Drought-friendly, in-garage portable pressure washer, Yard Force YF4050

That's a great find. When I travel long distance I'm always looking for self-car washes near my destinations (the trip to CA in July was a great examples). Now I can take my own with me Thanks for posting.

Do you have to worry about etching through the clear coat/paint with the pressure?

Only slightly hijacking this thread, here's my set-up.

In that my monster 240V /30A diesel-heated steam washer is in Alaska, and there's no way I'd buy one for down south, I took the advice of a commercial pilot friend who has to wash down his plane in remote sites. He picks up the $99 or so small washers available at Home Depot and Lowe's, saying that they last him a little more than a year and while in use, work quite well, so he considers it good value for the money - plus he can find room to pack them in his Turbo Thrush.

So I picked up an "Eco Clean" at Lowe's for about that much. Claims 1600psi. I have used it twice inside with the garage door open just enough to permit drainage. The water here is quite hard but we have only the domestic hot water run through a softener. So I attach the washer's intake hose to the drain cock of the water heater. One also can affix a hose into a suitable utility sink's faucet, if properly threaded, but I do the former for two reasons. First, the heater is in the garage and at a nice convenient (elevated) height; second, water flowing out of the bottom of the heater is at a lower T than what is drawn off for domestic hot water use. Even so, I have remembered to turn the heater to dead-low 6-12 hours beforehand, as one does not want to use HOT water for washing.

In any case, the water has been tepid both times and just right for the car. The softener has done its job and I have had no spotting afterwards. Comes with a 0º nozzle (do not use on a vehicle) and the white 15º head; entire unit is easy to carry and manipulate as needed. The pressure washer model does have, however, a worse-than-useless soap dispenser: it replaces the high-P wand and so water flows out and through the soap at hi-V/low-P so buckets more detergent gets wasted than necessary. So for the second wash I did a good rinse-down and then applied detergent with two or three micro-fiber cloths.
Happy with the results; can recommend it as a reasonable alternative to the OP's unit. There are times when that self-contained water set-up of the OP comes in handy; I prefer the flexibility my machine has.

commasign said:

Update: I tried washing with several gallons of distilled water (under $1/gallon) and did almost no towel trying. After air-drying for an hour, the car had a truly spot free finish (unlike the "spot free rinses" at the self-serve power washes).

And best of all, it fits in the frunk! (yes, dual motor frunk too!)

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Thanks! I just ordered from pressurewashersdirect, this is why I browse these forums This is great for my vinyl wrap too because it is max 500 psi, enough to get the dirt off without damaging the wrap (or the fragile paint if you dont wrap)
Yard Force YF4050PB 500 PSI Cordless - Cold Water Lithium-Ion Pressure Washer

I also got these microfiber sponge/cloth mitts and $10 spray pump that attaches to a soda bottle, so I can mix 2 parts distilled water 1 part isopropyl alcohol and spray that around the car after getting it wet with the low pressure setting, wipe with the mitts and then use medium pressure to wash clean (that way i wont have to use soap in the pressure washer, just distilled water). Maybe once in awhile I will use the Meguiar ultimate cleaners that are safe for wrap too.

Amazon.com : Multi-Purpose Sprayer Pump - Eco-Sprayer Plus by AVALEISURE - Turbo Sprayer/Mister For ALL Your Big and Small Indoor Garden

Amazon.com: Microfiber Magik Mitt Sponge Set - Chenille Fabric, Mesh Screen Cloth, Best for Auto Detailing, Professional Cleaning, Mobile Car Washing, Do It Yourself Hand Wash, Chemical Free Washing, Protect Your Investment - Lifetime Guarantee!: Automotive

Amazon.com: MG Chemicals 824 99.9% Isopropyl Alcohol Liquid Cleaner, 945ML (1 US Quart), Clear: Industrial Scientific

Also Hope's Perfect Glass cleaner is supposed to be the best for windows but Amazon sellers are way overpriced , someone said to check other stores like Bed Bath & Beyond (or for online the cheapest was DTEPs, I got a 32oz spray bottle and 2 2liter refills)

commasign said:

Update: I tried washing with several gallons of distilled water (under $1/gallon) and did almost no towel trying. After air-drying for an hour, the car had a truly spot free finish (unlike the "spot free rinses" at the self-serve power washes). ...

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Just to confirm: this is distilled H2O only, with no cleaning agent added?

Is the Yard Force as loud as typical plug-in electric washers? I still have an old Snap-On electric pressure washer from Costco (maybe seven years old at this point, amazing it's still actually working although I also barely use it anymore) which I've used in conjunction with a CR Spotless, but it's sort of cumbersome with the need to change filter media.

Being able to dump a few gallons of distilled water into the tank and then forced-air dry afterwords would be ideal, but if it's noisy it becomes a concern with the neighbors.

How many minutes of sustained spraying does 4 gallons allow? How long does the battery last? I'm actually starting to seriously consider this.

I am getting a full xpel wrap. I am afraid of damaging to the wrap. I found a portable pressure washer that generate max 130 psi. Here is the link of a youtube video Drought-friendly, in-garage portable pressure washer, Yard Force YF4050 - Page 2

The Yard Force generate 500 psi. Commasign and those that already have Yard Force and has a wrap would you still consider Yard Force with 500 psi or would you prefer the 130 psi above?
I am trying to decide which to buy. I plan on doing the no rinse technique described by commasign.

lic2drl said:

I am getting a full xpel wrap. I am afraid of damaging to the wrap. I found a portable pressure washer that generate max 130 psi. Here is the link of a youtube video Drought-friendly, in-garage portable pressure washer, Yard Force YF4050 - Page 2

The Yard Force generate 500 psi. Commasign and those that already have Yard Force and has a wrap would you still consider Yard Force with 500 psi or would you prefer the 130 psi above?
I am trying to decide which to buy. I plan on doing the no rinse technique described by commasign.

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Sorry I provided the wrong link above. Here is the link for the 130 psi pressure washer Amazon.com : Caraid 9901 12v Portable Car Pressure Washer with Large Water Tank, Vehicle Washing : Patio, Lawn Garden

commasign said:

The YardForce come with 3 tips (red, yellow, and white). With the white tip on, it's as gentle as a spray bottle. The red tip is good for blasting away bugs and bird poop. I use it on the Xpel wrap and haven't had any issues. Remember the Xpel is designed to withstand rocks flying at the car at 80mph.

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@commasign. So the yellow tip will give the pressure between the white and red and a wide spray like those you see on youtube when they rinse of the soap? The white is like a mist, the red is concentrated nozzle to aim at a spot. and the yellow is a wide spray? Would this be a good discription? Thank you very much for responding.

Interesting, I was just thinking a couple of days ago if such a pressure washer existed, but for a much different idea, for performing a cold-weather de-salting with windshield washer fluid, airplane "de-icing" style. It's so cold here right now that if I go and run through the indoor coin-op everything might be frozen sealed once I park outside.

Once it thaws around here I was also interested in trying out the "touch free" distilled water final rinse... but:

commasign said:

Distilled plus Optimum No Rinse. In retrospect there was still some water spotting which I noticed the next day so next time I'd still make a good effort to towel dry the car rather than air dry.

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Hmm, I'd try distilled water without the agent. If it's only distilled water left on the car (which is probably the big challenge here) then it should evaporate entirely into thin air even in sunlight, no ?

I'd also would be to use distilled water only (without the no-rinse washing solution mixed in) since I usually opt for the two-bucket wash during actual cleaning. Otherwise it's nice to rinse off bugs, bird droppings, and pollen during the spring months.

I'd still follow-up a blower/dryer since the "clean" water that gets semi-trapped in crevices will eventually spill out, carrying any dirt/deposits within those hard-to-clean areas and leaving visible streaks. I've used an electric leaf blower, but warmed/filtered air would be more ideal (Metro SK-1 or Master Blaster).

@commasign - how long does the battery take to charge?