Ste333

iTrader: (3)

As per the title really, can anyone recommend a half decent pressure washer which isn't silly money and does everything you need it to do

Just started looking a Karcher ones, but don't really know exactly what I need...I only want one to keep at home to clean the car, occasionally blast the garden slabs etc. But it would be nice to have one with a variety of attachments and one which is reliable and good quality.

Any suggestions?

ta

CraigBWRX

I have the cheapest karcher. I bought it 2.5 years ago and its still going strong. I use it to wash the cars and power wash the slabs in the garden.

It came with 3 different attachments including the one for doing slabs etc (although I thought the normal attachment was better)

I understand that with karchers, the more you spend, the longer you can use the pressure without burning out the motor. For example I use mine for about 1 minute then let it rest for 30 seconds.

Only thing I would recommend is a 10 meter pressure washer extension pipe from B&Q (£16 iirc)

Ste333

iTrader: (3)

Right ok I'm with you. Yeah the extension pipe sounds like a sensible idea. I've seen that Argos are doing 1/3 off the price of all Karchers this weekend. I think I'll be having a mooch!

Rusti

iTrader: (4)

I have a karcher which has been used for car cleaning mostly for the last 5 years and it is still going strong.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

You don't need to spend a lot, the guys I used to work with bought me a woolworths special for 40 quid back in 2001, and apart from adding a snow foam attachment and replacing a couple of O-rings, it is the same as when I bought it and still going strong

jonnyboy82

iTrader: (10)

Go for a nilfisk! Better build quality and cheaper than karcher!

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

keep a eye out on the screwfix site, they do deals on the Nilfisk C110 and C120.

LostUser

I bought a Nilfisk from Screwfix. I'd never heard of them but looked in to it and they have a very good reputation. Seems good so far.

Matteeboy

Nilfisk E140 for me; proper metal motor, decent warranty.
Great machines.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I bought a Karcher but I did see the Vax ones and you can get a 160bar one with 10m hose from Argos for about £100?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Nilfisk.

AbbasSTI

iTrader: (37)

I just got one from here:Karcher Outlet

Bargain I think, K2 Premium with patio cleaner and everything I need delivered next day for £55 ish

Rob_Impreza99

iTrader: (3)

I'd never have another Karcher again, cheap plastic rubbish where a lot of things fail.

Another vote for Nilfisk, cheaper and built much better.

pflowers

+1

Karcher consumer products are pretty hopeless but their commercial range is awesome.

If I was buying a cheap one it would be a nilfisk.

Just bear in mind with a power washer, PSI /BAR is irrelevant - anyone can push water through a small hole to create high pressure. What matters is litres per minute, it's water volume that cleans not pressure.

albob

just bought one of these (it is the top one in the c120 range)


The price (£78.78) is £20 less than anywhere else (and I got free postage...!)

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

As above nilfisk are a great PW

Sarg400

iTrader: (1)

That c120 looks a bloody good deal

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

nilfisk end of, we sell them at work, iv'e had my sentinal from argos 99.99 3 years and it still look's and work's like new, and no i don't work for argos lol. they where cheeper than where i work even with staff discount, go figure ?

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

Nilfisk, i got this one a while back for £180 off ebay

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

IMO its all or nothing with these; Buy the cheapest and replace it every few years. Buying the accessories separately.

Or buy the most expensive or orientated to commercial use.

Mid range ones never seem to be any more reliable then the cheapy ones; Be it cracked pump heads, burnt out motors or split hoses.

I can recommend the Karcher HD series (HD = Heavy duty) which I've used in the past. I personally have a Bosch Aquatak 150pro. Both have brass pump heads (not plastic like cheaper models), and a fabric outer braid hose which is far far far (did I say far) more durable than the plastic coated hoses supplied with 90% of pressure washers which will fail if kinked (the fabric hoses won't kink, and don't rub through from vibration either).

In terms of attachments, I find teh supplied ones usually are somewhat "meh" The variable (vario) lances are fine in pencil jet mode but in fan (wide) jet mode they don't have enough "oomph".

If you look you can see why...it uses two metal reeds to disperse the pencil jet. So variable lances IMO are inferior.

A non-variable solid brass fan jet attachment works far better...I have several...one straight, and one with an adjustable angle (handy for getting under wheel arches). Both are these are rarely supplied with a new pressure washer, which is pity as they work far better than variable lances.

Also have a patio cleaner, yeah does what it say on the tin. Just make sure there are no stones or large debris, these can get kicked up and damage it (I broke my first one in this way), It also benefits from being taken apart and the moving bits and seals lubricated with silicone grease, as sand seems to get everywhere and stops it rotating properly.

"Rotablaster" attachments; tip: spray some penetrating oil in the end after use or when storing long term. As otherwise scale and rust causes them to seize up. I've had to bin a few in the past because of I forgot to do this...Both Bosch and Karcher.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I'm in the cheapo camp, did the Karcher thing and it packed up after bugger all use just out of warranty, used the local jet wash for a time but at £4/5 a time it only takes 10 goes and you're into a 50 quid jet washer, so I went to a local warehouse shop and bought a Lavor for the princely sum of 40 odd quid and it's been going for about 10yrs with zero maintenance.

Brun

Both mine and Dad's Karchers broke inside of 18 months with light use and we both now have Nilfisk which have been flawless.

Littleted

i use a Hozelock one, 5 years and still going....

EddScott

I use a Nilfisk but the hose is rubbish. I changed it to a braided one.

I used to repair pressure washers in Oxfordshire which is a pain of a place for limescale. We used to use concrete cleaner to clear the blockages on brass heads. Only problem it turned the cheaper ally heads to mush.

Nothing like holding on for dear life to a true 200bar lance powered by a 3 phase motor! It could cut through a pallet given enough time.

Matteeboy

The hose on my E140 is a bit rubbish and impossible to straighten out but it's hanging in there; four years, no issues.

You need to step up to Kranzle if you want the next level of quality.

Osimabu

iTrader: (2)

Another vote for Kranzle here:


Expensive, but it should last you for the rest of your life, if mine's anything to go by.

davyboy

Some cheap petrol ones on eBay. I got one for 150 or so 6 years ago and it's still going strong. I bet I use it 15-20 times a year to clean an off road motorbike.

saves peeing about with an electric cable.

albob

Maybe - but £650 notes is a bit over the top.... :: For professional use yes, but for Joe Bloggs, the Nilfisk would do

DARB

My Karcher is years old and it's never missed a beat, when doing the path I just keep the power on I've never "let it rest". It was the least powerful of their range and I did try upgrading a couple of year ago but our water pressure is terrible so wouldn't run the more powerful one, when mine does actually go bang I think I'll have to look at the ones that run from a water butt, will the Nilfisk ones run from these ??

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

They were made for Hozelok by Nilfisk. I have one as well.

Last year the pressure pipe sprang a leak due to the way it had been fitted, (it was an ex-display model, the only one they had), and when it was rolled up on the drum, it caught.
They sent me a new one (£31), free. It's now fitted properly.