Several very excited people told me about the Worx HydroShot 20V Max Portable Power Cleaner before I got in my hands for review. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure that a 320 PSI power washer really had any place in our shop or my home. But as it is with any tool we review, I’m going into it with an open mind and a variety of tasks to try it out on.
One of the nice things about the marketing behind the Worx HydroShot is that they’re not trying to push it as a pressure washer or a replacement for one. So with the battery on the charger and a reasonable expectation of what I can do with this tool, I got the kids ready to get some cleaning done.
Worx HydroShot 20V First Impressions
Bits and Pieces
There are several pieces in the package when you first open the box. You’ll find the battery and charger, 5-in-1 nozzle, extension lance, and the main motor/trigger assembly. You can directly attach the nozzle to the motor, making a short power washer. Alternatively, you can add the lance and get a unit that’s roughly 35-1/2 inches from front to back. There’s also a bucket hose and mesh storage bag.
Water and Electricity
What seems a little disconcerting is that I’m connecting a battery with an exposed connection to a tool whose sole purpose is to shoot water. It’s not a completely daft concept, but I would like to see a connection that offers a solid seal to keep water out. Without it, there sure seems to be a recipe for a short or other electrical hazards.
Tips
I like the 5-in-1 nozzle. You just simply spin the head to get to the tip you want to use. There’s no lock to overcome and the mechanism slides easy enough before slipping into a positive stop. That’s a nice feature to avoid storing different tips on the tool or somewhere else like you do with a pressure washer.
Worx HydroShot 20V Controls
The controls are easy enough to use. There’s a safety lock on the left side that right-handed users can easily engage with their thumb. Left-handed users will need to use their forefinger which isn’t quite as easy, but still effective. There’s a button to press for low and high power on the top.
What I’d really like to see is a lock-on button. This is just a mechanical switch to press in, so it wouldn’t be a difficult addition.
Build Quality
The overall build quality has a solid feel at first glance with a typical plastic housing. However, there’s a lot of it around the tool. That’s good and bad. Metal connections and parts will eventually corrode no matter how good your water source is and plastic will usually outlast it. However, when it comes to the wear and tear of life, metal is superior.
Now that the Battery is Ready
The battery charge process takes up to 5 hours from a completely dead pack. 5 hours is a long time to charge a 2.0 amp hour battery these days. The upside is that it should avoid heat buildup that is a challenge in fast chargers. The charger is not your typical tool charger build and will seem on the cheap side for cordless power tool users.
Car Washing with the Worx HydroShot 20V
It’s hot here in Central Florida and washing the car seems much more like fun than a chore for my kids. I filled a 5-gallon bucket with water and soap, stuck a couple of car washing rags in there for the kids, and inserted the hose.
It’s very nice to be able to switch quickly between a gentle shower of sudsy or clean water and a more powerful spray. The dream of just being able to spray down the car and call it a day isn’t here, though. While the Worx HydroShot does take care of a lot of dirt on its own, brake dust and bugs still have to be scrubbed a bit more.
The only real issue is that the hose does have a tendency to come out of the water and bucket as you work around the car. While it’s not overly stiff, it’s stiff enough to flop out when you’re working at longer lengths. You’ll want to use the included hose clip to keep it in the bucket. The downside is you don’t is that you suck air into the line and have to wait for the motor to clear it before you get the pressure back.
Cleaning
My wife has a wicker basket that’s allegedly white. It was in desperate need of a cleaning after being in storage for, well, quite a while. We weren’t sure how it would handle being power washed, but we put it to the test anyway. Using some Dawn dish soap and water in the bucket, she cleaned off years of dirt and grime in just a few minutes. With excitement, she exclaimed that the Worx HydroShot will be staying.
Pressure Washing
I know the Worx HydroShot is not a pressure washer, but I decided to see what it and the rest of the Dawn solution would do on our driveway. With the pressure on high and the tip set to 15 degrees, it cleans off a pretty impressive amount of build-up on the concrete. There’s not really the runtime to do the entire driveway in one shot, but it’ll work for some spot cleaning.
About that Runtime
Overall, we worked for a little over an hour and still had one bar left on the battery indicator. That’s not continuous use, but certainly not a bad amount of work on one charge. Runtime is probably going to be the biggest limitation for most homeowners. If Worx continues to bring more power-hungry tools like this into the line, they’ll want to consider a 4.0 amp hour battery as well.
The Bottom Line
I’m pretty impressed with what the Worx HydroShot 20V Max Portable Power Cleaner is able to do around the house. I like the versatility of being able to use a hose or bucket as a water source and the all-in-one design is very convenient.
There are several places where it can find some improvement, though. The biggest key is to go for a 4.0 amp hour battery pack to extend the runtime. I’d also like a lock-on switch for those times where I’m using the HydroShot continuously for more than a couple of minutes. Time will tell if the amount of plastic on the tool is an asset or a liability, but for now, it seems appropriate for the job it does.
And as far as the whole battery/water issue – it’s a non-issue so far. I haven’t submerged the battery or even sprayed it. However, it’s shown absolutely no issues so far.
The price with battery and charger is going to set you back $119 or $69.99 for the bare tool if you already have Worx batteries. That’s a bit more than I’d pay for this tool on a whim. But having tested it out, that’s a fair price considering its 3-year warranty. Just keep in mind that it’s a good tool for cleaning and maintenance tasks but you’ll still need a pressure washer for the really tough jobs. As long as you consider those expectations, I think you’ll find plenty of uses for it around the house.
Worx HydroShot 20V Max Portable Power Cleaner Key Features
- 5-in-1 pressure nozzle
- Pulls from a hose or bucket
- 20V Max battery power
- 2-speed control
- Included lance extension
Worx HydroShot 20V Max Portable Power Cleaner Specifications
- Model: Worx WG629
- Power Source: Worx 20V Max Battery
- Max Pressure: 94 PSI (low), 320 PSI (high)
- Nozzle Settings: 0, 15, 25, 40 degrees, watering
- Max Water Flow: 0.5 GPM
- Battery: 2.0 AH
- Charge Time: 5 Hours
- Weight: 3.7 Pounds
- Price: $147.61 (kit), $299.99 (full accessory pack)
- Warranty: 3 Years
