Pressure Washer

schwam66

not really a 'in my home' question but curious as to what i should be looking for when buying one...want it to clean the cars and drive, drive needs a clean badly and often so prolly would want a decent one....curious how they work as well, are they cold fed and heat the water or is it just the water that goes in is what comes out?? really have no idea so i apologize if its a silly question...any help or guidance is greatly appreciated....thanks.

JustinR1979

I bought a Nilfisk C110 4-5 PC Xtra off Amazon when my Karcher died.
Plenty good enough for your needs, which are the same as mine.
They have a metal impellor, which is the weak point on Karchers.
Came with patio cleaner, and hose is fairly long.

nickcc

Agree with above post. I also bought a Karcher that failed due to a seized plastic pump, replaced under warranty but failed six months later. Pumps failed both times after cold spell when washers were left in attached garage. Bought Nilfisk with metal pump from Amazon and had no problems for three plus years. It seems that the cheaper Karcher range all have plastic pumps whilst all the Nilfisk range are metal.

Ectophile

All the pressure washers you are likely to find just connect to the cold tap, and cold water comes out at high pressure. Essentially, they are just a high-pressure pump inside a box.

savemoney

I have Nilfisk C120.5 developed a fault with first year, repaired by 3rd party Nilfisk repairer didn't repair it properly. Nilfsk sent me a brand new one. I use it every week for car and odd job around house, driveway, sometimes windows. I do have Nilfisk car attachments got separately which diffuse the spray wouldn't use normal attachments

Ianwzzz

I bought a Karcher from Amazon. The first one stopped working, I phoned Karcher customer services and they were useless, so I went back to Amazon who were very good and sent me another one the next day. I would not buy another Karcher after the rubbish customer service from Karcher.

Ebe_Scrooge

When you're comparing them, look at the flow rate ( litres per minute or hour ). A higher flow rate will make a much bigger difference to the cleaning ability than the pressure will - at least, within the range of most domestic machines. You'll find they're typically around the 100 bar mark, something like that. But the difference between, say, 100 and 110 bar is negligible for all practical purposes. Obviously 200 bar would be noticeably different to 100 bar, but you'll not find that sort of pressure on a typical electrical-powered machine.

cyclonebri1

I have a Karcher and so far it's been fine, but if you look around there are thousand of refurbs out there so I guess many returns.

They are like anything else though, they need looking after to last.

Main choice is do you want a pressure washer only or 1 with a detergent feed. To be honest the main cleaning ability is just the pressure jet, I just splash a little washing up liquid on any oil or other marks.
And just 1 point, they can be dangerous, I did once manage to take the skin off a finger trying to direct the lance down the back of a car engine.:eek:. They also flick up gravel like bullets.

getmore4less

Having the correct attachments for the lance make the big difference.

I have a variable jet which is great as you can spread the spray for different jobs and narrow it for a bit of tough dirt. on the narrow jet it will take paint off a car.

for really dirty stone/drives I find the rotary pencil jet the best(Karcher call it the dirtblaster).

I have the patio attachment but that just stops the water going everywhere does not clean that well, ok for a intermediate freshen up.

If a block paving drive make sure you have fresh sand and a dry day to do the job.
It gets very messy and cleans out all the joints,
(you can get weed inhibiting sand)

Worth looking out for a package with the accessories you need as they add quite a bit when bought sepperately.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/search?action=search&keywords=presure+washer

my two Karchers are goings strong had them for years, one leaks a bit both kept in a unheated garage, just make sure you drain the pipes when storing in freezing weather.

Screwfix have a good selection but not sure if there prices are competitive.
http://www.screwfix.com/search?search=presure+washer

cyclonebri1

getmore4less wrote: »

Having the correct attachments for the lance make the big difference.

I have a variable jet which is great as you can spread the spray for different jobs and narrow it for a bit of tough dirt. on the narrow jet it will take paint off a car.

for really dirty stone/drives I find the rotary pencil jet the best(Karcher call it the dirtblaster).

I have the patio attachment but that just stops the water going everywhere does not clean that well, ok for a intermediate freshen up.

If a block paving drive make sure you have fresh sand and a dry day to do the job.
It gets very messy and cleans out all the joints,
(you can get weed inhibiting sand)

Worth looking out for a package with the accessories you need as they add quite a bit when bought sepperately.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/search?action=search&keywords=presure+washer

my two Karchers are goings strong had them for years, one leaks a bit both kept in a unheated garage, just make sure you drain the pipes when storing in freezing weather.

Screwfix have a good selection but not sure if there prices are competitive.
http://www.screwfix.com/search?search=presure+washer

Or the turbo lance?;)

schwam66

thank you all for the help, so none of them take cold water and make it hot they arent that sophisticated? cold tape in cold out, hot in hot out yes? thanks again!