Best pressure washer

[QuickQuack]

dhutch said:

QuickQuack said:

I bought a Kärcher K5 a few years ago, and it was only used a handful of times during that time. A few weeks ago, it suddenly started pouring water out of the casing, went bang and tripped the fuse in the house with it. It was well beyond repair.

Did it freeze? In the garage over winter.

Yes it has been stored in the outbuildings all the time and it has been very cold out there this winter, but it was drained as usual before being put away. It had also been working for a while before it suddenly went bang. It had been used in the garden the week before by my eldest son, put away, then he was using it again in the garden. The weather had been fine in that period with no frost. Having been stored in the outbuildings in the cold weather before those periods should've had no effect really, and if did, it would go to prove the poor quality of the product. How many people would store the pressure washer in a heated room in the house? Any equipment for outdoor use has got to be able to tolerate being kept in an outbuilding or garage.

[dhutch]

iacabu said:

dhutch said:

iacabu said:

Barlows website puts me off calling a bit, although I'm only an hour away from them.

How so?

"*Customers Please Note...
Barlow's are not a National Helpline... We only offer an over the counter service aimed at customers in the North West of England & Greater Manchester Area and do not offer a postal service for parts or technical diagnostics over the telephone."

Ahh nice, they have obviously got a bit pished off with calls! Still, if your an hour away, and you but from them, I can't see them complaining. You can then post updated information here!

[dhutch]

QuickQuack said:

Yes it has been stored in the outbuildings all the time and it has been very cold out there this winter, but it was drained as usual before being put away. It had also been working for a while before it suddenly went bang. It had been used in the garden the week before by my eldest son, put away, then he was using it again in the garden. The weather had been fine in that period with no frost. Having been stored in the outbuildings in the cold weather before those periods should've had no effect really, and if did, it would go to prove the poor quality of the product. How many people would store the pressure washer in a heated room in the house? Any equipment for outdoor use has got to be able to tolerate being kept in an outbuilding or garage.

Yeah, no, fair enough. As you say, quick blip with a fees attached should be all it needed, the bugger!

[BobToc]

Anyone have any updated thoughts on power washers?

I need something to clean the patio, clean bird poo off the wooden furniture, perhaps wash the car and windows over two floors. Was thinking I’d go with the Karcher K4, but interested in any updated reviews from folks.

[Danns]

Personally have had terrible experience with both Karcher and Nilfisk (neither were the cheaper models)

My recommendation is Stihl RE130 plus. Can be had far below the RRP.

Only issue I've had was one that arrived dead(ish).. thinking about it afterwards, I'm sure the stop valve in the hose pipe end was part of the issue. Since changing to non restricted, zero problems.

Radmore and tucker usually have the best deals, and occasionally a 5% / 10% offer ontop.

Everything about it looks and feels at least twice the quality of Karcher.... and about 10 times the quality of Nilfisk. Is about on the limit power wise that you'd want to be drawing from a 13A socket. They recommend not using extensions, I did, and it quickly highlighted the ropey plug on the extension by melting it!

[timberman]

AFAIK Stihl are just rebranded Nilfisk so I'm suprised to hear you believe there's a difference in quality

We've had our Nilfisk (E140) for about 10 years now, and apart from swapping the crappy plastic hose for a rubber one and managing to snap off a flimsy bit of plastic on the side where the lance was meant to be stored, it's still going strong.

Edited by timberman on Wednesday 18th May 18:26

[pghstochaj]

I have a Nilfisk P180 and it is fantastic compared to more domestic models I have had before. The only issue is that it is heavy. I have it wall mounted with a 15 m hose, permanently connected to water and power so just pull out the hose, use it, wind the hose back in. It removes the worst part of washing a car, dealing with the pressure washer. The only downside is that if I want to use it for other tasks around the garden, it's heavy to move around.

Everything I have seen suggests Stihl and Nilfisk are the same.

[brums evil twin]

Going to chuck in a different one to consider - have a look at AVA of Norway - I have just had one for the last few weeks and it's amazing. Some really good features and the build quality is excellent.

So far I would highly recommend

[timberman]

brums evil twin said:

Going to chuck in a different one to consider - have a look at AVA of Norway - I have just had one for the last few weeks and it's amazing. Some really good features and the build quality is excellent.

So far I would highly recommend

just had a quick look at one of these on cleanstore,

very nice looking machine and if I'm ever in the market for another would certainly consider one as an option

[Danns]

Unless there’s a block of lead inside an re130, can’t see how it’s a nilfisk underneath but standing by to be corrected.

Quick search suggests the entry level ones are v similar / same to nilfisk models.

[sutoka]

Consumer Nilfisk are absolute rubbish we had a skip full of broken ones out the back in work. Don't get me wrong you did get Karcher K2 returned but nowhere near the rate of Nilfisk.

[SlimRick]

I've just bought this to replace a leaky Karcher K2. This thing is perfect for patios/brickwork etc. and feels much more powerful than the Karcher:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb2200prw-150bar...

[MisanoPayments]

Following with interest.

Somewhere there's a shorter thread going around at the same time where those Screwifix Titan ones were mentioned. Can you let us know how you get on with it?

[dhutch]

SlimRick said:

I've just bought this to replace a leaky Karcher K2. This thing is perfect for patios/brickwork etc. and feels much more powerful than the Karcher:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb2200prw-150bar...

That would be because it's a 2.2kW 150Bar 500Ltr/hr machine your comparing to a 1.4kW 110Bar 360Ltr/hr machine.

[dhutch]

timberman said:

AFAIK Stihl are just rebranded Nilfisk so I'm suprised to hear you believe there's a difference in quality

Can only assume, comparing the £300 Stihl to an £80 Nikfisk!

Edited by dhutch on Thursday 19th May 21:56

[timberman]

dhutch said:

timberman said:

AFAIK Stihl are just rebranded Nilfisk so I'm suprised to hear you believe there's a difference in quality

Can only assume the 300 Stihl to a 80 Nikfisk

Yes, I was thinking the same

[Danns]

It was a £150 or so one if I remember correctly (nilfisk) that only lasted a week.

I’ve just had another look and I can see some big old similarities between the nilfisk E145 and Stihl RE130 so indeed yup I’ll take that, they are (probably) one and the same underneath.

Handy to know for spares/ accessories etc.

….

I still prefer orange and white though

[dhutch]

Danns said:

It was a 150 or so one if I remember correctly (nilfisk) that only lasted a week.

Seems unlucky, however still compairing a machine a half the price point. Also presumably still very much under warranty?

[Nola25]

I’ve got a Nilfisk Core125 and it’s been perfect for cleaning the patio and the block paving, downstairs windows (haven’t tried blasting it at the upstairs) and cleaning the car

By no means the most powerful bit of kit but for the price (£80 iirc) and the kit that came with it (small patio brush, washer bottle, brush) it’s perfect for the smaller jobs

Small unit, everything stashed in the actual washer.

[carreauchompeur]

What are peoples thoughts on the uprated rubber hoses available from eBay? Are they a game changer? Standard hose is bloody annoying