I Know I'm A Technical Dinosaur But .....

My pressure washer has been leaking for some time and it will eventually pack up. It has given very good service over the years so, trying to do my research in advance, I've been looking at what the new ones are like.

Ours is a Karcher and when looking at the current ones they are advertising their all singing all dancing top of the range machine (I do need a powerful one as our patio is so big). They are saying how wonderful it is that you can now control it with your phone.

I may be missing something here but when you are going to need to use it you will be standing there holding the lance and turning it on. Why would you want to get your phone out in order to tell it what power setting you want it on when you can just use the setting control on the handle of the lance? Are people no longer able press a button or turn a knob on a machine to get it to work?

 

@ricky101 over the years I've had many pressure washers and most didn't last long as they get a lot of use here. I had five in succession replaced free of charge because they lasted less than two years. This Karcher has worked better than any of them and is seven years old. It's still going strong but is leaking.

A friend opened it up and had a look and said that the part that needed replacing was fairly expensive so just carry on until it packs up. It has gone six months so far and I'm not worried about it leaking all over the patio

Modern tech! Pahh!!! We're back to Smart(?) meters again. I'm still capable of turning off light switches etc.

My banks have finally worked out that I don't need a mobile phone to have two stage verification after I had a long discussion with their tech dept. One now sends the code to an email address I have set up for that purpose and the other sends it by voice message to my landline. After weeks of them saying it can't be done - it has been Mentioning the ombudsman seems to have worked.

The thing I dislike most of all are the conspiracy theories on (anti)social media. Conspiracy theories have been going for donkey's years - remember Stanley Kubrick faking the moon landing - but it has got worse in the last few years. Although I thought that Madame Tussauds did a cute trick with the Meghan and Harry publicity stunt for their new exhibit.

We even had a type of conspiracy theory 2,500 years ago when my old pal Plato set out his 'Allegory of the Cave'.

 

Yep, I'm baffled by it too. There was a bit on the Big Bang Theory sitcom - How do you make something better for the tech generation? Add bluetooth!

 

I've been really happy with our Nilfisk pressure washer which is now 8 years old. I have a horrible feeling that this will be it's last year though as it is now cycling the pump constantly when not actually being used (as if there is a leak somewhere, but no leak to be found) and the pump occasionally makes a bit of an odd sound when it is in use. Add to that the fact that the high pressure hose got kinked at some point over winter and now has a weakened spot (probably shouldn't even be used to be honest) and it all points toward a replacement.

I had two Karchers prior to the Nilfisk in quick succession and both failed, however they were admittedly the lower end of their range - however as you rightly point out, the current crop up their range seem to have bluetooth and an app where you change settings..... why on earth you'd want to do that, I have no idea. For both Nilfisk and Karcher prices seem to have risen quite significantly too.

 

Reading about how many folk on here are getting leaks in their washers before they are even 2 years old, it could be down to frost damage. This might be stating the obvious but don't leave your pressure washer in an unheated shed over-winter, if ice forms inside it will destroy seals etc.
Same goes for garden hose attachments, store them somewhere frost free.

 

Looking around, it seems that the 'yellow' brand are still guilty for chucking pumps or knackering pump seals within a very short space of time - - that echoes my experience of them years ago, when I went through two of them in fairly short order. I am very careful to drain out all of the water at the end of each use (even in summer) to prevent the very situation you describe.

The Nilfisk fellow I have is now 8-9 years old, and has taken a proper beating to be fair to it - you have seen the size of my patio @JWK, and the driveway and the bit at the front, which it takes care of in addition to car washing and windows. I have done most of the patio today, but it was a battle as my pressure washer is now clearly dying -- getting the pump to start and stay running continuously was a real challenge and got worse as the day went on.

The thing that is stunning me at the moment is the price of a new replacement machine - - I need something that has sufficient grunt to cope, so a really small one is no good, but a decent size machine seems to be £200-£250 - - hell of a lot more than I paid for the one I have.

For example:
Nilfisk D140.4-9 Maintenance X-Tra Pressure Washer with Patio Cleaner, Drain Cleaner and Rotary Brush | Costco UK

(and that is at least £50 cheaper than the same machine on Amazon

 

Interesting because I am getting the feeling that several consumer items have drastically risen in price over lockdown. I helped my allotment neighbour who was putting up his new shed even though he had paid for installation, apparently the installation team could not install for several months due to a big demand. I have noticed that the online nurseries have practically sold out of seeds and plants and bigger items like greenhouses. Another thing selling like hot cakes are gazebos, I see a few going up around our village in people's back gardens so that lockdown visitors have somewhere to shelter. We are being taken advantage of methinks.

 

I agree - supply and demand partly to blame I think, and particularly when it comes to garden/DIY related items and that maybe because folks are thinking they might not get away on holiday this year? Last weekend, I spent my accumulated Christmas/birthday vouchers on a new chimnea; our last one was around £90, but upon looking last weekend they were £140+ for even the bog standard ones of the same size. In the end, we decided that we'd be better off going that wee bit more at that price level, and bought a 6ft Castmaster solid cast iron one for £190. We figured that we may as well go for something more robust and long lasting as there was none of them cheap anymore.

I must admit, the price of these pressure washers has scared me a bit - trouble is, I am not really going to have a choice but to get something, and given the amount of space I have to deal with it has to be up to the job.

 

That price scares me too, I would have to seriously think twice if I had to replace mine. I don't use mine as often as you, maybe a couple of times a year.

 

Do you wheel it indoors when it rains ?