The pump is actually the most important part of any pressure washer, and will most likely be the fist thing to fail. It will probably fail way before the engine, so do not get hung up on what type of engine you are getting. Focus on the specs that you need; PSI, GPM, and then check out the Pump. Most small engines these days are very well built and they are built to last.

When purchasing a pressure washer be sure to look at what pump you are getting. A Pro-Grade Triplex Pump will last up to 4X longer than Axial Cam pumps, however you going to pay more upfront for this. If you plan on using your pressure washer a lot, I highly recommend you get one with a Triplex pump. Now if you are just using the pressure washer a few times a year, an Axial or other brand will probably work just fine for you.

Did your pump die on your current pressure washer and now you need a replacement pump? I highly recommend you check out the Generac Universal Replacement Pump. It is low cost and will work for any pressure washer.

Here is a list of pumps that you will likely see when researching your pressure washers:

Triplex: Triplex pumps are the top of the line and are highly desired in pressure washers. They are heavy duty and will last about 4x longer than your standard Axial Cam pump. Almost all of the higher end contractor quality washers will have this pump, but again you are paying a lot more for this. Being that they last 4x longer than the Axial Cam pump you can expect a Triplex pump to last around 2400-2500 hours.

Axial Cam: These are the pumps that you will see in most of the budget gas pressure washers. They are an excellent pump still but do not compare to Triplex when is comes to average runtime. These will last around 600-700 hours and most likely fail long before your main engine will.

Wobble: These pumps are mainly used on cheap electric pressure washers. They are not replaceable so if you purchase an electric power washer that has this pump you will have to replace the entire pressure washer. These pumps are only rated to last around 300 hours, but you are probably only paying less than $150 for an electric power washer. Some of the more expensive pumps cost over $300.

Whatever you decided on will most likely coincide with the price range you are expecting to pay. Do Not purchase a power washer for over $500 that does not have a Triplex pump. I feeling is that you would be getting ripped off. Paying that kind of money for a power washer that has a cheap pump is just a bad idea. Yeah it may be 4000 PSI or something but remember the pump is the most import part of a power washer.