Need a replacement water blaster

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Need a replacement water blaster

FineWine

3111 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2440

Trusted

Nurse (R)

Lifetime subscriber

#240991 5-Oct-2018 17:08

Have looked at previous threads which are now a year old and one is locked so thought would start a new thread

I presently have an old, at least 10 year, Top Craft 2100w motor with O/P 1886psi (10-13MPa or 130 bar). Karcher Tauranga inform me they have a Karcher K5 motor in them with bespoke everything else. My problem is the 6mtr hose is about to go and the two wands (dirt blaster & variable wand) nylon seal bush has gone with the dirt blaster nylon ball bearing gone. So am in need of a replacement.

The requirement is for every six months or so to keep a non painted fence, which we like el natural, clean & treated. Also have a 40 x 4 mtr driveway to keep treated and clean. Plus to lend out to lalatives every so often.

So I am looking at two machines:

Ryobi RPW140SC $198 and the Karcher K3 Plus $199 on special, (not on their website) both from Bunnings. Am leaning towards the Ryobi at the moment as have been told that the karcher surface cleaner is not as robust as the Ryobi and that the Ryobi hose reel is great as opposed to manual curling the hose up over the Karcher hook.

Thoughts please

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

1 | 2

2114 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2060

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2102268 5-Oct-2018 17:32

Consumer NZ give the Ryobi a rating of 67% vs the Karcher K3's rating of 89% (top of test and Consumer Recommend.

DjShadow

4222 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1322

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2102270 5-Oct-2018 17:34

I got a Karcher K3 from Bunnings a few months back for $199, goes really well but only complaint is the hose curling

MileHighKiwi

782 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 581

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2102295 5-Oct-2018 19:55

I've always found electric water blasters weak and inefficient. I hire a commercial petrol powered one once every year or two and get the jobs done in half the time. Our local hire place charges $70 for a day. Dont have to worry about maintenance either, or loaning to people and being returned damaged.

Stu1

1892 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 489

ID Verified

Subscriber

#2102301 5-Oct-2018 20:04

K3 is great , works well on drives and fences 199 is a good price paid 300 for mine with kit

t0ny

414 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 84

Lifetime subscriber

#2102330 5-Oct-2018 21:03

I have the k3 premium and it works great. There are couple variations of it. Get the one that is water cooled and comes with a 5 year warranty.

scuwp

3927 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2510

#2102344 5-Oct-2018 21:48

Only every 6 months? Hire a real one when you need it. Proper petrol one puts the domestic electric models to shame.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10018

#2102437 6-Oct-2018 10:00

scuwp: Only every 6 months? Hire a real one when you need it. Proper petrol one puts the domestic electric models to shame.

Probably capable of inadvertently blasting a wooden fence to furry match-stick sized shreds too.

Horses for courses.

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#2102574 6-Oct-2018 17:48

It seems somewhat weird that "K3" is used for three different products, in that the "Premium" sold by Mitre 10 looks totally different to the models sold at Bunnings - they have the $199 model, and then the $299 variation with the "home kit" (I find that deck cleaner works pretty well) which appear the same, but then the "Full Control and Home and Car Cleaner" model is different again!

And none of these seem quite the same set as the "K3 Full Control Home" that topped Consumer's test, but it appears to be a cut-down version of the last model linked to above from Bunnings (without the car-cleaning additions).

Has anyone got a good handle of the differences between the various models? Looking at Karcher's website, all variants of the K3 have the same primary specs, but there are certainly three different looking models (reflected in the different size measurements).

I had been planning on buying the $299 K3 with home kit, but if it's worth spending a bit more to get a better quality one I'd certainly look at that (and the car cleaning accessories would no doubt be useful), but I'm not sure if there are meaningful differences in terms of performance.

t0ny

414 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 84

Lifetime subscriber

#2102575 6-Oct-2018 18:00

The mitre10 version that retails for 420 or so is the newest version. That used to cost close to 500 before

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#2102608 6-Oct-2018 18:12

t0ny: The mitre10 version that retails for 420 or so is the newest version. That used to cost close to 500 before

My search of Mitre 10's site only finds the $500 Premium model I linked to above, and another model at $329, both viewable at https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/search?text=Karcher%20k3&q=Karcher%20k3

Is that $500 model different to the one you've got?

t0ny

414 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 84

Lifetime subscriber

#2102610 6-Oct-2018 18:18

Looks like price has gone up. I bought the model that currently retails for 498.

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

FineWine

3111 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2440

Trusted

Nurse (R)

Lifetime subscriber

#2102622 6-Oct-2018 18:42

With my research into this I found that Karcher has their main models; K2, K3, K5, K7. Then within those models are their sub models and these sub models can change by just one item including but limited to the PSI rating and boy is there a price difference. Personally I think this structure is a pricing rip off and a selling gimmick. Their spares are also quite pricey.

I agree that yes the Karcher seems to have the better motor but today I bought the above Ryobi RPW150G from Bunnings. Why, well on inspection I liked the overall metal vs nylon/plastic couplings of the Karcher. Karcher will not let you use any detergent products other than their own and you will void your warranty otherwise. The Ryobi handle assemble felt stronger and more robust. Their spares are not so pricey.

Of course only time will tell.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

t0ny

414 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 84

Lifetime subscriber

#2102627 6-Oct-2018 18:47

You can buy the foam gun attachment and use whatever detergent you want with the karchar

FineWine

3111 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2440

Trusted

Nurse (R)

Lifetime subscriber

#2102629 6-Oct-2018 18:49

t0ny: You can buy the foam gun attachment and use whatever detergent you want with the karchar

Yes maybe using the foam gun attachment but NOT via the inbuilt detergent tank.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#2102643 6-Oct-2018 19:24

FineWine:

With my research into this I found that Karcher has their main models; K2, K3, K5, K7. Then within those models are their sub models and these sub models can change by just one item including but limited to the PSI rating and boy is there a price difference. Personally I think this structure is a pricing rip off and a selling gimmick.

Yep, that's my assumption, in that it's essentially deliberate obsfication; there could also be a desire to provide specific retailers with 'exclusive' models (I see some are advertised as such) - a big thing for Bunnings and Mitre 10 as it means no matching +15%.

FineWine:

I agree that yes the Karcher seems to have the better motor but today I bought the above Ryobi RPW150G from Bunnings. Why, well on inspection I liked the overall metal vs nylon/plastic couplings of the Karcher. Karcher will not let you use any detergent products other than their own and you will void your warranty otherwise. The Ryobi handle assemble felt stronger and more robust. Their spares are not so pricey.

Interesting to read this assessment, given the substantively different ratings from Consumer - 89 vs 67% as mentioned by another poster earlier in this thread. The specific comments on the Ryobi were "This model has OK cleaning performance. But it has a couple of ease-of-use bugbears: it's the loudest unit on test, and it's fairly heavy for a domestic waterblaster." I agree the hose winder looks a great idea, as I too have found Karchers always coil up.

The only other model recommended by Consumer is a Nilfisk - has anyone had experience with their units?

1 | 2