Power washers

[Lennox]

Right my wee faithful cheap Nilfisk power washer has died. What do I replace it with??

Parent dropped off a B&Q own brand one to tide me over but I let was junk.

Looking at a new Karcher K5????

I use snow foam so an attachment for that is a must. Think the Karcher now has a button in the lance to switch on detergent, assisting I can fill that with snowfoam?

Any one got a good model to go for??

 

[Deleted member 113659]

I've got a trusty old Karcher that just keeps on going. 15+ year old. However, many people say the new ones are not as good a quality as the Karcher name suggests.

Others here will hopefully recommend the modern alturnative.

Ant.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I have the Karcher K5. It's good, but not brilliant. Although I have nothing to compare it with other than my old B&Q one that fell apart after 12 months, 1day. It's certainly very powerful but I don't find myself thinking "Now this really is the dog's danglies". I haven't had it long enough to know how well it'll last but I do worry about how substantial some of the plastic bits are.

 

[alabbasi]

I've never had good success with electric pressure washers. I have a petrol powered one with a Honda motor and it does a pretty decent job. If I was going to go for an electric one, I'd probably get something like this.

 

[rf065]

I've had no end of problems with modern Karchers, which are complete rubbish compared to how they used to be made. I even had 4 brand new trigger guns leak water the first time they were used.

Unless spending serious money is an option, you won't get better than Nilfisk washers.

Russ

 

[daveenty]

If you do want a petrol one, then Aldi currently have THIS ONE on offer for £199.99, though I've no idea what it's like in the real world, or even if it's competitive on the price, but Aldi stuff is usually quite good quality.

Kranzle are probably one of the better makes out there, and known for their reliability and build quality, though they're not cheap. In fact they're scarily expensive, though if it's something which is going to be used often then this is the one I'd be looking at.

I have a Nilfisk and am quite happy with it. It's been used for years, mainly just to blast the muck off the Jeep and clean the flags with. the only thing which has gone wrong with it was the hose needed replacement, which happens to them all ultimately.

If it were to die, I'd replace it with another one as it's been a good bit of kit.

I don't know anything about Karcher, apart from what I've read on various car forums, so no comment there. It was this research which prompted me to go for Nilfisk though...

 

[Lennox]

Thanks all, yeah I might just go for another Nilfisk. The Kranzle look nice but not sure I need that level of engineering for washing the cars.

Re the petrol ones, reminds me that we used to have huge heated power washers at our stables and I was the one wrapped in sailing gear and stuck inside the horse boxes to clean them out. Warm wet Horse 5hit3 really cleans out the sinuses!! [emoji24][emoji24][emoji12][emoji12]

Petrol ones are noisier so being a nice neighbour in a modern estate I will stick with electric.

This looks the best of the bunch:

Nilfisk E 140.3-9 X-Tra Pressure Washer with 2.1 KW Induction Motor https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H5W3WZG/?tag=amazon0e9db-21

 

[Charles Morgan]

Nilfisk without a second thought. Bought an E140.3 and been very happy with it. Before that went through two Karcher power washers in under a year, lousy quality now.

 

[Lennox]

Cheers Charles.

Just seen that there is an upgraded E140 with more power and a lance that had buttons to adjust the power.

Nilfisk D-PG 140.4-9 Xtra 140 Bar Dynamic pressure washer with Power Grip https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01B78IEEW/?tag=amazon0e9db-21

 

[Druk]

Ensure it has a metal pump (usually brass). Cheapo ones use plastic pumps which are crap. And remember to drain it thoroughly after use as frost is their worst enemy.

Don't know if they're still made but my Makita has lasted ten years only needing the pump lubricated once with silicone grease.

Edit. This is a later version of the one I have.

https://www.google.co.uk/aclk?sa=l&...ahUKEwj7pNawoozQAhWkI8AKHa6-AjkQwg8IEQ&adurl=



.

 

[Mrhanky]

Love my nilfisk had it three years does the car and patio no problem. I would go for a cheaper version and spend your money on a quality rubber hose and decent Lance.

 

[MicB]

I had a cheap Bosch which failed after several years of use. I then bought a cheap Draper.......the lance has failed twice in as many years.

The Bosch was still at the back of the shed and I am now using the Draper with the Bosch (superior to the Draper lance) lance which happily has the same screw fitting to the main body.

When the Draper/Bosch combo fail I will not replace it with another cheap option if only because of the nuisance factor.

The Bosch lance accepts a superior 1litre snow foam bottle to the Draper.

Mic

 

[Lennox]

Not sure if we have found one part of Right Said Fred, maybe the others in the Land Rover??
http://youtu.be/GJOWHdeKMbY

 

[Mrhanky]

The lances and quality of differs a lot as do the hoses. Non of the low end price wise washers come with flexible rubber hoses.

My washer cost me £60 I immediately dumped the hose and Lance. A better Lance was £45 and a 15m fully flexible rubber hose cost a further £60.

Why get a flexible rubber hose? You don't get tangles and they don't become a nightmare to use in winter time.

 

[Lennox]

I have a heated garage where it will be stored so hopefully that would help. But all the midrange washers I'm looking at have flexible hoses as std. granted there may be even better ones out there. Future upgrade??

Right will look to order the Nilfisk later on unless anyone comes out with a blinder.....

 

[Mrhanky]

I have a heated garage where it will be stored so hopefully that would help. But all the midrange washers I'm looking at have flexible hoses as std. granted there may be even better ones out there. Future upgrade??

Right will look to order the Nilfisk later on unless anyone comes out with a blinder.....

Nilfisk excellent choice, the suppliers use of the word flexible is a stretch to say the least.

Definitely worth considering as a future upgrade.

 

[Doodle]

Cheers Charles.

Just seen that there is an upgraded E140 with more power and a lance that had buttons to adjust the power.

Machine Mart have it for about £20-30 less I think? If you can get it on a VAT-free day even better (my local one has 2 days in the next week or so).

I have the non-Powergrip model, it's been great so far. Connector at the grip means no issues with tangling and the reel keeps it all tidy.

 

[Lyserman]

I would recommend Kranzle.
Not cheap but built to last.

 

[219]

Right my wee faithful cheap Nilfisk power washer has died. What do I replace it with??

Parent dropped off a B&Q own brand one to tide me over but I let was junk.

Looking at a new Karcher K5????

I use snow foam so an attachment for that is a must. Think the Karcher now has a button in the lance to switch on detergent, assisting I can fill that with snowfoam?

Any one got a good model to go for??

I had a KEW ( which became Nilfisk ) for many years and it was great until it died .

I then bought a B&Q brand which was rubbish and only lasted a year .

Now I have a Karcher which is great and about 5 years old now .

The well known brands are good , and you can get adaptors to use lances and bits from one make on another - so whichever reputable unit you can get ought to be fine .

 

[Lennox]

Looks like the Karchers have gone backwards in quality. Even the chap at B&Q said he wouldn't touch one.