Do NOT Buy: Simpson Surface Pressure Cleaner 

Finally some honesty in a tool review

The problem is it just has a crappy nylon washer as a bearing surface that wears out in a few hours of use. You are way better to buy a real surface cleaner with actual bearings in the hub for long life

My ryobi one works flawlessly. I’ve hit corners and nails and all kinds of craziness but it still cleans a driveway like a boss. Decks too.

Man this feels personal, I love the one I have, works great on my concrete and fences

We had one that bent the other way and went from the normal spin rate to like turbo mode and would spin like 100x faster that it should 😂

Yeah, same thing happened to me. Worked great the first night and now on the 3rd use, I can barely get 1/2 RPM out of it. Back to Farm and Fleet it goes.

Just rejet the nozzles. Get a carburetor jet drill set, and drill out the nozzles till you get the flow that’s right for the amount of pressure the washer is outputting. You’ll get more flow out of the nozzles, which means less restriction, less upward force that locks it up.

The company mosmatic makes an excellent one, the one i have at work is like 4 years old, it's never been babied

Thank you for the heads up brother👍

I just bought a competitor to this because of the awful reviews online regarding this. I didn't understand why people were having such issues but your explanation clarified it all. Thanks.

I’ve done a lot of pressure washing in my day. Those things never work I’m speaking from experience. This man knows what he’s talking about. Those are garbage.

The cheap harbor freight one is a friggin tank. I use it on my shop floor with a hotsy regularly

I've used this model dozens of times with ZERO troubles. It works amazingly. Am I just lucky or what?

Use lock tight thread locker on the threads of the pipe to fix it.

I bought two of those things and both of them broke the first time I use them. I will say they worked incredibly awesome before they broke. Also if anything on that thing is slightly out of alignment you get massive vibration

Its all about matching the tips to the GPM of the machine pushing it. You're right, one IS junk. Whisper Wash or Mosmatic are the Go-To surface cleaners

Thanks for the advice and information I was looking at one but not now 😊

I don’t know if you’re just a fast talker, but it sounds like you speeded up the video a bit and I appreciate that

Throw it on the pile of "doesn't do its job". Damn near everything you buy now comes with the risk of being worse than useless.

It dosent bend them, the NPT threads turn, use green lock tite, set at the right angle and you'll be fine. Your welcome.

I have that exact model and it works great for me.

I have a Stihl RE 90 with its surface cleaner. It’s very nice for a homeowner, small but still gets the job done

I got the cheap Ryobi model. It worked for one cleaning. Every time after that I got the exact same results you're describing.

I ran a power washing company yrs ago and even with commercial units we would use Loctite to hold elbows and tip in correct placement position...

As a pro for 19 yrs you get what you pay for! I purchased a 30” made by North Star made serious BANK every time. First start with FLOW not pressure. Everyone sees the PSI and figures thats power but a 3000psi @ 2.5 gpm is a newb machine. You really want 5-6 gpm and 2-3000psi that takes HORSEPOWER! 3000@6gpm = minimumof 18hp. Nuf said

I had the same problem. Worked great for a couple of hours then started spinning slowly and not cleaning. After looking for solutions on the web, I found that debris gets into the hub for the spinning arms, especially if you are working close to grass, which prevents the arms from rotating properly. The solution is to remove the arms using a hex (allen) wrench, clean out any crud, and spray the hub on the unit and the arms that you removed with WD40. Be generous! After doing this, it worked like new. It may have to be repeated depending on the size of your project. By the way, this cleaner works MUCH better than a Karchner cleaner that I had which finally broke down.

I am sure that same unit is under several different labels. I will add , I bought a Campbell Hausfeld one on clearance, ( couldn’t pass it up) It runs just fine, no problems, pretty amazing actually,

A note from a hydraulics engineer. Your pressure washer generates a triple wave pressure with a peek of approximately 3100psia at the nozzle. I have two questions for you. 1. Is your hard line a pressure multiplier or a static line? 2. What is the base output line pressure of your unit? Because the typical pressure wand as a factor of 5 per linear foot, meaning the pressure is multiplied by 5x per linear foot. So a 3 ft wand will multiply input pressure by 125 times (5*5*5=125) so I’m guessing if you’re using a 3 ft wand with a tip pressure of 3100 psi, by the time it reaches the tip of the spinner, you’re at 6700psi, nearly 3000psi over the spinners max operating pressure. I’m guessing the manufacturer put the standard x4 line burst safety margin, so that pressure isn’t going to detonate the head, but aluminum has no yield strength so no matter the force it will always creep. But shoving nearly double max operating pressure through it is definitely going to accelerate that problem.

Unfortunately I can agree. My Simpson turbo jet nozzle broke in half a season as well. I was disappointed. But my Simpson washer is fantastic.

Thank you for your service

I'm guessing lack of maintenance or dirty water or hose is to blame. Particulate in the water can cause the head to freeze up. I actually had to remove the bolt on mine the other day because I somehow got grass on my hose and it got in the sprayer and was stuck in the rotation joint. Pulled out the grass and relubricated it and it worked like a charm!

Thanks for the heads up.

Definitely agree, that needs a complete redesign.

Are you sure the washer is not over pressure?

We have these at work, appreciate the video now I know why they spin slow.

I have one I use on a 2500 it works pretty good

Thank you for this. Have you tried any other homeowner grade brand like ryobi? Would love to see a video comparing them cause the commercial grade stuff is too much and the good homeowner grade stuff is a shot in the dark.

Thanks for the info.. ,👍

Place a small piece of angle iron between the 2 jets, take 2 pieces of bailing wire and wrap it around the tube and the angle iron to give it more support.

I had a Simpson brand too. Didn't like it either. I bought a Briggs and Stratton model which is pretty much the same thing. No problems

I cleaned a 50x20 drive way with one earlier in 2 hours. With a Simpson pressure washer 3400 psi and It did great

Thank you for letting everyone know about the quality of this surface cleaner, I was going to buy this from Tractor supply, not anymore, thanks for saving me a headache

I had one similar and it doesn’t turn. Bought a Karcher which has a larger diameter tube that spins and its held up well

I have one of those that I use with the power washer I got from Sam's Club also branded Simpson and mine works just fine.

Get the one with the fat bar. I would also recommend a metal shroud, the plastic ones break too easily.

I have the Ryobi version. Seems to work well

I had this exact same setup and it works for about two pressure washing jobs before it started messing up

I have this exact same model and I used it for the first time yesterday and had the exact same problem! I tried looking into it on the internet but didn't find very much helpful information. What do you recommend?? Trash it? Sell it to someone with a lower PSI pressure washer? I technically finished when I was working on but it took probably four times longer than it should have. Thanks for the video!

yup. I've had the same problem. ended up using the normal wand to wash 2000 sq ft of concrete.

Not really a solution but I have a pressure adjustment on the end on my wand before the neck. Anytime I want less pressure for anything I just turn it to the right. I got it for a similar reason to you but ended up using it more than the attachment I bought it for

A flat bar with holes milled in it would fight the torsion effect of the water better than a round tube. May even be able to make 2 or 3 holes and broaden the cleaning path. Could even thread the holes and use different type of jet inserts to get different results with different surfaces and levels of filth.

Now I know why mine don't work either. I have also found that the high pressure washer and the cheep versions of that bind up as well.

Drill holes at an angle. What do you find correctly match the angle

I don't know man I got a Ryobi one that I use Everytime I strip sealer off concrete and it works great. I have a feeling you pushed down to hard on it and the spray nozzles knicked the ground as it was spinning causing it to bend

do they make a dial you can put inline to change the pressure like and in line fuel pressure regulator

All they have to do is get you once!

exact same problem with mine

What do you think about the DeWalt 15-in model?

I bought a Campbell Hausfield at Walmart years ago it's plastic and at the time was 39 bucks still working great almost 20 years later

My HF floor cleaner still kicking after 3yrs lol... for 1/2 the price. I'd love to get a Ryobi one heard those are really good.

Take a couple bearings and put them on the arm in the center it will stop it from bending and will spin smoothly

I have the same exact pressure washer. I actually purchased the Ryobi surface cleaner and its been through alot and still works just fine. Id think simpson would have made a better one.

Just a friendly thought, are you using the correct gpm nozzles?

I have the Briggs and Stratton version of this attachment and have never ever had this problem.

I’ve had a great experience with the Edou brand using a very similar pressure washer.

this could be fixed by adding a gusset along the edge of the tubing . it will probably act like a fanblade also. a piece of tig rod welded to a washer on both ends would prove it. make a triangle.

What do you recommend then? Thank you 💪🏽

If your going to buy one, buy the barrel extension and the surfacemaxx washer

My first guess would be the spinning has a lot more to do with the bearing design than the nozzle being so sensitive to a few degrees of angle.

4x small wheel bearing 2 on each side at 1 in distance to support the lines to the tips. if u hv problem with metal bearings use plastic bearing to not make noise or mark's

I spent $600 on a nice Stainless Steel floor cleaner that can handle 5000psi/5gpm. It works amazingly.

Have had that one for years and used MANY times no issues

I have the same one and has held up 3 years so far with a similar pressure washer

you need to change the nozzles to a smaller orifice that matches your psi anyway or you will have a problem. There are plenty of charts out there to help you figure out what size you need. As far as the supply tubes rotating remove them put red threadlocker on the threads then reassemble and let sit for 2 days

I imagine if you use it a ton maybe you'd run into an issue, I have that exact model pressure washer and head and haven't had any issues over the past few years of using it sporadically. I think maybe you're not letting the head do the work, you don't have to hold it down against the pavement for it to work, kind of lifts and floats on it's own, just have to control where you want to clean. :) I hope this helps.

I'm having the exact same issue I believe with my DeWalt 18-in surface cleaner, I have replaced it once and I'm on my way to replace a second time because it's giving me the exact same issue

Controller quarter inch hole in the top of the housing. I don't know why but it's supposed to help.

Is this a material quality issue? Would it be better if the pipes were made of a stronger metal?

I almost purchased the same model. Glad I happened upon this video

I have the exact same power washer and I bought the DeWalt concrete cleaner like that and haven't ever had an issue like that. That one is a cheapy get you the DeWalt one.

So what do you recommend instead?

Could it of slowed down due to not enough psi with the 3100? Jus curious not throwing shade your way jus asking if youve hooked it up to a lesser or greater than pressure washer jus to test multiple ways😊

Good looking out. 👍

I have the largest model and it works flawlessly, even at the max rated psi. Idk bout the smaller ones but Simpson is pretty solid imo

I have similar of another brand.. works good for home.

I have that exact one and mine works fantastic

Thanks,that’s good to know. I hadn’t heard that before. I’m not in the market for one but I sure wouldn’t buy that brand if I was.

My friend got a harbor freight one just like that. It works better then what I thought

Thank you for sharing I am in the market for a concrete cleaner and I'm glad. I didn't just go out and grab that thing

I bought a ryobi one and it’s the best pressure washer tool I own It works amazing

I also regret buying a Simpson power washer, the pump broke off the motor the first time I used it, they fixed it under warranty. The third time I used it the concrete cleaner stopped spinning. Not happy.

Got a Ridgid rated at 4200 and it's amazing, stop buying low pressure stuff.

Had the Same problem with that exact unit

I would suggest running it lower than the max psi. Just because it can max out at 3700 psi, doesn't mean the maximum will give you better results.

I was thinking buying this. But now not sure which one is good for reasonable price.

Look for a Probst EC60 (easyclean). You wil love it

I literally got one of those with my pressure washer when I bought it and it has never worked out of the box. What a disappointment in the product.

Rated max pressure isnt all its cracked up to be. I bought a cheap surface cleaner of an unknown brand which looks to be constructed a lot like that one. The MAX psi rating is actually like 700 lower then the washer I use it on and its worked flawlessly for 7 years now. Clean the driveway, patio, sidewalks two to three times a year. Not commercial use obviously, but not used lightly.

I have a Simpson pressure washer ,hard to get parts on line

Get a surface max one the 14inch without caster wheels I have the same exact pressure washer as you and the surface maxx one I’m using works like a charm