Pressure Washer + Lance

Hey guys, I'm trying to step up a level and buy a pressure washer to make things a bit easier, and was wondering if you all could reccomend some good brands/specific washers (and foam lances). I'm trying to keep it under $150, was thinking something like this for $60:



but i'm not sure how it performs, or what "stats" I should be looking for when purchasing a pressure washer. I was definitely looking at Karcher as they seem to make some budget pressure washers.

Look forward to getting some feedback! :worship2:

 

I have a karcher, first ever PW and it works like a charm. Just make sure you get the karcher adapter for the foam gun if you ever plan on getting one.

 

Didn't know Karcher sold a specific adapters, thanks for the info! :thumb:

 

picked up my karcher pressure washer at BigLots for about that price. works very well for the cost! i think my foam cannon cost a few more bucks than the PW!

 

Karcher doesn't, the foam gun/canon place should have the adapter.

 

Here is the FC I ordered. Love it. 14.0263-Foam Applicators

They should have the adapters for the karcher. GL.

 

Would 1550 PSI be sufficient?

 

Unless your gonna be doing Graffiti Removal 1550 should be fine :cig:

 

Great, thanks Gordon

 

Check around all the Pawn Shops in town, you can really find some Bargains if you don't mind crusing around looking at a Bunch of Cool Stuff/Shady Characters :crash:

 

GPM (gallons per minute) is more important than PSI. Anything close to or above 2.5 is a decent machine IMO.

 

Just picked one up 1600PSI and 1.3GPM for $70, I guess I'll see how it performs next time I get the chance to use it.

 

You can also pick up some decent pressure washers from costco. I've seen electric ones for about $120...I've got one and it's 1850 psi...you don't need any more than that for detailing cars.

 

Invest properly in a PW - don't buy the cheapest thing available and expect it to do a good job or last long.
Karcher themselves will confirm that one you bought is considered to have a useful working life of around 25 hours max.
It'll be noisy, and the cleaning power as a function of its flow rate and pressure, will mean if you want to really shift the dirt off after a foaming pre-wash, you'll need to have the nozzle about 2" off the paintwork.

I use something that's about 2-2.5x more powerful than that, with the nozzle no more than 6" away, and that still leaves the tenacious traffic film on, for the mitt and shampoo solution to contend with.

Spend the money once is my motto, not buy cheap replace often - as that's a false economy.

 

It's very true that investing in the right tools make the job better. However, a proper pressure washer will cost way more than the budget the original poster has. I've been using a karcher I bought almost 2 years back just so I can see if I wanted to start using a pw. Mine still works fine and I've way surpassed the 25-hour life...an average of 4-5 car per week...you can do the math So to start out when funds are tight, I don't see anything wrong with an inexpensive pw. That's just MHO.

 

Be careful WHICH Karcher that you get. I have been selling Karchers since 1991 and I can tell you that not ALL Karchers are equal. I have been to the manufacturing facilities in Germany and saw the different production lines at all plants. The quality of some models is unparalleled, the quality of others is OK at best. These price point machines are made to run about 150-200 hours, that's it. If you have a problem w/ them though, you should plan on chucking it in the garbage.

 

Alright, I have NO idea about what adapter to buy...I tried calling my local shucks, home depot, harbor freight ect, no one knows what I'm talking about. Tried emailing the company I'll be ordering my foam lance from but no reply in 3 days.

Here's the lance: 14.0263-Foam Applicators

Here's the piece I think I need: http://pwmall.com/website/Nproductdetail.aspx?ITEMNMBR=TCP1MB&BCATCHILDID2=2972&ID=2213

If someone could enlighten me it'd be much appreciated.

The pressure washer I'll be using is a Karcher K2.28

 

In order to connect that Foam Canon to the Karcher you need these

Coupler, Twist 1/4"MPT Socket

Karcher Adapter A

 

Just what I was looking for, thanks!

 

Did you order already?

Polished Bliss Ltd Search

You can buy the foam cannon and the karcher attachment there. I think its $75 total shipped to the US