What pressure washer?

[AbbieCadabra]

hmmm, getting a little confused & am not overly impressed with this at the moment!

before i purchased from cleanstore, i checked how to use the wash & wax that they sell, do you use diluted or neat? i got a bit of a garbled reply advising a ratio for using as a handwash with a bucket & also a ratio for a smaller amount (which i presumed would be the container capacity for the machine i'd referred to). i specifically said this was for use with a nilfisk.

the washer has come today & there's no info at all on detergent use & the bottle for the wash & wax is only 500ml, the smaller capacity they'd quoted was 2.5ltr, so i was left a little confused...

i've just rang cleanstore, asked for clarification & have been told to use the solution neat as it's only mixed at low pressure with the water. i can dilute, say 50/50 if i want, but might not get best results. he also said you can use any old wash & wax solution in the bottle, doesn't have to be specifically for pressure washers.

just to double check, i've called the manufacturer of this particular brand that cleanstore sell & they've just advised it's not for use in pressure washers! apply via a bucket, diluted, & then you can jet wash off.

am i being really stupid to expect that a solution that is sold by a pressure washer place should actually be ok to use in a pressure washer???

 

[C350 Carl]

I've had the Nilfisk C120 and now have the E140.

I detail cars as an extra income earner and the Nilfisk has been brilliant. Just get yourself a rubber hose from Cleantec or QWashers on eBay for it and you will have no issues with it.

Also when searching for a PW remember that Flow rate and not absolute pressure is the key.

This is the E140. You could probably find it cheaper with a search.

Nilfisk E140.3-9 S X-tra Pressure Washer - Nilfisk Domestic Pressure Washers - CleanStore

This is the rubber hose

25 Metre Nilfisk Alto E140.2-9 S X-TRA Pressure Power Washer Hose Twenty Five | eBay

 

[AbbieCadabra]

I've had the Nilfisk C120 and now have the E140.

I detail cars as an extra income earner and the Nilfisk has been brilliant. Just get yourself a rubber hose from Cleantec or QWashers on eBay for it and you will have no issues with it.

Also when searching for a PW remember that Flow rate and not absolute pressure is the key.

This is the E140. You could probably find it cheaper with a search.

Nilfisk E140.3-9 S X-tra Pressure Washer - Nilfisk Domestic Pressure Washers - CleanStore

This is the rubber hose

25 Metre Nilfisk Alto E140.2-9 S X-TRA Pressure Power Washer Hose Twenty Five | eBay

the centennial version that i've got has a flow rate of 520, so i'm guessing that's ok as the one you've linked to is 500 (& more than twice what i paid!). don't think i can justify £65 on a new hose when i only paid £90 for the machine, not for what i'll be using for it anyway.

any advice on the detergent/wash & wax puzzle that i'm in at the moment Carl?

 

[C350 Carl]

the centennial version that i've got has a flow rate of 520, so i'm guessing that's ok as the one you've linked to is 500 (& more than twice what i paid!). don't think i can justify £65 on a new hose when i only paid £90 for the machine, not for what i'll be using for it anyway. any advice on the detergent/wash & wax puzzle that i'm in at the moment Carl?

I'm out and about at the moment. I'll have a look at your dilemma when I get home later and then post back

 

[J LAD]

Honest lads! - spend that bit extra and by a Kranzle cold water pressure washer. Karcher have up,d their game over the last year or so, they had to!, so they are better, but believe me the Kranzle is in a different league altogether.

 

[dan1502]

I've had my Nilfisk 140.2 for a good few years now. I bought a 15m uprated rubberised hose for it which whilst not cheap is so much nicer to use. Just last week the gun (trigger part) sprang a leak so I bought an uprated Nilfisk G5 gun for £33 delivered from Home online steam cleaners-pressure washer repair-industrial floor cleaners-static wash systems-wash guns-cleaning equipment repairs who were brilliant.

 

[C350 Carl]

Sorry for the late reply.

I use a proper snow foam bottle. In that i would stick about an inch up the bottle of snow foam mix and then fill with water. So about 50ml in a 1L bottle. In your 500ml bottle i'd say about 25ml. But it depends on how good the product you've bought is at cleaning. Foaming ability isn't what makes it clean. It's whats inside that does the work.

If i were you i would invest in a proper snowfoam bottle. When i want to do a quick wash on my car i just use about an inch of car shampoo in the foam bottle and fill with warm water. I then spray it all over the car and let dwell for 5-30mins depending on outside temp (5 in summer and unto 30 in winter) i also have it give thicker foam in winter so it can dwell longer and soften up the dirt and less so in summer so it doesn't bake on. I then wash the car with a wash mitt and a bucket of clean water to rinse the mitt after each panel.

 

[AbbieCadabra]

thanks Carl

i did actually give it a go with the wash & wax i'd got from cleanstore, used neat, as they advised. sprayed it all over then went over with my wash mit. it cleaned ok but left water marks all over, i hadn't left it long before drying it either, so obviously not suitable to use it that way!

anyhoo, after a little further reading on detailing world (hold me back or i'll end up spending a small fortune! ), i went for the autobrite lance & magifoam special offer (£40 delivered).

have to agree that the hose supplied isn't the best, there was a fair bit of swearing as i kept having to unravel the darn thing. i haven't put it back on the stow away wheel thing (rolled the power cable onto that instead), just rolled it up loosely, see how that goes for next time.

really pleased with my little nilfisk & can't wait to have a go with some foam next week, we've got rain forecast for the next few days so she'll need cleaning again soon...:bannana:

 

[AbbieCadabra]

autobrite have a special offer on a nilfisk, lance & foam at the moment, on their facebook page, details : C120 machine, snow foam lance & 5L of superfoam, £195 rrp inc delivery - special offer £150 call 01782 623819

 

[Image2000uk]

have to agree that the hose supplied isn't the best, there was a fair bit of swearing as i kept having to unravel the darn thing. i haven't put it back on the stow away wheel thing (rolled the power cable onto that instead), just rolled it up loosely, see how that goes for next time.

Abbie
You will constantly struggle with the plastic hose on those washers. Go buy yourself a rubber one for 2 reasons one it will make washing the car easier and the second you can buy a longer hose than the one supplied and be able to leave the pressure washer in one place and do the whole car.
Most of the guys on detailing world have used direct hoses, or pressure washer parts on ebay

 

[Messa]

Just another +1 for the Nilfisk 140, its what I have at the moment and its the best yet I think.

 

[dhk284]

I had a basic Karcher that didn't last that long but now I have a Nilfisk and it's still working really well only cost me £75.00 If you want to spend £150 you can get a more powerful machine.