercial pressure washers do, it will still be able to deliver the performance you need for tough jobs. The Generac 6412 is great for lots of different applications, and it is designed so that using it for a variety of tasks is easier than ever. Overall this is a very solid and highly convenient pressure washer. It is easy to operate and can clean a wider range of surfaces than many similar pressure washers.

Best Price

One of the best features the Generac 6412 has is not part of its overall design – it’s the price. Even though the Generac 6412 has superior cleaning power and all the great features you need to take care of a lot of different tough jobs, it has a price that is well below average for a commercial model. That means you can get professional grade cleaning power without paying the kind of price you might expect. In a tough economy like this one, savings like this does not come along very often, and it is always nice to see it when it does.