I've been shopping around for a pressure washer to take care of some upcoming spring cleaning and it seems as though most people find their pressure washers to be disappointing especially versus older models which were apparently much better quality (looking at you gerni).
Any recommendations for an electric pressure washer that doesn't suck? Mainly used for outdoor tiles and car washing.
Second this bought a Gerni 3600 and have done plenty of things with it, car, driveway, pavers, gutters. Brother has borrowed it too and done the same things.
I am with supasaiyan the Gerni 3300 is great! I used it for two days straight last week cleaning my concrete and didn't miss a beat. First time I had used it intensely and for long periods of time. Usually I use it for Snow Foam on the car which is brilliant.
I bought an Ozito 1800W from bunnings for $108 to do the concrete in my back yard. worked fine.
yes it's fine, not great. I'm using that for 5 years, no problem. Just it's not powerful, take more time to clean the concrete.
Karcher its around 12years old now, never leaks (although the new models appear to be inferior these days)
these days anything that has a good warranty at bunnings for that piece of mind swap-over gets my vote.
Agree !!! i use a old karcher with this attachment https://www.kaercher.com/au/accessory/t-5-t-racer-surface-cl… …
Cuts Down cleaning time for concrete to about a third of the original time
More expensive then some units
yep thats right …but within reason you get what you pay for …same wih the age old term …pay peanuts you get monkeys
I bought a cheapish Worx one many years ago for around $100 that was great, but eventually broke. It even removed the paint from my fence before I painted it
Since then I have had some homebrand one from Bunnings that was rubbish so returned it, Ozito that failed so got money back under warranty and now have an Aldi one that is OK but not as good as the old Worx. I miss it
I still have a Worx that I bought on the demise of Masters! I find it ok, and I can use accessories from Bosh pressure washers with it.
I would love to have more pressure though to use the concrete cleaning attachment more succesfully
But It was great value for money for about $50ish
I bought the Homelite 4 stroke pressure washer about 5 years ago. No issues to report. More powerful than electric and you don'y have to worry about extension cords.
Extension cords > Gas prices.
The pressure washer doesn't run on gas?
Bought August 2016 via ebay, (shows $75.65 on bank statement)
ITEM PRICE: AU $89.00
Gerni Classic 100.3S
Pressure Washer - 1450 PSI
- Super Cheap Auto
gets used 20-30 times a year for car, bike and paving
been good, got the patio attachment a year or so later which actually works well
.
I got one of those, similar price and age, but it recently died. I'm looking for a budget friendly replacement.
Not doubting, just curious - that works out to be just more than once every two weeks, right? That seems like a heck of a lot of cleaning.
With that in mind, is that really how often you use it,
kids ride dirtbikes thru winter a lot
.
Aldi pressure washer still working well after 3 years. Gets used once every month or two.
I bought the cheapest Homelite one from Bunnings for like $50 on the premise that I only had a couple of small jobs to do and if it broke after those I wouldn’t be out much. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at its longevity and have done way more than the couple of jobs I anticipated. It’s lasted ~3 years so far and seems fine.
Have the same, about the same age. Got the patio cleaner attachment as well. Works but you have to go slow.
Same one, died after a year or so. Pretty sure its due to the vents being right next to the water inlet connection. This causes water to spray into the unit.
But bunnings swapped it out no worries. Easy.
10/10 would recommend.
I bought a Lavor about 10 years ago from Auto One, still works fine. Best $70 I spent.
Got a Karcher K7 Compact, a bit pricey but figured the long warranty would make it worth it. Has enough power and long 10m low tangle hose (unique to this model only). The power switch is the only ‘flimsy’ feeling part, but happy with the purchase. I use a stubby gun / mjjc foam cannon for the car, get very thick foam. Has enough power to pull chrome off a truck wheel (had rubber stuck on it). Can be sometimes picked up for $600 in 20% off sales etc.
I got a k7 too.
I figured the cheaper ones with less flow rate would be a bit sh!t but tbh I’m a bit disappointed with the K7 too.
I got the deck cleaning head and it is pretty average. We generally just use the nozzle even for the deck cos it gives a better clean but its waaay more time consuming
Perhaps my expectations from a high pressure hose are unrealistic 🤷♂️
The $99 Bunnings Karcher ripoff one. Died before its time.
The cheaper Bunnings Red Homelite branded one.. Works…. but the handpiece is terrible,, leaking and unusable.
I'll never buy bottom end ones again.
Next time its a Midrange Karcher around the $200-$300 mark.
Tried taking it back to bunnings? Mine died and they swapped it out no worries.
I've got a gerni.
Had it for at least ten years. Very happy with it. It does the job well, no fuss and easy.
I clean and snow cannon my car maybe monthly with it, and do a bit of cleaning of pavers and the like. All good.
with the snow cannon do you find that it absolutely churns through the car wash in the container? I was amazed that in less than 1 minute it used the whole thing.
I do find it goes more quickly than I had anticipated - but it is always enough to do one car - and sometimes slightly more.
It also tends to be uneven in that it goes quickly when full, but lasts awhile when getting close to empty.
I find that you can really dilute the detergent in the container a lot and still get great foam and enough to cover the car without using much detergent.
What are you cleaning? I fell into the trap of over engineering for my main use (foam canon washing) and ended up having to buy a second / cheaper lower spec unit as my initial purchase was just overkill. Pro tip: hose length matters.
Yep, get the 5m hose on the pressure washer if you can.
Over kill? Over engineered?
What pressure washer did you originally have.
And correct. When I upgrade from my cheaper Gerni, I'll make sure I get a good 8/10m hose.
6m hose just won't reach all the way round the ute in one go, for washing/rinsing/foaming
Repco 8m hose one and is great
Mechpro?
Yes.
Karcher petrol model from sca.
Found a Honda powered karcher on roadside hard waste, replaced spark plug. Best $4.50 I’ve ever spent
A true ozbargainer!
That's mine, I left it outside for a moment whilst turning the tap off and then it disappeared. Please return it, I'll send you my new address.
I've had a gerni pro 160.2 for about 3 years or so. The drain cleaner attachment has pretty much paid for the unit, unblocking my kitchen sink drain and an ag pipe that was blocked with sand. Although still haven't found the technique to get around tight corners.
Recommend getting the power patio cleaner for tiles - way quicker for larger areas and lessens the power so you don't damage the tiles.
Stihl RE120 was the sweet spot for us. Electric, not petrol, does all the hard surfaces (tiles, concrete paths, external walls and windows) with a single sweep, if you really want to and use the right attachment, will take paint off concrete retaining walls. Small enough to be easily handled with one hand. Think it's about 10 years old, still (pardun the pun) going strong and is still a current model with easily replaceable parts should we ever need it.
Yeah the Sthil is a nice machine. Priced a bit higher but it also came with a bunch of accessories that the usual suspects didn’t have. So reasonable value for money.
Put a priority on the one that suits your needs rather than the price. Get one that has the attachments you will use, has enough pressure and the reliability. As has mentioned if you cheap out and buy the bargain bin one then it'll likely endup frustrating you. Unless it's just for a few uses, or borrow one.
Trade tools direct power washer - petrol variety - its noisy - but a beast. Facebook marketplace.
Gerni. No
Definitely paid itself off multiple times.
Now in its 7th year and i'll likely need to buy a new wand, but other than that it's going great.
Bought a Rockwell brand cheapie from Supercheap Auto years ago, still going strong. They seem to be selling it under their own brand now: SCA Electric Pressure Washer 1450PSI $99.99, or use MCPAY10V3 on ebay for $10 off
Look for when places like Supercheap or Repco have sales like 20 percent off everything ones. A good way to get a pressure cleaner at a better price.
I have a repco Petrol powered on I got that way and it is good. Only mod I did was to enable using a cordless drill to start it. Cleaner gets mostly used to clean 4x4 after trips away (Tap water pressure is too poor to clean a car) , and driveway. Also occasionally for prep work prior to painting
I got a Gerni a few years ago from Bunnings. One day the hose got twisted, Gerni made a dying gasp and passed away. I assumed it would be easy to fix but there appears to be no aftermarket repair. It became hard rubbish. the end.
I'd kind of like a new one but don't want to make more hard rubbish.
the older models do seem to last longer, but they were also a lot more. Back then you couldnt buy a pressure washer for $100, I think the entry price was like $500
I recall the gerni entry price was like $1300 at one point, maybe 30 years ago.
Now you can buy petrol ones for under $200
Bought Karcher because there's so many adapters/addons you can buy for them. Has been working well for the past 11 yrs.
My gerni is probably 10 or so years old and still goes like a champ for a small cheap model. Will clean driveways etc, just takes a long time as all the small/cheap models have low water flow. Pretty much anything will be ok to wash a car.
Think it was a $200 Karcher from Bunnings. Also got the higher pressure attachment. No idea on the model. Use it for cleaning wooden deck, concrete paths, house windows, and the car.
Can't fault it, does the job intended.
Bonus points for it being bright yellow so I can see it in the garage when there is not much light. A Gerni would be a death trap for me.
Karcher over 10 years ago. Still going strong, use it once a fortnight for 2 car washes and the usual pavement cleaning around the house as needed.
my old Karcher ~ 10 years old, gets used during summer time to clean roughly 100msq of concrete driveway, takes an hour or 2 but get the job done. would have liked to get a bigger one although the budget was tight.
im happy with it.
I bought a Gerni 100.5 for about $100 about 6 years ago, only gets used a few times a year but when it does get used it's given a flogging (like 2-3 hours straight use). Never had any problems and it's still going strong.
I have a Karcher K5, bought it approx. 12yrs ago. Still works, decent power. I use it to clean my driveway/concrete, rendered walls, mossy rocks, and also now to wash my car (once every 2 years).
Are you washing your car every two years, or everything you listed?
Are you me?
Very rarely wash my car. Chose a white car for this reason. They don't look too dirty even if you never washed them.
Gerni 12 years old. Broke once at the age of 5, it went into hiccup mode, changed the pressure limit switch $25 back working again. Metal pump with plastic crap. Use it every two weeks, on my driveway and clean two cars, fed with rain water tank. Hose skin worn out upgraded to a $35 8m hose from Ali, upgraded to short trigger gun plus 50cm extension. and quick change nozzles with various spray angle. Life's good with a Gerni.
I purchased Gerni GPW-7300 about 5 years ago. Use about once every 3 weeks, mostly on the cars. No regrets.
I’m tossing between 5300 and 7300 for past couple of months. Price is only $200 higher for 7300, but not sure if it’s worth that extra $&?
I have a basic Karcher for over 10 years, it’s okey to wash car but terrible for driveways, concrete and deck.
Bought a reduced $50 one from Aldi (down from $100 or something like that). I'd say the price is right. Only use it occasionally to clean paths etc. but it gets the job done and has been going for a few years now.
I have a Karcher, does the job well, but leaks worse than a parliamentary cabinet room. In fairness though it would be 10+ years old and has never had any seals replaced since purchase.
do you depress the trigger to release the remaining pressure each time you are finished with it? 10 years though, can't complain at that length.
yep always, not complaining as even though it leaks it still does an excellent job. It has had a hard life, at least half of that it was kept outside (but under cover) so exposed to heat and cold and has had a lot of use.
All electric ones are a disappointment because they don't have as much power as the decent petrol ones. Even the top end ones don't have enough flow to use a foam gun properly. They come out soapy but not thick, shaving cream style foam which is what you want when washing the car.
If it's important to you then spend a bit more on a petrol one. It's actually more convenient because you don't need to worry about the power cable
Nah, the Gerni Pro 160.2 works well with foam gun. Works great for car washing.
Also have 2x 32lpm petrol machine for residential/commercial building and concrete cleaning.
Source: I own a commercial pressure washing company.
You sound like the right person for this thread. What should we look for and what should we avoid?
shaving cream style foam which is what you want when washing the car.
Why? What is the rationale behind this? Does it improve the result? If so, how?
It sits on the car for longer to help dissolve the dirt before spraying it off.
Had the Gerni from an old ozb deal for $50 from Bunnings.
No issues.
Moved house and got rid of a lot of stuff, including the Gerni.
Bought a K2 karcher.
Only had it awhile
Feels the same in terms of power.
I think the connectors arent as good with a silly little clip in thing thats bound to break, and the pressure hose curls up and tangles more.
Still, both are good.
14 year old entry level Karcher and it's still going strong. It's a bit louder than it used to be but for the <$199 at the time I've more than got my money's worth out of it.
If it was to fail i'd look at a Kranzle.
My Stihl RE108 purchased in 2012 is performing as well now as when I purchased it. I highly recommend the Stihl pressure washer.
I got a little gerni from an OZB Bunnings deal a few years ago for about $50?
I have a new car, year old, 4wd, somit gets washed ALOT.
It's great for that. Hose.could be longer, but it's small, lightweight, easy to store.
Does fine on foam cannons, I have a few different brands/types.
Struggled with cleaning pavers, bricks, did it, but just took a while.
One is a car cleaner, not a brick cleaner. If I needed it for that, I'd have got something more powerful, albeit alot more expensive.
Just needs a longer hose so I can do all around the car, Ranger, with one pass, instead if moving it to do the back/tailgate.
But, it's small, so moving is easy. Plus it was $50. I was spending $20+ to clean down mud on my dirtbike atbteh car wash, I don't know how many times I've cleaned my 2 bikes with it.
It literally owes me nothing
Gerni Super 145.2 purchased from Bunnings September 2011.
Still use it weekly., heaps of pressure.
Problems in 11 years:-
1. Handle replaced (under warranty they gave me the pro version) - the std version will eventually split
2. I tried to replace the O ring in the Pro version 5 years later and lost some bits, so bought a new handle.
If it carks it, I will buy another one.
Gerni. It's been mostly fine. Their deck cleaning attachments has not been very good, But I use the other ones mostly so hasn't bothered me
Karcher k2, picked up for $20 on gumtree to clean pavers (one off use), 3 years later it still works a treat.
I have an older Karcher which is still going well. I'm not sure I could get something similar for the same price/value I paid so I'd consider a cheap ozito a go. I figure I could get some decent use out of it. If it I had any dramas I could fall back on the replacement or refund warranty.
Got a Karcher K2 from 20 years ago. It's heavy and difficult to set up.
Karcher K4.
Good price to performance ratio.
IMO has all the power necessary for most "household" use.
Allowing the clean of most front yards in a morning or the like, assuming your driveway isn't the size of a bunnings parking lot.
I read alot of reviews and ended up buying a Bosch.
It was a huge disappointment. Was good for about 6-12 months, then one of the nozzle settings stopped working. The lance now leaks more water out the handle than it shoots out.
The pump still works well but that's about it.
Honestly I'd get an Aldi one if I bought another.
You can get inline prefilters that go inbetween the end of the hose and the inlet of the pressure machine for pretty cheap (few bucks). Perhaps you have dirt or something stuck in the nozzle.
Just get a Gerni. It has metal attachments compared to plastic on most others and they last long time.
Got the Karcher K5. Discounted on the Qantas store so costed about 500 bucks. Have been using it to wash the car and pretty happy with it. Used it to wash the deck once and found the deck wash attachment to be very ordinary though. At 500, I think it's value for money but above that, I would struggle to justify…
On my second Gerni after the first one started leaking water after only a few uses.
With 5 year warranty from Bunnings, thought I would give it another chance.
Bought the extension for it and it's a godsend.
Bought a Gerni 125.2 around 8 years ago. It worked very well and had a lot of good attachments. Unfortunately it did fail - an internal plastic pressure switch ruptured which appears to be a very common problem with that model at around that age, and of course they also stopped selling replacement parts so it does seem like a bit of 'planned obsolescence'.
Replaced it with a cheap Ryobi RPW140-G 2000PSI and that has been dissapointing in comparison. On paper its more powerful, but it just doesn't have enough grunt and the hose kinks very easily, which permanently damages the hose :-(. The low pressure water connection sticks out and is made of cheap plastic, so its just a mater of time before that breaks. I'll be very surprised if it outlasts the warranty. Also it has different fittings so the Gerni accessories can't be used (not Ryobi's fault that one)
Agree that the Ryobi is severely underwhelming.
Karcher K2.
It’s average, does the job.
The gun (profanity) up and stopped allowing the attachments to twist into it after maybe 10-15 uses.
Ended up going to bunnings and grabbing the hose/gun replacement kit for half the price of the pressure washer LOL.
Been mint since then
Overally very happy with a Gerni 150.3 I bought at Bunnings for two primary features which was important to me:
Had a cheapy Karcher before the Gerni and these two features make actually using it much less cumbersome because the lower end ones have the cheaper plastic hose that retains its curled shape and springs all over the place (hitting your car for example) and combined with the reel makes unpacking/packing the whole thing away a breeze.
I have an Aldi one, works great.
Get the Gerni or Stihl model around $400, from memory they are very similar machines, built by Nilfilsk. I have the Gerni 5300 and it is a beautiful machine. Wait for a sale and you can usually get them around $350ish.
The ones with the hoses built in on a reel have a lower quality hose. The good quality 9m steel braid hose will not physically roll up that small. The 9m hose is perfect length to set the washer up in front of your car and being able to wash the whole car without re-positioning the washer
I also have a 6hp petrol washer that gets used once a year when I give all the paving and limestone a good clean after winter, which would probably burn out a electric washer. For everything else I use the Gerni.
I've got a cordless WORX which I keep in the car with a 20L jerry for washing my MTB before driving home (keep the bike in the apartment so it doesn't get stolen from the cage). Not much power but enough to clean the bike.
For cleaning at home I have a Karcher that I got free from the side of the road. It was leaking from the connector between the body and the pump, I connected the hose straight onto the pump and it works great. More than enough power for cleaning the balcony and odds and ends.
The Aldi Ferrrex one works but is a bit shit. You have to be really close (which means the beam spread is tiny)
I have the bosh 120 . Most recent deal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/718749
Buying the hose extension is a necessity.
I always prime it, and afterwards I let it dry. I don't let it sit pressurised.
I initially thought that's I'd be pressure washing driveways with these $100 units. It's possible but you'll be there for hours, cleaning it in 1 inch strips. Provided you're realistic about that, any should be fine
the cheap karcher ones are shit. I had one of the $90 ones and it was no good. they're plastic everything and got basically no power. chucked it out when the plastic pump broke and it was just leaking water. I bought an aldi/workzone one years ago and it's really good. I also bought a petrol one too which was pretty good but noisy. Sold the petrol one a few years ago since didn't need such a big one anymore.
@thewiseone I am in the same boat. If you find any good one, please share your review.
i bought the Gerni 3300 over a year ago and its been fine. I've used it to clean the deck (with the scrubbing brush that came with it), tiles, the car.. i did actually read the instructions that came with it about how to use it (need to connect this and then that and then turn this on, and then that on)