Craftsman 1700 PSI Electric Review: Is It Worth Buying?

Overview

It's a Craftsman 1700 PSI electric pressure washer. You've seen a dozen of these boxes stacked at the home center. Priced around $139, it's aimed at the homeowner who needs to wash a car, maybe spray down the deck, and occasionally blast mud off a sidewalk. Not a commercial tool. Not for stripping paint all day. Just a utility-grade scrubber that plugs into a standard outlet.

I picked one up to see if it's actually worth tossing in your cart or if you should keep walking. I've used plenty of electric units in this price range鈥擲un Joe, Ryobi, Greenworks, Karcher. They all blur together after a while. But the Craftsman name still means something to some folks, so I gave it a fair shot on a dirty driveway, a neglected fence, a truck that looked like it drove through a dust storm, and a set of concrete steps that had seen better days.

Before you ask: no, this won't replace a gas-powered 3000 PSI unit. But that's not the point. The question is whether it does enough to justify the space in your garage or basement. Let's get into it.

Key Features

Here's the spec sheet breakdown before I get into how it actually behaves.

• 1700 PSI at 1.2 GPM 鈥?That's about as standard as it gets for a $140 electric unit. You're looking at roughly 2040 cleaning units (PSI x GPM). Not impressive on paper, but enough for light-duty stuff.
• Weight: 22 lbs 鈥?Light enough to carry up stairs, heavy enough to feel like it won't shatter if you drop it. The handle folds down, which is nice for storage.
• 13-amp motor 鈥?Brushed motor, not brushless. I'll talk about why that matters later.
• 25-foot power cord + 20-foot hose 鈥?The hose is fine. The power cord is annoyingly short if your outdoor outlet is poorly placed. I had to use an extension cord (12-gauge, 50 feet) to reach my driveway.
• Axial cam pump 鈥?Not a triplex pump. Not rebuildable. If it dies, you toss the unit. Standard for this price bracket.
• Included nozzles: 0掳, 15掳, 25掳, 40掳, plus a soap nozzle. Same drop-in color coding you expect. The nozzle holder is built into the machine.
• Onboard detergent tank 鈥?24-ounce capacity. It's fine for a single car wash session. You'll refill it if you're doing siding.

One thing that stood out: the hose is rubber-reinforced, not that stiff plastic stuff that kinks every time you look at it. That's a plus. The hose connection at the gun swivels, which saved my sanity when working around my truck's bumpers.

Performance

I tested this thing on four surfaces over two weekends. Let me walk through each one.

Driveway (oil stains and grime) 鈥?I've got a concrete driveway that's about eight years old. Plenty of oil drips from my old F-150 and some dark patches near where the trash cans sit. I hit it with the 15掳 nozzle from about six inches away. The 1700 PSI lifted light dirt fast. The oil stains? Barely touched them. I had to use the 0掳 nozzle (which I hate doing because it can etch concrete) and even then, it just lightened them. If you want to clean a driveway that's just dusty or muddy, this works great. If you've got years of embedded grime, you need a surface cleaner attachment or a stronger unit. I hooked up my downstream injector with some concrete cleaner and that helped, but the tank runs out fast.

Car wash (my wife's CR-V, covered in road salt and dust) 鈥?This is where the Craftsman shines. The 40掳 nozzle gave a wide, gentle spray. The 1.2 GPM is slow compared to a garden hose, but that's fine for working panel by panel. No paint damage. No funny business. I used the included soap nozzle and the onboard tank with a decent car soap. The foam was weak鈥攎ore of a dribble than a foam cannon. That's the tank's fault, not the machine. If you care about foam, buy a separate foam cannon that connects to the gun. The hose was easy to maneuver around the car. The cord was not鈥擨 had to keep adjusting so I didn't run over it. Total wash time was about 25 minutes, including a quick rinse. Good enough.

Deck (weathered cedar, some mildew) 鈥?Pressure treated wood deck, three years old, starting to show green patches near the shaded side. I set the nozzle to 25掳 and kept a consistent distance. The 1700 PSI didn't tear up the wood fibers, which is nice. Some electric units at higher PSI will gouge soft wood if you're not careful. This one is gentle enough that I'd trust a beginner to clean a deck without ruining it. But it also didn't fully strip the mildew鈥擨 had to follow up with a stiff brush and some deck cleaner. Took two passes on the worst spots. If you're doing a big deck, budget extra time because the low GPM means you're moving slow.

Siding (vinyl, some stuck-on dirt near the gutter downspouts) 鈥?This was easy. The 40掳 nozzle and a light angle. Dirt came right off. The 25-foot power cord was the main complaint鈥攎y house's outdoor outlet is at the back, and I had to run a heavy extension cord to reach the front corner. The hose extension was long enough. No complaints on the cleaning itself.

Overall, the performance is adequate for light-duty work. It's not fast, it's not powerful, but it finishes the job if you're patient. If you're the type who wants to blast through a whole house in an hour, look elsewhere.

Build Quality

Okay, let's talk about how this thing feels when you're actually using it.

The housing is plastic. Thick ABS, not the flimsy stuff that cracks if you look at it wrong. The handle locks into place with a firm click. The wheels are small, plastic, and barely roll over grass. On concrete they're fine. I wish they'd put foam or rubber on them because they make a racket on stone.

The gun is the standard pistol-grip with a trigger lock. It's comfortable for about 15 minutes, then my hand started feeling it. The trigger requires a solid squeeze鈥攏ot terrible, but not as light as some of the Karcher guns I've used. The wand extension is metal, which is good. No plastic connector that's going to strip after a season.

Now for the pump: it's an axial cam pump with a brass head. Axial cam pumps are cheaper, louder, and less durable than triplex pumps. They also don't like running dry. If you let this thing run without water for more than 30 seconds, you're asking for a seal failure. I made sure to prime it every time. The pump noise is typical鈥攌ind of a high-pitched buzz mixed with the motor whine. It's not deafening, but you'll wear earplugs if you're running it for an hour.

One weird quirk: the cord wrap on the back of the unit is too small. I could barely get the 25-foot cord wrapped neatly. It bulges out and looks messy. Minor, but annoying when you're trying to be tidy.

The thermal relief valve kicked in after about 20 minutes of continuous use on a hot day (95掳F). That's normal for a budget pump. It spits a little water to cool things down. Don't panic if you see it.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Light enough to carry around. 22 lbs isn't nothing, but it's manageable for most adults.
• The rubber hose is genuinely better than what comes with most $140 units. It coils neatly, doesn't kink.
• Easy to start. Plug in, turn on the water, squeeze trigger. No prime, no choke, no pull cord.
• Gentle enough for deck cleaning without gouging wood.
• Price is fair for the PSI/GPM you get.
• Handle folds down for storage. Fits in a small shelf or closet.

Cons

• Power cord is too short. 25 feet is stingy. You'll need an extension cord for almost any real use.
• Wheels are terrible on grass or gravel. They skid more than roll.
• Onboard detergent tank produces weak foam. Not a true foam cannon by any stretch.
• Pump is non-serviceable and will wear out faster than a triplex. Budget for a replacement in 3-4 years of heavy use.
• Motor gets noticeably hot after 30 minutes of active use. I let it cool down for 10 minutes before continuing.
• No included storage bag or quick-connect fittings. You have to buy those separately.
• The trigger lock is stiff. I had to use two hands to engage it at first.

Value for Money

At $139, this thing sits right in the middle of the budget electric washer market. You can find a Ryobi 1600 PSI for $119 on sale. You can find a Sun Joe 2030 for $99. You can also spend $180 on a Karcher K1700 and get a similar spec sheet. So where's the Craftsman's edge?

Honestly? Not much of one. The rubber hose is better than the Sun Joe's plastic one. The build quality is slightly better than the Ryobi鈥攖he Ryobi's handle feels flimsier. But the Karcher K1700 has a higher build quality (better fittings, smoother trigger) and a longer hose. For $40 more, you get a noticeably nicer tool. If I had to pick between the Craftsman and the Karcher, I'd spend the extra cash.

What bugged me is that the Craftsman doesn't include any quick-connect fittings for the garden hose inlet. You have to screw the hose on directly every time. That's cheap. A $5 part they skimped on. The Sun Joe SPX3000 at the same price has a better hose, a longer power cord, and two detergent tanks. So the Craftsman is losing on value against its direct competitors.

That said, if you catch this thing on clearance for $100 or less, it's a solid deal. Otherwise, you're paying a small premium for the name badge and the rubber hose. I'd say it's overpriced by about $20 compared to what you actually get.

Verdict

Who should buy this? First-time homeowners who need a light-duty washer for a small driveway, a compact car, and a patio set. People who trust the Craftsman brand and want something simple that won't intimidate them. If you've never used a pressure washer before, this is a safe, easy entry point. It's not going to overwhelm you with power or complexity.

Who should skip it? Anyone with a large driveway, heavy oil stains, or big cleaning jobs. Also skip it if you're a contractor or rental property owner鈥攜ou'll kill this pump in a season. And skip it if you want to use a foam cannon, because the onboard tank is useless for that. Spend $180 on the Karcher or wait for a sale on a higher-spec unit.

For me personally? I've used better, and I've used worse. It finished my test jobs without breaking, which is more than I can say for some $99 specials I've reviewed. But it didn't impress me. It's a "fine" product. It'll clean your car, it'll spray your deck, and it'll sit in your garage for five years until you wonder why you bought it. That's the honest truth.