Yamaha ACC-31056-00-18 Surface Cleaner -15

Originally purchased on Amazon on April 25, 2016 and have used the Yamaha surface cleaner every year (except last year) to clean the driveway, sidewalk and 12×25 concrete patio.Unit has worked perfectly, every time.Built extremely well, quality materials and construction. Exactly what you would expect from a world leader like Yahama. I really expect this unit to easily outlast me.This surface cleaner isn't like the Chinese units that are all over Amazon. Reading the reviews on the manufacturer websites, I see where bearing's siezed in as little as 1-1/2 hours. And most come with plastic or stainless steel bodies. (Notice that they never tell you what grade of stainless steel their using? There are many grades to stainless steel and the lower grades can rust fairly quickly. (The Yamaha has a strong, powered coated steel body).Yahama is a world company, with a strong reputation and the unit is backed by a one-year warranty. The Chinese units ... ? Good luck with a Chinese customer service company.One area to look carefully at is the top swivel connector. Notice on this Yahama product where the swivel is supported on both sides? Adds support where the wand connects, where most of the stress occurs. Notice on the cheap, Chinese units where the swivel is only connected to one side? There's a lot of stress on this connection; which type of swivel is going to leak first? (Especially if you use it in a side-by-side motion like I do.)The unit doesn't have cheap, flimsy casters, but doesn't need them. The pressure of the spray, elevates the heavy, steel body and raises it above the surface. Very easy for my wife (we're in our mid 70's) to use.We use a 36" extra long wand with the unit. The longer wand with a shallower angle, makes it easier to push/pull.15" is a good size for a residential unit. The larger size cleans a wider swath (an inch or two may not seem like a big deal, but it does.) Not to mention that a bigger cleaner allows you to get deeper under overhanging shrubs better and cleaning a wider swath with each pass.I tried a neighbor's 12" unit and found that it spins much faster, making it necessary to sweep faster to avoid over cleaning. Also unless you maintain a fairly regular sweeping motion, the smaller unit had a tendency to leave streaks. Leave it in one spot too long and it cleaned deeper in that area. This larger 15" is less prone due to it slower spinning arm. (I also wonder if the faster spinning arm on the smaller units, wouldn't wear out the bearing sooner?) But that's only my opinion.Unit fits perfectly in a storage bin on garage shelf.Cleans 20'×50' driveway in an hour to hour and a half. Depends on if the arthritis is kicking up.Cleans edge-to-edge, no need to use spray wand and nozzle (which always splashes a spray of water and mud back towards me). Any overspray is shieled by the unit body. No overspray at all.Price is higher than the cheaper, Chinese units, but quality lasts. 7 years of use and still looks and runs like new. No problems at all with the bearing or seals.Unrelated, but FYI:I'm running it with a Simpson pressure washer (Sams Club), with 2800 psi at 3.2 gpm. Unit is powered by a Honda engine, model GVC 160. Garden hose to pressure sprayer is 5/8" × 50'. More than enough power for fast surface cleaning.After use, I sit it out her out the sun to dry (also flip her upside down to get her nether regons exposed to the sun), then give her bearing a squirt of WD-40 and throw it in a storage bin.Before you decide on which surface cleaner to buy, read the reviews; especially the 1-star reviews. These tend to give an honest rating of a product. (And don't trust those 5-star ratings with only a few words.)

Introduction:One of my major spring chores is pressure washing my composite (as in not wood) 20' by 20' deck with my Karchar gas pressure washer. This Karchar is the usual 2.5 GPM and 2400 psi model with a Honda engine that's in the $400-450 price range. I've been aware of the round surface cleaners for a number of years but they were megabucks and designed for a megabuck pressure washer. Then I stumbled across this little guy. (Edit: corrected pressure washer specs)Evaluation:I've read the reviews for this particular model and its clones, there's probably one factory in China making this model under a few different brands. This Yamaha version seemed to have some better reviews so that's what drove my purchase decision. So how did this guy perform?Pros:I was *amazed* at its cleaning performance. It's at least as good (or better) as using a narrow angle tip, and after cleaning my deck, I think it's never looked so good for such little effort. Other reviewers gushed about how much time and effort this cleaner saved them but I suspected that was a bit of hyperbole. The time and effort saving is no lie - I usually spend about three hours cleaning my very dirty deck in the springtime. Using this cleaner I was finished in about 90 minutes, not tired and soaking wet like usual.Operating it is about as difficult as pushing or pulling a broom, literally. The spray lifts the housing up so the effort is greatly minimized and the brush around the housing keeps the spray contained.Build quality looks fine to me. How long this lasts will be answered when it doesn't work any longer ;-)My gun was a click fit to the cleaner and there was no need to use any of the included adapters. My gun is a replacement I bought at Home Depot quite a few years ago. If you buy this cleaner, all you should need is your standard gun/wand that you normally use with tips.Cons:Not very many, and none that are significant. You will need to begin with a standard tip to clean along a juncture (like a wall or whatever) since this cleaner will not clean all the way to the edge of the housing. It's very close but you will leave maybe a one inch strip uncleaned. Also after cleaning, you will need to follow up with a hose or a spray tip to wash the dirt and grime that's been blasted free.Addendum:I just looked at my now dry deck. Holy cow! It literally hasn't looked this good since it was new.

For those using a pressure washer to clean large areas, this attachment is a must. It is a bit expensive, but well worth the money. Why? Because it does the job so much faster, and it does it well. I used it on a pressure washer that has a Honda GCV 190 engine at 3200psi pressure. It attaches easily, just as one would attach a pressure washer tip. It takes a while to get used to it, but not too much time. Here is my recommendation. Do not stay in one place and push/pull the wand. Rather walk slowly forth and back to clean one strip of area. One forth and one back should do the cleaning well. Use moderate strength to handle the wand and don't push down. After you are done with the cleaning, disconnect the Yamaha cleaner and attach a white tip to the wand. This tip has a wide pattern and sufficient pressure. Use it to wash away the dirty water that resulted from pressure washing. When done, inspect the cleaned area. You will see a few small spots that were not cleaned well. That is because, during the push/pull action, you may slightly lift the head inadvertently. Anyway, use the white tip to clean these spots. You are done now, in less time, and the area will look evenly cleaned, not streaky. Happy pressure washing.Btw, I think that this device uses less water. I cannot say that for sure, as I haven't measured it, but visually it looks so.