I never thought I would need a pressure washer. Ever. By trade, I am a welder and a fabricator… so I build some cool stuff. But over time the cement floor in my shop became super dirty with grime, grit and unidentified gunk. So I thought, what’s the best way to clean dirty, high traffic cement? I did some research and found the Sun Joe SPX 4000 and the Sun Joe SPX4001. I did a comparison of both models and will share my research in this comparison article.
I compared the Sun Joe SPX4000 and the SPX 4001. I found that simply adding cleaning solution to the tank removed all the grime, dirt and sticky gunk from my cement quickly and easily. The SPX 4000 is a great choice (over the SPX 4001) because it’s a good mix of value, durability, and ease of use.
Comparison of Sun Joe spx4000 VS spx4001:
- Why I picked the Sun Joe SPX 4001 (and why I would NOT buy it again)
- Simple upgrades you can make
- Why the Sun Joe machine is good for homeowners.
Now I have a lot of information to cover with you, so let’s dive in.
Sun Joe Spx 4000
Now this machine is packed with a lot of great features, so I’ll break them down into the Pros and Cons for you., and if your new to pressure washing, this article is for you.
Pros
- All aluminum high strength frame
- 5 amp motor – claims to generate up to 2030 PSI
- 5 quick connect tips lets you select the amount of pressure you need for the job
- Motor lets you also select pressure with a low/high setting
- 2-year warranty
Cons
- Proprietary fittings allow ONLY sun joe hoses, guns, and additional parts to work with the machine.
- Pressure washing hose tangles easily and is hard to untangle since it’s pretty rigid
- If you use detergent in the machine and want to empty it you have to run the machine to empty, thus wasting detergent since there is no easy way to empty the tank
- I haven’t tested the actual PSI – it seems lower than the 2030PSI advertised. It still works well, but I think 2030 PSI is the best case scenario for the pressure generated.
So I bet your asking “Is this a good machine?”
Well, let me ask you this: what’s important to you as a buyer?
I think the SPX 4000 is for the infrequent user who is looking for value for their dollar.
Let me explain…
Let’s say you want to clean your wooden patio once a season (so 4x a year) or maybe once a year you want to clean the cement around your house… then this is an excellent choice. Yes, you might have to fight the short (only 20 ft) cord and waste a bit of detergent – but you’re not using the machine a whole lot. If you have a bit of a heavier duty application I would pass on this machine – any that why I bought the SPX 4001.
Sun Joe SPX4001
Now, this is the machine that I purchased with the intent of cleaning my cement shop floor once a month – about 3000 sq. feet. So I wouldn’t consider that homeowner level of use or professional use… It falls someone where in between.
By the way, if you’re interested in welding, here is a review I just made of a nice welder for the DIY community.
The SPX4000 and the SPX4001 – are essentially the same machine, except that the 4001 has a heavy duty hose and a crank style hose real. I thought this was worth the extra expense, however, I was wrong – the hose still seamed flimsy and the cord keeping mechanism was always a fight and didn’t provide a smooth retracting motion so my hose was always kinking and knotting.
Upgrades And Hacks
Now since the SPX 4001 worked for me (it did clean the cement) but had issues, I did some more research. I found some good solutions that worked like a charm and I’ll break these down into two stages to show what I did with the machine.
Upgrades
All the Sun Joe’s are pretty sneaky machines. The company uses propriety fittings – so going to your local store and buying a longer hose or new spray gun will not work. Sun Joe wants you to buytheir (expensive) accessories. I’ll pass that option and use a workaround solution. You’ll need to change to fittings on the machine. If you buy this adaptor kit you can upgrade your gun (or keep the sun joe) and get a longer hose. Now, I was happy with those upgrades but I wanted to take it a step further.
Hacks
The machine was always moving around my shop and getting bumped into. So I decided to wall mount the machine and throw up the frame. It’s actually pretty simple to do this. You’ll need two delta bars, a hose storage unit, shut off valves, some Teflon tape, the adaptor kit mentioned above.
I was able to break everything down and mount my system in about an hour. I used a cordless drill to speed the process up a bit, so I would invest in one.
I would also invest in some good hearing protection too, the machine isn’t terribly loud, but if you’re using it for an extended period of time, it’s a worthy investment.
And, if you’re a professional I would skip the Sun Joe’s all together and get this bad boy.
Testimonials
I bought the Sun Joe SPX 4000 and found it very easy to wall mount with some items I purchase right from Amazon. Now that its wall mounted, there is no more tedious setup and breakdown process.
The plumbing on the sun joe SPX 4001 is challenging to say the least. All of the fittings do not work with store-bought equipment, so you have to convert all the fittings before you can buy a longer hose or spray gun from a big box retailer or anything other than sun joe’s products. It was simple to do, and if these issues were fixed it would be a 5-star product.
Conclusion
The Sun Joe SPX4000 vs SPX4001 – are both good pressure washing machines. I specifically like the spx 4000 and would buy that machine if I had to do everything all over again. I think they are good machines for the non-professional user and provide a good mix of performance and value. What really sold me and is such a great feature is how the platform can be easily broken down and wall mounted, which saves space and is no problem for someone who is a bit handy. The applications are endless for mounting the Sun Joe – small business like restaurants, homeowners, RV owners, and even small manufacturers would do really well with the Sun Joe platform.
Again, the SPX 4000 is not perfect but it gets close. Avoid the SPX4001 because the “heavy duty“ hose and reel are useless. Instead, spend the extra money on the fitting upgrades and buy the heavier duty hose. You’ll have a great pressure washer the will make you and your wallet happy.
