Best Pressure Washer ?

andrew1977

Hi Folks

Looking to buy a pressure washer for cleaning the car.

Karcher, Nilfisk etc,which one to go for please ? Any recommendations ?

Budget max the 300 euro mark, prefer to spend the cash up front on a decent one than a cheaper model which might cause me more hassle in the long rung.

Looking at them online in Argos, woodies,halfords etc...Anyone point me in the right direction of which one to buy and would it be 150 bar + pressure to ensure it does a good job ?

Thanks for your help.

working fool

Bosch do a really good one

colm_mcm

At that price level I'd have nikfisk over karcher. The likes of amazon have great deals on them. Argos sometimes reduce them too.

(On looking, Argos only seem to do one nilfisk model now)

deandean

You don't need to spend 300 on a pressure washer for your car.
There is a kacher k3-200 on offer at woodies for 190 I have 1 of those I am very happy with it. You should also buy a proper foam lance from detailing shed or carclean.ie

Bigcheeze

andrew1977 wrote: »

.Anyone point me in the right direction of which one to buy and would it be 150 bar + pressure to ensure it does a good job ?

Good job of removing the paint from your car?

You're meant to remove the dirt with a soft brush or sponge, not blast it off with water pressure.

Payton

I got one from Lidl 3 years ago and still going strong it cost roughly €100 and has all the attachments. Its has great pressure plus a 3 year warranty. They should be coming back in stock soon.

eddiem74

Nilfisk C110 generally recommended as a very good starter option, just got one myself.

Jack breen

Bigcheeze wrote: »

Good job of removing the paint from your car?

You're meant to remove the dirt with a soft brush or sponge, not blast it off with water pressure.

Unless its 3000psi your not going to strip the paint off.

OP buy a Nilfisk they are a supreme washer over the Karcher.

newmug

I must be doing something wrong! I've tried all them "power" washers, and I might aswell be trying to clean my car by spitting at it! The only thing that even came close to giving it a proper wash was a 2000 PSI Honda my neighbour had. And even at that, I still had to scrub certain parts with a brush!

rebel.ranter

I have a Karcher for the last 10 years, pretty good. I know Nilfisk have a great reputation too. At the moment Woodies have a great deal on a Karcher K575. They have packaged up this model with €119 worth of Karcher extras like the foot path cleaner, all in it was €249.
It's definitely worth investing in a proper Snow Foam attachment too. I got the Karcher one but it is not brilliant, the ~€50 ones from the likes of detailingshed.com are getting good reviews over on BMW-driver.net. They are adjustable &produce a good foam which helps soften & loosen the heavy dirt that accumulates on the car at this time of the year.

andrew1977

Thanks to you all so far for your opinions and help

Anyone got a link please to the Nilfisk ones i should be looking at in particular , so i can start shopping round for price comparisons.

I find a lot of Nilfisk ones on Amazon, anyone care to recommend me one please:) (i am clueless at this )

demanufactured

newmug wrote: »

I must be doing something wrong! I've tried all them "power" washers, and I might aswell be trying to clean my car by spitting at it! The only thing that even came close to giving it a proper wash was a 2000 PSI Honda my neighbour had. And even at that, I still had to scrub certain parts with a brush!

Uhh that's what your supossed to do.

eringobragh

andrew1977 wrote: »

Thanks to you all so far for your opinions and help

Anyone got a link please to the Nilfisk ones i should be looking at in particular , so i can start shopping round for price comparisons.

I find a lot of Nilfisk ones on Amazon, anyone care to recommend me one please:) (i am clueless at this )

This:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nilfisk-X-Tra-Pressure-Washer-Cleaner/dp/B001TUYV1O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356785856&sr=8-1

very good and used mine dozens of times.

sean1141

Get a small tidy one. No need for one with high pressure if your only using it for the car. I would only use a pressure washer on the sills and wheels/arches on a car. Maybe the mist spray on the body work if its really dirty/muddy.

You will never get them fully clean with just a washer anyway. You will need a wash mitt etc to get it really clean.

Only thing i would look for is a long pipe from the washer to the lance. Saves having to drag the washer around the car

TGi666

id go with a cheap Karcher from argos and get there 3 year warranty and use some of the left over money for a snow foam attachment from the likes of cleancar etc

Kenny Logins

Halfords have their entry-level one for €50 now, down from €99.

kirving

newmug wrote: »

I must be doing something wrong! I've tried all them "power" washers, and I might aswell be trying to clean my car by spitting at it! The only thing that even came close to giving it a proper wash was a 2000 PSI Honda my neighbour had. And even at that, I still had to scrub certain parts with a brush!

Is your water press ure very low anyway? I've found that I can't use it with the 25m garden hose rolled up (curved pipe introduces much higher pressure losses due to friction), and that the pump just ends up going in pulses.

2000 PSI is aobut 135 Bar, so about average for a pressure washer I think. The big difference between them would be flow rate, and then lance head design. The one I have uses a single point, which spins in a circle very fast which allows maximum pressure at each point on the spray but only for a small amount of time.

I have one which I got in LIDL Tallaght, as Woodies were out of them at the time, and it rips up mortar between brickwork and takes a layer off the concrete driveway very easily so I keep the lance 3-5 feet away when rinsing the car. I'd recommend it since it was below €150, comes with a various different heads, and has a long-ish HP hose. The best part is though, noone ever calls around offering to powerwash the driveway since it's already clean!

If a part breaks however, a Karcher or other model may be easier to find replacements for, and there's going to be more accessories if you're into that.

NIMAN

I bought a basic Nilfisk from Amazon for £50 last year and its excellent.

Got free delivery to NI, and it came with that round headed patio cleaner too.

A bargain.

newmug

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Is your water press ure very low anyway? I've found that I can't use it with the 25m garden hose rolled up (curved pipe introduces much higher pressure losses due to friction), and that the pump just ends up going in pulses.

2000 PSI is aobut 135 Bar, so about average for a pressure washer I think. The big difference between them would be flow rate, and then lance head design. The one I have uses a single point, which spins in a circle very fast which allows maximum pressure at each point on the spray but only for a small amount of time.

I have one which I got in LIDL Tallaght, as Woodies were out of them at the time, and it rips up mortar between brickwork and takes a layer off the concrete driveway very easily so I keep the lance 3-5 feet away when rinsing the car. I'd recommend it since it was below €150, comes with a various different heads, and has a long-ish HP hose. The best part is though, noone ever calls around offering to powerwash the driveway since it's already clean!

If a part breaks however, a Karcher or other model may be easier to find replacements for, and there's going to be more accessories if you're into that.

No you dont understand. I'm talking about one of these babies:



20 litres/min. You need a tank or a barrell of water to supply it, not a hose to the mains.

eringobragh

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Halfords have their entry-level one for €50 now, down from €99.

because its shite...read the reviews...

the nilfiskc110 can be got for just a little more money

Pottler

Just to chuck in a contrarian opinion, but for me the best pressure washer for cleaning your car is one you use at the Service station for about ten minutes and pay a few euros for the privlege. That's coming from someone who has diesel washers, petrol washers and has set up truck washing rigs for haulage yards.

Reasons why, no messing with hoses, water, dirty driveway, soaked paths and grass, no minding and storing a pressure washer, chemicals, hoses and lances, and if you're really lucky, someone else will do the washing for you.:)

RandomAccess

Pottler wrote: »

Just to chuck in a contrarian opinion, but for me the best pressure washer for cleaning your car is one you use at the Service station for about ten minutes and pay a few euros for the privlege. That's coming from someone who has diesel washers, petrol washers and has set up truck washing rigs for haulage yards.

Reasons why, no messing with hoses, water, dirty driveway, soaked paths and grass, no minding and storing a pressure washer, chemicals, hoses and lances, and if you're really lucky, someone else will do the washing for you.:)

I used to do that, but it can be hard to find a good wash as some are expensive or very short and others have very poor pressure.

RandomAccess

Bigcheeze wrote: »

You're meant to remove the dirt with a soft brush or sponge, not blast it off with water pressure.

You would be better off pressure washing off the loose dirt instead of rubbing it along the paint with a brush or sponge. I pressure wash the loose dirt off and then use a wash mitt to remove the oily grime that clings to the surface.

JohnBoy26

newmug wrote: »

No you dont understand. I'm talking about one of these babies:



20 litres/min. You need a tank or a barrell of water to supply it, not a hose to the mains.

Tbh one of those would is way too powerful to wash a car. You could end up damaging the paint and you could also put ripples all over the bodywork.

Pottler

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Tbh one of those would is way too powerful to wash a car. You could end up damaging the paint and you could also put ripples all over the bodywork.

Only on a Daewoo.

newmug

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Tbh one of those would is way too powerful to wash a car. You could end up damaging the paint and you could also put ripples all over the bodywork.

I washed my yoke loads of times with one of those! Never any problems!

Supergurrier

The whole point of a powerwasher in terms of washing a car isn't to blash off all the dirt its to rinse and use to apply an emulsifying agent. Blasting off dirt is not a good thing in fairness and an open hose will always give a better rinse regardless

sean1141

www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7420023/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/3%7Ccat_19285823%7CPressure+washers%7C14418805.htm

Thats the washer i have. Its plenty good for washing the wheels, arches and sills plus its not to powerfull to use on the bodywork if need be.

franktheplank

+1 for the Nilfisk C110 picked one up from Amazon last year and it's excellent, can't remember what i paid but i think they've gone up a small bit in price, well worth it though.

I'd still be wary of using a pressure washer on a car though, I've used the Nilfisk to take paint from walls and it does a pretty decent job of that!

franktheplank

Actually I've just found the old invoice and the Nilfisk C110 was £45 now £65 so a big jump, any else find amazon tool prices going up, bought a belt sander a while back and when i went to find a replacement its gone from £38 to £48, are they just bumping prices around Christmas time?

andrew1977

Thanks to all for the replies, advice and tips .

I think i will go with the Nilfisk C100 recommendation.
Looking at it on Amazon, its 50 quid sterling , but wont be dispatched for maybe 3-4 weeks which seems a bit of a long time.

I found this on Argos and it looks the same ?
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7420188/Trail/searchtext%3ENILFISK.htm

Presume this is the same one ? Go for this one in Argos ?
Edit : looks like its out of stock in Argos in any place close to me.
What else do i need to get ? Recommend me any extras i should buy ?
Cheapest place to get a hose etc ?

Thanks again for all your help, really appreciate it.

colm_mcm

andrew1977 wrote: »

Thanks to all for the replies, advice and tips .

I think i will go with the Nilfisk C100 recommendation.
Looking at it on Amazon, its 50 quid sterling , but wont be dispatched for maybe 3-4 weeks which seems a bit of a long time.

I found this on Argos and it looks the same ?
http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/7420188/Trail/searchtext%3ENILFISK.htm

Presume this is the same one ? Go for this one in Argos ?
Edit : looks like its out of stock in Argos in any place close to me.
What else do i need to get ? Recommend me any extras i should buy ?
Cheapest place to get a hose etc ?

Thanks again for all your help, really appreciate it.

I have that one, the patio cleaner is very handy.

I just use a regular hozelok reel hose. These can be pricey so shop around. Get one that's reinforced or it'll kink all the time.