Reasonably priced Pressure Washers...

Phil W · 1 Mar 2009 at 16:57

...our Karcher has died, its had a good life (7+years) and was a pretty good one back in its day.

I've been looking at <£100 washers as we only really use it for washing the cars down when needed, doing the paths etc.

Theres one at the moment for around 99.99 if a little less, its 100 bar (about 30 or 40 bar less than the old one) and comes with a couple of different lances, patio cleaner etc!

The Kärcher K2.36M+ & T50 pressure washer package features a 1400w motor with a maximum water pressure of 100 bar and water flow rate of 300L per hour. This set includes a patio cleaner capable of cleaning all hard surfaces such as patio, decking, walls and garage doors up to fives times faster than a conventional high pressure lance. The Kärcher Dirtblaster lance is also included and can provide up to 50% more cleaning power for use on obstinate dirt or stains. This washer package also features a 4m high pressure hose, a detergent suction tube and a low pressure detergent gun.

Seems reasonable for £100?

Phil.

topgun06 · 1 Mar 2009 at 17:48

I'd also be interested in an answer...

sloth · 1 Mar 2009 at 17:57

My last Karcher died after a year, and after a bit of research, I purchased a Kranzle K10/120 - it's awesomely built, can throw out a hell of a lot of water (10 litres a minute), and will last a very long time. It's not cheap, but if you are willing to stretch the budget, it's an awesome piece of kit.

The pumps in the cheap Karchers just aren't designed to last, and they use a lot of plastic piping which is prone to falling apart. Perhaps I was unlucky with mine, but I refuse to buy another.

Edit : My contribution probably isn't much use in a "Reasonably prices Pressure Washers" thread, but I've added it now.

eidolon · 1 Mar 2009 at 18:00

I bought a cheap £40 one from B&Q, used it once then it never worked again. Now I've got a karcher which has been going strong for years.

Reppyboyo · 1 Mar 2009 at 18:08

RIDE magazine just did and article on pressue washers.
Under £100 was the Karcher K2.21M Plus and £79.99.
Came joint 5th in the test.

xb8browney · 1 Mar 2009 at 18:08

I've had 3 cheap ones (£30) two of them never worked after first use and the 3rd cracked the lance. I've since bought a karcher and it's rock solid

Defcon5 · 1 Mar 2009 at 18:43

I had considered getting one of the cheapy ones, purely for using snowfoam! Do they really all stop working after they are used once?

Phil W · 2 Mar 2009 at 09:52

Defcon5 said:
I had considered getting one of the cheapy ones, purely for using snowfoam! Do they really all stop working after they are used once?

We bought a cheap one and it lasted about 2 weeks before it died.

The Karcher thats just dies has had quite a 'hard' life (when i mean hard, i mean used more frequently that probably expected), and that lasted years.

a1ex2001 · 2 Mar 2009 at 10:00

Defcon5 said:
I had considered getting one of the cheapy ones, purely for using snowfoam! Do they really all stop working after they are used once?

I woulds seriously doubt they do otherwise B&Q and the like would have stopped selling them as the return rates would be killing them.

Fothsn · 2 Mar 2009 at 10:41

Yep I have an RAC cheap jobby, and it does the job fine, was £30 from Woolworths well worth the money

Phil W · 2 Mar 2009 at 10:42

a1ex2001 said:
I woulds seriously doubt they do otherwise B&Q and the like would have stopped selling them as the return rates would be killing them.

Cheap & Cheerful.

If they break within the shop's returns period, they would just replace it.

LiE · 2 Mar 2009 at 10:50

Looks good for £100. How much warranty do they come with?

a1ex2001 · 2 Mar 2009 at 10:53

Phil W said:
Cheap & Cheerful.

If they break within the shop's returns period, they would just replace it.

Which costs them money,hastle and bad rep and would brankrupt the supplier if the majority broke within a week. I would say that the majority of them will outlast the 12 month warranty probably not by much but that is what the maker will be aiming for.

Fr0dders · 2 Mar 2009 at 10:57

ive got the karcher K235 that was being sold cheap when it was phased out. Bought for the princely sum of £60 from argos (think they may even be still selling them)

Still going strong now. so they dont all break straight away.

Phil W · 2 Mar 2009 at 11:16

MrLOL said:
ive got the karcher K235 that was being sold cheap when it was phased out. Bought for the princely sum of £60 from argos (think they may even be still selling them)

Still going strong now. so they dont all break straight away.

Thats a Karcher your talking about though, the ones that break quickly are often then non-branded ones that are <£50 or so.

QBitOscillation · 2 Mar 2009 at 11:16

Whats the best Karcher to get for doing the cars and things like patios aswell ?

I like the look of the stand up ones, but are they too expensive?

Anything below £200 ?

What sort of pressure do you set to avoid stripping the paint from your car?

Fr0dders · 2 Mar 2009 at 11:19

just dont use the dirt blaster, and dont put the pressure washer inches from the your car and you wont strip paint no matter how much pressure you set the washer at.

Pressure applied to the car is a question of distance from the paint as much as the washer itself.

mrk · 2 Mar 2009 at 11:33

Are Halfords ones decent then? going to pick one up tonight if they're alright for just car use!

I've seen a Refurbed HP1500 for £39 which is £69 for a new one - seems a good deal and it looks good too?

Sone · 2 Mar 2009 at 11:40

Fothsn said:
Yep I have an RAC cheap jobby, and it does the job fine, was £30 from Woolworths well worth the money

probably got the same one, build quality is poor but its been used now at least 15times with no problems

Fothsn · 2 Mar 2009 at 11:42

Sone said:
probably got the same one, build quality is poor but its been used now at least 15times with no problems

Probably have, it’s the RAC 1650 Watt Pressure Washer, not let me down so far used it loads of times