Snow foam applicator

[The_Laird]

Can anyone recommend a pressure washer and snow foam applicator from personal experience? I am totally baffled by all that's available on the web! :o

[notorious]

From electrical 220v unheated models Kranzle Profi series is the only pressure washer worth attention. It is miles better than others. And I tried a lot.

Ask Autobrite for best foam applicator as well as best foam.

[The_Laird]

Thanks Sergey, but I was hoping to spend less than £150 - £200 including the lance (and a patio cleaner if possible) :o

[notorious]

Jim,

Proper 'made in germany' unheated 220v kit wil cost 1000 pounds. Something that will last and is pleasure to own and work with. You may need water tank too. This is what I have in my garage.

If you think of heated 300bar petrol/diesel-powered model with steam, etc. be prepared to shell out 3000-4000 pounds.

Open detailingworld forum and read reviews.

[The_Laird]

If I spent £1K on a pressure washer I'd be in the divorce court before I had chance to use it! :)

[Architex_mA8tey]

Check out threads HERE (http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=328) and HERE (http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2587) Jim +++

On the patio cleaning part dont get one of those stupid circle shaped things that look like an upturned dog bowl, make sure you get the attachment that sprays the jet in a small circular motion as they are wayyy more effective, Karcher call it the "Dirtblaster"
They look like this -

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=5780&stc=1&d=1364221709

[HPsauce]

+1 on the Karcher DirtBlaster. +++

(don't use it on the car though! :hammer: )

[notorious]

Cheap no good. Good no cheap. This is what I taught my wife first thing we got married.

[darrenjoe90]

Cheap no good. Good no cheap. This is what I taught my wife first thing we got married.

This is what I taught my wife so she left me !!

[notorious]

Better earlier than later

[Zip]

I've been running one of these for several years:

http://consumer.nilfisk.co.uk/Products/PressureWashers/ConsumerPressureWashers/Excellent/E1302/E1302-9X-TRA/Introduction.aspx

Been excellent - very robust, did lots of research. Wish I'd spent a bit more and got the roll up hose version. Great for patio as well....even the upturned frying pan attachment...:)

Apparently it's all about the flow rate - ignore the kW rating of the motors. Nilfisk all seem to have good flow. I read lots of stories about poor reliabilty of Karcher (may just have been internet scare-mongering)

Comes with a foam blower thing, which is adequate for my needs but I'm sure the flashy brass ones out there are better.

Zip

[ainarssems]

The biggest difference between budget and professional washers is that budget ones use metal pump which will wear out and professionals use ceramic pump which will last forever unless you use dirty water. Then there is obviously pressure and flowrate as well as general quality.

As far as the Karcher goes budget versions are quite crappy and professional are quite good. I use to work in farms in Denmark where had use of variety of professional grade cold and diesel heated washers. Karcher and KEW seemed to most favoured there. They also had some less known Danish made washers that I do not remember make off they were good too but quite expensive.

I recently bought this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nilfisk-C120-3-6-PAD-Big-Accessory-Pressure-Washer-with-1650W-Motor-/321094113047?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item4ac2b35717 which includes variable spray head, rotating blaster head, patio cleaner, pipe/drain cleaner hose and foam sprayer.

Got it with £80 Best Offer and is is quite good for the money I paid. Only complaint would be that in patio washer mode it's quite short so you need to bend down but I am sure there must be extension available.

Also I recommend using filter for water intake so that rust or limescale particles does not get in pump and damage it.

[tintin]

I'd also go with Nilfisk over Karcher - I had two of the latter, and both failed weeks after the guarantee expired :(. The Nilfisk seems better, but it's not out of it's guarantee yet...;)

[David's8]

Better earlier than later

:ROFL:
Whilst I support the view that if you buy cheap you end up buying twice, there has to be compromise - which doent need to involve getting rid of SWMBO :tuttut:. Karcher dont have such a good name on many internet reviews by buyers. Nilfisk, Bosch and Stihl all seem to produce reasonable quality washers and though I havent read reviews of Stihl i would put my money on them IF the gear is produced in Germany. I have a Stihl chainsaw and headgecutter and they are the best. ( I have tried others). +++ The mid range power washer RE118 looks to be OK by the tech description.

[Adrian E]

+1 on Nilfisk at the cheaper end - I've got one with the roll up hose and it does allow you to get round the '8 without moving the pressure washer around. You need to budget for the car spraying nossle so it's not too high a pressure. I also have the angled head which is great for cleaning the underside of the car. The wheel cleaning brush is a waste of time. Patio attachment is OK.

Note that the cheaper the Nilfisk you buy the shorter the spray arm is and the more flimsy it feels. My dad has a really cheap one from a Screwfix offer and it works pretty well but you can feel and see why it's that bit cheaper than mine.

I'm very happy with my snow foam attachment from here:

http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/HD_Snow_Foam_Lance_1L.html

I use one of the Valet Pro 5l snow foams and it seems to work really well.

ETA - this is mine:

http://consumer.nilfisk.co.uk/Products/PressureWashers/ConsumerPressureWashers/Excellent/E1402_E1452/E1402-9SX-TRA/Introduction.aspx

Don't bother with their 'pro' consumer range - it uses the attachments for their proper hot water washers which cost a fortune but don't otherwise offer any benefit over the Excellent range

[PsYcHe]

+1 for the Karcher dirtbuster lance...

Though, half the time I pop down to my mate's yard who has a heated pressure washer :)

[The_Laird]

Now here's a real basic question: what's the water supply? Is it a hose or a reservoir?

[notorious]

Depends if your current water supply can deliver liters/minute that your pressure washer needs. You will kill your pressure washer if water supply is not performant enough. Serious pressure washers come with 'auto stop' system that will switch pressure washer off if it detects shortage in water supply.

I have 650 liter tank.

[The_Laird]

Now I think about it, if your water supply delivered water at the flow rate required, you wouldn't need a pressure washer would you?

[notorious]

If your water supply is the pressure washer itself -- of course :)

It is not just the flow rate in litters/minute, which you can think of as 'mass'. It is also the 'speed' of water. Both mass **and** speed matters.

[HPsauce]

I thought the basic point of a pressure washer was to use much less water but delivered at much higher velocity, certainly compared to a hosepipe and spray nozzle. :Confused:

[notorious]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_washer

"Similarly as a garden hose nozzle is used to increase the velocity of the liquid, a pressure washer adds its own power to create high pressure and velocity. The pump cannot draw more water from the pipe to which the washer is connected than that source can provide. Moreover, the water supply must be adequate for a given machine connected to it, as water starvation leads to cavitation damage of the pump elements."

"The performance of pressure washer, that is it's total power available for cleaning is a combination of 1. pressure AND 2. flow.

A boy cycling along at 15mph hits a wall.
Apart from a few cuts and bruises to the poor lad, little damage is done to the wall.
A bus driving into that same wall at 15mph will knock it down. - Why?
... Because the weight of the object is just as important as it's speed.

So similarly, the total cleaning power of a pressure washer is a result of it's pressure and flow."

[Architex_mA8tey]

Thank you master Sergey :) now everyone. . . wax on, wax off :D

[notorious]

Wikipedia !

[Dezzy]

Wikipedia !

No, Mr Miyagi

[The_Laird]

Thanks for the help with this guys.

I finally bought this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271171159945?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
with a 'best offer' of £100.

I'll try the attachments that come with it before splashing out on a dedicated snow foam attachment

[Adrian E]

I've got that bottle (came free with mine too) - you will want one that you can adjust flow on if you're using snow foam +++

Worth getting the car washing nozzle too, as it's much less aggressive on the paintwork - they're not expensive

[The_Laird]

Is this the nozzle?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NILFISK-CLICK-CLEAN-AUTO-NOZZLE-FOR-PRESSURE-WASHER-CAR-PATIO-CLEANING-/151012002853?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item2329044c25

[Adrian E]

That's the right nozzle pictured although not sure the description matches the product!

[The_Laird]

That's what I thought!

But it's much cheaper than the others on ebay. I think I'll get it and complain if it's not what's pictured

[The_Laird]

Even cheaper here:

http://www.cleanstore.co.uk/products/Product.asp?ID=3563

[Adrian E]

Before you do:

http://www.cleanstore.co.uk/products/productslistSub.asp?Main=Nilfisk-Pressure-Washer-Accessories&sub=Nilfisk-Lances-and-Nozzles

Can recommend the under chassis nozzle too

ETA - lol - posted that then realised you'd done it too while I was looking it up!

[The_Laird]

Yes, I saw the under chassis nozzle and put both in the basket. But then realised that shipping for one nozzle is £1.40; for 2 nozzles it's £5.95! :tuttut:

So I got a call from them to explain that the 'system' automatically swithces to a dearer postage method for more valuable shipments because of the increased risk of financial loss.

So I suggested that I placed 2 orders, each at a shipping cost of £1.40. He agreed and said they'd probably get packed and shipped together anyway!

Is it me? :Confused:

[ainarssems]

If you plan on using patio cleaner I suggest to buy lance extension: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140922461934?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[The_Laird]

Thanks - I'll give it a try with the standard lance first though - these accessories are costing almost as much as the pressure washer!

[Adrian E]

I think I might've bought my Nilfisk from those guys - remember the postage was a bit strange!

[ainarssems]

Thanks - I'll give it a try with the standard lance first though - these accessories are costing almost as much as the pressure washer!

I know what you mean.

I have not tried car washing nozzle but the one that comes with washer is good enough for me, it's adjustable pressure so what else do you need. I suppose under chassis nozzle could come in handy but I would probably go for angle attachment instead and use that with regular nozzle to get under car. That way you have a choice of regular or rotary nozzle to use for under car cleaning. I did clean slabs in back yard with the standard lance and patio cleaner but it is too short and uncomfortable to use even for me not being a tall men. I will definitely buy extension for cleaning driveway at the front.

[The_Laird]

Right, the new toy has arrived! A Nilfisk C-125.

But reading throught the instructions (not really a man thing, I know! :tuttut:), I'm not clear as to how any kind of detergent is applied (for car or patio). I get the snow foam applicator thing, but what if you want to use the car wash brush :eek2: (not on my car, of course!:D) or use a detergent on the patio?

The instructions only recommend connecting a hose as the input, but can you use a bucket with detergent solution in it? :Confused:

[ainarssems]

Mine is a bit different model C120 but on mine the only way to apply any detergents is with foam sprayer. From my past experience you do not really want a detergent constantly added while washing. If the concentration is low it does not have any effect, if concentration is high you go through huge amounts of detergent very quickly. I just spray detergent in decent concentration on with foam sprayer, leave it to work for a while then wash off with plain water and the attachment of choice.

Pressure washers with built in tank have the convenience of filling it up and just turning it on and off when needed but when I bought mine I knew C120 does not have it and it's not an issue for me.

[The_Laird]

Thanks - I'll give it a go this weekend