Karcher Follow Me

S

Street5927

New member
I have been looking at a new pressure washer for quite some time. I have a 2800psi gas pressure washer that works perfectly. It is about 15 years old and can be hard to start at times, plus it is heavy and bulky. My wife wanted something that she can just hook up to and go. Something that was light and easy for her to use. We were looking at all types/brands/psi electrics but couldn't come up with one that we really liked and that got good reviews. 


 


I was lounging on the couch yesterday and saw an infomercial for the new Karcher Follow me 1800 psi electric pressure washer. Intrigued, I did a google search on it and really didn't get many reviews on it, so I figure why not buy it and give it a try. It should be here on Tuesday, so I can't wait to try it out, especially since I have a great client who comes back to me twice a year scheduled for Wednesday. Anyway,  I bought it off of Amazon (Free shipping through our Amazon Prime account) and also got the floor cleaner attachment (figure I would try it on cleaning my deck and my swisstrax garage flooring). I figure if I don't like it, I can return it free. as well.


 


I will post a more in depth review of this once it comes...
 
Accumulator said:
Street5927- Hope it works out OK for you.  I'm impressed that your wife plans to be use it!
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Accum....She is a great lady. She goes from shorts and a t-shirt riding the John Deere tractor and chopping weeds and edging with the gas weed trimmer like no body's business all the way to getting all dolled up for a night on the town. There isn't anything she won't do.....heck, since I hate (with a passion) painting, she taped and painted all of the rooms in our house. The only thing I had to help her with was the stairwell since it was so high and she is only 5'2" tall...


 


Well...acutally I lied...she hates cleaning cars, and won't do that...so that is my job...lol. 


 


I will post about the Karcher when I get it. Supposed to be here Wed.
 
Some have been concerned about the long-term reliability of the Karcher products while others, like me, have been lucky.  I bought a $180 unit from BJ's years ago and it's still running.  Quite frankly, I'm a bit surprised it's still fully functional and I've never spent $.01 on any sort of repair or maintenance.  Don't know what the newest units are like - - I hope you get good use from it.


 


When mine fails, I really have no idea what I'll replace it with.
 
 I'm afraid to mention my oft-repeated Karcher history for fear of jinxing Street 5927 :o


 


Street5927- Hey your gal sure sounds like a keeper!
 
I did get my Karcher on Tuesday and tried it out with a detail yesterday. Here are my thoughts and observations:


 


The Karcher came packaged very well and had minimal assembly. The only thing that had to be put together were the wheels which just snap into place very easily and the hose connection had to be installed. My first impression after taking it out of the box is that it is really small and compact and appeared to be very well made. The hose connection from the pressure wand to the unit does seem a bit flimsy, but it may have a little "play" to compensate for when you are pulling it around. I also like the fact that it is a GFI on the plug. 


 


Upon hooking it up and turning it on, there were no leaks. Total assembly to turn on time...5 minutes. The pressure wand works great with the twist of a wrist. However, in the description it say that it goes from pencil spray to a fanned out spray. It doesn't do pencil spray, however, it does deliver enough pressure to wash very effectively (Keeping in mind this is 1800psi)


 


It also comes with the pulsating head which also works well and cleans well. It is a snap to change the spray wands as well. They just push in and twist to lock. The soap solution tank could have been made a little better. It has a rubber top that seals the fill hole, but it does the job. The soap comes out not very soapy and not too watery. It delivers a good mixture. There is, however, no way to change the mixture either.


 


As far as pulling it, it pulls very easily. I was even able to pull it over my garden hose with no issues at all. I was tugging it around in the grass a little too, and had no issues with pulling it. It actually made washing the vehicle a breeze and very effortless. 


 


It comes with a 35' electrical chord and a 25' pressure hose, which made it possible for me to wash the vehicle outside of my garage (as I normally do) without the Karcher ever leaving the inside of the garage. (which never happens). Normally, with my gas pressure washer, I have to stop 5 times to move it from one side of the car to the other. 


 


I like that fact that it is very compact. I have it stored right next to my Mytee against the wall. It takes up very little space as their are places to store the wands, nozzle handle, chord and pressure hose all together....and a nice handle, which makes moving it and transporting it very easy. I believe it says it is only 21#. 


 


Although I have only used it once, I give this little thing five thumbs up so far. It is portable, compact, light, easy to use and maneuver and produces a very nice cleaning pressure. I will continue to add reviews, pro's/cons as I continue to use this. 
 
Ryan, it would be most helpful to the rest of us if you can share the cost and maybe post a few pictures so we can see what Karcher's contemporary offerings look like.  Thanks.
 
I would be careful of using the head that rotates. Typically, those are set with a 0 degree fan spray and it rotates to cover a large surface area... I have never used it on any of my cars, and would be afraid too!


 


However, Karcher does make a rotating brush head that I wouldn't mind trying on the tires.
 
I finally had a chance to get some photo's and two short videos up. The videos are of the soap mixture being applied and the other is of the floor cleaner attachment. The unit from Amazon was $200.00 and the floor attachment was $50.00. I subscribe to Amazon prime, so there was no shipping fees.


 





 





 





 





 





 





 





 





 





 





 


 
The last two pics are supposed to be the videos, but for some reason they are not playing from here, but instead link right into the video on photobucket.
 
Ryan--sure hope that unit holds up as it seems the design makes great sense.


 


BTW--is your garage floor one of those snap together flooring systems?   Curios as to how it's working out and can you wash your car in there without fear of mold etc building up under the tiles???
 
Accumulator said:
Glad it's still working OK!  That floor attachment looks handy, I could use one of those...
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Thanks Accum....used it for the second time today. Still no leaks, provides good pressure and yes, that floor attachment will come in handy for cleaning the garage floor as well as my composite decking, I figure it will save me about an hour of work cleaning my deck. 
 
pwaug said:
Ryan--sure hope that unit holds up as it seems the design makes great sense.


 


BTW--is your garage floor one of those snap together flooring systems?   Curios as to how it's working out and can you wash your car in there without fear of mold etc building up under the tiles???
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Yes, I have the Swisstrax flooring. I was tossed up between the Swisstrax and the Racedeck. The Swisstrax had a better warranty and when each company sent me a sample, the Swisstrax just seemed like a much better option. On the underside of the flooring are "grooves" which allow air flow underneath to prevent mold from forming. That was one of my questions when I spoke to the sales rep from Swisstrax. He said they never had any complaints. I don't wash in the garage, but I do pressure wash the floor several times a year to keep it clean and then just mop up the remaining water after blowing a bulk of it out with a leaf blower. Also, it doesn't get cleaned throughout the winter months, so all the snow melt, etc drips onto the floor. The floor has been in now for about 4 years and I do periodically pull it up in spots to check for mold, and so far, I have none. 


 


Here is what it looks like in a larger view:


 


 
looks like a nice unit. Ive had a karcher for 10+ years that has yet to let me down, despite it running dry more than a couple times, and beating the crap out of it. still works like new.
 
Street5927 said:
Accum....She is a great lady. She goes from shorts and a t-shirt riding the John Deere tractor and chopping weeds and edging with the gas weed trimmer like no body's business all the way to getting all dolled up for a night on the town. There isn't anything she won't do.....heck, since I hate (with a passion) painting, she taped and painted all of the rooms in our house. The only thing I had to help her with was the stairwell since it was so high and she is only 5'2" tall....
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I dunno why she married the man! lol
 
Not to jinx things but my Karcher 1800 psi electric bit the big one into it's second (or was it third year) of light use. I replaced it this spring with a Green Works 2000 psi electric with a 2yr one time replacement deal... we'll see. (Buyer beware: Outta the box the new one had a pin hole leak in the detergent tank. I called the company only to learn there are no replacement parts?! They told me to return it to Lowes...okay then).
 
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