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Karcher or Gerni?

36K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  towie964 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

I'm wanting to buy a pressure washer for general stuff around the house, including paths and also thought it would be handy to clear the mud from the car given our flying field has dirt access roads.

I've been checking out the Karcher K2.300 and Gerni Classic 115.2.

Bunnings guys each tell you different things regarding which is the better seller etc.

Gerni has metal pump, which I'm told can rust unless you use it frequently. Karcher has non metal pump. Karcher also has a lance included with adjustable pressure rate where as I don't believe the Gerni does.

Would appreciate any thoughts / recommendations. Only want to spend $200 so looking at entry level basic units.

Cheers,

Steve
 
#2 ·
I have the basic karcher, had it for years ago still goes strong $90 special at the local auto joint.... Added the bucket pickup 50 bucks and the lance extension hose 100??? Not sure but with those two accessories so much more useful
 
#3 ·
Thanks Damo,

From what I am reading there are more Karchers out there than Gernis and they appear to have much more of a range in terms of accessories.

Cheers,

Steve
 
#4 ·
Hey Steve, I just bought a Karcher 4.650 and I use it a bit for work, so I went a higher one than what you mentioned.

I thought they had a better range of accessories and that suited me better.

Even paying what I did for, I was happy to do that and it beat hiring one of similar kpi at $90 a day.

Cheers Dave.
 
#5 ·
Thanks Dave,

I think I'm leaning Karcher. I like the on-off switch with them better too compared the the Gernie rocker switch setup.

Cheers,

Steve
 
#6 ·
I have the Gerni 115.2 Steve only thing I don't like is the 5m hose but apart from that I love it...has the turbo spiral nozzle and straight and the soap bottle fitting

Before that I had the karcher which was slightly bigger...motor seized and I had problems with the switch not long After I bought it and hard wired the switch to the on position I wouldn't buy another again

I had picked up my gerni from burnings for 150 on special or 100 but was a while ago

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk 2
 
#8 ·
Thanks guys,

I actually got the Karcher earlier this arvo. The variable pressure wand as standard did it for me and the fact that as it won't be used regularly, there is no chance of pump corrosion as its not metal.

I just did my side paths. They were black and shabby and with just water and the Karcher they look great now.

Unit performed brilliantly. Not one drip leaked from anywhere and the wand and attachments were super easy to swap over.

Cheers,

Steve
 
#9 ·
Good choice Stevo, I have had a Karcher for a few years now and for domestic type stuff it has been great. We kill them quickly at work and buy the Gerni due to the metal impeller and ability to take hot water but that's overkill for domestic stuff.
 
#10 ·
gerni is suited more for commercial use, whereas karcher is better for private home use. weve had one of the mid range karcher ones for ages and have not had a single issue to date, and it gets a lot of use as everyone keeps borrowing it. the only problem is ive misplaced the spiral turbo nozzle, which has me quite annoyed...
 
#11 ·
Wrong both are toys but the gerni has a better pump and longer replacement warrenty from bunnings.. Karcher is repair after 14 days..

Buy gerni youll get turbo head,fann head and sometimes on sale crud power brush (oral b does better), keep receipt.. Have a problem next year go back to bunnings and get a new one in 5 mins.... Easy decision
 
#13 ·
I can beat that... 6000 psi diesel powered hot water container stripper running 4 wands... 68 litres a minute lol True we use it on painted roofs to rip them back to bare concrete...take your toe off
 
#16 ·
I bought the karcher 2.180 today from bunnos for $124 and it performed very well. I just washed the car and did the driveway and it came up sweet.

How's yours going Steve? I chose karcher as there were far more attachments to buy in the future.
 
#17 ·
I have had a Karcher Model number buggered if I know or can remember.

It has served me very well....I bought it back in the mid 90's, and apart from a blown pump due to a mate not draining it properly (left it full of water for a couple of manths) back in 2000, and a blown o'ring last year, I have definately got my money's worth out of it.

When it blew the o'ring, I took it to their Eagle Farm branch in Brisbane, one of the guys their took a quick look at it, dug through a box and replaced the o'ring on the output section of the pump, pump pressure was restored, charged me nothing, and then rang one of the guys at another of their branches down south, who in turn sent me an envelope full of spare o'rings just in case....Cant praise the after sales and out of warranty service highly enough....it has been out of warranty for at least 15 years

I now have a Karcher office across the road from the shop in Geebung...how convenient is that...woo hoo
 
#18 ·
Karcher is going well L_D.

I used the patio cleaning attachment for the first time a few days back. It did a great job and not much spray because of the cover.

I have already done my paths with the turbo wand.

Bought a detergent dispenser for the car - does a good job of sudsing it up but even with the Karcher detergent, I still have to use a sponge for very dirty areas.

Overall though, I'm very happy with it.

Cheers,

Steve
 
#19 ·
I have a kaarcher, I sold them years ago back in my repco days, I bought the lowest priced one that comes with a steel pump as even though I don't use it often, when I do it gets flogged for hours on a row and had never missed a beat. A plastic valved pump would melt its valves with the use that my metal valved unit has had.

Either way a pressure washer is so handy to have around the house.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2
 
#20 ·
Most of the plastic pumps have a duty cycle, and require a cool down period every so many minutes, I believe that is the reason the pumps switch off when you let go the trigger on the wand, and turn back on when you pull the trigger again.

I was always told to make sure you got a unit that had a steel pump because they last longer, the unit I have only let go because the pump was left full of water and it corroded one of the pump parts, needless to say, I no longer let that friend borrow the Karcher.

I now turn off the power, disconnect the hoses, and allow them to drain, and also drain the pump completely before storing the unit, and have had no further issues apart from a cracked o-ring
 
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