Steam cleaner and Pressure washer? Help this Canadian decide!

A

Astro_ng

New member
Trying to decide between two pressure washers, either this one



Kärcher Home & Garden: Model G 2600 VC: Home Outdoor Pressure Washer Gasoline Consumer



or



this other one that i can't seem to pull up anything from google. It's from walmart by the brand "power washer" It has a Honda motor though, and it is 2600psi, with 2.3gpm.

So the specs are exactly the same as the Karcher unit but it comes with a Honda motor, the model number is "pw2623c" Google doesn't pull up anything :shead:



As for a steamer, i'm not looking to spend any more than $500, I'm thinking of trying out this unit?



Steam Cleaner | MR-100 | Steam Cleaners By Vapamore



it's around $350, ill have to buy it from Amazon.com though, being in Canada has its downfalls!
 
Unless you are not planning on using the steamer much I would probably save up a little more money and go with a higher quality one. I have the VX5000 which is a better machine (juding by the specs) and I would say that it is just "good enough". I would probably want something with higher PSI and higher temp. Also, the tank on the Vapamore is small.
 
Astro_ng- NO WAY would I ever buy another Karcher. All four (or was it more? at least when you count the ones they replaced under warranty..) broke down at inconvenient times, alway something with those pieces of junk. Simply amazing how unreliable they all were, including the pricey commerical ones. I'd buy anything else before a Karcher.



On the steamer, I'd want a higher steam PSI than that, but things can get expensive as you go up that ladder. Sorta surprising how seemingly small diffs in the PSI can make for huge diffs in the effectiveness.
 
a friend of mine works in a repair shop for things such pressure washers and similiar. he opened and stripped to the bone several karcher washers and he has only one conclusion. a very simple one:

dont buy any harcher if its not a profesional series.

the home series are exactly the same as you buy in any cheap store under "occasions", usually for a ridicoulus price. in fact, there are a few factories in china/india and so on that produce parts for several pressure washer manufacturers. karcher is one of them. and that is good! if you use it once a month to lightly wash the stairs in front of your house.

but if you weant to use it to wash 2-3 cars a week... i have bad news for you.



the "PRO" series on the other hand is considered the best you can buy in europe without having to import one. that thing is known as durable, powerful and simply, an amazing product. bad side is, of course, the cost.



so when buying a karcher, look for the expensive ones. if you buy a weak, cheap machine, it will die in your hands after a few washes. the professional ones are made with original parts, not the ones coming from china, that can be easily replaced if needed and have a long warranty that speaks for itself.
 
I have had an electric Karcher in my mobile rig for a couple of years with no problems but it only gets used a few times a month. At the shop we have 3 electric Karchers on the go at any given time and they are constantly breaking down...luckily Costco will exchange them without much hassel.
 
This is sad news then, how am i to decide what pressure washer to buy!? The other one at Wal-mart has no information on the internet about it!





Does costco have lifetime warranty on their products? Is that why you can continuously exchange your karchers?
 
Astro_ng said:
This is sad news then, how am i to decide what pressure washer to buy!? The other one at Wal-mart has no information on the internet about it!





Does costco have lifetime warranty on their products? Is that why you can continuously exchange your karchers?
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Costco has recently changed their return policy on pressure washers so you may want to check with them before buying one there...it may only be 6 months now. Unfortunatley for electric pressure washers you do not have alot of choices up here in the Great White North. The thing with the electric Karcher pressure washers is that you have to purge the air out of the lines first before turning it on...I think this helps the pump from burning out. Also, in Edmonton you will want to make sure to drain it properly once it starts to freeze or else it will freeze up and break internal parts.
 
i have one i use..well, my mom uses once in 2-3 months for some washings around the house. and she purges the air from the hoses EVERYTIME after use like Jpostal advised you to. and it doesnt help. it breaks down constantly. after all, the expenses of the repairs are minimal but it just happens at the worst possible moment, of course... murphy's law.

iirc, i paid 150$ for it. the smallest one they have, 2.2kW:

KARCHER HD 5/11 C PLUS | Karcher pera? | Mini Wash | Visokotla?ni pera?i | Bjelovar | Hrvatska

and it just sucks. some noname brand pressure washers are EXACTLY the same. same parts manufacturer. and they're worth NOTHING. just like this line of karcher.

so i hate it.

but again, i can give you numerous examples of friends that have the more professional ones and they love it. never EVER a single problem with them. being electrical cold water only or diesel with water heating, they just never had any issue.



so even if costco gives you an amazing return policy and a great warranty, id still ssay: stay away from the "home and garden" lineup. go for the big ones if you want it to last and serve you well.

taking into consideration your differences in temperature throught the year, there you have another reason NOT to buy it. again, unless you plan on something bigger that is made out of original durable parts.
 
I'm amazed that people do OK with the Pro Karchers. Mine (can't remember the model # ) cost an arm and a leg and after having it replaced and then rebuilt numerous times I simply threw it in a dumpster after it died in the middle of yet another job.
 
thats why more heads are better than one.

turns out they arent so perfect as they seems to be?

now who knows... maybe most of the people neglect any fail cause they are ashamed to say how much they paid for a piece of crap, so they say its a perfect thing, one of the best purchases they've ever done, while instead its just a cover for their stupidity not to ask in time. Accu for example said it straight away.

astro, if i were you, i would definitely cross karcher from the list now.

i did so from mine.

and im in for more info on what to buy. the money im saving for a new washer will certanly not end in germany.
 
Plus, it's easy to say you'll purge the lines, lube the thing, you know..do all the proper maintenance...but then real life starts to pressurize ya and you think "well, just this once".



Heh heh, this discussion of Karchers makes me think of Dyson vacuum cleaners (which I myself will *NOT* try because I know which side of that fence I'd end up on).
 
Hey - I did buy a Dyson, at Target when it was on sale for a hundred bucks off. Best Vac we've ever had! My wife actually loves to use it and even the kids do their rooms every week. I've had cheapo vac's and even a pricey Electro Sux and found they were living on their rep from years past, a thousand dollar vacum and it went to the shop 3 times in 4 years? C'mon and they guy said they had a bad design, oh really-you think? Funny how your boy didn't mention that when he sold me this turd. I ended up throwing it away, I couldn't sell it to anyone and sleep at night, know what I mean...



Power washer - I bought a Northstar at Northern Tool, It's electric and at $450 aint cheap, but it has been a champ and worth every penny.
 
JuneBug said:
Hey - I did buy a Dyson, at Target when it was on sale for a hundred bucks off. Best Vac we've ever had!
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I just *KNOW* I'd be that one guy whose Dyson dies and never gets sorted out :o



I'm just sticking with my ancient Hoovers..the oldest one dates to the late '80s.



I'll probably just get a pressure washer from Sears, as I can drop it off for service without going out of my way. Can't help but think I'm shortchanging myself doing it that way though :think:
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, this discussion of Karchers makes me think of Dyson vacuum cleaners (which I myself will *NOT* try because I know which side of that fence I'd end up on).
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What's wrong with Dysons?
 
ukie said:
What's wrong with Dysons?
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IIRC (I researched this a while ago and my memory is fuzzy on it), a bunch of the online reviews I read said they have issues with clogging, especially with regard to pet hair. Eh, wish I could remember the details, but it sounded like some people had awful issues while others didn't. As with the Karchers, I just knew I'd be one of the unhappy customers.



I would like to buy their little rechargeable one though, if they'd change the on/off switch so you don't have to hold that "trigger" all the time.
 
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