Simpson PS3228-S Review

(Rated: 4.4 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Result Quality
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When you own your own contracting, landscaping, or construction business, you know just how much work cleanup can be, not only after a job but before it as well. When you have been hanging drywall or doing remodeling on a site, you have to prep the site first, clean up after the job is done, and maintain a level of professional cleanliness while you are working. This can add up to a lot of man hours that can very quickly start to affect your bottom line, whether in terms of time if you are doing it yourself or money if you are using a crew of laborers to do it.

Fortunately for you, there is an easy solution to this kind of problem that can help reduce the total amount of time it takes to do prep work and cleanup by more than half. Commercial pressure washers pack the kind of cleaning power that you need – and the Simpson PS3228-S is one of the best.

Review Summary

The nickname of the Simpson PS3228-S is the “Power Shot” for a very good reason. This pressure washer packs a lot of power into a relatively small space, and as soon as you unload it you can see why. This pressure washer is not the kind of huge, bulky commercial pressure washer that you will have trouble fitting into your work truck, but it still has a powerful enough engine and a state of the art pump to allow it to deliver a very solid cleaning power rating, even when you compare it to much bigger commercial pressure washers.

Not only is this a very powerful commercial pressure washer, but it is also a very well designed machine with the kind of superior parts and manufacturing you want on something you will be working with on dangerous job sites. It has big, tough wheels with deep treads so you will not need to worry about slipping on wet surfaces. Its parts are all made of solid materials like welded steel and poly braid. You will not have to be concerned about this machine holding up to even the toughest conditions. This is a tough little work horse that you can rely on.

Specifications

The Simpson PS3228-S is a two wheel commercial pressure washer designed to deal with lots of tough use over the long term. It has overall dimensions of 34 x 20 x 25 inches, which will make it very easy to store and transport. It has a Honda GX200 engine that provides the kind of power you need.

The Simpson PS3228-S has an overall power rating of 8960, which is a bit above average for a commercial pressure washer, and is more than enough to give you exactly what you need to handle tough jobs quickly and efficiently. It has five nozzle settings and a 25 foot hose made of poly braid.

Description

When your crew sees you unload the Simpson PS3228-S from your work truck for the first time, there is no doubt that they will all be duly impressed. That is because even though this commercial pressure washer is squat and compact, it obviously packs a lot of power under the hood – both in its GX200 engine made by Honda, and its AAA industrial triplex plunger. Yet it manages to pack both of these excellent features into an overall footprint that is just 34 x 20 x 25 inches, and the Simpson PS3228-S weighs just 84 pounds. That is small and lightweight enough to make sure you can easily get it on and off of your truck, as well as maneuver it around any job seat with ease.

Take it onto virtually any job site, and you will soon see that there is almost no limit to the number of prep work and cleanup jobs that you can use the Simpson PS3228-S on. That is because it is not tethered to an electrical cord, so you can literally take it anywhere. Its Power Boost technology provides much higher pressure at the spray nozzle, which means you will be able to tackle even some of the toughest dirt and grime with this pressure washer. Its hose is resistant to kinking and abrasion, making it much easier to use than those on pressure washers with PVC plastic hoses.

There are five stainless steel nozzles that allow you to choose from a range of pressures, so you will always have the right one for whatever surface you are working with, and it also includes a soap dispenser for attacking tough stains with detergent. Overall, the Simpson PS3228-S is a very solid commercial pressure washer that you will be more than happy to have in your tool kit. It has applications no matter what kind of work you do.

Pros

There are plenty of reasons why the Simpson PS3228-S is one of the most solid commercial pressure washers available on the market in its price range. Not only is it a very powerful, well equipped pressure washer with a solid cleaning power rating; it also is made from the kind of durable materials you need on the job site. And it has a state of the art pump and nozzle design system that allows you to tackle tough cleaning jobs.

1. Powerful Honda-made engine : Honda is one of the best engine manufacturers for small machines, so you know that you can count on the engine in the Simpson PS3228-S to provide reliable power over the long term. The engine is the GX200 series, and it has an overhead valve design that you can rely on to provide more power in less space. This is exactly the kind of powerful, well designed engine you want in a commercial machine.
2. Solid cleaning power rating : The pressure on the Simpson PS3228-S is 3200 pounds per square inch and its flow rate is 2.8 gallons per minute. This gives the pressure washer a cleaning power rating of 8960, which is very solid for a commercial pressure washer. Higher ratings are available on commercial pressure washers, but for most sub-contracting, landscaping, or painting applications anything above 7500 will be more than enough. This is the kind of power you need in your commercial pressure washer.
3. Compact and lightweight : Even in spite of all of that power in the engine and the high pressure the Simpson PS3228-S is able to provide, it still manages to have a very small footprint and it does not weigh too much. The pressure washer has overall dimensions of just 34 x 20 x 25 inches, and it only weighs 84 pounds. This is very unusual for a commercial pressure washer – these machines usually have much larger footprints and weigh much more.
4. Durable parts and materials : On the job site, no matter where it is or what kind of work you are doing, you want to have machines that are made of the kind of parts and materials that will be able to hold up to accidental dings and bumps. The Simpson PS3228-S is just this kind of machine: it is made of welded steel parts, has a steel engine plate, and a steel frame. Its wheels have pneumatic tires, and its hose is resistant to kinks and cuts.
5. State of the art pump : The pump on the Simpson PS3228-S is an AAA rated industrial triplex pump. This style of pump is the most state of the art you can find, and unlike an axial cam pump, it does not take up a whole lot of space or weigh very much, yet it is still able to provide a very high PSI and cleaning power rating. This is a good sign, because it means the overall design of the pressure washer is good.

These are the kinds of Pros you want to hear about on a commercial pressure washer. You want a machine that has the qualities of being tough, durable and powerful. You also want to make sure your machine has excellent parts and solid design. That is what will allow you to rely on the machine for the long term, and know that you can count on it even under the toughest of conditions.

Cons

Surprisingly – when you consider all of those excellent Pros – there are a few areas in which the Simpson PS3228-S is just not quite perfect. Now, that is not to say that it has the kind of drawbacks that would make it a bad product: far from it. But these are a few areas where the design could have been a bit different in order to make it a truly outstanding machine. Let’s take a look.

1. Produces high fumes volume : This problem is fairly common to a lot of gas powered pressure washers – especially the ones with engines that have overhead valve design, which is known for its fumes production. It means that you cannot use this machine in an enclosed space that is not well ventilated unless you equip yourself with a respirator. Of course, if you work on most job sites, you are probably already used to wearing a respirator for many reasons.
2. Cold water spray only : On a commercial, gas powered pressure washer, you would usually tend to prefer that it have a hot water spray option along with the cold water spray. That is because it is not only one of the benefits of owning a gas powered pressure washer; it also means that you will have more options when you are tackling tough sprays. Fortunately, the high cleaning power rating and soap dispenser do make up for it.
3. High vibrations : The Simpson PS3228-S does tend to vibrate quite a bit when you are running it. This makes it very noisy and also means you have to keep an eye on it or else somehow make sure that it is not going to move anywhere while it is on. But high vibrations can be common on small engine machines – especially ones with powerful engines, and it does not take away from its overall performance or ability in any way.
4. Nozzle switching is a bit difficult : The nozzles on the Simpson PS3228-S can be a bit difficult to switch from one to the next. I suspect that this may be due to the design of the Power Boost tech in the spray wand, as well as the fact that the nozzles are made of stainless steel. But I also think that most users will tend to get used to it, especially when they realize that these two features are what give the Simpson PS3228-S so much extra pressure and power.
5. No electric starter : On gas powered machines, it can be very convenient to have an electric starter. This is especially true when you are using one on a job site, where you are already going to be taxing your muscles with all of the labor you will be doing all day. The Simpson PS3228-S has a traditional choke starter and it requires you to prime the engine and yank on a recoil starter cord to get the pressure washer going.

So as you can see, none of these Cons is a real defect or flaw in the design or manufacturing of the Simpson PS3228-S. Some of these are just what you expect to find on a big, powerful commercial grade machine. The others are fairly minor drawbacks, in my opinion, and I do not tend to think that any of them take away too much from all of the great features offered in the Pros section.

Product Comparison

It is always a good idea to do some comparison shopping when you are trying to find the best machine to buy for your business. This way, you can get a good idea not only of what the rest of the market is like, but also get a better idea of how a particular product truly stacks up to those made by its competitors. The table below compares the Simpson PS3228-S with two similar models.

	Simpson PS3228-S	Briggs & Stratton 020500	Generac 5995
Type	Commercial	Residential	Commercial
Dimensions	34 x 20 x 25	25 x 22 x 24	28 x 28 x 33
Power	Gas	Gas	Gas
Engine Manufacturer	Honda	Briggs & Stratton	Generac
Engine	GX200 OHV	190cc OHV	302cc OHV
PSI	3200	2500	3300
GPM	2.8	2.3	3.2
Power Rating	8960	5750	10560
Pump	AAA industrial triplex plunger	Axial cam	Easy-access axial cam
Cold/Hot	Cold	Cold	Cold
Spray Gun	Pro-style	Pro-style	Professional grade
Nozzle	5 (0°, 15°, 25°, 40°, soap)	4 (0°, 25°, 40°, soap)	5 (0°, 15°, 25°, 40°, soap)
Hose	5/16-inch x 25-foot	1/4-inch x 30-foot	3/8-inch x 35-foot
Hose Material	High pressure poly-braided	PVC/plastic	Steel reinforced, non-marring rubber
Wheels	10-inch pneumatic	10-inch pneumatic	10-inch never flat
Weight	84 pounds	63 pounds	145 pounds
Warranty	1 year	1 year	3 years

The Simpson PS3228-S has the middle power rating of the three pressure washers, but it manages to fit that power into a smaller overall footprint than the other commercial pressure washer, and it weighs a lot less than the other model as well. It also is the only one of the three models to feature a triple A rated industrial triplex pump and an engine made by Honda.

Conclusion

Taking all of that into consideration, I think it is safe to say that the Simpson PS3228-S is a very solid commercial pressure washer. But at the same time, you can never be too sure when you are spending a chunk of money on a new machine, especially when your margins are thin.

Conclusion Pros

1. Powerful Honda-made engine.
2. Solid cleaning power rating.
3. Compact and lightweight.
4. Durable parts and materials.
5. State of the art pump.

Any one of these excellent Pros would be a great case for buying the Simpson PS3228-S. It is a powerful, solidly built commercial pressure washer with the kind of cleaning power rating that you need to get the job done. It has an excellent pump and great engine, and durable parts.

Conclusion Cons

1. Produces high fumes volume.
2. Cold water spray only.
3. High vibrations.
4. Nozzle switching is a bit difficult.
5. No electric starter.

While it does not have a hot water spray, that is really the only true drawback to the Simpson PS3228-S. Overall, the rest of these Cons are what you would expect to find on a gas powered, commercial pressure washer, and I do not think they take away from the machine much.

Final Word

Owning your own business is a lot of work, and every minute counts as much as every dollar towards your bottom line. When your margins are thin, you want to find a machine that you can be sure you can count on over the long term – especially if the whole point of that machine is to save you time and work. The Simpson PS3228-S has the kind of features that will make it great for any small business. This is true whether you are using it to clean off the decks of your zero turn mowers for your landscaping business, or prepping job sites for reconstruction or demolition.

The Simpson PS3228-S is a tough, solidly built commercial pressure washer, and it manages to pack a lot of cleaning power into a small space. It will stand up to a lot of labor over the long term. Overall this is a great pressure washer at a good price.

Best Price

Commercial pressure washers can offer a lot of cleaning power. But they can also have price tags that soar into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars. What you need is a commercial pressure washer that provides enough cleaning power so that you can count on it to take care of tough jobs over the long term. But you do not need one that has a cleaning power rating so high you will never need it, especially when it costs a fortune. The Simpson PS3228-S provides a solid cleaning power rating, excellent design and great parts in a package that is in the middle of the price range.