Karcher PRO High Pres. Cleaners

[100inch]

Has someone here a Karcher High Pressure cleaner from the professional range? Looking into one around the $800-1200.- budget. Seems Karcher got some beating on the net regarding quality but seems most are related to the low end products. Open for different brands! Cheers m

[nat_89]

For that price I would probably buy a spit water they are a pretty good pressure washer from what I understand we use them in the mines and they cop a flogging and handle it.

[Pickles2]

I bought the highest level before the commercial range, a K6 I think it is,...cost me about $8/900 & works well.
Pickles.

[uninformed]

Hi Mark, I was looking at these myself. I think the smallest of the pro range is $1k. I spoke to a lot about the Karcher range (and Gerni, Lavor etc).

A mate has had a little domestic Karcher for many years and has been great, but when I spoke to the local repair agent, he said they (the domestic) range not what they use to be. None of the brands are (they actually dropped Gerni) He said the pro range are much better built and will last much longer.

Dont forget that Bunnings has a few models in the domestic range made just for them, so you cant price war those against anyone else. They also carry a few of the Pro range so you might be able to beat them and then get the 10% off??

[AnD3rew]

I have a low but not bottom end Karcher (not pro). And it has not been good. I wouldn't buy another Karcher brand product.

[Trundle]

+1 on the Spitwater, and they are Aussie made.

Cheers

[discovery39]

Karcher seem to have had a sudden decline in quality. They used to be the ducks nuts. Now it seems you have to spend an absolute fortune to get anything even remotely resembling a quality product.
Gerni seem to be the same story. My money is on the possible fact that they are both built in the same factory. That is, until you start getting into Diesel powered versions.

[redrovertdi]

there is german karcher and chinese karcher, i have the german and parts are readily available from the karcher shop at coopers plains[it was my Dads in Geraldton and apparently the water was very hard]

[discovery39]

there is german karcher and chinese karcher, i have the german and parts are readily available from the karcher shop at coopers plains[it was my Dads in Geraldton and apparently the water was very hard]

Sounds like everything these days.....
You can pay this much, and have a product made from manure, or you can pay THIS much, and well, ...... What would you like sir...... may we feed you grapes and fan you with a Palm Tree leaf.....
There seems to be a massive gap between the crap and the good.

[100inch]

Thanks for all your help so far.
Bunnings is not an option. But to be fair paying 200 and expecting bronze pump and stainless fittings? Will have a look at the Spitwater as I have seen them a lot on big constructions sites. Maybe its worth checking were the Pro range gets fabricated.
I will need it only for the occasional house and car wash duties (unless I start collecting CAT D11's:D) but I want it to work everytime when I switch it on....m

[blue_mini]

Once you pick a machine have a look at the specs for it and what the manufacturer rates it for.
Most common reason people want one is to 'just' do the driveway. It takes about a $400+ unit to be capable of reliably and consistently cleaning even a double car driveway. The little $80 one will do it, but expect to be using it for about 6 hours cleaning a square inch at a time before your driveway is done. This is putting a lot of strain on the motor, the pump, the valves and seals inside, well beyond what is deemed typical use.

The tricks to help any pressure cleaner last longer are to keep the trigger on as much as possible, stopping and starting the motor and valves every few seconds is the fastest way to kill an electric machine, petrols are less susceptible to this. Always drain the unit after your finished, unplug the water and power and hold the trigger so it vents the remaining water out and stops the seals blowing out. Always empty your hose of hot water before putting it through the machine, so drain your hose if its been sitting in the sun for a while.

As for Karcher vs Gerni, Gerni attachments break while karchers break when theyre misused. Though karcher do have a repair warranty, so no machine for 2-3 weeks while its getting fixed and looked at.

[Gary S11]

On my third Karcher, each time they die they replace under warranty and I pay the extra to get up to the next level. Think I'm up to the $600 mark at present ..last fail was the turbo lance not covered under warranty. They don't impress me ..Gary

[Chucaro]

I have a 5 years old mid range domestic model and have been awesome not only for the car but for the home at the beach.
Also it is has done a brilliant work to clean the driveway and paving removing moss and oil marks by the LR.

[richard4u2]

I borrowed one once from my cousin and was happily cleaning the car and happen to look over where the water was spraying on the other side of the car and it was over the cleaner , the elects, I soon switched it of and never used one again

[nat_89]

Actually come to think of it a friend of mines father used to work for spit water he said to me (when I was looking) even if you don't get a spit water make sure you get one with good water flow don't worry about only using small amount if litres per minute the more the better volume does a better job than pressure alone I think something like that. I was quite a while ago but he reckoned don't worry about the water saving ones get the ones with a good flow rate get the job done quicker.