What pressure washer?

[Bodge]

What's the favourite pressure washer with you guys?

I'm keen to get into this whole snow foam thing, so I'm after a decent pressure washer that I can connect a snow foam lance jobber too.

Looking at spending around £100, but preferably less if I can!

I've seen some expensive Karcher units, with built-in detergent tanks. Will these produce the foam directly, or do you specifically need the nozzle mounted bottle type to properly produce the snow foam ive seen.

I've got alot of winter motorway miles ahead of me, and I hate leaving all the salt and grit on my car. So a fast and effective diy method is what I'm after...

Cheers

[Wardy]

A small Karcher does the job for me, and is reliable. I forget the model, but IIRC it was sub £100 on a B&Q/Homebase offer.

I'd get a separate snowfoam attachment, the Karcher foaming attachment is OK, but the Gilmore or equivalent does a much better job. It's quite expensive though, at £40-ish (especially when you consider what you can pay for the whole pressure washer!)

Steve

[Bodge]

Yeah I spotted that Karcher foam attachment for about £18 and was wondering if it was any good compared to the likes of the Snow Foam one at around £50.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for any deals...

[ap0gee1978]

The foam attachment that came with out Bosch Aquatak Eco seems pretty adequate for our purposes, although will only do half a car before needing a refill... :(

[bigal rallyred]

I have a PowerCraft pressure washer from Aldi.

They come on offer from time to time and always seem to be the same price(£80).

Very good spec and are basically rebadged higher end Karcher.

I've had mine for almost 2 years and it gets plenty of use and never misses a beat.

[cheezemonkhai]

The ones that come with most washers are good for soaking the car for pre-wash, but no good with something like BiltHamber AutoFoam where you might try for a touchless quick clean to get most of the muck off.

I say this from experience too.

I had a karcher 2.35DB+ which was just fine, but the lure of an Aldi washer (rebranded karcher) at a very good price caused me to replace it.

HTH

[dragonfly]

I have a small Karcher with the Snow Foam lance and it works a treat. I don't think the detergent bottles work well for foaming. You can usually get a deal which includes the lance and 5 litres of foam - which will last ages.

[rossdook]

I've had my Lavor from Lidl for about three months. It was about £109 and is very good I must say. You can work some sort of Snow Foam through the in built tank, but I just got a proper lance through Polished Bliss and it's the doggies! About £49 all in, but highly recommended.

[George]

I have a PowerCraft pressure washer from Aldi.

They come on offer from time to time and always seem to be the same price(£80).

Very good spec and are basically rebadged higher end Karcher.

I popped into my local Aldi at the weekend and this pressure washer has now been reduced to £60. Im gutted, i only bought mine about a month ago for £80, but a very good pressure washer:thumbup:

[Bodge]

Thanks alot for the advice guys.

I'll pop into Aldi this weekend after I get paid! Or try a B&Q type place for an offer.

Think I'll order a proper snow foam lance and some foam online.

Merci!

[Baker21]

Being slightly biased here but you won't find a better pressure washer for around £80 than the Powercraft one from Aldi..............

It's cheap and cheerful, better specced than some Karcher units and it comes with a cracking warranty.........

[samuir1974]

Yep - i'll 2nd that.... i have the Powercraft/Aldi special and it's a great bit of kit for the money!

[Baker21]

Yep - i'll 2nd that.... i have the Powercraft/Aldi special and it's a great bit of kit for the money!

Only thing to mention with all these PW's is that if you do get one the standard 6M hose won't be long enough so make sure you source another one...........

That's right hey, Samuir1794?

[samuir1974]

Indeed Baker 21 - the 6m hose as standard is better than most offered when i bought it - but well worth investing in a 10m variant to make those detailing days a doddle! Also note - you can move over to the karcher accessories if you change the lance for a karcher one too.

[Baker21]

Indeed Baker 21 - the 6m hose as standard is better than most offered when i bought it - but well worth investing in a 10m variant to make those detailing days a doddle! Also note - you can move over to the karcher accessories if you change the lance for a karcher one too.

Spot on......

[cheezemonkhai]

I just need to find a cheap vario lance for the thing as my old ones max pressure rating is the same as the nominal output on the powercraft so not ideal.

[RichB86]

wickes pressure washers are supposed to be rebranded karchers and tbh you dont need anything to special really with them just as said the longer the hose the better as mine is to short! and its really annoying.

[cheezemonkhai]

The wickes ones are Lavour IIRC.

[Royston]

I went to Aldi Today in Rovram, and they had loads of Powercraft PW's for sale at £80.

There was one less when I left obviously:D

I'll see how it goes tomorrow.

[Gillywibble]

If your budget can stretch, get one of these. It's ace

[RichB86]

The wickes ones are Lavour IIRC.

I stand corrected!

[riph72]

I've been advised that pressure washing a car is a VERY BAD IDEA, because water under high pressure can get under seals it wouldn't normally pass and get trapped.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Do newer pressure washers have attachments/pressures more suitable for washing cars?

[Baker21]

I went to Aldi Today in Rovram, and they had loads of Powercraft PW's for sale at £80.

There was one less when I left obviously:D

I'll see how it goes tomorrow.

IMHO you won't be disappointed for the money........

[Baker21]

I've been advised that pressure washing a car is a VERY BAD IDEA, because water under high pressure can get under seals it wouldn't normally pass and get trapped.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Do newer pressure washers have attachments/pressures more suitable for washing cars?

Don't agree with that.............:thumbdwn:

As I work in the Automotive Industry, Designing Headlamp / Rearlamps, etc the testing that we have to adhere to when it comes to water ingress is very strict and some of the pressure washer testing done on the cars is very OTT, so cars are made to withstand pressure washers.........

Granted you don't want to be spraying at 90 degrees to the paintwork as if there is dirt there you will scratch the paintwork.

[riph72]

Don't agree with that.............:thumbdwn:

As I work in the Automotive Industry, Designing Headlamp / Rearlamps, etc the testing that we have to adhere to when it comes to water ingress is very strict and some of the pressure washer testing done on the cars is very OTT, so cars are made to withstand pressure washers.........

Granted you don't want to be spraying at 90 degrees to the paintwork as if there is dirt there you will scratch the paintwork.

Fair enough. I wonder if perhaps many years ago, before home pressure washers were common, maybe problems were encountered, and maybe even though manufacturers now have higher specs (speculation on my part, of course), the myth continues because of a few problems encountered years ago?!

I suppose they are ok then, I guess just use your head, don't blast a rubber seal at 90 degrees from an inch away