which pressure washer are you guys using?

[DetailerDan]

I am currently using my dads karcher, after having a kranzle for 8 years it finally gave up and i refused to throw another £100 at it for seals/gaskets so ive been using the karcher, Its not a patch on the kranzle but like i say its only temporary. I dont want to be spending a small fortune on another kranzle so what do you guys use/recommend. My budget is probably going to be a few hundered. Cheers Dan.

 

[Darren1717]

Personally I use a Karcher K4, with an extended hose fitted (the standard hose is a tad short for the car). I also have the foamer unit, which is great.

I can’t fault it, use it on 2 cars most weekends (well, in the summer!), and also for cleaning the block paving from weeds!

I got it on an offer in B and Q, think it was around the £150/£170 mark, if my memory serves me.

Ps... don’t but the swirly brush thing that’s supposedly for cleaning patios... they are cr@p. They don’t have the power to clean the grime. I just use the lance with cleaner running through the machine.

 

[BrummyPete]

As above I use a K4, had it a couple of years, works well for washing the car and great flow rate with using my foam lance

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

 

[Atavus]

I’d get the Kranzle fixed.

 

[clubhellfire]

There's a lot of love for the nilfisk's on detailing world forum. Amazon sometimes has them on deal of the day.

I use a 80 quid karcher which does the job but would like something with more power. Whatever you go for make sure it's got a really long hose, we all know how much of a pain moving the damn thing mid wash!

 

[alabbasi]

Some Honda engined petrol deal that I bought at Costco about 10 years ago. It's at the shop. I also have a ryobi at the house. Supposed to be 2000psi but not even close to the power of the petrol powered one.

 

[mercman111]

nilfisk on offer at homebase at the time,came with patio cleaner rotating brush

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Personally I use a Karcher K4, with an extended hose fitted (the standard hose is a tad short for the car). I also have the foamer unit, which is great.

I can’t fault it, use it on 2 cars most weekends (well, in the summer!), and also for cleaning the block paving from weeds!

I got it on an offer in B and Q, think it was around the £150/£170 mark, if my memory serves me.

Ps... don’t but the swirly brush thing that’s supposedly for cleaning patios... they are cr@p. They don’t have the power to clean the grime. I just use the lance with cleaner running through the machine.

I have the Karcher K5. It’s good but not fantastic. Two particularly disappointing things: the hose comes out high up so it’s too easy to pull the beast over; there’s no facility to wrap the power cable away tidily. Actually, there’s a third annoyance that may well apply to all washers: the hose construction means it all to easily curls up during use, effectively shortening the range.

I’ve found the swirly brush thing good for a quick patio/driveway clean, but agree that there’s no substitute for the lance on full power.

Talking of the lance on full power, the K5 is VERY powerful so I’m always careful to use it on a lower setting when cleaning the car bodywork. Many years ago I made the mistake of power washing my Jag and removed a large section of lacquer from one of the doors when it caught the edge of a tiny stone chip

 

[Smart320]

I find the Nilfisk patio washer better than the Karcher one even though it is much smaller in size.

 

[Darren1717]

I have the Karcher K5. It’s good but not fantastic. Two particularly disappointing things: the hose comes out high up so it’s too easy to pull the beast over; there’s no facility to wrap the power cable away tidily. Actually, there’s a third annoyance that may well apply to all washers: the hose construction means it all to easily curls up during use, effectively shortening the range.

I’ve found the swirly brush thing good for a quick patio/driveway clean, but agree that there’s no substitute for the lance on full power.

Talking of the lance on full power, the K5 is VERY powerful so I’m always careful to use it on a lower setting when cleaning the car bodywork. Many years ago I made the mistake of power washing my Jag and removed a large section of lacquer from one of the doors when it caught the edge of a tiny stone chip

Mine has a handy hook at the back and I find both hoses can be coiled onto it for storage. The power cable wraps into a small net at the rear.
Agree that the hoses do coil a little during use.

And yes... don’t go holding the lance on full power against the paintwork! In fact, I tend to still use a sponge between foam and rinse, just to be sure it’s clean.

 

[Justintyme]

Mine has a handy hook at the back and I find both hoses can be coiled onto it for storage. The power cable wraps into a small net at the rear.
Agree that the hoses do coil a little during use.

And yes... don’t go holding the lance on full power against the paintwork! In fact, I tend to still use a sponge between foam and rinse, just to be sure it’s clean.

I've used a K3.55 for more than 10 years, until the electric motor packed in a few months ago. It was my first ever power washer, so I can't measure it's performance against other make's, but if did the job for me...patio's, external walls, car washing,drain jetting, no problem! I bought a 25 mtr jetter hose, and it worked like a dream, when it was needed. I never had a problem with the power cord, as I have to use an extension cable, and it wraps around the body when you are finished. For the actual power hose, I'm always careful to wrap it loosely in coils around the body too....not a good idea to wrap it tightly, as it can kink. Using it up close and personal on the paint work of a car is not a good idea.....having said that, I've never had the experience of the jet actually lifting a factory finish paint work off, but definitely it can happen on repaired panels.
So now, I will be following this post before I get my next washer. Aldi / Lidl have engine powered washer's on sale occasionally,,,might give them a try this time round. The produce something like 2500 PSI, so that's pretty powerful. From people I know that have bought them, they have a good opinion of them. Any comments from anyone? Or I might just stick with the old reliable, the tried and true Karcher.

 

[merc85]

For that past 7 years I’ve been using a Really cheap £40 effort from Ecp , and tbf I can’t fault it. I’ve had to replace the hose a few times but other than that it’s been fine.

 

[Harrythedog]

I've used a K3.55 for more than 10 years, until the electric motor packed in a few months ago. It was my first ever power washer, so I can't measure it's performance against other make's, but if did the job for me...patio's, external walls, car washing,drain jetting, no problem! I bought a 25 mtr jetter hose, and it worked like a dream, when it was needed. I never had a problem with the power cord, as I have to use an extension cable, and it wraps around the body when you are finished. For the actual power hose, I'm always careful to wrap it loosely in coils around the body too....not a good idea to wrap it tightly, as it can kink. Using it up close and personal on the paint work of a car is not a good idea.....having said that, I've never had the experience of the jet actually lifting a factory finish paint work off, but definitely it can happen on repaired panels.
So now, I will be following this post before I get my next washer. Aldi / Lidl have engine powered washer's on sale occasionally,,,might give them a try this time round. The produce something like 2500 PSI, so that's pretty powerful. From people I know that have bought them, they have a good opinion of them. Any comments from anyone? Or I might just stick with the old reliable, the tried and true Karcher.

Check the capacitor cheap and easy fix, google it

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Doh ... my Karcher is a K7, not a K5. What's more, they’ve changed the design significantly since I bought mine a few years ago. It’s gone from this


to this, which looks a lot more stable with its lower power hose outlet

 

[artyman]

I bought a Screwfix Titan, or rather my wife did for my birthday a few months back, seems to have gone up in price I paid £70 seems to do the job.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb669prw-130bar-pressure-washer-1-8kw-240v/5014j

 

[DetailerDan]

There's a lot of love for the nilfisk's on detailing world forum. Amazon sometimes has them on deal of the day.

I use a 80 quid karcher which does the job but would like something with more power. Whatever you go for make sure it's got a really long hose, we all know how much of a pain moving the damn thing mid wash!

Yes thats a big must, the kranzle was 15m which was a massive advantage over the poxy karcher hose.

 

[DetailerDan]

Thanks for all the replys guys, good to see a good forum too with great positive replys and not bitchyness lol

 

[ToeKnee]

positive replys and not bitchyness lol

Stick around a while......

 

[Rashman]

I see Nilfisk jet washers used more and more now.

I have one that I use on my daily.

I’ve heard that Karcher are not as good as they used to be, so I went for Nilfisk.

 

[DetailerDan]

I see Nilfisk jet washers used more and more now.

I have one that I use on my daily.

I’ve heard that Karcher are not as good as they used to be, so I went for Nilfisk.

I too have recently heard this and learnt last night off a mate of mine who used to work at karcher that they are only built for 100 hours of use. I am going down the nilfisk route i think.