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Man of Honour
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Soldato
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Hi,

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good pressure washer? My Karcher k4 has just broken and since my last few have all had something go wrong I’ll avoid them this time round. Unfortunately all the attachments I currently have will also probably need replacing (snow foam gun etc).

Thanks!

How often do you use them and how often do they go wrong?

I've never had a pressure washer fail, I'm wondering if there is something else slightly amiss. Water pressures all ok?
 
Associate
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How often do you use them and how often do they go wrong?

I've never had a pressure washer fail, I'm wondering if there is something else slightly amiss. Water pressures all ok?

They have been used anything from a couple of times a month to a couple of times a week, washing the car(s)/cleaning the patio. I've gone through 3 karchers in 7 years or so. The water pressure seems ok, the first 2 failed when the pumps broke/cracked which ended up with more water caming out of the machine than via the hose! The latest one it's the plastic outlet to the hose that cracked in mid use, it's probably fixable so I will see if that part is replaceable and fix it/advertise it on local facebook for cheap along with the attachments.

Ordered a Nilfisk E145.4 that should be delivered tomorrow, won't have my car for a few days anyway so will get one of the MJJC Foam Cannon Pro V2.0 ordered shortly so it's all ready to go next time I clean it.

Thanks for the advice :)
 
Soldato
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won't have my car for a few days anyway so will get one of the MJJC Foam Cannon Pro V2.0 ordered shortly so it's all ready to go next time I clean it.

Good choice, If buying from the eBay listing I linked to above it’s worth making an offer aim to get about £5 off. That’s if you’ve got the time to wait for your offer to be accepted.
 
Caporegime
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Finally managed to give it a proper clean, forgot how much dirt grey hides. Magifoam, Chem Guys Glossworkz shampoo and CarPro Hydro2 lite to give some protection until it's warm enough for a proper detail. Looked nice and shiny for about five mins.







free image hosting
 
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Good choice, If buying from the eBay listing I linked to above it’s worth making an offer aim to get about £5 off. That’s if you’ve got the time to wait for your offer to be accepted.

New washer turned up today, made an offer for the snow foam and it was accepted so also purchased that.

Also found/removed the broken part for the Karcher and ordered a replacement (seems a normal part to break as the official replacement part is now metal and not plastic), once that arrives and I fix/test it I will stick the K4 it up for sale locally :), not sure how much it's worth but it has a 15m cable as well as the original, the Autobrite snow foam lance and patio cleaner also included.
 
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Steamer turned up today. Looking forward to using it on the weekend!

A giant bird poo arrived on my car too, should hopefully lift off the wax easily.
 
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Associate
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I believe this is the MJJC Foam Cannon Pro V2.0 for Nilfisk pressure washer...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393495275090?hash=item5b9e256652:g:F6cAAOSw1WNhsQbR

Thanks for the link, I ordered this for my Nilfisk washer.

I've never used snow foam before, can someone recommend the best solution? I was going to go for Autglym Polar Blast but it seems to have mixed reviews.

I'm hearing good things about Autobrite Magifoam and Bilt Hamber TOUCH-LESS - any others to consider?
 
Caporegime
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Thanks for the link, I ordered this for my Nilfisk washer.

I've never used snow foam before, can someone recommend the best solution? I was going to go for Autglym Polar Blast but it seems to have mixed reviews.

I'm hearing good things about Autobrite Magifoam and Bilt Hamber TOUCH-LESS - any others to consider?

Magifoam is great, it's what I use (see above post). I've had issues with staining with some others, possible that I didn't dilute properly but no such issues with magifoam.
 
Associate
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Magifoam is great, it's what I use (see above post). I've had issues with staining with some others, possible that I didn't dilute properly but no such issues with magifoam.

Thanks for the feedback. One thing I forgot to add is that I have a ceramic coated car, so it needs to play nice with that. Something relatively pH neutral. Do you know if that would be a problem with Magifoam?
 
Underboss
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anyone got one of these AMZ Snow Foam lances?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TWFS61H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

anyone know what spanner i need to take it apart to clean / change orifice ?

15mm is too small, 16mm is too big so it must be an imperial size, but what size ?

any ideas please ?

thanks

just an update to this

a 5/8 spanner was hard to source separately (at a reasonable price)
found one on ebay, Draper Expert for around £6.50 delivered

arrived today and it fits, no rounding of the nut either

so now i have a 1.1 orifice installed
 
Soldato
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I've never used snow foam before, can someone recommend the best solution? I was going to go for AutoGlym Polar Blast but it seems to have mixed reviews.

I used AutoGlym Polar Blast and got this result with a MJJC Foam Cannon Pro V2.0 and my portable pressure washer which is only 70 bar.

ggnv35A.png
 
Man of Honour
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Although bilt hamber is one of the best rated snow foam pre washes, I use polar blast because it’s relatively gentle, it’s a happy medium for me - not only do I want to protect the sealant on the paint, but also my soft top with any overspray that happens to get on there.

I must say I love using polar wash after it, the stuff makes washing the car a breeze - and more fun. The wash mitt really glides over the stuff.

It always makes me laugh that the foam is still on the drive the next morning.
 
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Associate
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Although bilt hamber is one of the best rated snow foam pre washes, I use polar blast because it’s relatively gentle, it’s a happy medium for me - not only do I want to protect the sealant on the paint, but also my soft top with any overspray that happens to get on there.

I'm leaning towards Polar Blast too for the same reasons. If I didn't have the ceramic coating then I probably would have gone for the Bilt Hamber.

With either option though, I'm not expecting snow foam to do that much. I've never had an issue just rinsing and getting on with a wash using the 2-bucket method. However, as I'm already using a pressure washer, it doesn't seem like too much extra hassle to use the snow foam!
 
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I'm leaning towards Polar Blast too for the same reasons. If I didn't have the ceramic coating then I probably would have gone for the Bilt Hamber.

With either option though, I'm not expecting snow foam to do that much. I've never had an issue just rinsing and getting on with a wash using the 2-bucket method. However, as I'm already using a pressure washer, it doesn't seem like too much extra hassle to use the snow foam!

A ceramic coating is highly chemical resistant and exactly why you can use a more aggressive snow foam.

I've got a 'lite' coating that's rated for 1 year. I use pure shampoo and Autofoam only on the paint, no toppers etc etc. The coating is still going strong 16 months on.

I did nearly 1k miles last week in my car and it was absolutely filthy (numberplate unreadable), a rinse moved some larger dirt clumps but the grimy dark layer remained. Auto Foam at 4% PIR later, and the car was practically clean, without touching it.
 
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