Pressure washers

[Robert]

Having had two smallish Karchers fail due to the plastic pump housing cracking I am looking for something more reliable - it must be compact - I don't want a large piece of kit on a trolley. A local dealer told me that they had now stopped stocking all 200, 300 and 400 series Karcher machines as the high failure rate and cost of repairs was resulting in too many unhappy customers. The washer is used for cleaning about 200 square metres of paved areas and walls per annum and other occasional odd jobs such as cleaning garden furniture. I understand that ALTO (KEW at one time) who are now part of Nilfisk, produce a compact range C110 that have metal pump housings. Grateful for any feedback or suggestions.

[Madmucks]

" Having had two smallish Karchers fail due to the plastic pump housing cracking I am looking for something more reliable -

Though this may not be the reason your washers failed, by far the biggest reason for this type of failure is not draining them properly when storing them away for the winter (usually in an unheated shed or garage)- the remaining water freezes and expands thus cracking any casting. Just thought this was worth mentioning for future reference.

[Ian Middleton]

Try using patio cleaner instead of pressure washer, much quicker and only £5 for couple of litres once a year. Stopped using my pressure washer to clean the patio, mouldy walls etc after I discovered this method.

[Robert]

In message , Madmucks writes

Both the pump failures occurred in the autumn and frosts are rarely a problem in S Devon I am delighted to say.