Pressure washers - talk to me

roundthebend

I've wanted one for ages but put it off. We've just bought a van (camper conversion project) and it's gonna take ages to wash so I'm justifying the purchase of a pressure washer based on that, plus all the other little things - cleaning the driveway and patio, giving the mountain bike a wash after mucky off-road rides etc.

I heard that the Karcher ones don't last long because of plastic components in the motors. Nilfisk, on the other hand, shout about having aluminium motors and I've heard they last much better.

So, I found these two Nilfisk options:

C110 - £65

C130 - £140

And then I found this Bosch one:

AQT 3400+ - £100

Gimme your views, please.

lloyd

Just so you're not too disapointed when you get one, none of them can speak, no matter how much you spend.

Sporky

I had a Bosch one, it broke on about the fifth use.

I have a Nilfisk which still works after about ten uses. Also it has a thing called a vortex nozzle which is all spinny and stuff.

This is not, of course, a representative sampling.

not_the_dj

I work near the UK Karcher head office, and a colleague took in this battered old one looking for a spare part...he walked out with a brand new boxed replacement. Didn't need to supply a receipt or any other information....I don't know if that's common or he was just lucky but I thought that was very impressive customer service.

ESBlonde

For washing cars and vans etc, just get a brush on a pole attached to the end of the hosepipe.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/231790495730?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=122&chn=ps&googleloc=1007131&poi=&campaignid=220881786&device=c&adgroupid=13936810266&rlsatarget=pla-148545950466&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=122&ul_noapp=true

or the hoselock long car wash brush. these are far more efficient for body panels and less costly, more reliable etc.

A pressure washer does inside the engine bay and underneath if you want that gunk all over your driveway, but nipping to the garage to do that makes more sense.
I have a pressure washer and a couple of hose/brushes, the pressure washer rarely comes out these days as it's a faff and only half does a car wash meaning you have to put soap and a sponge on it afterwards anyway.

Roland

None of the cheap ones last, unless you happen to be lucky. The cheaper Karcher's have aluminium pumps. The professional ones use steel. The aluminium pumps I've had lose pressure after after an hour's or so's use.

mark_jwedge

Be careful when using it to wash the mountain bike. If you use too high a pressure it can force grit and dirt into the bearings, bottom bracket and past the seals on the forks accelerating wear over time. Slightly off topic but just thought I'd say as you mentioned it as being one of the reasons to get one

roundthebend

Thanks all. Think I might just go for one of the hose attachments with a brush then. Maybe I'll get a stiff bristled brush for washing the driveway. And chemicals, good strong chemicals.

boogieman

Weve had a cheap Karcher one for years, think it cost well under £100. Still works fine. Its not that high powered so I happily use it for washing the car...its great for getting brake dust off the wheels. You just have to keep it away from the parking sensors because it can bugger them up apparently. It's got a whirly attachment thing (T racer) that does patios. It's worth having because you can end up with loads of uneven clean/dirty marks across the slabs if you use the standard spray lance.

Skipped

lloyd said:

Just so you're not too disapointed when you get one, none of them can speak, no matter how much you spend.

This is a very honest post.
If you find a guitar that speaks to you we all know that nobody is going to buy that guitar.
Because it would be terrifying.

strumjoughlamps

I have a cheap no brand Homebase one I purchased 5 odd years ago when we moved into new house to bring the wetroom and patio back to life, thats all I wanted it for which is why I went for the cheapest(about £35 IIRC).. its still going strong gets used a dozen times a year to do slabs, outdoor furniture, chicken houses etc... and family & friends patios...

strtdv

My experience of Karcher is of one of their K2 models, one of the K4s and a heavy duty industrial steam cleaner that had a kerosene boiler in it.

The industrial one was a tank built to last decades, seriously powerful too.

The K2 is built to a price point and feels it. It's designed for light use (washing the car, cleaning the patio). The issue with the motors in the cheaper Karchers is that they're not actively cooled so the motors run very hot if used for a prolonged time.

The K4 is a good bit of kit. It has a water cooled motor and the hose is more solid than the K2. Mine came with 2 attachments for the lance and a patio cleaner attachment which is great. I got it on offer for £150 (usually 250-300) and for that price I'd highly recommend it

octatonic

I have the Karcher K4- I use it all the time and I've had it for years.

No issue with reliability for me.

erky32

Had a Karcher 550, cost a lot and didnt last long - lost its power, it still works but not very high pressure anymore. The turbo jet packed up within first 2 yrs so was replaced on guarantee, but I wouldnt touch one again, it will be a Lidl 99€ Parkside jobby next, cheap and do the job at 30% the price!

mudslide73

Just got an end-of-line K4 (new one is called Total Control K4) and it's doing more than I thought it would. I'm still in the "looking for things to clean" phase.

Moe_Zambeek

mudslide73 said:

Just got an end-of-line K4 (new one is called Total Control K4) and it's doing more than I thought it would. I'm still in the "looking for things to clean" phase.

Are you anywhere near Edinburgh...?

Bogwhoppit

I have a Nilfisk C110 which I use for the drive, car, windows and to give the drains a good old flush.  So far its been pretty good.  I did have a very basic Karcher for over six years which worked a treat - until I left it outside in -10 degrees with water still in the system

BGG

I don't like pressure washers, if you have any paint chips they can force water in behind and cause rust and they ruined a set of alloys on a car of mine once

spark240

I have used the Karcher and the drive scrubber thing for years now, no problem and it actully does the job.

strtdv

BGG said:

I don't like pressure washers, if you have any paint chips they can force water in behind and cause rust and they ruined a set of alloys on a car of mine once

You should never use anything more than the variable nozzle at a medium setting on car paint. Certainly never use the nozzle you'd use on the patio, it'll cut through the paint very easily, chips or not.

Sambostar

I get loads of electric pressure washers given to me free. To be honest, they are all shit.  I'd go for flow rate rather than pressure rating, that is the key.

I've never known a DIY electric pressure washer to cut through paint though, that is news to me. If your paint is already flaking then you already have oxidation on the metal or the bond between the primer has given up and it'll soon rust anyway, pressure washer or no pressure washer, it isn't going to make any difference, the oxidation needs to be dealt with refinishing or a welder.