Pressure Washers

[Minxy]

Help, looking for a pressure washer for my dad for fathers day, but have no idea what would be best. It would be just for general household cleaning, eg, windows, bbq, car. Please help.

Thanks

[Scott]

Ideally a Karcher for about $270.... how much do you love him??

[ssb2005]

karchers het my vote too

[Ford Racing]

You might want to check out Gerni's http://www.gerni.com.au/

But ditto to the above karchers are top notch http://www.karcher.com.au/aus/welcome.htm

[Minxy]

Thanks for that.... I'll look in to it....

[SirHenry]

Go the Karcher ones most models will run off a bucket feed. Most important if you're living in Brisvegas at the moment. I bought a lil $99 one from bunnings damn thing goes like a trooper :

[gozza]

so its legal to fill up the karcher from a tap and spray your car with it?

i washed my car with only buckets for the first time the other day

i still got menacing looks from neibors as if i was commiting grand larsony

[SirHenry]

no you can't fill it directly from a tap but you can fill a bucket from the tap and run the pressure cleaner using the bucket as the source.

[gozza]

Ahhh well i think i'll have to invesdt in one

You waste alot more water using buckets to rinse your car off anyway

[Fairlane]

Karcher is great stuff.

I only have an el cheapo Karcher, but its great, does everything i need of it and has enough oomp to strip paint off. Plus its made in Germany- Bonus.

[Sam_Boss260]

hey sirhenry,

i'm interested in the one which you have for $99. It feeds off the bucket right? and it is good enough to wash the car with?

[charles_wif_xf]

Originally Posted by SirHenry

Go the Karcher ones most models will run off a bucket feed. Most important if you're living in Brisvegas at the moment. I bought a lil $99 one from bunnings damn thing goes like a trooper :

Are you sure it's a Karcher brand? I don't think their product is so cheap. GMC make a decent one. I bought one for $90 several years ago and hasn't missed a beat. Italian made to boot.

[peyote]

i was told by someone working on the new eastlink freeway that near the construction site and your sick of all the dust and crap complain to thiess john holland construction and you'll get a free gerni
http://www.thiessjohnholland.com.au/contact_us

[MRJUCY]

I've had my Karcher for years they're great. I run mine off a bucket when washing the car as it's illegal to be connected to mains in Sydney these days some parts of the country it is fine tho.

[charles_wif_xf]

Don't high pressure cleaners need mains pressure to work right?

[Dazza XLT]

Karcher or Gerni are both good.
Just remember, you get what you pay for!

[bradcad]

I run mine off a rainwater tank. Does a sweet job without spotting- have to try not chamoising one day....

they dont need mains pressure to run

[schmidty]

When buying 1, dont necessarily look at the pressure, look at the flow. The higher L per minute the better it will be to use. It frustatrates the crap out of you trying to wash a car, takes forever to rinse soap off if not much water comes out.

Also check the supplied hose length. nothing worse than trying to wash a car with a cheap unit that's only got 3 or 4m of hose. Look for something with 6+ m of hose.

If it is going to operated continuously for long periods of time, but 1 with a cast pump and stainless piston.

Karchers up until about $900 use a poly pump and stainless piston. So basically because the pump housing is made of plastic, it'll wear much much quicker.

See how you go for cash, but basically a good way to tell how solid a pressure cleaner is can be to pick it up, a good quality steel pump unit will be quite heavy, the cheap ryobi units are light as a feather. A few people i know who bought cheap gmc and ryobi rubbish took them straight back.

My 2c is if you want to get out of it cheaply, but the entry level karcher, can get them quite cheap. If you are thinking more long term durability, and price isn't a huge issue, look at some of the units from Gerni. Much happier with my Gerni than any of the karchers i've used.

Good luck with the purchase.

[Minxy]

Thanks to everyone for their comments.... Supercheap has a karcher on a father's day special that looks pretty good... but won't know for sure till I see it...

Thank again

[AC/DC]

I have had a karcher, , the Upright standing one, , about $300 for a few years, , and it has a leaking seal in it somewhere.... It still works fine, , but leaks a bit out the actual unit itself....

apart from that, its great !

Good for green-ant nests and paper wasps !

AC/DC

[MRJUCY]

Originally Posted by charles_wif_xf

Don't high pressure cleaners need mains pressure to work right?

Nope gravity can do the work for you.

[nitroman]

I've got a gmc pressure washer that was less than $100. It works great, the only issue is the hose is too short. Apart from that it's been great for the dirt bike, engines, driveway etc.

[thefargo]

Originally Posted by SirHenry

Go the Karcher ones most models will run off a bucket feed. Most important if you're living in Brisvegas at the moment. I bought a lil $99 one from bunnings damn thing goes like a trooper :

got a karcher, would recommend to all.

[flathead 276]

Bought one yesterday, Karcher K2.87M can't wait to use it.

[Minxy]

After looking at price and the things that I wanted with it I have decided to leave it for a while. Got him a tumbleweed compost thingy. The things that I wanted in the pressure washer were going to be to $$$$ so maybe next year... depends on the water restrictions... Thank you all for your help.