Germany · since 1926
Quotes a working pressure where everyone else quotes a peak
Stihl arrives in this niche from forestry equipment, and it brings that industry’s habits: machines specified for hours of use rather than for a price point, and a dealer network that expects to service them.
The RE 130 PLUS is quoted at 135 bar of working pressure — what the machine delivers through a nozzle while you clean. Most domestic listings quote a maximum, measured with the trigger shut and the water still. A 135 bar working figure and a 180 bar maximum can describe machines that behave far more similarly than the numbers suggest, and Stihl is one of the few brands that makes the distinction on the box.
A brushless motor and an aluminum pump head. Neither makes the machine clean faster; both decide how long it keeps cleaning at all. On a machine used weekly for years that is the whole argument. On one used twice a summer, it is money spent on durability you will never consume.
Flow rates. At this price a liters-per-hour figure is a fair expectation, and the listings do not give one — which is stated plainly on the review page rather than filled in with an estimate.
135 bar working pressure · aluminum pump head · brushless motor
A brushless motor and an aluminum pump head, at a price that only makes sense if the machine runs often.
Best for: Someone who already runs Stihl equipment and cleans machinery, vehicles or a yard every week
