Pressure washers.

[Domdom]

Right, I’ve officially given up researching this and I come to the collective for some wisdom.

I need a pressure washer. Couldn’t bring the one I had (nilfisk) with me to Spain. Plus it was getting on a bit.

All the stuff readily available over here is the cheapest consumer grade junk imaginable, brands I’ve never heard of and the ones pushed hardest by the Ferreteria shops are the baby Karcher ones. They aren’t going to cut it for what I need. Pool surround, patio around all sides of the house, bikes, cars and so on. Something like a Karcher will die in a matter of weeks and it will be far too time consuming to get the jobs done.

Now the next problem. Power. It’s pretty bad here, my compressor (3hp motor) causes a big voltage drop when it cuts in, big enough to make my computer UPS beep and think there’s a brownout. My meter drops to 180 volts. It’s a real pain. Single phase 230v only here out in the villages. Max 6kw (25 amp) incoming supply.

Which brands are still made well? I’m seeing Bosch, Karcher, Lavor, Stiga, Kranzle, which look OK to be fair but super expensive. The rest look like rebadges from the far east.

I need it to be 3kw or less and I’m more about flow (litres per minute) than very high pressure. And the strong pumps although I don’t know what’s good and what’s going to fail quickly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bullet2012]

If you do not require heat then would a diesel powered bowser style be better for your requirements. Honda motor with a cat pump, will last for years, I have one similar to this, i appreciate they are not cheap and the one in the link is in the uk not spain

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Craig-SM]

Forget Karcher and Bosch pressure washers aren't much better, both built as disposable tools. I can't comment on Lavor or Stiga.

Kranzle I can comment on and nothing but praise. I have the K10/122 and it's a beast for its compact size, no thrills just performance and fully rebuildable with parts for everything. With your electric supply though you might be better with the K7/122 which doesn't have the same flow rate but it's designed for mobile use so can be used with water tanks and more importantly to you can be run off generators so shouldn't give you any issues. They're very popular with the mobile car valeting guys.

 

[Mick Annick]

I’ve got a Karcher and a Stihl, both work OK but I wouldn’t buy either again; the fittings (lances, hose, couplings, attachments) are poor quality and frustrating to use. My neighbour has a Kranzle and it’s in a different league altogether, that’ll be my next buy.

 

[qwakers]

buy a engine driven one. in your situation there is no comparison. parker power branded ones work well.

 

[Domdom]

If you do not require heat then would a diesel powered bowser style be better for your requirements. Honda motor with a cat pump, will last for years, I have one similar to this, i appreciate they are not cheap and the one in the link is in the uk not spain

Pardon our interruption...

I’d buy that but getting it here would be expensive. 17% import tax and 21% vat

 

[Domdom]

buy a engine driven one. in your situation there is no comparison. parker power branded ones work well.

That’s a good shout. The power here is like 1960’s England.

 

[J1nx]

I’ve an Ava, very good so far but having only done a year I can’t comment further. Wanted a Kranzle and I may yet regret it but at nearly twice the price it just wasn’t to be.
Had a small Makita that did about 15 years before a mate broke it whilst loaned to him, I suspect poor water supply did it in, was faultless if a bit underpowered.

 

[Domdom]

Just looked for Ava on Amazon, nothing.

Honda petrol ones are only available from the UK so import taxes etc.

Non brand petrol ones on Amazon, cheap enough but quite a few 1 star reviews.

See what I mean? All they buy over here is cheap junk. What a mission.

 

[Migmac]

We have a Bosch at work, it’s rubbish. It wouldn’t take the skin off a rice pudding

 

[Smallfry]

Martin Hocking on here repairs them I believe, maybe he can offer some advice and insight ?

For my part, I used to work for a Karcher dealer, and the yellow DIY type stuff that you can pick up with one hand was then rated to last for 8 hours continuous. Anything more was bonus.

They do a grey professional range, which is a lot better. We had them there to clean tractors and plant, and they would last a couple of years with almost constant use. Also had one at my last job which was at least ten years old with quite a lot of use ................ these were all hot models.

When I left the Agri place in 1999, the only thing I really missed was the use of the hot pressure washer, which prompted me to buy my own. That is a Gerni (now Nilfisk) and it is still going strong, but to be fair I don't use it professionally, so it lives a fairly sheltered life, but I have been very happy with it and would but another.

Its a big heavy thing though, and I often only need cold wash (it will do both) so I bought a Karcher professional (grey) cold washer. This has been great too IMO. Apart from the hose. The lance itself is fine, but the hose is that horrid stiff plastic stuff that does not uncoil. Even more so in the winter. I bought a rubber hose in the end and now its all good. I think this one is 1.5kw from memory.

As said though, is electricity is a problem, a petrol powered one would be a better bet, and they can be a lot more powerful for not much more money. I guess you could buy a pump and make one yourself. Would need a PRV though, and I'm not sure how that would work.

 

[Agroshield]

The power here is like 1960’s England.

If you do buy an electric one, put a 16A ceeform plug on it and use a 4mm^2 extension lead wired in as close to the incoming property supply as possible.

 

[Smallfry]

Another thing ......... if the electric supply is like that, might be a good idea to buy a biggish genny ?

 

[Gragson]

buy a engine driven one. in your situation there is no comparison. parker power branded ones work well.

I've a Karcher K2, 15 years, but looked after it and it's been great TBH.
Have a few Parker petrol things and they are ok.

Petrol Pressure Washer - 2830 PSI | ParkerBrand

The ParkerBrand PPPW-3000 pressure washer is calibrated to perform to a high standard, giving you the power to get the finish that you want, with everything gleaming clean. This comes by way of the powerful 6.5-HP (196cc) four-stroke engine that drives

www.parkerbrand.co.uk

Not sure if available in Spain tho...

 

[qwakers]

i checked, put spain in and you get a no service available message in the shipping menu.

what about finding a french or german reseller for a good brand and having it shipped to spain.

 

[Craig-SM]

I've a Karcher K2, 15 years, but looked after it and it's been great TBH.
Have a few Parker petrol things and they are ok.

Petrol Pressure Washer - 2830 PSI | ParkerBrand

The ParkerBrand PPPW-3000 pressure washer is calibrated to perform to a high standard, giving you the power to get the finish that you want, with everything gleaming clean. This comes by way of the powerful 6.5-HP (196cc) four-stroke engine that drives

www.parkerbrand.co.uk

Not sure if available in Spain tho...

I had an old Karcher and it was great was at least a decade old but couldn’t get attachments for it as they’d changed the fitting so gave it to my brother and bought the K4. That lasted a couple of years so replaced with another and that failed just before 2 years but exchanged for another. Just over a year and whilst still working had no real power so ditched it for a Kranzle.
In the run up to ditching the pressure washer I’d had no end of trouble with their window vac, a cordless floor cleaner that was replaced by a corded version that went faulty too but was fixed and is the only Karcher we have now. Not sure if the quality has gone downhill or it’s designed to fail ensuring future sales.

 

[Domdom]

If you do buy an electric one, put a 16A ceeform plug on it and use a 4mm^2 extension lead wired in as close to the incoming property supply as possible.

Another thing ......... if the electric supply is like that, might be a good idea to buy a biggish genny ?

Spanish plugs are 16 amp anyway, and not fused either. But each room has its own breaker unlike the UK. Doesn’t matter how close I get to the incoming supply, we are the last on the line, last house up this lane. I am thinking a petrol machine is the way to go, much as I don’t want to. I still have memories of a strimmer and a lawn mower that used to test my patience every time I wanted to to use them.

 

[Domdom]

Martin Hocking on here repairs them I believe, maybe he can offer some advice and insight ?

When I left the Agri place in 1999,

2 good shouts there, thanks.

Agri places. Loads of them here cos almost everyone has a tractor. I’ll go check some out on Monday.

 

[cheb]

Most of the Karchers I hooked out of skips just needed a capacitor if they needed anything.

Domdom, could a powerwall or similar be helpful in boosting the available amperage for short periods?

 

[Domdom]

Found this on Amazon. Like that it has a Honda engine as a Honda was about the only lawn mower I ever had that started reliably. Don’t like the short PVC hose, but that can be changed easily enough.

Does the pump look OK? I don’t know much about the pumps except that Interpump are very good.

Jetwash

Most of the Karchers I hooked out of skips just needed a capacitor if they needed anything.

Domdom, could a powerwall or similar be helpful in boosting the available amperage for short periods?

Now then Mr Cheb. It maybe could. I don’t think it needs to be huge either, just something to smooth the voltage drop at startup. Battery systems and solar are common over here. I’ll have a sniff round for something cos it will help with other stuff like the compressor.

The power is bad though, the lights noticeably dim briefly when the washing machine is started.