Which power washer?

(15-03-2012 02:04pm)RacingSnake Wrote:  Is this thread only here to rub it in the noses of us in the south with the hosepipe ban?

Well I guess perhaps Tesco here in the South may give you a pressure washer free with your groceries as I suspect sales will plummit.

Concerned with the news of the hose pipe ban on 5th April, I looked in to it.
Turns out it's only for private use.
So going by Anglian Water I can still use a hose to wash my Van. Being a x-plumber, I have plans on filtering my water butt water & pumping it though to the wash system I have in my garage.
So the only hobby I have lives on

Apologies to all you who already have Karchers but.
I am probably what would be described as a heavy domestic user i.e we have 2 cars a jet-ski and a large patio area that gets a wash twice a year. I would never buy Karcher again reason being they seem to offer good value when new but the more recent machines WILL require new seals and gaskets after 18 months to 2 years use and this will cost you in the region of £100 to £150 at your Karcher service centre, I even asked if I could buy the parts and do it myself and they refused to supply them.
Conversely I bought a Nilfisk Alto from Machine Mart at £300 and have had it 5 years without a hitch and even though the stated spec is the same as a Karcher costing half the price it is way more powerful.
Just my two penneth worth.

No problems with my Karcher, it's 11 years old, gets used 5-6 times a year, never gets drained down after use or for the winter and never fails to shift the dirt off my Defender - it even had enough pressure to take out part of the chassis! This is from the smallest unit they make too

(16-03-2012 05:49pm)stiggy Wrote:  Apologies to all you who already have Karchers but.
I am probably what would be described as a heavy domestic user i.e we have 2 cars a jet-ski and a large patio area that gets a wash twice a year. I would never buy Karcher again reason being they seem to offer good value when new but the more recent machines WILL require new seals and gaskets after 18 months to 2 years use and this will cost you in the region of £100 to £150 at your Karcher service centre, I even asked if I could buy the parts and do it myself and they refused to supply them.
Conversely I bought a Nilfisk Alto from Machine Mart at £300 and have had it 5 years without a hitch and even though the stated spec is the same as a Karcher costing half the price it is way more powerful.
Just my two penneth worth.

+1 I lost faith in Karcher too - brand new machine but didn't start using it till it was 10 months old, 3 months later water outlet obtained harline crack - out of warranty & probably only had 24 hours of constant use if that I was honest when I rang Karcher & told them I used it for my business & they rewarded me by saying we can collect it for around £91 so I told them what I thought of their rubbish.

I've got a (B & Q) Macallister Mac 3, which is still going strong, although rarely used. The reason I mention it is that lots of people report problems with the attachments/accessories (such as the hose and gun), and B & Q (typically) don't stock it or support it any more. However, these power washers were made by FAIP, who also make Bosch washers (or at least the ones that are of the Mac 3 specification), and the parts are largely interchangeable. The Macallister bayonet is, therefore, also identical to a Bosch bayonet should you have a Mac 3 (or similar) and wish to purchase new accessories. I just treated myself to a snow-foam lance and it fits and works a treat.

I have a Karcher 7.85 and it works very well. I left it out in the cold and a plastic pipe split, parts easy to get and fit. They do need to be put away in the cold as water inside them will freeze - applies to any pressure washer.

(17-03-2012 08:27pm)Donny Dog Wrote:  I've got a (B & Q) Macallister Mac 3, which is still going strong, although rarely used. The reason I mention it is that lots of people report problems with the attachments/accessories (such as the hose and gun), and B & Q (typically) don't stock it or support it any more. However, these power washers were made by FAIP, who also make Bosch washers (or at least the ones that are of the Mac 3 specification), and the parts are largely interchangeable. The Macallister bayonet is, therefore, also identical to a Bosch bayonet should you have a Mac 3 (or similar) and wish to purchase new accessories. I just treated myself to a snow-foam lance and it fits and works a treat.

Hi Donny Dog,
I am having trouble getting a snow foam lance to fit my MAC 3, where did you purchase yours, the Bosch one I have just purchased does not fit.

Santa did bring me a new pressure washer yesterday. My old Karcher had started playing up (my last one went the same way, lasting 2years each time). This time I got the new water cooled 1800W motor K3.550.

I believe he shops at there outlet shop which sales most of the models half price. They are sold as refurbished & factory second units, but mine & most of the reviews from this site say that the unit delivered is "just like new".
Mine looks like it's never been used, but has some scratches on the plastic (but who cares if the case is marked) And you know it's been tested.

http://www.karcheroutlet.co.uk/products/...re-Washers

(04-03-2012 04:58pm)3V0QU3 Wrote:  Get the most powerful one you can, lower power jet washers are a waste of time and money, might as well just use a hosepipe. Worth waiting if you can't afford a more powerful one, I made the mistake and just ended up replacing a cheap one, so cost me more in the end.

I beg to differ there though I am speaking from a business use point of view!.
In 2001 when I started valeting I bought then a new Kranzle pressure washer (I think they are owned by Karcher). It cost me £450 in 2001 & was a pile of crap, spent more time in the menders than in use. I eventually gave up & simply didn't bother with a PW & just used a hose etc.
Then in 2009 I decided I would try again & plumted for a Karher K5.700 with the wind in hose as I thought that would be usefull as PW hoses are a pain to wind. I got it in the Spring & never needed to use it till the following winter where it lasted less than 3 Months. I phoned Karcher & was HONEST & said I used it to valet cars. They wern't interested & just said you can send it back to us (cost £90) then we will charge for the repair = I told them what I thought of their Rubbish.
Prior to getting that one I had at some point around 2008 gone into Woolworths & baught on special offer a little RAC Pressure washer that cost JUST £19.99 but was reduced from £60, now this little machine was not very powerfull & was just intended as a spare butwhen the big one stopped it was used all the time in all weathers & lasted 3 years till about 2 Months ago when the motor seized. This RAC machine cost about 4% of the Karcher & lasted about 500% longer.
I decided that the bigger expensive ones are a complete waste of money & went to Halfords & bought a new Karcher on half price a K2. something - more powerfull than the RAC but not like the big ones. I was using it on Monday & have noticed what looks like oil obviously coming out of it somewhere as I could see a slick in the water on the ground.

Verdict on Karcher = Crap German Rubbish.