Budget pressure washers: waste of money?

Goose said:
Thoughts on this one? The one Christian posted is a bit over my budget. Really cant afford to spend more than £50.
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Sorry this is the one I was thinking of, I copied/pasted the link and don't know why the £70+ one came up.:confused:

It is the same washer in both cases just different attachments (most of which are rather useless anyway) so go for it. :)
 
Glad I found this thread, was looking at a black and decker tdk plus 1300w from Argos for £35 but found a Karcher K2 compact on their refurb site for £30 instead :)
 
Not the Nilfisk, mine lasted ~5years before going up in smoke recently. I bought another one for £77, same model (C110), just a revision up (C110.4) :p

Just unplug the water mains and press the handle to remove any excess water from the pump/chamber inside once you are done to keep it in check.
 
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If you plan on cleaning your car once a weekend then I'd buy a Kranzle.

I've had them for the last 7 years or so and I wouldn't consider anything else.

Build solid, feel nice to use and will last you a lifetime.
 
Got the basic Nilfisk one, it's ok but very weak, takes like 5 times as long to go over the whole car than one of the big (£200+) Karchers.
 
mejinks said:
Its not about the pressure, but the flow rate. I have an industrial Karcher which goes from 30 bar to 110 bar, which is slightly less than your Halfords special, but does a much better job of cleaning.

If you are looking at getting a snowfoam lance, buy an Autobrite one, but make sure you rinse it through with clean water after or it will block up.

If you are going for a Karcher, I would go for the 5 series and up as the lower end ones have plastic pumps which don't really last.

Always release the pressure from the lance when putting it away and in the winter, turn the water off and run it for a few seconds to drain it of as much water as possible. It will last a while then.
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Everything in this post is 100% correct. It's the weight of water that does the cleaning, all high pressure does is cover everything around the car in debris. If you want to make good foam, you need a high flow rate over the Venturi nozzle in the foam lance. Try to buy a minimum of 9l/min (540l/hr).

Don't buy a Kaercher with a plastic pump and clean your kit after you use it.

The_Abyss said:
It is the plastic pumps that will kill you, normally over a couple of years, as they warp. I use a Nilfisk and it is awesome. Sometimes, as I'm sure we all do, I pretend I'm using a flamethrower.
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No, not the flamethrower bit...

mrk said:
Not the Nilfisk, mine lasted ~5years before going up in smoke recently. I bought another one for £77, same model (C110), just a revision up (C110.4)
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Nilfisk C110.x is probably the best budget pressure washer on the market. Clarke sell a rebadged blue one for £20 less in Machine Mart.

pepsilol said:
If you plan on cleaning your car once a weekend then I'd buy a Kranzle.

I've had them for the last 7 years or so and I wouldn't consider anything else.

Build solid, feel nice to use and will last you a lifetime.
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Yes, Krantzle probably is the Rolls Royce of pressure washers, but at £300 plus they're probably a bit OTT for most users.

I have a hot water Krantzle and it really is the dogs dangles. You only need to buy a Krantzle once in your lifetime. It is a lot of money though.

A pressure washer is a shocking way to clean a car. All it's really good for is put a layer of foam on. If you want to make PROPER foam then you need a Dema Foamer. £1000 and all it does is make industrial quantities of soap foam. The hang time is EPIC though.
 
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I have a Halfords HP2000 (had it for 6 or 7 years). Apart from the hose splitting within about 30 mins of getting and using it and the lance cracking when it froze, it's been really quite good. No foam ability though.
 
I have a Homebase own brand one, about £30 iirc, does a good job on the car and was superb at turning my patio back to slab colour!

Thought it would be dead within a week given the use it's had, a year later and lots of useage it's still going strong.

Top tip, make sure it's empty after use if stored in the cold - Not doing this did for my old Karcher.
 
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