Best Pressure Washer (Under £400)?

[M3Driver]

Looking for a new pressure washer for domestic use. I will be washing a couple of cars on a regular basis, the occasional 4x4, caravan, slabs, (medium to large) driveway, wooden decking, patio furniture etc.

I wondered what brand / model people would recommend? Been looking at Karcher, Nilfisk, Kranzle (pricey!) and Stihl.

Features I'm looking for include:
Induction motor (not ‘Universal motor’ with brushes)
Metal pump / internals
Length of hose for going round whole car (e.g. 9mtr better than 6 mtr)

[clarkey]

I don't think you need to spend anything like £400. I recently bought a Nilfisk C130 that meets most of your needs and paid under £140 it. it replaced a Karcher K5, and seems much more solid and quieter. You could spend a bit more and get the longer hose, but they seem great value.

[Challo]

We have one of these (older model) http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7...la-96719050525|crid:77627769925|nw:g|rnd:13653283957357710285|dvc:c|adp:1o2&gclid=CObm6bj1z80CFasV0wod3bkLZQ

Perfect for cars etc, and the patio washer is great. For home use I dont think you need to spend anymore.

[shakotan]

clarkey said:

I don't think you need to spend anything like £400. I recently bought a Nilfisk C130 that meets most of your needs and paid under £140 it. it replaced a Karcher K5, and seems much more solid and quieter. You could spend a bit more and get the longer hose, but they seem great value.

This, I have a perfectly good Nilfisk and it was around £80.

[Burwood]

nilfisk is the best. mine was 360-its a great machine

[JDiz]

This is a bargain: £89 and all the attachments,

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1...

Then change the crappy plastic hose for a decent rubber one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nilfisk-Pressure-Washer-...

I bought the 30m one so i can easily leave the washer set up in the shed and just run the cable out in seconds to wash the car with no hassle of kinks or not long enough.

[chris285]

nilfisk here too, had it a few years and is there entry level model and been spot on

[BIRMA]

I've had a less than pleasant experience with an expensive K'Archer a would suggest looking at the models suggested above.
Mine was a £400 plus model that worked fine for about 12 months, one day water started pouring out at the bottom.
Being a practical sort of chap I took it apart to find a low pressure cast inlet elbow had just fallen apart. Took it along to a friend who runs an engineering company who confirmed that it was a cheap inferior casting.
So I phoned K'archer rather than a very long rambling post I'll just say 'talk to the hand' never in my life have I experienced a bunch of 'folk' almost reading from a script that got me absolutely nowhere.
In the end I had to buy a new elbow for £60 (same crap casting) so I 'wrapped it' in one of my flexible composites and its been working trouble free for about four years now.
No thanks at all to the manufacturer.

[Baryonyx]

We have Karchers at work. They're not terribly reliable. Because we have so many we have a maintenance contract to get the broken ones fixed, which is a surprisingly regular occurrence.

The models we have have a thick hose with a textured rubber coating. I'm not sure if that's a standard hose or not but we go through loads of them at £100 a go. People leave the hose on the ground and people parking in the wash bays just drive over them and hole them on the tarmac.

I would hesitate to spend my own money on a Karcher.

[eliot]

I reccomend 2nd hand industrial washers, as they come with a decent motor and a decent pump. The big metal pumps are made by interpump, are long lasting and spares are available for years.
Search for 'cold pressure washers'

This sort of thing will last a lifetime, run quietly and will run all day without overheating:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222170171104

I picked up a washer just like the one above for £80 which was a bargain. Anything up to £200, with the lance is a good price for a proper industrial interpump based unit. (the pump alone costs over £200)

[MDMA .]

just get the Kranzel k7 and be done. you'll never buy another.

[vrsmxtb]

Morrisons have Karcher K2's at £80 on a one off deal at the moment.

[Xaero]

Happy with my Nilfisk, I spent around £90 on that too when it was on offer, as they do come on offer occasionally on Amazon.

From memory and prior research Karcher uses plastic gears and Nilfisk metal on their pumps and they seem a lot more reliable. No need to go up to £400 for a household duty one.

[hoagypubdog]

MDMA . said:

just get the Kranzel k7 and be done. you'll never buy another.

I have a Kranzel, fantastic machine.. Not cheap but very well built

[subsea99]

Steer clear of the karcher k2 ,mine just given up after 10 months bottom of the pump has cracked so loss off pressure and leaking everywhere.

currently awaiting to se if i can get a warranty claim on it but that means im stuck with another k2.

Might flog it and get a nilfisk

[J4CKO]

Another Nilfisk user, cheap and cheerful but does the job, Karcher are overpriced in my humble opinion.

[Ozzie Osmond]

clarkey said:

I don't think you need to spend anything like £400.

Agreed. A £50 Karcher K2 from Amazon is simply brilliant and if it fails (mine hasn't) you can buy another SEVEN with the change!

[pushthebutton]

I hadn't heard of Nilfisk, but I've just bought one on the recommendations on this thread.

I've got this one:

Nilfisk C120 6-6 PCAD X-Tra Big Accessory Pressure Washer

From Amazon at £99.

[Willy Nilly]

Baryonyx said:

We have Karchers at work. They're not terribly reliable. Because we have so many we have a maintenance contract to get the broken ones fixed, which is a surprisingly regular occurrence.

The models we have have a thick hose with a textured rubber coating. I'm not sure if that's a standard hose or not but we go through loads of them at £100 a go. People leave the hose on the ground and people parking in the wash bays just drive over them and hole them on the tarmac.

I would hesitate to spend my own money on a Karcher.

We have the biggest 13 amp Karcher they do and would say the same. Maybe the reliablity is ok, but they certainly are not particularly durable for a 2 and and a half grand machine. The last one we had was just about knackered when the gypos nicked it. So anyone considering a used machine need to be careful they are not buying one that has been stolen.

[hoagypubdog]

subsea99 said:

Steer clear of the karcher k2 ,mine just given up after 10 months bottom of the pump has cracked so loss off pressure and leaking everywhere.

currently awaiting to se if i can get a warranty claim on it but that means im stuck with another k2.

Might flog it and get a nilfisk

Same happened to my K2...