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Replies

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  Richard@www.seasons-garden.co.uk December 4, 2009 at 10:09am

  Hi Steve
  Karcher products are good. I bought a 120bar washer (from Screwfix I think) a couple of years back and it does the job.
  A lot of people buy the most powerful machine they can but as you probably know, the force of the water coming out causes damage to whatever you're cleaning. If you're not careful, pointing on patios is blown out and loosened, the surface of stone & slabs is taken off, wooden decking can be shredded, not to mention damage to vehicles if you spray too closely to paintwork.
  I often see hardlandscaping which has been mullered by frequent jet washing. Sometimes a hosepipe, stiff broom and Jeyes fluid does the job perfectly well.
  Prior to this I had a B&Q and Halfords own brand washers (both given to me) these both packed up so wouldn't recommend them.
  Allow for a good set of waterproofs & wellies plus goggles and don't forget an extension lead with an RCD breaker!
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  Kieran Ray December 4, 2009 at 11:28am

  Id go for Karcher too, I have a cheap Titan thing from screwfix atm Its good enought to do the job but can be a bit tempremental if used for too long, IM going to get a karcher soon.
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  Geoff Norfolk December 4, 2009 at 12:27pm

  Yes, Karcher are good but they've got quite a range and if you're going to be using it regularly, you'll really need an industrial quality one that'll set you back 4-£500. I bought mine, an HD640S, about 6 years ago and its never let me down. The industrial ones apparently use a lot more brass components including the cylinder head which makes it a lot tougher.
  The thing to remember is that although you need pressure, you also need a good volume of water coming through at that pressure or you'll be there forever........ bit like inflating a car tyre with one of those little electric inflators, they claim they reach 150psi but they forget to tell you how long it will take to get there!
  Whilst the high pressure can damage some surfaces, if you just move the lance further away, I find its ok. If someones got slightly suspect pointing between slabs, its probably best to either give the job a miss or at least warn the customer what might happen so you don,t get billed for the damage!!
  A great accessory is a nozzle...... think it was called a dirtblaster or something like that..... basically it concentrates all the force of a pencil jet and spins it in a circular motion....... increases the power and speed of the operation immensly even though it does cost about £80 but well worth it.
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  Anthony Toop December 4, 2009 at 5:31pm

  I have a Nilfisk, as far as im aware they have been making pressure washers longer than Karcher, are just as good if not better performance wise and comparable models are normally slightly cheaper.
  
  As Pro Gard said an electric model may not look particulary professional but then most people realise how wet and messy the job can be and would much rather pay you/me to do the work than buy their own one and have to do it themselves!
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  Geoff Norfolk December 4, 2009 at 6:06pm

  Well said!! I think thats the case with a lot of gardening work...... the customer "could" do it but really doesn't want to ...... they really don't care what machine you use as long as the end result is ok and they don't have to do it themselves!
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  Classic Gardens December 4, 2009 at 6:29pm

  I have the Pressure Washer RE128 never had any problems with it. I find now that customers in my area tend to buy the cheap Karcher ones from B&Q and tend to do it themselves.
  
  I also find that alot of the chemical cleaners out there do just as good a job as most powerwashers it takes half the the time and i charge as i would power washing.
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  Franne Ravensbergen April 23, 2014 at 9:35pm

  Hi,
  we use the home use Karchers regularly to do whole days pressurewashing, but in the last 2 years have been going through 4 or 5 of them. They normally pack up in the middle of the job and just outside the 1 year warranty period.
  Are there any other good professional brands out there apart from Karcher that anyone has experience with? Has anyone bought or used a Stihl one perhaps?
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  MJC Garden Services April 23, 2014 at 11:04pm

  ive heard good things about sealy
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  Kieran Ray April 23, 2014 at 11:34pm

  Kranzle is what you want.

  http://kranzle.co.uk/UK/machines/593-7-122-with-dirtkiller.html
• PRO

  Luke brooks April 23, 2014 at 11:53pm

  Karcher are well priced, you need the water cooled ones, go on ideal world shopping channel
  They do some amazing deals on the live shows
  Derek belcher who brings the product deals to the show sold tens of thousands on one Easter weekend a few years ago, the accessories are all good
  As Geoff Norfolk said the dirt blaster has à ball bearing that rotates the water and increase dirt removal by 50 %
  The vario lance is good for paintwork and softer surfaces and I got a deck brush soft car brush extension lances and detergents all for about 300 quid
  Had it two years and still going strong