Karcher 2.110

[Scott]

I know I have asked some obscure questions on this group over the years, and I am always grateful for the advice.

I was given a Karcher 2.110. I am having problems attaching the hose to the machine. It's a screw fitting but the middle bit does not go far enough in to allow the circular nut thing to tighten enough to achieve a secure fitting. As soon as you switch on the pump the hose gets blasted off. I have tried holding the nozzle on at the same time as switching on the pump but this makes no difference.

It seems to me beyond the realms of possibility that a product could be manufactured and sold with parts that don't fit together. The only explanation that I can think of is that the hose is not the correct hose for the machine.

The machine was abandoned so there is no prospect of speaking to the previous owner.

Has anyone encountered such a difficulty? Any ideas?

The machine

[Jeff Layman]

Does anyone you know have a Karcher? If so, take your hose over to them and see if it works with their Karcher. If it does, there is a problem with the thread on yours. If it flies off, see if you can borrow theirs to try with yours. If it works ok, buy yourself a new hose. If it flies off as well, see if you can get a spare part from Karcher to fit on the washer.

[Scott]

I thought of the last part. The hose is quite expensive and I am reluctant to spash out (excuse the pun) for one if the fault might lie with the base station.

I was wondering if anyone knows whether Karcher has used varying designs over the years, or if this is a known problem?.

[Tim+]

The hose for my lance is quite a snug fit and if there is a bit of surface corrosion on the connector this can be enough to stop it fitting properly.

Have a close look and clean off any any corrosion that you can see (wire wool etc). If there?s a rubber O-ring, remove it first before getting too aggressive with any de-rusting method.

Tim

[Algernon Goss-Custard]

Scott posted

I have a similar machine, and it is true that it is difficult to attach the hose to the pump unit. You have to push very hard indeed and then turn to make the seal. So much so that I do not disconnect the hose when packing the thing away; it's too much trouble to reconnect it.

[RJH]

I found that too on the Makita I've borrowed, very tight fit, and almost feels as if the nut is cross threading.

[Scott]

I'll try again but I pushed the hose very hard but still could not get if far enough in for the rotating nut to grip enough threads to hold securely.

There is no sign of corrosion. I think it's all plastic.

[Scott]

Sorry. Central core is metal. The rest is plastic.

[Dave Liquorice]

On my Karcher the machine is female with quite a fine outside thread. The hose is male with inside threaded collar. The central spigot has an O ring near the end. Everything is plastic.

Make sure there isn't any muck in the female or on the males, remove the O ring and see if the fit is better. The O ring may have expanded making it difficult to fit the connector.

I also notice that the first couple of turns of thread on the female are damaged, probably from the brass collar male for the HP hose extension I have. If that damage got to far down the female it could result in the hose blowing off but it would have to get a 3/8" or so down.

I'll go for an expanded O ring stoping the male fitting into the female. Bit of water soluable lubrication?

[Robin]

My Karcher, and other pressure washers I've used, remind me that there is a 7 stone weakling lurking inside this [redacted] weakling. If you have double checked that both parts of the fitting are clean I suggest you release your inner Hulk* to try again by pushing the pipe on harder than you can conceive is necessary.

*other fictional characters are available

[Roger Mills]

They can be a bit stiff. Make sure both parts are clean and then smear some Vaseline or washing-up liquid on the O-ring, and push a bit harder.

[Dave Liquorice]

Not vaseline, it's petroleum based based and will cause the O ring to expand. Washing up liquid or silicone grease as used on guttering, soil pipe seals etc.