Pressure cleaners: what should I buy?

[pitrack_1]

G’day all,

Since you’re all such helpful guys I thought I’d post for your advice . There was a thread started by Jonno a few years back on this topic but perhaps it’s time for an update.

I’m looking for a pressure washer for around the home- I see only a few small, infrequent uses to begin with- cleaning mould/moss off a small paved area, mould/dirt off the carport frame, degrease engines (and bits), etc. But I suspect that list could grow and may occasionally be large (clean the house exterior for example).

I’ve looked at the two main brands I can find (Gerni and Kärcher) and even there the choice is confusing. And most of them are labelled ‘light duty’ (which usually means hopeless in my book)

Probably the features I most need, in descending order are:
- Good quality mechanics- metal would no doubt be preferable? Plastic may not rust, but it breaks/warps/melts/etc
- Adjustable nozzle pattern and/or pressure.
- An attachment or two- patio cleaner in particular seems handy for me
- Portable (wheels) with small footprint (ie upright)
- Warranty and backup!
- Bucket input pipe/hose (included, not extra)
- Detergent input, preferably tank
- Water sand blaster attachment drain cleaner (Gerni)

There are some deals searching around Super Cheap Auto, Autopro, Bunnings, Magnet Mart, Masters and the like.

The main models I’m considering are
- Kärcher 2.180, 2.360 ($249@SCA), 2.350 ($199@Magnet Mart) and 3.160 ($399@SCA, Magnetmart)
- Gerni 110.2, 120.PAD (w/ patio cleaner, drain cleaner, foam sprayer- $374 delivered@justtools), 130.2S (w/ patio cleaner, $399@SCA).

I like the Gerni 120.PAD set, but does it have a variable nozzle (I assume the Kärchers do)? Also does the Kärcher dirt blaster help, is there a Gerni equivalent?

What do you guys think and recommend?

Thanks,

Patrick.

[steptoe]

I was host to a 4. series Karcher recently and was surprised it did not seem to blast away much more than my redback petrol powered baby on moss laden pavers - think my memory may be shot too ?? . I forgot I used to use similar 4 series mit turbo blaster nozzle - worth the extra money Karcher want, for this nozzle accessory - acid washing bricks on new houses - you know, plastic pants, jacket bumgoots, goggles

Petrol is good so not have to mix electrickery and water at same place though.

Bunnings have a funny marketing strategy with the Ryobi units, one electric, one petrol - by keeping them in the mower, whipper snipper aisle. Rcently coz they were slow to move or no rave review the 219$ electric was dropped to 172$ featured 8m of hose , one low pressure, one high pressure both going to trigger, no hose reel, 1800 psi, 1800W and euro style click in jets of varying fan widths. Compared on OS ebay see them for 250 pounds up to 1149 pounds after the 40% discount if you believe !!

Overheard the obviously experienced sales dude saying they (or using the ownership sales technique - he ) had fewer waranty returns with the gurni than karcher

[thunder039]

we have a petrol pressure cleaner from SCA which is 2.6hp i believe and its the best thing ever! runs on a sniff of petrol, and there is one less cord due to not needing a power point. has four different nozzles for jet stream adjustment so there is little chance of causing damage

if you can spend the money get one, i will never go back to a electricity one now, tried a few brands and nothing can compete with this just due to power and ease of set up.

[dfoyl]

+1 on this. The need to have 3 cables running around is a pain (power+water supply+hose). I'd love to get one that is back-pack style so I can carry it around and have 2 hands-free. I've borrowed a mains-powered one recently to do my tiled patio area and it cleans off the grime but doesn't really get the tiles very "clean".

[steptoe]

you may need acid or some sort of white vinegar application to get real clean. BHG's Rob Palmer showed how easy white vingar cleans up moss off pavers though suspect some trick photography, time delay and industrial cleaning we didn't see got the job done. Think white vinegar in water helps keep clean by knocking out slight moss growth before it builds up to too much

[TOONGA]

I got told just recently that the nylon immpeller in the Karcher, doesn't like our hard Australian water and are generally useless after 12 months of use.

Having used Karchers while i was working up north I have to say the fittings were crap and it wasn't until I found an extension hose (from karcher) and made my own fitting from a broken hose (not even 6 months old) that the karcher I had worked properly.

TOONGA

Most companies or private contractors Ive seen use a petrol engined pressure washer.

TOONGA

[Green_eyed_liberty]

our antique Karcher finally packed it in. so we replaced it with a petrol one.. and WOW so much more pressure. and the beauty of it is, if you dont need the high pressure, you idle down the motor

[Subyroo]

I have the Karcher K2.300 T50 high Pressure Cleaner kit that I bought from Bunnings.

The Deck scrubber is good for cleaning the black mildew/mould off my concrete driveway and side path, for anything else I use the rotary nozzle "dirt blaster" and adjust the distance to the object accordingly. I wash my house with the Karcher and dirt blaster nozzle, no problems - just don't get too close to painted surfaces or it will strip the paint off.

The main thing to remember with the cheaper Karchers is that if you leave your hose (water supply) lying in the sun unused for any length of time, you need to disconnect it from the pump and let it run until it is cool - cold, otherwise you will warp the impeller.
I have never heard about the hard water problem before and my first Karcher lasted at least 10+ years, I handed it down to my son-in-law and we bought him the same kit as mine in 2010 for Christmas before we retired the my original Karcher.

I have a Gerni 110 sitting here in the cupboard, it is the most useless POS I have ever owned in pressure washers, mind you I have only ever owned 3 and that includes the POS Gerni . My original Karcher ran rings around it hence my buying the Karcher K2.300.
The rotary nozzle on the Gerni 110 was the biggest failure of the Gerni Kit along with their detergent spray attachment, I even had the Qld Sales Mgr visit me when I made a complaint about the POS Gerni, he had no answer as to why my old Karcher out did his u-beaut brass pump Gerni with rotary nozzle.

[pitrack_1]

Firstly, thanks to all for your advice and comments. Much appreciated by this pressure cleaner newbie! The 2 basic ideas I've got are that
- Käarcher vs Gerni is a bit of a matter of preference and experience
- a petrol unit is a good option, more convenient and higher pressure.

I bought a Kärcher 2.350 (electric) w/ T50 patio cleaner from Magnetmart this afternoon. Basically the same as Subyroo's 2.300, just a different retailer (I checked with Kärcher). Assembled it and turned it on tonight, will let you know how it goes tomorrow cleaning my patio. One 'issue' already, which I'm assuming is the overpressure bypass valve- whilst test spraying, the unit lost pressure and the motor went up a couple of notes, like it was free spinning.

As for a petrol unit as recommended by several- thanks, the info is stored for future reference. If my usage increases (I can think of a couple of items and have a feeling I'll find more in due course) I could be getting that petrol unit yet.

[steptoe]

petrols have a drawback in that the power generating emissions are a little closer to home with choices of 2 stroke at the lower price end and maybe only five metres away instead of 100's of km you choke a bit , esp under your patio !

[pitrack_1]

Ok, here's what I think after using my new Kärcher 2.350 in anger on my weathered ~16m2 timber patio.

- Generally easy to use and setup although due to the locking rings, attaching some of the implements for the first time is an intelligence test which I barely passed. The manuals so terse it’s not really much help here.
- Made in China and looks it. Cheap plastic connectors e.g. for hose. I dare say made down to a price.
- Nice and small and portable with reasonable power, however already if I was doing a patio, or any other larger item regularly I’d get a bigger/more powerful one.
- The unit smells of hot oil whilst working.

Patio
I used it with the T50 patio cleaner on Friday on our weathered patio during cleaning before-oiling the patio deck.. The timbers were variously in good repair with a varnish-type layer on top (OK in the shade and under covers) through to grey weathered timber. The T50 will scrub/clean nicely but not strip the surface layers (e.g. the varnish). This may/may not change with a more powerful unit. Also, the circular T50 unit won't get into the corners. However the pressure clean head would- I inadvertently took some paint off with it too.

Mossy Concrete
Today I cleaned off 3 years’ worth of moss from a 2-3 square metres of concrete. I only used the standard head, not the ‘Dirtblaster’. Again, a bigger+ more powerful unit would have helped reduce the time taken.

Mower deck underside
Cleaned the mower- it gets rid of the grass build-up but not the tenacious ‘baked-on’ layer- by the time the head is close enough to do that the paint will be stripped too. Dirtblaster not used.

Lessons learnt
1) If I buy another one, I will get a more powerful one. But unless adjustable, I worry that a more powerful one with the T50 patio cleaner may end up stripping rather than just scrubbing.
2) Already suspecting I want a drain cleaner and sand blaster- they come with the Gerni 210.2 PAD kits
3) Electric cable is just your standard thin wires- no real protection against damage or water. Given it could easily be accidentally pressure sprayed, i think this is dangerous.
4) Already limited by the 5m hose. Get one with a longer hose (should have got the Bunnings 2.300 with 6m)
5) All orifices need to be covered. They talk about frost protection, which is not really a worry for most of Oz (except Canberra and highlands). However the attachment pipe orifices will be absolute insect/wasp magnets. They need to be protected or parts will be damaged/clogged.
6) An extension pole saves the back. Gives an approx 1.5m length lance. Worth getting- mine came with the T50 Patio cleaner.
7) The twist-n-click joins rotate the cleaning head by 90 degrees. So if you put an extension pole on, the head pattern is rotated 90 degrees to what you intended, causing you to rotate your hand 90 degrees as well- uncomfortable.

For/against an electric unit
For
1) Doesn’t need to run continuously- switches on/off on demand
2) No local emissions or fuel required
3) Not too noisy. Could use at night without too much disturbance
4) Lighter, smaller, easily carried
Against
1) Petrol units probably more powerful
2) Petrol units adjustable through throttle?
3) Electric requires power (not truly portable)
4) Cables everywhere, hard to separate and easily tangled, damaged
5) Water and electricity are not a good mix.

[steptoe]

Pretty good review

Feel better that you did not have to share burnt 2 stroke fumes while working. Petrol unit is generally governed but not t throttle for you to adjust to suit.

I think I have resorted to a wind or two of electrical tape to improve water proofness of power lead connection and sit it on a chair of some sort away from possible puddling.

Mower underdeck cleaning was a ripper with the biggest Karcher I had for a while 4.360 ?

[Subyroo]

Ok, here's what I think after using my new Kärcher 2.350 in anger on my weathered ~16m2 timber patio.

- Generally easy to use and setup although due to the locking rings, attaching some of the implements for the first time is an intelligence test which I barely passed. The manuals so terse it’s not really much help here.
- Made in China and looks it. Cheap plastic connectors e.g. for hose. I dare say made down to a price.
- Nice and small and portable with reasonable power, however already if I was doing a patio, or any other larger item regularly I’d get a bigger/more powerful one.
- The unit smells of hot oil whilst working.

Patio

I used it with the T50 patio cleaner on Friday on our weathered patio during cleaning before-oiling the patio deck.. The timbers were variously in good repair with a varnish-type layer on top (OK in the shade and under covers) through to grey weathered timber. The T50 will scrub/clean nicely but not strip the surface layers (e.g. the varnish). This may/may not change with a more powerful unit. Also, the circular T50 unit won't get into the corners. However the pressure clean head would- I inadvertently took some paint off with it too. - Wet the deck down with clean water first then mix of 1/3 kg Napisan & hotwater (well dissolved), use a watering can to spread the mix around and give a light scrub with a deck scrubber (el cheapo from Bunnnings) leave it for 1/2 hr and then remove with the dirt blaster.

Mossy Concrete

Today I cleaned off 3 years’ worth of moss from a 2-3 square metres of concrete. I only used the standard head, not the ‘Dirtblaster’. Again, a bigger+ more powerful unit would have helped reduce the time taken. - I use the deck scrubber on my concrete paths and driveway, much quicker, sometimes the dirt blaster for stubborn spots.

Mower deck underside

Cleaned the mower- it gets rid of the grass build-up but not the tenacious ‘baked-on’ layer- by the time the head is close enough to do that the paint will be stripped too. Dirtblaster not used. - did you try and soak (use wet bags) the baked on layer overnight first?

Lessons learnt

1) If I buy another one, I will get a more powerful one. But unless adjustable, I worry that a more powerful one with the T50 patio cleaner may end up stripping rather than just scrubbing. - the patio cleaner will not strip the oil or varnish from a deck, well not in my experience anyway.

2) Already suspecting I want a drain cleaner and sand blaster- they come with the Gerni 210.2 PAD kits

3) Electric cable is just your standard thin wires- no real protection against damage or water. Given it could easily be accidentally pressure sprayed, i think this is dangerous. - I always keep the unit behind me and I use a one of those covers that holds plugs together so they don't come unplugged.

4) Already limited by the 5m hose. Get one with a longer hose (should have got the Bunnings 2.300 with 6m) - Bunnings have a 10m hose sold separately $??

5) All orifices need to be covered. They talk about frost protection, which is not really a worry for most of Oz (except Canberra and highlands). However the attachment pipe orifices will be absolute insect/wasp magnets. They need to be protected or parts will be damaged/clogged.

6) An extension pole saves the back. Gives an approx 1.5m length lance. Worth getting- mine came with the T50 Patio cleaner.

7) The twist-n-click joins rotate the cleaning head by 90 degrees. So if you put an extension pole on, the head pattern is rotated 90 degrees to what you intended, causing you to rotate your hand 90 degrees as well- uncomfortable.

For/against an electric unit

For

1) Doesn’t need to run continuously- switches on/off on demand

2) No local emissions or fuel required

3) Not too noisy. Could use at night without too much disturbance

4) Lighter, smaller, easily carried

Against

1) Petrol units probably more powerful

2) Petrol units adjustable through throttle?

3) Electric requires power (not truly portable)

4) Cables everywhere, hard to separate and easily tangled, damaged

5) Water and electricity are not a good mix.

Try some of the suggestions in RED.

[steptoe]

Now, we need a volunteer to buy ALDIs sub $100 pressure washer.
Keep diluted white vinegar up to the pavers to keep the moss at bay - I think

[pitrack_1]

Thanks guys for all the advice, esp. Jonno and Peter for the hints. Much appreciated.

I've finished the patio and will keep the tips in mind for next time. I've heard that bleach works well on the concrete to prevent the moss coming back. I'll try soaking the baked on grass layer on the mower. Probably try some carwash detergent on it too.

Yep, I'm putting the eletric cable up out of the way where possible and keeping the unit behind me.

Just for interest's sake, attached is a gratuitous image of moss blasting. Note I think I've been diddled slightly by minor package variations and only have the jet blaster rather than the vario jet blaster. Oh well, still have the dirt blaster to try.

How do people go with degreasing? Spray with canned degreaser then pressure wash off, or use a degreaser detergent in the pressure washer detergent input?

Patrick.

[steptoe]

You missed a bit, just a little to your left

SCA export degreaser straight out of the can onto the grot. That detergent input idea may be good just for mild detergent say for car wash , and even that crystalises up in time...likely to cause problems not covered by warranty

[Battlewagon]

I'm lucky enough to be able to borrow my works honda 4-stroke powered spitwater pressure cleaner.
It'll spray gently enough to clean old fibreglass flyscreens without harming them, but when the motor is cranked up, it'll strip paint with ease.
It does have one small issue, the knuckleheads at work have buggered the detergent injector system, and it will no longer feed. (screwed it in too hard and busted off the end of the needle).
When it did, it was the most effective way I've ever seen to absolutely cover everything in sight with detergent foam.

[pitrack_1]

Mine just has a small hose input for the detergent- you are meant to use your own bottle. I guess I should just run the detergent system with a bottle of water to clean it out before shut-off.

And almost the first thing I did was create as big a fog spray as possible to wet my deck area for preparatory washing and I too discovered how quickly and evenly the cleaner wets large areas.

Anyone tried bubble bath?

[Subyroo]

How do people go with degreasing? Spray with canned degreaser then pressure wash off, or use a degreaser detergent in the pressure washer detergent input?

Patrick.

I take it you want to degrease your engine, I don't put it anywhere near the engine/electrics on my Forester.

[pitrack_1]

I take it you want to degrease your engine, I don't put it anywhere near the engine/electrics on my Forester.

I see I have been unclear! Two cases I can think of now

1) Degrease engine. Done previously with spray degreaser, brush, time and hose. Yes have to avoid electrics. Can a pressure washer help in this case without waterlogging/damaging electrics.
2) Degrease e.g. a concrete driveway. I own one Australian-derived vehicle which of course mandates oil drips.