power washer advice please

[Stewart]

I actually went down the cheaper B&Q route and its six years old. Name means nothing as I don’t think B&Q sell them but it was a Mac washer. The trigger sticks on sometimes but that’s it. At 110 Bar it is strong enough for me.

Because of the fitment with my foam lance if it does grind to a halt then it’s a Bosch as they share the same fitment.

You don’t want a big heavy lump anyway so your probably looking at the smaller washers. Like most things there is good and bad reviews for every make. If you want the foam lance I’d make sure there was a fitment for it.

Karcher, Nilfisk, Bosch will take a foam lance with the right fitment.



The guys selling the Foam lances usually know what fitment is needed for example a Halfords HP2800 pressure washer needs the 'Kranzle' adaptor. As for power I think anything over 110 Bar is fine but I’d not want to go too far above that if you ask me. For home use around 120 bar I think would be fine.

I have the older Model of this...
autobrite-heavy-duty-foam-lance-various-connectors.html

[MINIme:)]

thanks Stew, this is just the kinda info I need to help me sift through the 300 different karcher (or whatever) models that are out there... I hit overwhelm just looking at tesco direct!

[RobSco]

What about this Joanna... ... Might be the same as Euan bought and with a 3 year Manufacturers Warranty you can't go wrong, also has a 6m hose where most Karchers have a 4m hose and has 150 bar pressure...

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/l...ndex_31383.htm

On Sale at your nearest Lidl from the 28th May

[euan]

Arg, who posted Lidl...I'm now off to go and buy a blooming popcorn maker (and paprika crisps...)!

[ELFMAN]

Thanks Euan and Euan. I don't know what spec to look for mr elf - can you tell me what power etc etc etc I should be looking out for

JUST NOTICED THE 'LIDL' POST AFTER I POSTED THIS, IT'S THE SAME ONE I BOUGHT! CHECK THE SPEC BELOW...

Joanna, I'll be honest with you - better to ask some of the guys like Craig or Ian King who know a LOT more about this than me. At the time, one of my chums who has used these a lot for works vans, cars and garden stuff actually flagged it up when he spotted it at Lidl, and reckoned it was a good punt. Sadly, as I said, it was a 'Lidl Special', so not available at the moment. I won't use mine as 'seriously' (ie as often) as some of our chums, so I reckon it will do everything I need. Now I've said that, it'll blow itself (and me) to bits the next time I use it... but it has a 3 year warranty, which is the same as a MINI.

(I think) mine is branded 'Parkway', which means nothing, but the specification was the equivalent of many of the more expensive 'recognised' brands, and has all the 'TUV' marks etc. It's manufactured by somebody else (rumours abound as to who), but rebranded and sold by Lidl.

found the spec: The ones you'll see at the sort of price of my Lidl one (£80 - £90) are less powerful, have a lower flow rate and don't have some of the features below, but you might not need that anyway.

* Max. pressure (bar): 150
* Flow rate (l/h): 450
* Standard hose connection point
* Built-in detergent tank, capacity (L): 1.5
* Includes a range of accessories:
- Lance with variable nozzle
- Lance with turbo dirt blaster
- Rotary washing brush
- Long 6m high-pressure hose
- Built-in hose reel
* - 500ml bottle of detergent
* With integrated accessories holder
* With wheels for easy manoeuvrability
* Mains cable length (m): 5
* Powerful 2100 watt motor
* 3 year manufacturer's warranty

I'm quite interested in this 'Foam Lance' thing though - mine just puts out a soapy mixture, rather than Frothy Loveliness... More info please!

[Craig]

That looks like a great spec for the price. I've given Joanna some advice on what to buy, it's all down to your budget tbh.

As for the foam lance, you can get them from any of the online car cleaning retailers (Polished Bliss, Elite Car Care, Clean your Car etc etc). I bought an Auto-Brite one about 2 years ago. It needs a service but I just haven't had the chance (or balls) to strip it down. Best foam for me is Magifoam made by autobrite but I currently use Actimousse XLS by Autosmart due to the amount I use but it comes out as more like thick milk. Doesn't "look" as good but cleans very very well and from my experience doesn't strip wax

[euan]

Craig, I'm still working through my big vat of Megs stuff, last for ages that stuff!

My PB one leaks a bit, just needs a tighten but I've never worked out where the leak is, again it's about 2 years old though.

[MINIme:)]

Arg, who posted Lidl...I'm now off to go and buy a blooming popcorn maker (and paprika crisps...)!

I have a hot air popcorn maker, it's ace. No oil all healthy goodness

That looks like a great spec for the price. I've given Joanna some advice on what to buy, it's all down to your budget tbh.

Did you? I didn't think you had yet, I thought it was a pending query once I got nearer to buying. Honestly my head is so crammed just now I can't fit anything in and what's there is crushed to uselessI'm sorry! Would love to hear your thoughts on the actual spec to skim adverts for - pressure, flow rate, power, essential accessories for this use etc - if you didn't mind? You said tesco was worth watching and man are there a lot of karcher models on there! I would never have thought to look there!

[Craig]

Yeah you asked a few weeks ago.

110 bar min
Flow rate? - never ever bothered about it
Power - anywhere from 1700w and above will be fine for your use.

Make - its really all about what "you" want. I've not liked the cheaper karchers as they lasted me less than 2 years every time. Bosch and Nilfisk are both good names

[MINIme:)]

perfect thank you!!