Jet Washers

[Argus]

Planning ahead for next year….. I live in mid Wales and around here we are the main source for mosses of all kinds. We make the stuff. It sticks to anything.

I’m going to be sourcing – i.e. buying - a larger replacement for an aging and rather small jet-washer. (Hiring stuff like that is out of the question in this part of the world).

There’s a large surface area on both the house and outbuildings to cover and I was thinking initially of something with a bit of welly. The little one is OK, but not built for this environment.

Most of the available options are makes that I’ve never heard of, .......or K’archer. Some of the K’archer ones that I’ve seen appear to me to be a bit light-weight and apparently their back-up is cumbersome, to put it politely.

I should stress that power and water (that’s something else that we make here - water) are not a problem and it’s all on the flat – no steps. Again, quality and rugged build is as important as price.

Is there anything that I’ve missed? Any other machines worth looking for? Recommendations?

thanks to all in advance.......

 

[clogs]

Argus,
I had a farm and rebuilt tractors etc....
had em all, Karcher etc....was spending around £350 for so called pro models......look on the web for probs with em.....endless......

in the end got fed up replacing them and bought a Chinese petrol engined model...Copy Honda engine....think about 2000psi....
it's now about 10years old and still works (and starts great)....before buying I checked the price of a new replacement pump if it went bad ...£60...
please make sure there's no water in the pump over winter because of frost.....mine was kept in a warm dry cellar...
it was a no brainer.....would I buy another ...absolutley.....

 

[bourbon]

Nilfisk? Not used them personally, but we use their floor cleaners at work

 

[AJB Temple]

If you want electric, the NilFisk pro range are good. I also use mine with a drain cleaning 25 metre jet hose and it is easily man enough for the job. It's 3 years old now and has been fine. It has a reel to wind the hose in, which I like, as hose twiddling is tiresome.

I also have a Karcher hot washer, with diesel powered boiler. It's a big machine such as you see on car repair forecourts. It is very good but I am on my second pump in 20 years. Currently awaiting service, and there lies the rub with Karcher. Service engineers are trained by virgins at the foothills of the Himalayas, and they come to you only if you pray for a year first.

 

[Argus]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for an almost unanimous point toward Nilfisk. I'll look ' em up.
It has to be electric...... garage-fuel is a 20 mile round trip in this county.....!

 

[wallace]

Once clean of moss etc, have you thought about prevention. When rooves are done in shingles they will put a strip of copper which stops growth. I havent a clue if this would be feasable or even work, but it popped into my head.

 

[Argus]

Once clean of moss etc, have you thought about prevention. When rooves are done in shingles they will put a strip of copper which stops growth. I havent a clue if this would be feasable or even work, but it popped into my head.

The roof is fairly clear - all done a couple of years ago. The moss is on walls (painted) and tarmac. There are a lot of rocky outcrops here and the moss grows in great swags all over it; that isn't a problem, it comes off and rolls up in sheets. A gardener down the road will take all I have for lining baskets.
The stuff in the tarmac is tenacious and gets slippery in the wet.
I suppose that the copper induces a static charge? can't think of any other reason. Does it work?

 

[artie]

I've had a Gerni power washer since 1996, admittedly it doesn't get worked too hard, but all that's been replaced is the hose, it wore through with being dragged around the yard.

 

[AJB Temple]

Re moss. Embrace Japanese garden design. Moss is a positive benefit. We actively try to grow it.

 

[Argus]

Re moss. Embrace Japanese garden design. Moss is a positive benefit. We actively try to grow it.

We have a bit of a micro-climate........ west facing, on a hill in front of the Cambrians. Everything we get here is blown around and probably bounced off the Atlantic side of Ireland yesterday.
You won't want the sort of stuff we have here - believe me, Japanese garden or not!
It's rampant, covers everything and is mostly slimy - a positive risk to life and limb.

.

 

[gcusick]

Nilfisk - I’ve got a baby one that has worked well for 10 years plus, or Stihl - very popular around here.

 

[Roland]

It’s a couple of years since I did my research. At the time there was a distinct divide between ”domestic” pressure washers, which use an aluminium pump, and “professional” washers with a steel pump. Aluminium pumps wear quickly. I watched one lose it’s pump pressure over four hours of use. As a result I bought a pressure washer with a steel pump. It doesn’t have any of the largely useless plastic add-ons which come with domestic washers, but it still works.

 

[Just4Fun]

I have a cheapo Nilfisk domestic washer. I have had it about 4 years. So far it has been fine, although it doesn't have a hard life. The longest I need to run it for is maybe 2 or 3 hours and it handles that without issue. It is better than the previous washer I had, which I think was a Karcher. The previous washer would "stall" as if starved of water but the Nilfisk never does that.

 

[Droogs]

I have always found soviet made jet washers to be rather enticing. Very green too, made from recylcled MIG 21 engines apparently

 

[TheUnicorn]

I have a Karcher K4, it is ok for domestic use, but frankly not brilliant.

Just a word of caution about using a lot of pressure on tarmac, it is very easy to over clean and damage the surface

 

[Richard D]

I’ve had the smallest, lightest model in the Kranzle range for about ten years. It’s got a solid brass pump and the sort of motor that wouldn’t look out of place strapped to a table saw. Bombproof.

 

[PerryGunn]

I’ve had the smallest, lightest model in the Kranzle range for about ten years. It’s got a solid brass pump and the sort of motor that wouldn’t look out of place strapped to a table saw. Bombproof.

Yep, Kranzle would be my recommendation - I went through a number of the higher-end K'Archer/Nilfisk pressure washers that broke down within a few years. Then in 2014 I bit the bullet and bought a Kranzle Profi 160, it hasn't missed a beat and is still going strong.

A part from their great build quality, Kranzle offer great support and still stock/supply spares for models that have been out of production for about 20 years.

 

[Argus]

I've been looking into Kranzle. Stumbled across the make on the internet today..... not entirely well-known.

After some small 'domestic' machines that were frankly not up to the job, I'm of the opinion that sometimes you pay more and buy less........ K'archer are not coming out at all well.
It's good to hear some other favourable ideas.

many thanks to all.

 

[PerryGunn]

When you're looking at the pressure washer specs, don't just look at the headline PSI figure. With a pressure washer you need to look at both pressure and flow rate as, at a given pressure, the flow rate dictates how long a job will take - small pumps can generate high pressure but low flow rate which is far from ideal.

Whatever pressure washer you go for make sure that your mains supply is up to it... it's no good buying a 12L/min pressure washer if your mains supply only runs at 9L/min, you'll continually starve the pump which isn't good for longevity.

 

[Lons]

I use a Karcher K5 which I've had a number of years and well used with no issues however I spray various fences, walls and paving with a product called Wet and Forget which is concentrated and diluted with water, it does a decent job of moss killing.