I bought a Karcher K3 from Bunnings in Nov 2015 for $179 (usually $299). It recently started leaking (but still worked ok albeit with a a little less pressure) so I took it apart and found it needs a new cylinder head. The cheapest I can find a cylinder head for is about $80. The pump components are made of plastic but I’ve heard Gernis have metal pumps. Should I buy a new Gerni or repair the Karcher?
Pressure washer - repair or replace?
ShortyX on 23/06/2019 - 23:59
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Do you prefer to repair or replace stuff. I prefer to do my own repairs and not waste things, but $80 is getting pretty close to upgrade time for value.
I would return it to Bunnings for replacement.
Bunnings are good with returns but coming on four years might be pushing it.
Hmm, I think the warranty may have been 3 or 4 years back then. Nowadays, it's 3 years (plus 2 more years if you register the product within 90 days of purchase).
I'll try my luck with Karcher first.
Thanks
I would give it a go, you got nothing to lose.
They've replied - machine only had a 2 year warranty. :(
Buy a used one with missing attachments?
I think youll find its only the dearer gernis have a metal pump. Even then the alloy pumps can be worse than plastic due to corrosion especially if you live in a hard water area. We bought a gerni with a brass pump but it was over $500
Update: bought a new cylinder head off eBay and also bought some Ozito compressor oil from Bunnings. I assembled it back together and it works like new! 👍🏻
At $80 I’d buy a new one.
Gerni are good but metal pumps can also eventually corrode so it doesn’t mean it’s more durable than karcher. Metal also means more weight, not a huge deal on the smaller models but on the higher spec ones it is.