What Pressure Washer Did You Buy and Has It Been a Disappointment?

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.

Comments

  • I bought a karsher k2 years ago. Worked alright. Then I bought a petrol pressure washer. It saves sooooo much time. I still get the electric one out for small jobs/car.

    But when doing house / driveway / boat ramp / retaining walls, I pull out the petrol powered one. This is the one I got.

    https://www.klika.com.au/kolner-7500-8hp-4800psi-petrol-engi…

  • Any Kranzle user here? Is it worth that high price?

  • Purchased both Gerni, Karcher, both garbage, hoses don't roll up properly, pressure ratings are false, Gerni units are poorly balanced on the wheels for moving. Black Gerni hose leaves marks on freshly cleaned concrete etc etc Ended up buying a 13 hp Honda engined one and a Cat pump 3000 true PSI and never looked back

  • So no one has the boash ones?

  • Gerni 3600, bought about a month ago and used once for a whole day (8+ hours) and twice for half day jobs (about 4 hours at a time).

    Very happy with it so far. I used it to clean rendered and painted walls, unsealed pavers, tiled areas, concrete footpaths, windows, timber fence and metal gates. I'm yet to do the car. I'm glad that I opted for the kit with more accessories as they make the cleaning jobs much easier when compared to a simpler unit with only a couple of nozzles.

    I am contemplating getting an extension so that I can clean the gutters with the 90° nozzle.

    The only minor complaint I have is that you need to be a little mindful of the twists on the hose as it looks like it would be prone to kinking if you are not careful. It has not been a problem so far. Other than that, the Gerni 3600 is a much better unit than the couple of Karcher machines I used previously.

    I also used a big petrol powered unit previously, but that's a completely different game. It's like comparing a family sedan to a tip truck. For simple maintenance tasks around a suburban house, the Gerni 3600 from Bunnings is fine. For major jobs, hiring a big petrol powered unit for a weekend may be a good strategy.

    • I washed the car with the Gerni 3600 today. It did an OK job as expected. Perhaps I diluted the car wash detergent too much, because it produced a slightly foamy spray, but definitely not a thick foam (like shaving cream) that you often see in YouTube clips. I actually don't mind that, as long as it does the cleaning job. I had the detergent bottle about half full and it was more than was required to wash the whole car. Next time filling to one third will be sufficient. The car was last washed about 9 months ago, so there were a few spots where the pressure cleaner wasn't enough and a little bit of careful elbow grease was required. I don't think that any other brand of a pressure cleaner would have fared any differently - they were just stubborn caked on spot stains.

      Washing the car made me realise why people are so particular about the high pressure hose length. The 6m length is just not enough to work your way around the whole car without having to reposition the pressure cleaner. An 8m or even 10m high pressure hose would have worked out much better.

      I'm still happy with the purchase and consider the Gerni 3600 a good option for my needs. It packs away small enough that it fits in the corner of the laundry without getting in the way. I like the vertical aspect ratio. The Karcher I used previously did not pack away well at all in comparison as it took a lot more floor space and there was nowhere to put the accessories.

  • Had a Karcher K2 - The pump leaked as the plastic cracked after 3 year.

  • Had a chrap ~$100 karcher was pretty gutless and the short hose made everything more difficult, once the pump cracked I was done with it.

    Bought a Gerni 7000 after a heap of research and cant fault it. So much power, nice long hose and add a 7 year warranty with registration and i expect a decent life out of it.

  • I splurged on the Gerni 7300 after owning or trying others other the years. It's by far the best I've used.

    • Hose reel is actually a hose reel unlike other brands and models. Packing the cable away takes 10 seconds
    • The hose is 12m long and doesnt kink
    • Power cable is also easily cable managed and packed away nicely. When needed, the holder rotates so it comes out straightaway.
    • Almost all accessories can be stored on the washer with dedicated spots for everything
    • Changing nozzles is quick and easy (always struggled with Karchers)
    • Had this model for 3 years and don.t like it at all.

  • Karcher K5 Premium Full Control Plus - has been thrashed over the last couple of years (main wand was even run over by our car) and never missed a beat.

    Previously owned a mix of the cheap (sub $200) Karcher, Ozito, Stanley and Gerni units. They all lasted under 18 months and are now in landfill.

  • I’ve used a few different cheap ones over the years. They seem to do a similar job. Then I got to use a petrol powered one at work and was surprised how much better it was. Cheap ones would clean 1/4 of the area (take 4x as long. To do the same area)because they don’t have the grunt to put out a decent sized spray.

  • Bought a $69 Ozito. It was terrible. Bought a $200 Gerni, it is great

  • Karcher K2, only gets light usage. Can see the benefit of a model or two up for a bit more practicality of usage. Hose broke after about 4 years (in the middle of a very noticable driveway clean) and the replacement hose was around $80 and it only comes as a pack with the handle which I thought was a bit silly. The Gerni hoses were only $30 at the time too I think

  • Are they all meant to make this whining sound during use? I wanted to clean a section of my driveway but the neighbour came around and asked me politely to schedule a different day to clean it. I agreed, as to avoid any dispute.

    • +1

      The electric pressure cleaners make a noise similar to a vacuum cleaner, with perhaps a slightly higher pitch when the nozzle is restricted and the pump spins faster.

      As a comparison, a 15+ year old electric Karcher model is a lot louder than a new Gerni, but neither of them are loud enough to require hearing protection. When you operate the pressure cleaner, you tend to be further away from it than you would be from a vacuum cleaner motor, so the amount of noise experienced by the operator is actually less. From your neighbours perspective, the motor noise would be similar to you using a vacuum cleaner. The hissing noise of the water jet hitting a surface would be the other noise component, one that a vacuum cleaner would not make.

      Petrol powered units sound a lot like lawn mowers. When it comes to petrol powered units, unless you have a 20m hose and stand far away from the motor, you'll want to wear hearing protection.

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