I’ve reviewed something like this in the past, and I wanted to do another one of them, and this is going to be the DeWalt cordless pressure washer, and it is a battery, operated pressure washer type of thing.I have to do a ceramic coating on the Jetta in the shop to prep the vehicle. So I figured this could be an excellent opportunity to test it and try and clean up the car with this product.
Buy On Homedepot: DeWalt 20-Volt 550 PSI, 1.0 GPM Cold Water Cordless Electric Power Cleaner
DeWalt claims it can achieve 550 PSI, ten times the pressure. That pressure is pretty easy to accomplish if you’re not doing anything to manipulate the garden hose and just letting it run ten times.
It comes with a 40-degree, 25-degree, 15-degree, and a turbo nozzle. This comes with a little foam cannon. So, it’s not traditional foam cannon. But then it also has the 20 feet hose to stick it into a five-gallon bucket, get your water from that source, and get out there and clean stuff up.
So, what I bought is the tool only package because I use a lot of DeWalt tools, and so I have all the batteries already. Often, there’s a small item that you can clip onto something, so it stays in the bucket. I don’t know if this has that, but it does have a little flow, so that’s great. The next thing is the little foam blaster.
So again, this is not like a traditional foam cannon, but I will test that as well. So, it comes with the extension with a nice quick connect on end, which was different from the Ryobi. I believe the Ryobi didn’t have a quick connection. You can read more on the comparison for this DeWalt cordless pressure washer with Ryobi and Kobalt below.
That was that one was only 320 PSI. But I did hear from somebody that they’re coming out with a more powerful one, but we will test this unit first. The unit does have storage right on top for your nozzles through different nozzles. And then, on the back, you do have a power high and low switch. You have your trigger, and it does have that little locking mechanism on it. So, you have to push that down to pull the trigger.
Then it looks like the battery case is against the water. So, it’s just right on the bottom there. You can see a slight separation or a little tab here to pull that up, and you can fit your battery. Now what size battery this can provide is a good question. It did say 5-amp, so we’re probably looking at 20 volts. You could probably use the flexible battery, which is 60 volt.
So, this is a good test. The 60 volts battery fits in nicely. It’s pretty maxed out. It’s pretty maxed out, and not a lot of room in there for anything bigger. So that may be our perfect power source there. Obviously, there’s a big difference in weight for 20V and 60 V batteries, but I will say it’s got some weight to it, but they give you an excellent grip, so it’s not bad.
What Is Included in the Package?
You can work with it pretty efficiently. DeWalt also gives you a little storage bag with a few different items, such as nozzles, some connectors, and an inline filter. So, first things first, we got our turbo nozzle. So, go ahead and pop that right in my storage; we have a 15-degree nozzle, a 25-degree nozzle and the 40-degree nozzle.
I don’t know what size orifice is in this DeWalt cordless pressure washer, and they look pretty small. But, it would help to get the PSI up. So, we’ll test this unit with the 15-degree nozzle to get the most perceived power out of it. And then we’ll use the turbo nozzle as well.
So, they give you these two pieces of quick connections accessories. One of them will connect to your garden hose, and then it has a little quick neck type of connection. Connect it, and then pull back on it, and it releases. The mechanism for the quick connect accessories is very nice. Another one attaches to the DeWalt cordless pressure washer.
In addition, it’s got a little inline filter, which is an excellent feature. I wasn’t expecting that. If you’re using the 20-foot hose extension to wash out of the bucket, which is what I’m going to test, it has that quick connect on it as well. So I’m just going to go fill up a bucket, and then let’s try shooting a car down.
Setting Up DeWalt Cordless Pressure Washer for Performance Test
So, I’m getting this all set up for the test. I got my bucket of water, and so again, we’re just going to be using the hose that it comes with. I like that it has a filter at the connection point on the pressure washer itself. And then it also has a little bit of a filter on the end of where it goes into the water. So just to double up and keep the machine running safe, it does have filters for everything.
There is no clip that I’m seeing. It would be nice if it had some clip where you can clip it onto the bucket so that it stays in there because the hose end is coming out from the bucket, so I’m going to have to figure out a solution. I do think that’s something that they can work on. It’s a little bit annoying. When I put the hose into the bucket, the filter comes up almost at the top of the water.
So, having a piece with a big clamp to keep the filter part where the water comes in at the bottom of the bucket would be beneficial. That’s not a huge deal. It’s easy enough to get a big clip and just clip it on, but it would’ve been cool if they gave you some. So, to solve that minor issue, I just used a pair of vice grips and got it snug on there.
We’re going to start on the lowest setting and see how it works. I can see the water coming through the line. It’s on its way. But, honestly, it is terrible, and it looks like there’s almost zero power to it. So, we’re going to go ahead and switch over to the high and see how it works.
In my opinion, it is not ideal for washing a car, but it will get the job done. It’s going to take it a little bit longer, but I can work indoors is pretty cool. I’m not getting a ton of water everywhere else. It’s just kind of a good amount of water.
Next, I switch it over to the power nozzle or turbo nozzle, as they say. This type of nozzle always generates quite a bit more power for cleaning. So, many people like to use them when they’re working on their cars, especially cleaning the wheels, because it helps break down everything a little bit quicker.
With the turbo nozzle on, the water feels nice and powerful. So, I’m going to switch it over to the 40-degree nozzle. It’s not overly powerful, and it’s working well with this.
The Soap Dispenser
So, let’s go ahead and hook up the soap dispenser that they give you and see how that thing works. So I filled up the bottom portion with soap. The rest is just water. And while I was doing that, I went ahead and filled up my actual foam cannon. So, we can test and compare the performance of the soap dispenser.
I do have the smaller orifice attached inside. So, it foams better with lower pressure. Unfortunately, it’s not like a regular quick mech, so you have to remove the Lance part. It is just a waste of time. This is why I’m not too fond of these little foam dispensers that they give you. They really just apply soap wet. It doesn’t foam. It doesn’t do anything special.
As I expected, there’s soap coming out but not foam. It’s just not ideal for cleaning, in my opinion. So, what I’m going to do is I’m going to hook the Lance back up to it, and I am going to put the actual foam cannon on and see what kind of results we get with the DeWalt cordless pressure washer.
Now it works excellent. It’s not as thick of foam as you would get on a standard pressure washer, but this is fantastic for the purposes that we’re doing here today. It does the job perfectly. This cordless pressure washer is perfect for applying for washing cars, motorcycles or even boats. The foam sticks to the surface, and it is perfect even though not as thick when you use it with a standard pressure washer.
I’m more impressed with this than I thought, especially to wash a car. It’s a great little unit. The only problem with it is it is more expensive than the other ones, and even at that price that I got, it was just a tool only. Also, it doesn’t come with any batteries. So, if you’re not already part of the DeWalt ecosystem, you don’t have any batteries. So, it’s going to get expensive. However, if you are already in the DeWalt ecosystem, this DeWalt cordless pressure washer can be a perfect addition to your power tools collection.
So, I’m going to go ahead and rinse off the car using the four-degree nozzle. But again, it comes with a 20-foot cord, so I should be able to get halfway around the car and go back around without having to go to the bucket. I’ve got maybe half a gallon left in my five-gallon bucket. So, for five gallons, you can wash the whole part in a standard sedan car.
My Final Verdict on DeWalt Cordless Pressure Washer
But, again, it’s not as powerful as a corded pressure washer. However, it does get a good amount of pressure, especially just cleaning up jobs around the house. So, if you need something quick and you don’t have to hook up a bunch of stuff, this thing is a really excellent option. I really like the DeWalt 20-volt cordless pressure washer so far.
Now I would say that’s probably pretty accurate. Unfortunately, I don’t have a way of checking the pressure, as I can’t connect my 3/8-inch gauge to a quarter inch. So, I just want to give you guys a quick overview of what it can do. I hope that helps if you’re in the market considering getting one of these.
I think it’s worth it. Give it a shot. I’m impressed with it as it sounds good, feels robust, and doesn’t feel like it’s going to break or be chintzy or anything like that.
Comparison of DeWalt, Kobalt and Ryobi Cordless Pressure Washer
You have the Kobalt, which comes in from most and is a 600 PSI. You have the Ryobi, which is 320 PSI, and DeWalt, 550 PSI. All three of these have an available amp hour battery. The Kobalt comes with a two-amp hour battery, and it’s the biggest battery out of the bunch. A little too big. The Ryobi is your typical sized battery, two-amp hour battery, and the same goes for the DeWalt battery.
Battery
Let’s talk about the battery cases. Firstly, the Kobalt. It looks like it has a watertight seal around the bottom, but when you close it, if the top wants to catch, you have to pull it down to get it shut, but it looks like a watertight seal. Next to the Ryobi, it has, in my opinion, the best-case design as it’s got an excellent seal around the top.
Nice and secure. DeWalt, in my opinion, is the worst design, and they don’t label it as a watertight case. It’s just a case of keeping the water off. So, as you can see, it just flips down. There’s nothing to hold it in. You don’t have to worry about the DeWalt batteries falling off of the drills, either. So, it’s not that big of a deal, but it is not watertight.
The Kobalt and the Ryobi have a single-speed set-up, and DeWalt has a two-speed. It has low and high settings depending on your usage. The low setting is useless from my review on the DeWalt cordless pressure washer above.
Fit and Finish
We’ll move on to fit and finish. Kobalt feels kind of nice in your hand; once you put the battery in it, it does get cumbersome. The Kobalt is a massive battery like I mentioned before and the weight just really, really makes this thing heavy, especially to use one hand. It does have safety on the side. What I like least about the Kobalt is the trigger set-up. It’s got the safety that you have to push in every time before you pull the trigger, and you have to pull the trigger back really hard and hold it the whole time, uh, or else this thing keeps on cutting off on you, just the slightest lit up in pressure, and it turns off.
Let’s move on to the Ryobi. Ryobi feels more excellent and better built-in your hand than the Kobalt. I do like the case on the bottom. The trigger feels excellent; all components and everything snaps together so far.
DeWalt feels best in your hand. It has a little safety dongle that you just flip down and pull the trigger. The trigger feels excellent and is the best out of the three. The fit and finish for DeWalt cordless pressure washer is perfect. The only thing I don’t really like about this one is the case for the battery, as it is not designed to be waterproof as Kobalt and Ryobi, as I mentioned above.
However, that doesn’t matter too much. All three of these pressure washers can get water from any water source so that you can hook a hose directly up to it right into the unit. It comes with a bit of fitting. You just pop it on there and screw the water hose into it. But for this test purpose, we’re going to use one type of hose.
Features
So, we’ll have to draw the water up into it. We’re going to see how well that works. We’re going to start with the Kobalt. This hose just hooks right onto the bottom, and it has a little float there, which is a pretty cool design. So, you can throw this in a little stream or a pond or throw it in a bucket, and the filter will not be dragging all over.
The Kobalt design has the standard water pressure fitting for the hose end. So, you can actually put regular fittings on it. In addition, the Kobalt cordless pressure washer comes with a zero, which is a straight stream, 15-degree, 25-degree, 40-degree and just a spray. The Kobalt also comes with an excellent soap dispenser that snaps right on the unit.
Let’s move on to the Ryobi cordless pressure washer. It has the same style with a filter on it. And you just hook it right up to the bottom. The connection is not very good, and I could see this breaking off in the future. You have to push it up real hard, and it looks very flimsy. I wouldn’t say I like that. I don’t know if that will leak moving on to the nozzle. They provide a 15-degree nozzle and what they call a turbo. The nozzle does not rotate around very well, and there’s not a good click when you get to each setting. I wouldn’t say I like it.
Next, we move on to the DeWalt cordless pressure washer. It’s got the same style as Kobalt with the float. The one that goes with a different angle just has an attachment right up at the top. So you can fit all your standard pressure washer fittings, and it just holds them right there. It also comes with a turbo nozzle. I really like how the DeWalt fits in your hand. It feels like the best bill out of the bunch, but it is the most expensive. The DeWalt also comes with the soap dispensing bottle right on end.
Performance and Power Test
We’re going to run these things through a couple of tests. First, we will run over to our buddy Evan’s house and help pressure wash his truck. He’s a real road trucker in Alaska, so his vehicle will be nice and dirty for us. Then we’ll put it through the final test by looking these hoses up and having to draw water up into the power player and seeing how long the battery will last.
In Alaska, they use salt and calcium to harden the dirt road. This creates almost a concrete, like mud that stays on the truck, which will be perfect for our test. The Kobalt slightly edges out the DeWalt in terms of pressure in a real-world test. Using these side-by-side, you can barely notice the difference between the Kobalt and the DeWalt. You can immediately tell that the Ryobi is seriously lacking.
The Ryobi seems to give slightly better pressure than your standard garden hose. It would still have its use because if you don’t have access to a garden hose, but you have a water bucket, you would still have a power washer. The only way I would recommend the Ryobi is if you already have a bunch of batteries for it; the Kobalt, on the other hand, has some trigger issues and overheating issues. It keeps randomly cutting off, but let’s move on to the next aspect.
I would not recommend the Ryobi to anybody just because of this issue. The wand is super flimsy. It looks like it’s going to break off. So I just wouldn’t recommend it.
Let’s say you’re out muddy. Your belt breaks, but you can’t get to any of the bolts because they’re all covered with mud. You can use this cordless pressure washer to knock off all the mud, hook the other thing up and toss it, run it into a water bottle, or anything like that. You can clean up the area you get around.
| DeWalt | Kobalt | Ryobi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $179 (Tool-Only) | $149 (with battery & charger) | $149 (with battery & charger) |
| Pros | High built quality. Powerful, comes with soap dispenser | Powerful, come with soap dispenser | Good trigger, best battery case |
| Cons | Battery case is not waterproof | Heavy, less ergonomic, overheats problems, poor trigger design | Poor built quality, loose wand, low quality nozzle, connections are not tight |
My Final Selection for the Best Cordless Pressure Washer
As I have mentioned in my review for DeWalt cordless pressure above, the price is a bit high for DeWalt as the unit is not included the battery. However, if you are already in the DeWalt ecosystem, you might consider buying the DeWalt cordless pressure washer and get a very reliable and high-quality cordless pressure washer.