Please recommend me a good pressure washer

[julianf]

My cheapo domestic karcher has just broken.

I was never impressed by it anyway. I was able to clean my hands with it, which would be very dangerous with a decent unit.


I'm not looking to spend £1000s, but around £100-120, maybe £150?

What would you say i should get?

 

[rtcosic]

I have a Nilfisk P150, that's around 10 years old.

150 bar, over 10 litres/min and 2.9 kW induction motor. I would describe it as heavy domestic/light commercial. It's a devil for popping the 13 amp fuse in the plug though.

But that's more than double your budget.

At your budget I think you are stuck with domestic specification Karchers, or a refurbished Nilfisk 140:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nilfisk-...I6Mywic28iOjE1MDAsImMiOjE4Mzc2NH0=&rmvSB=true

 

[angellonewolf]

there all carp unless you go industral

dont know what they are like but lidl had a petrol on on offer for 180 i think assume with a 3 years warrenty ?

 

[armalites]

Karchers do get a bad rep because people buy one that costs £50 and it's got 8 accessories and can't work out why they don't last. I have a Karcher601 hot/steam which is very good, I bought it second hand I have spent some money on it.

If was buying a cold water washer I would buy a small Kranzle. Kranzle don't do domestic machines and even the baby one are rated at 7-8hrs a day. Some have ceramic pistons so they can be run dry when you finish so no issues with frost, they can even pump sea water which sounds a bit silly but it's ideal if you are cleaning lobster/crab pots.Unfortunately you are looking at £400 + but it will last you the rest of your life.

https://cleantec.biz/kranzle-k-7-12...MIhZrYr7_92QIVx53tCh1d7AmnEAQYASABEgIfZvD_BwE

They come with a proper rubber 10m hose.They are no frills, I think these baby one don't even switch off when you release the trigger but they are designed to run all day like that

I friend of mine had been through 3 cheap Karchers and I suggested he got one of these and he's had 2-3 years now and loves it.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I have a Nilfisk and it's served me well, but it all depends what you intend to use it for. Car washing, flagstone cleaning etc it does the job well, but for longer operation times I suspect you'd need a 'professional' job.

Nilfisk also have a metal pump, as opposed to the plastic ones in some machines. Standard hose is rubbish though, always fighting you but easily sorted with a replacement from QWashers on the 'Bay. Don't buy from another Seller [whose name escapes me] as delivery and service are VERY bad [by all accounts]

 

[jenki]

I have just ordered a basic Kranzle after my 20+ year old Kew gave up the ghost from reports it should last a similar time. I believe that Nilfisk bought Kew but the modern ones are not so highly thought of.

 

[julianf]

Really, £180 I might be able to go to, but I'm just not going to spend £400, so, whilst they may be amazing units, I really need suggestions for lower prices.

I don't think I've ever used an accessory other than a jet, so I certainly would rather a bare unit, rather than paying for brushes I'll never use.

 

[Kayos]

I bought a cheapo from screwfix, Titan I think. Works up to 60 degrees and has a nice solid connection on the lance

Mostly used for washing mud off the Disco but it seems solid enough for the money

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I don't think I've ever used an accessory other than a jet, so I certainly would rather a bare unit, rather than paying for brushes I'll never use.

You'd be surprised, I got the 'patio' brush with mine and it's surprising how well it does the job on the flagstones v. the ordinary nozzle - less mess too.

Also there's a nozzle with a ball inside which will remove MUCH worse stuff [inc probably your paintwork if you get the two mixed up....]

 

[pedrobedro]

there's a nozzle with a ball inside which will remove MUCH worse stuff [inc probably your paintwork if you get the two mixed up....]

It will fetch the stickers off your Fazer as well, as my mate found. Our Nilfisk C120 has been a decent machine for domestic use over the last couple of years. I bought it on offer with all the attachments for about £80

 

[tom 748]

had a k5 for 3 years,now the thing is losing pressure

 

[frank horton]

bought a petrol power washer, Honda copy engine..... less than £200, still starts first time and works fine......use it for cleaning tractors at least 1'nce per week.......
thought if I get 2 years outta it I'd be happy...now 8 years old..........

 

[defender dan]

Had my Nilfisk about 5 years now. It`s been great for washing all the family cars & patio etc. As said the cheaper Karcher & the like have plastic pumps & my Nilfisk has a brass pump and is still going strong.

 

[Migmac]

We have a Bosch one at work, absolute rubbish. Wouldn’t take the skin off a rice pudding.

 

[tlovatt]

I have tried a few and got a bit fed up with all of them. I just replaced my last one with a Karcher K4 from their outlet shop. My thinking was:

The K2 & K3 are not powerful enough and the K5, whilst providing a bit of a jump in pressure and flow are too expensive. I ended up with a K4 compact (it does not have the stupid LCD display on the lance etc and is a bit cheaper) along with the vario lance, dirt blaster lance (which to be fair did a good job of cleaning 3 years of crap off the patio) along with a foam attachment a car wash brush (which I never use on the pressure washer but are not actually badly made to just use handheld for the car wheels) and some detergent for £117. They do not seem to have the same bundle at the moment but you can get a refurb K4 for £110 and a dirtblaster (good for the patio) for £9.

The unit I received looked new apart from the lance had a few scuffs.

 

[knighty]

look for one on ebay

you can pretty much ignore the pressure quoted, it's all about the flow rate

12litres/min for something decent at home

 

[julianf]

Anyone got a comment on these ones -

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Karcher-K5-X-Range-Pressure-Washer/p/174683

Stats miss out the pressure, but they look very much like this one in other regards -

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Karcher-K5-Premium-Full-Control-Plus-Home-Pressure-Washer/p/153343

 

[keithski122]

I bought a wolf pressure washer after it was given a best buy rating by either practical classics or car mechanics magazine, took it down the tip last year after using it maybe twice.Total piece of toss, no pressure on the outlet yet my water pressure would blow all the inlet pipes off, leaks from all the joins. I'll just stick to a bucket of water and a scrubbing brush.

 

[tlovatt]

Anyone got a comment on these ones -

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Karcher-K5-X-Range-Pressure-Washer/p/174683

If you want the full specs for that one https://www.karcheroutlet.co.uk/products/product.asp?id=5110

The full control versions have either an indicator or an LCD display on the gun (someone must have been running out of good ideas to improve them!) and the premium versions normally have a hose real for the high pressure hose) but the pressure / flow stats are the same

 

[carbon]

Some have ceramic pistons so they can be run dry when you finish so no issues with frost

Having ceramic pistons doesn’t mean the pump can be run dry, just means that the pistons don’t wear anything like the chrome vanadium ones do. Dry runing pumps still generates heat in pressure seals and degrades them. Admittedly runing for a few seconds isn’t going to damage them that much. Better way for frost protection is suck some antifreeze through the pump.