LiDL pressure washer

[John Stumbles]

In our (Reading, West) LiDL today I saw a pressure washer, of the well-known Neverheardofem brand (actually it says 'LAVOR' on it), which for £110 boasts: Superwash 160 Pressure Washer

• Max. pressure (bar): 160 * Flow rate (l/hr): 530 * Auto stop/start * Accessories include: * - Spray gun with pressure gauge * - High pressure hose, length (m): 10 * - Integrated hose reel * - Rotating wash brush * - Cleaning detergent (ml): 500 * - and much more * 3 year manufacturer's warranty

I think this link should work without entering your postcode into their store-finder:

Any chance that it's not a complete POS?

I know it's got a 3-year warranty but, apart from the possibility that the receipt will have disppeared before it's needed, I don't want to buy a piece of sh^H^Hkit that may let me down when I need it, and don't want to add to the world's collection of landfill.

[Phil L]

IME, they are not worth buying, unless you use them at least a couple of times per month, every month. For simply washing the car, it's easier and less mess to use a normal hosepipe. To do drives, decking etc, it's about 25 to hire a top of the range, dog's bollocks, all singing-all dancing Karscher, the one that costs about 600 - not the toy ones sold in B&Q. Apparently, it's all about the nozzle, get a top quality one and the job is a piece of piss, get a cheap nasty one and it will last about as long as a snowman in August

[Roger Mills]

> Any chance that it's not a complete POS?

It *does* require a postcode. After several unsuccessful attempts at guessing a valid Reading postcode, I entered my own postcode - and it *was* on offer at my nearest store.

It *looks* ok - and it isn't particularly cheap, so it's got a *fighting* chance of being ok. The problem was most pressure washers aimed at the domestic market (even from leading makers) is that they're built down to a price by using plastic in places where they ought to use metal - so they're not going to stand a lot of sustained hammering. In other words, if you want to clean your patio once a year it will be fine - but if you're planning to earn your living with it, forget it!

[Mark]

Not worth it IMHO You can buy a Karcher K3 for less then that, and know you will be able to get spare parts if you should need them.

-

[George]

Hang fire and wait till the Aldi(same model different clothing)model comes up you'll be able to buy it for £79.

[Martin Pentreath]

My experience is different. I bought a no-name toy machine with similar spec from B&Q three years ago. It was in their end-of-season sale, I think I paid forty quid for it, which was quite a bargain. I don't have a car so I only use it for a once-a-year clean up of the patio and front path. It does the job perfectly in no time and seems to be quite durable. Even if it has a working life of ten hours it will see me through ten years at a cost of four quid a wash and save me a lot of hassle hiring and lugging.

Personally I'm a great believer in toy tools from china from the sheds etc for DIY purposes. I'm still using a toy SDS I got from Argos about five years ago for (I think) twenty quid. I bought it to break up a concrete floor. It now gets dragged out about three or four times a year to drill a couple of holes here or there. If I was a pro needing to use it all day everyday it would indeed be a pile of shit, but for average household use it's excellent.

Sorry, wandering off topic.

Cheers!

Martin

[George]

Hmmm! will have to take a look at one.

[Andy Hall]

Don't waste your time and money.

[The Medway Handyman]

Lavor are a long established Italian manufacturer who concentrate on the cheaper end of the market, been around since the mid 1970's. Parts easy to get

> Superwash 160 Pressure Washer

That being the pressure at which the safety valve operates, not the actual working pressure - likely to be 120 bar ish.

Actually quite impressive. Flow rate is more important than pressure in many respects. Many DIY machines are only around 360 l/hr.

Useful.

Useless gimmick

Very good. Some DIY cheapies only have 6 metre hoses, almost useless.

Handy

Bells & whistles.

Possibly not that useful.

Depends. If it has an induction motor its a good deal, if it has a universal motor just average. Weight is the clue. Induction motors are heavy 20kg ish.

Its gonna need 2.8Kw + to perform as it claims, so I would guess its an induction motor.

Aldi & Makro sell the same machine from time to time, so the pirate spares guys have cottoned on to a ready aftermarket for bits - which is handy. Its cheap, powerful & well equiped for thhe money. Check out the motor.

[George]

Well its one item I don't have in with me tools,but have a whole lot of laminate to put down soon so this is cheap enough for that job.

[John Stumbles]

---8

[Andy Hall]

Have a look at past threads on jigsaws. The concensus in the group (not just my view) has been that cheap jigsaws don't cut in a useful way - i.e. uncontrollable and the blade wanders. This even seems to be true with some better known brands such as B&D in products in the £50 range. It appears that decent usability doesn't start until you pay around £100 for a jig saw. So unfortunately, the "low use, so cheap is OK" doesn't really work for jig saws. If use really is low, then renting a decent one would be a better proposition.

[Rod]

Agreeing with Andy to the extent of my experience. (Four crap jigsaws I have owned.) But I must admit, it *looks* quite OK being a body grip style! I am still waiting to get 'my' Makita 4351... :-)

[Andy Hall]

Bosch GST is also a good range

[Rod]

But I'm in lust with the Makita. And I will be true. :-)

[stuart noble]

For laminate you probably would get away with a cheap jigsaw. Thicker sections require something decent

[Pete C]

Ignore Andy ;) and see this thread:

Speaking from experience, if you take a bit of care and use the correct type of blade and decent blades like Bosch, it will give very acceptable results.

cheers, Pete.

[The Medway Handyman]

Pump head is the important thing.

Unlikey that it will have a brass pump at that price, prolly alluminium. Peer through the gaps in the case where the inlet & outlet fittings go. Note the inlet & outlet fittings may be brass - connected to an aluminium pump head.

Brass bestest Alluminium OK Plastic sh*te.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You've got it in one. By nature these sort of tools may not be as reliable as the better brands at several times the price - but for occasional use are often extremely good value. And if you decide you use it enough to justify a better make you've not lost much money.

I bought a cheap 9" angle grinder from Lidl purely for one job - and it was cheaper than hiring. It did the job perfectly and of course is still working so anything else is a bonus.

[John Rumm]

It would actually be interesting to see how that parkside one performs, given that one point in its favour (that you rarely see on the lower end products) is what looks like cast sole plate with overshoe.

The general flimsiness of the sole plate being one of the reasons most jigsaws can't cut straight. (lack of precision in the blade reciprocating and support mechanisms, and excess vibration being the others).

An interesting test with a jigsaw is to set it running, and lock it on, then lay it down on a table. Most will vibrate and wander over the surface from all the unbalanced vibration. (a good one will just sit there).