Which water blaster do people recommend?

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Monstino

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#262120 6-Jan-2020 13:38

Alright so I’m in the market for a new water blaster. After looking over these forums a lot of people recommended the Nilfisk blasters due to the alloy pump, but after shopping around, it turns out Nilfisk are pulling out of the NZ home market, sticking to commercial only, so it’s pretty hard to find parts, accessories and the units now. My next option was Karcher, but people say the plastic pumps in them break easily, however they do have a huge warranty period and a big range of accessories. I’ve looked into the Stihl blasters, which have ceramic pumps from the RE109 and up, but they don’t have any package deals so to get accessories would end up being quite expensive. Other options are Bosch and Husqvarna, which I’ve only briefly looked into.

I’d love to hear the last eat opinions on what people are using and any troubles people have had. I’m looking at spending upwards of $600, and wanting the max psi I can get, but with accessories (patio cleaner, foaming bottle etc) but with reliability.

Cheers

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#2386060 6-Jan-2020 13:46

We have a basic Karcher (can check model number) thats been running happily for general use for a couple of years. Main issue I have with the lower priced ones is the heads tend to give up faster.

Did think the wife had killed the unit one day tho - she was blasting near the pool, and I heard "eeep" followed by "splash". She had tugged the hose and it knocked the unit into the pool. I yanked out the power and pulled the unit out - let it dry in the open for a few days, and it fired up again thankfully :)

Spending around the $500 mark should let you get decent pressure and all the accessories you'll ever need ;)

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timmmay

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#2386068 6-Jan-2020 13:53

I got a Bosch from flybuys. I don't use it often, but it's a few years old and still works fine.

richms

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#2386069 6-Jan-2020 13:54

I bought the cheapest ryobi there was with the hovercraft thing on it for paving. Does the trick nicely for cleaning the driveway and decking. The foam tanks are useless becasuse they dont actually suck the liquid up unless you have the soft brush on the end that doesnt actually have much of a spray. Newer ones have an option for a nozzle end with a bottle for liquid that does a good job spraying the cleaning liquid out, but that bottle nozzle will not fit onto my older ryobi one because the connector is a slightly different size.

Main use I give it other than the driveway and decks is car cleaning, and its ok for that, I think thats what the inbuilt tanks are made for rather than the brick and paving liquids since it sucks that up really well with the car brush on the end and mixes in a decent amount of it.

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kobiak

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#2386077 6-Jan-2020 14:01

I would say Karcher if you willing to spend. We still have 18-19 yrs old unit which is used in very abusive way, some plastic parts failed, and I had to replace power cord and pressure hose once. However pump and original handle and accessories/heads are still going strong.

I purchased Ryobi 1800W 2000PSI Water Blaster last year and used it max 10 times in total and it's perfect little helper to clean deck/small driveway/windows/car without spending a fortune.

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#2386082 6-Jan-2020 14:19

I've got an old Karcher that's been handed down through several friends and handed around to several more on long-term borrows.

Apart from the heads dying, the rest of it has been excellent for a really long time.

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jonathan18

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#2386127 6-Jan-2020 14:30

I bought a Karcher K4 Full Control and patio cleaner from Mitre 10 in late 2018; I got the water blaster for $496 (rather than $599) because, at that time, the model was identical to that sold (cheaper) at Bunning's. Similarly, I got the patio cleaner cheaper with the same 15% price-beating policy (now it seems they deliberately don't have models in common between the two stores, to avoid this - the difference between them may simply be a single accessory).

Really like the wind-up hose - it's far less frustrating than the loose type, and it's easy to roll back up. At this point it's performed perfectly; I went with a more expensive model than I normally would have based on advice I received here and elsewhere - I don't want to be buying a new one in a couple of years, and was advised the water cooling of the motor should help longevity. (I think the warranty of the various Karcher models increases as you go up the range - this has a seven year warranty, I think).

Only issue has been with the patio cleaner (it's the model with the extra jet at the front, allowing one to get into corners) - it started surging when using it, but I discovered that was due to clogged jets, which wasn't too difficult to clean.

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#2386195 6-Jan-2020 17:01

My Karcher is maybe 15 years old. a 2400 psi model (electric).

The heads are just starting to give up. Apart from that, it hasnt missed a beat.

The trick is to actually read the operating manual and follow the procedure for switching on and off i.e. you connect the water, turn on the water, depress the trigger and whilst trigger is on, turn on the power. On off sequence its the reverse...so while trigger is on, turn off the power and then switch off the trigger.

This procedure protects the unit from having ceased ball bearings.

BlinkyBill

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#2386206 6-Jan-2020 17:09

Nilfisk. Miles better than Karcher if you do a reasonable amount of usage (I do). There are plenty of models all over, not aware they are exiting the domestic market, but the semi-commercial ones are better anyway. I have two, one at home and one on the farm.

panther2

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#2386207 6-Jan-2020 17:09

got a 2200w ryobi from bunnings 2 years ago it works great the only issue if the cord doesn't straighten very well once unrolled.

CokemonZ

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#2386210 6-Jan-2020 17:25

panther2:

got a 2200w ryobi from bunnings 2 years ago it works great the only issue if the cord doesn't straighten very well once unrolled.

Think I must have the same one. Came in a bundle with a crazy high pressure lance, a low pressure adjustable one (which still goes pretty high pressure) and a deck scrubber spinny thing.

You can also get an adapter so it takes karcher accessories - but I haven't got it.

Also has a container on the back that soap can go in - works pretty well for soap/simple greening things.

Stu1

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#2386239 6-Jan-2020 18:38

Karcher k3 had it two years so far very happy no complaints. Bunnings has a good package
https://www.bunnings.co.nz/karcher-k-3-premium-full-control-home-and-car-water-blaster_p08909640

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#2386327 6-Jan-2020 20:59

Plastic (try to avoid this type), followed by aluminium and then brass heads are order of increasing quality. Ceramic plungers are better than stainless. Rubber hose with wire braid is better than thermoplastic as far as hose goes. Be careful when looking at brands as some are not compatible with anything else as far as fittings and accessories go. Comet is a very good Italian brand.

panther2

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#2386343 6-Jan-2020 21:33

CokemonZ:

panther2:

got a 2200w ryobi from bunnings 2 years ago it works great the only issue if the cord doesn't straighten very well once unrolled.

Think I must have the same one. Came in a bundle with a crazy high pressure lance, a low pressure adjustable one (which still goes pretty high pressure) and a deck scrubber spinny thing.

You can also get an adapter so it takes karcher accessories - but I haven't got it.

Also has a container on the back that soap can go in - works pretty well for soap/simple greening things.

sound like it, I also have a foam sprayer for the car but found it hopeless, unless I haven't been using the correct soap

Monstino

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#2386346 6-Jan-2020 21:44

After researching and with some of the replies on here I’m gonna go with the Karcher k3. There’s a deal at Bunnings at the moment for $299. It’s 1800 psi and comes with a couple attachments, along with a 7 year warranty, so I think it’s the best bang for the buck. Thanks for the help team!

CokemonZ

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#2386354 6-Jan-2020 21:54

panther2:
CokemonZ:

panther2:

got a 2200w ryobi from bunnings 2 years ago it works great the only issue if the cord doesn't straighten very well once unrolled.

Think I must have the same one. Came in a bundle with a crazy high pressure lance, a low pressure adjustable one (which still goes pretty high pressure) and a deck scrubber spinny thing.

You can also get an adapter so it takes karcher accessories - but I haven't got it.

Also has a container on the back that soap can go in - works pretty well for soap/simple greening things.

sound like it, I also have a foam sprayer for the car but found it hopeless, unless I haven't been using the correct soap

Haven't used the car sprayer. Found you can get ok foam out of the low pressure lance

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