DeWalt 2100psi Electric Pressure Washer Review: RTFM

The DeWalt Electric Pressure Washer you see here has been through the hardest testing of any of the products I’ve reviewed in a while, and for good reason. As part of my due diligence when putting a product review together, I will watch and read professional reviews and customer feedback. The DeWalt Electric Jobsite Cold Water Pressure Washer, which is its official full name, has received the greatest split of love-it-or-hate-it reviews I can remember seeing, especially for something from an established brand. I have a theory of why that is and part of it comes down to reading the instructions.

The Bottom Line

Over the past year, I’ve tested multiple electric pressure washers all with slightly different use cases. You can get close to the performance of this plug-in unit with battery power, but it takes some serious voltage and capacity like the Ryobi 40-volt. Those big batteries and a charger will cost you several hundred dollars alone. I found the DeWalt to be reliable but not intuitive. I’ll go further into why I think I haven’t had any problems, that weren’t self-inflicted, but others have a little deeper in the copy below. But, for this quick read section, I’ll just say that I’ve used this regularly for months and it has worked perfectly. It provides enough pressure for washing cars, including running a foam cannon. It blasts the grills of my smoker completely clean, and the only area it fell a little short was blasting stains off of concrete. It’s far quieter than most gas-power pressure washers and the relatively compact size makes it easy to store. For $299, it’s even competitively priced.

What Are the Specs of the DeWalt 2100psi Electric Jobsite Cold Water Pressure Washer?

The more observant of you have probably already guessed this pressure washer produces 2,100 psi of pressure and delivers 1.2 gallons per minute of water. I wish more of these had adjustable pressure, but that doesn’t seem to be a thing. For power, it has a 35-foot cord and uses a 120v two-prong plug. It pulls about 13 amps. Yes, I was able to run it off of a Pecron power bank if you’re wondering, so you can make this nearly as portable as a battery-powered machine. It measures 15.5 x 23 x 11 inches and weighs just under 25 pounds. It has two wheels and a telescoping handle so it can be wheeled around like a rollaboard suitcase. Keep that in mind for later.

The handle, wand, and the four included nozzles all break down and fit inside the yellow box. The power cord winds up on the back and the 25-foot pressure hose coils up and fits under the black bar on the top of the machine. It’s nice that it all packs away inside the above dimensions and it makes it easy to store and transport, especially with the wheels.

Pros and Cons for the DeWalt Pressure Washer

Most of you reading this are probably here because you want a pressure washer to add to your car detailing kit. I have used this with a couple of different foam cannons and a few different soaps. It has plenty of power and flow to make soft billowing suds that stick to your paint during the “dwell phase” of washing. There is a soap reservoir in the pressure washer and a nozzle labeled, “soap.” I haven’t used either. I don’t like the idea of running soap through the pressure hose, the gun, everything. I feel like you’re going to get build-up in there and it will contaminate the next job. I’ve also used Chemical Guys Stubby Gun with this because a foam cannon hanging off the wand is kind of a pain. As I already mentioned, this is easy to set up and tear down. Once you get the pressure hose and gun ready to go, you connect your garden hose, bleed the air out, plug it in, hit the power button and you’re off.

I have very few complaints about the DeWalt pressure washer. If you think that you will no longer have to use a sponge or wash mitt on the paint and a brush on the wheels, sorry, it doesn’t work like that. Also, I find it easier to do the final rinse with a shower nozzle on my garden hose. I do wish DeWalt was more aware that people want to use foam cannons and put the quick-release fitting on the outlet of the gun, but that’s fixable.

Now, let’s talk about why I think other people have complaints about this cutting out, or even burning up after a few uses. I’m not going to call out any of them specifically, but several of the reviews I’ve read or watched have photos or video of the device sitting upright while they’re testing it. I will admit, I did this when I first started using it—and then I read the effing manual. It clearly says it should be lying down, which seems unnatural given the orientation of the wheels and handle. Also the fact that the storage for all the accessories is clearly to be used with the pressure washer sitting upright. DeWalt should consider a sticker or two on the pressure washer since so many people are reading averse. The Quick Start comic on the side isn’t obvious enough. Now, I’m not saying this is the cause of every bad review. Can there be that many not reading instructions? Maybe. Could early production models have a defect? Also, maybe. What I’m saying is that I’ve been using this pressure washer for months, on several different projects. When I had it sitting upright, it would cut out and lose pressure. I immediately stopped using it and maybe that’s why I didn’t burn mine up. Once I figured out it had to be lying down, I’ve had no problems, even in temperatures above 100°F. 

Final Thoughts on the DeWalt 2100psi Electric Jobsite Cold Water Pressure Washer

I want to talk about value first. This pressure washer is right around $300 whether you’re looking at Home Depot, Amazon, or Ace Hardware (although watch Ace, it’s sometimes a little cheaper there). You can find less expensive models claiming more pressure and/or higher volume flow on Amazon. There might be a little brand tax on a DeWalt tool, but I don’t think that’s much of the price here. So I consider this a good value in pressure washers.

Functionally, I have very few complaints. It works the way it should, and when you add a foam cannon, it’s great for car washing. But, it also works great around the house. Like I said, it blasted all the meat gunk off the grill of my Traeger, but I can also put on a wider, softer flow nozzle and use it for washing my bikes and not worry about blasting the grease out of the bearings. Once I figured out the correct orientation, I didn’t have any running problems.

The DeWalt 2100psi Electric Jobsite Cold Water Pressure Washer provides exactly what I expect from a tool like this. It doesn’t have the power of a big gas unit, but it also doesn’t have the noise or the inconvenience of needing to keep a gas can in the garage. If I’ve jinxed myself and it dies on me tomorrow, I will update this review. Otherwise, it’s easy for me to recommend this for home use.