Gerni or Karcher? which one?

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  sraymond on 22/12/2012 - 11:18

  After starting out with a Karcher a few years back, I finally bought a gerni. But it cost a lot more than $250. The main thing you need to know is a lot of these lower priced machines have a plastic pump that should not be used for more than 30 minutes at a time.

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    mrhorseham on 22/12/2012 - 12:01

    Did you find one was better than the other? Or much the same? Just as easy to get replacement parts and accessories for both makes?

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  m0nkeycheese on 22/12/2012 - 13:40

  Gerni

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    mrhorseham on 22/12/2012 - 13:46

    I'm leaning towards a gerni, then i just had a look at hoselink and they don't seem too bad, come with 2 year warranty. they say "Motor Type Brush Motor - Aluminum" and the gerni models say "Reliable aluminum pump", pump/motor, same thing?

    and i can't find out what the entry level karchers have?

    • • 

        mrhorseham on 22/12/2012 - 14:22

        Ah k, thanks. So in the respect the gerni would be better. Can't seem to find what the karcher pump is made of, do you know?

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        mrhorseham on 22/12/2012 - 15:11

        Thanks for all your help, i'll keep doing some research, but now i'm looking at this model which is completely out of my budget, but it comes with the nice patio cleaner which would be great for my parents deck. Or it's the cheaper version, which is in my budget

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        mrhorseham on 22/12/2012 - 20:35

        +1

        You've been very helpful, thanks. I went to harvey norman and bunnings today to check out the models and see whether there was a better price they could do me. But no movement from both stores. Still thinking and ill check out the model you've posted above. Thanks again.

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        TALLBALLER on 24/12/2012 - 05:42

        Christmas in January with 75%off bon-bons-crackers-tinsel-trees-and other promotional paraphernalia. + boxing day sale presents

        NOW that's true OZBARGAIN style

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  Cheeper on 22/12/2012 - 21:51

  Costs a bit more than you intended budget but is a lot of machinery for the price???…
  http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-JetUSA-7-0HP-High-Pressure-Wa…

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  striker5950 on 23/12/2012 - 22:38

  gerni no doubt, i purchased a gerni for 139 from bunnings and its pretty good, than we purchased a karcher for 109for a friend and it broke after the first use, it wouldent pump water out, returned for refund.

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    mrhorseham on 23/12/2012 - 23:01

    -1

    Gerni does seem to be the better make of the two. I just read the choice comments and one comment said "The principle cause [of failure] being corrosion after periods of no usage". Which would make me lean towards the karcher as they claim a "corrosion free pump" which is probably just plastic. Thoughts?

    And this particular model has 5 year warranty.

    I'm terrible with decisions as you can probably tell. Tomorrow i'll have to get one of them though.

    • • 

        mrhorseham on 23/12/2012 - 23:23

        +1

        haha yer thats what i thought when i read it on the box, very positive spin on a plastic pump. Just read some good reviews on the gerni 130.2 .. my budget has since increased to $400 haha

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  adhin on 24/12/2012 - 00:13

  In my experience Karcher seems to be a more reliable brand with parts and accessories more readily/easily available. Karcher is also its own company where Gerni is owned by Nilfisk.

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    pfpozbargain on 24/12/2012 - 06:11

    Gerni is Nilfisk, they are not a different company, only different writing on the case of the same product.

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  pfpozbargain on 24/12/2012 - 06:31

  I've had a couple of Karcher pressure washers and they've both been leaky scheiße that cost so much to fix they aren't worth repairing which means they aren't worth buying in the first place.

  Karcher advertising their plastic pumps as corrosion resistant is infuriating, as someone else said it's a positive spin on a weak point, but it shows you how sketchy the company is, I wouldn't be surprised if the Nilfisk review suggesting they corrode was a competitor sockpuppeting…

  In conclusion I would have to say Karcher are probably the greatest German disgrace in history, even worse than when they cheated at the Olympics.

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  aussieaubs on 24/12/2012 - 07:41

  I've checked through the choice report - and they do put another brand ahead of gernie and karcher, but given my experience on what i've read (as i am in the market as well) I'd be getting a Gernie and dont get the entry level. Get the mid range with the really long hose.If your budget is increased to $400 then you should get the gernie model that goes for around $500.

  Can you wait till boxing day sales?? otherwise get the unit from somewhere that has a price guarantee…(will refund price changes for 30 days)… beggars cant be choosers. if you get a good unit for your parents then you can borrow it yourself :) pays back 2x.

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  Nav2k on 24/12/2012 - 10:11

  will never buy a karcher again.

  hoses pop off easily etc.
  threaded plastic outlet compared to gerni's metal one…

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  sraymond on 24/12/2012 - 13:41

  Anyone still looking these look pretty good.

  http://www.hoselink.com.au/

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  mrhorseham on 05/01/2013 - 09:57

  Just thought i would say thanks to everyone for contributing to this thread. On christmas day i ended up giving them a promise note, to get the gerni at a later date as i decided to get this gerni 130.2S from supercheap. Picked that up today and was able to use my ING card, so got it for around $326, and then also picked up the patio plus from bunnings and got them to price beat supercheap and then ING card again, making it $68.

  Thanks again to everyone.

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  Philthy Phil on 04/04/2013 - 11:48

  Acknowledging this thread is a couple of months old, thought I should add my recent experience with Karcher. I purchased a Karcher K3.150 just over two years ago from Bunnings. Its broke down four times within the warranty period, each time the unit broke down water would pour out of the bottom and it would keep surging.

  I tried to get the unit replaced when it broke down the fourth time but was refused. Its now broken again just out of warranty and Karcher won't help.

  I used my Karcher for cleaning down pathways around the house and general light duty work. I'm a aware that you don't connect a hose that has been sitting in the sun or drag the unit around by the hose pipe.

  I have no experience with Gerni but refuse to buy Karcher again. A metal pump Gerni would appear to be the way to go. Now to find the right model!

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    marquise on 06/04/2013 - 19:58

    Thanks for adding your experience. Presume your Karcher was a plastic pump one… I'm waiting to purchase a Gerni at some stage. When supercheap auto had their sale recently I was tempted to buy one with the patio cleaner included. Holding off on my purchase until I really feel I need one.

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  comfyjean7 on 31/12/2014 - 17:29

  +1

  Just adding my 2cents worth to build on this topic,
  went to Bunnings lately and spoke to them asking them for their thoughts. This Bunnings person (rather old), indicated to me that both are fairly good brands and to him there are only two large differentiating factors after considering the usual cost, bundling of accessories, PSI, etc…

  • Karcher uses Plastic pumps and Gerni uses Metal (well known fact)
  • Karcher provides repair warranty during its warranty period and Gerni provides replacement warranty (little known)

  I am going for Gerni and I will be going for an entry model since it will be my first washer and I only use it occasionally.

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    user27 on 03/09/2015 - 14:39

    Hey this has been on my "things to buy" list for a long while and basically its my hesitation to spend $200-300 on a spray.. so just wondering .. 8 months on what are your thoughts on buying your gerni? how much did u pay and for what?

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      comfyjean7 on 09/09/2015 - 14:35

      +1

      8 months on and it is going great. Like I said, I bought the entry model for occasional use. I use it mainly to wash my car and clear the down pipes attaching the "snake". It is a great little unit for the cost and since mine came with the detergent mixing bottle attachment, it was easy to spray foam (not snow foam, you need a special after market nozzle for that) directly on my car.

      My only gripe is if you are used to or expecting the fan shaped spray, Gerni's standard nozzles don't do that, they have a tornado nozzle that sprays out in circular form.

      This is not really useful (at least for me) when I wash the car, they have a nozzle that does a fan shape which you can buy at $19.90. But being el cheapo, I simply screw off the detergent bottle leaving the rest of the attachment on, this produces a nice pressured spray. But if you want power, then stick with the turbo/tornado nozzle.

      The usual considering of power vs application applies. I bought the Gerni 1.4kw Classic 110.4 High Pressure Cleaner - $139.

      My entry model is good to wash dust and gunk off the external wall/windows but if you want to power wash the driveway to remove stains, you need a big one. My entry model is too short in the power cable (easy to sort with extension) and too short in the pressure hose (expensive to extend). I guess my minimal outlay has given me sufficient experience to know what I need to buy in the future but then again, I only use it to wash my car occasionally, and maybe wash the external walls/windows of my house once a year. So i will probably use this until it breaks.

      BTW, my budget was around $100ish, and considering my use, I didn't buy a bigger unit. So depending on what you need to do, the entry models might be good enough. But if you need it for tough jobs even if it is once, then I'd recommend you get the bigger units to save yourself the effort.

      Hope this helps.

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  smithvictoria059 on 14/08/2015 - 21:35

  Gerni is the best cleaner for deck , patios, driveway, car etc. It has patio as well as drain cleaner which worked better than Karcher. I would suggest you to buy gerni as it is trouble-free and it's services are very reliable so far.

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    DavoX on 15/08/2015 - 10:27

    "…I would suggest you to buy gerni as it is trouble-free and it's services… "
    I would suggest you look at some of the DATES on the posts above yours!