The Sun Joe SPX9004 In Depth Review, Great Value or Total Bust?

The purchase of my Sun Joe SPX9004 was admittedly rather unplanned for me. I didn’t need a new pressure washer, and I certainly hadn’t been looking for one, when suddenly, the opportunity to buy this unit at nearly half off retail presented itself. Intrigued by its higher flow rate and brushless induction motor, I decided to take the plunge and see how this compared to my Ryobi 1,600psi 1.2gpm unit. The SPX9004 is 1,300psi and 2.0gpm as listed by Sun Joe, which is very similar to the Kranzle K1322TS which comes in at 1,300psi and 2.1gpm. Before I get into the unit itself, I have to say that the way Amazon chooses to ship this product is horrendous. They appear to be shipping the original SunJoe box inside of a much larger, essentially empty box with no padding. My first unit came damaged, but the second delivery was okay. Firstly, we need to address what is seemingly the largest “problem”, if you want to call it that, with this unit; the lack of a start/stop system. Given that this unit isn’t nearly as loud as a cheaper Ryobi or Sun Joe with a universal motor, I don’t find this to be all that much of an issue. My solution for the time being was this remote control, that I simply leave in my pocket while I’m washing my car. Whenever I need to shut the unit off, I just slap the button thru my pocket, easy. I am currently looking into retrofitting a pressure or flow switch to remedy this, but in the meantime, I’m very happy with the remote control. You’ll come to realize very quickly that you don’t need to shut it off all that often, mainly just in between large steps, like going from wheels to washing, wash to rinse, etc.
Foam produced by the MATCC foam cannon attached to the SPX9004
Compared to my Ryobi, the increase in flow makes for a noticeable difference both in foam and rinsing the car. The foam produced by this pressure washer is incredibly thick, and will stick to even a clean, coated vehicle. When it comes time to rinse, you won’t be disappointed either, you can rinse off a vehicle fairly quickly. While the pressure is lower than the Ryobi, its largely unimportant for the sole task of washing a car. I would probably not recommend this if you’re looking to also use it to clean siding, concrete, etc. As far as the included accessories go, I’ve chosen not to use them. I’m sure they’re fine if you don’t want to spend any more money, but for me, an upgraded, longer hose, and an MTM gun are musts. If you’d like to upgrade your SPX9004 accessories to the same setup as what I’m running, here is your shopping list: Uberflex 50ft Hose MTM SGS28 M22 15mm to 3/8-M QD 2x M22-M to 3/8-M 2x 3/8-F to 3/8-F QD 3/8-M to 3/8-M QD 1/4-M to 1/4-F QD Remote Control Here are some guidelines for how to put everything together. First, start by preparing the hose. Take the M22 to 3/8 male NPT adapters and put them on each end of the Uberflex. Next, you’ll attach a 3/8 female NPT to 3/8 Female QD adapter onto each side of the hose into the M22 to 3/8 adapters you just installed. Now your hose is prepped with QD's for easy removal and storage. Next, take the M22 15mm to 3/8 QD male plug and attach it to the outlet on the SunJoe unit. Lastly, we’ll get all of the QD’s we need attached to the MTM gun. Attach the 3/8 male NPT to 3/8 male QD plug to the inlet of the SGS-28, then attach the 1/4 male NPT to 1/4 female QD to the outlet side. At this point, all of your QD’s are installed and you’re ready to fire it up and check for leaks. If you have none, you’re all set! If you do, make sure you used adequate teflon tape, if you did, and you’re still experiencing leaks, inspect the threads of your plugs and adapters, I found one was damaged, so I had to replace it. I also opted to put a QD on the inlet, making attaching the pressure washer to my hose easier. I like these metal QD’s from Gardena.
The Uberflex 50ft hose with MTM SGS28 gun.
This setup works if you’re not planning on using a hose reel, if you are, and need advice on what you need, leave a comment below and I’ll try to help out the best I can. All in all, I’m incredibly happy with this purchase, but more so at the specific price that I paid for it. I think at around $200, you can’t beat this, and even at $300, its a decent deal, but I don’t know if I would want it at the full retail price of $400. The main reason for this is simple, after upgrading the hose and gun, you’re getting close to the cost of just spending a little bit more to get something like the Comet Static, which has a built in reel and wall mounting solution. Don’t mistake this sentiment for me not liking the product, however. I really do think it works well, the noise is low compared to the standard cheap electric washers, and if you can get it on sale, its a no brainer in my opinion. The real test will be in longevity, which is something I’ll report back on periodically.