Took the Karcher out of hibernation and theres water running out of the bottom of it so either the head is leaking or a seal has gone. Off to pick up a new one today as it only a few quid more than a repair.
So my question is does anyone have any tips for winter storage? I try and empty out as much water as possible before storing it in a dry garage but it might just creep down below zero occassionally but theres not a lot I can do about that.
I do the same as you.
Had a aldi special which was great but a plastic bit cracked and I couldn't replace it so it got binned.
Replaced it with a karcher with 3 year warranty. I'm hoping that if the same happens it's either covered by warranty or I'll be able to fix it.
I have owned a Bosch and now currently own a Nilfisk.
They have both been stored out in my unheated garage and never had a problem with leaks after a winter and over the years they will have seen some prolonged cold spells.
I do try and clear as much water out of the pressure washer when I have finished with them. Turn the water off at the mains and then pull the handle to expel the water out of it.
I used to sell pressure washers. Don’t leave them anywhere where the water can freeze. That’s it. It’s really hard to get the water out that sits inside the machine itself, you might get lucky most of the time if stored outside or in a shed but just like frozen water pipes in a house it will get damaged so easily when frozen.
Oh and never run one before water is in one - turn the water on first and make sure it is running freely through the gun before turning the machine on. Opposite way round at the end, turn machine off before turning water off. They are lubricated by water so running them dry at all is not good. All this I was told by a Karcher technician when I used to return faulty units (which was rare and was always user error I think).
Mine is always stored inside. Maybe if it has to go in the shed over winter provide some sort of insulation so the worst of the cold doesn’t get to it.
Turn the water off at the mains and then pull the handle to expel the water out of it.
Don’t do that if there is still power to the unit.
Thanks guys, sounds like I'm doing about all I can anyway.
As mentioned above getting all the water out certainly isn't easy however it is stored in an attached garage with insulated door etc and I've never seen any signs of freezing in there....just been unlucky i guess.
When I asked about repair the dealer said 4 years was about right which I wasnt expecting.
My K6.85 died earlier this year, while cleaning my bike in sub-zero conditions. Bought in 2004, stored outdoors for a few years (as lived in a terraced house) and lived in a garage since. Great value !
Wondering if I can get it fixed ?
My Nilfisk has been fine stored in a greenhouse or super cold garage all year round for about the past 7 years.
I'm sure I read that the impeller unit is predominantly plastic on Karchers, and this is what cracks with the cold, whereas with Nilfisk there's a far higher proportion of metal bits.
Get what you pay for with these Karchers eh? I've had a Draper for about 10 years, kept in the garage. Still works perfectly, unfortunately it's not yellow 😛
Reading this I must had dodged a bullet as me cheap Karcher K2 has been in the shed through this cold winter and it was running fine yesterday 😊
Another vote for Nilfisk here, I was told that the better/industrial Karchers were very good but the little ones for home use weren't all that, Nilfisk quality was better at the DIY end of the market.
Certainly mine keeps going despite being stored in an unheated garage, at the end of the season tilt it this way and that to drain as much water out as possible then store it on a high shelf.
I treat the HP hose and Lance as an accessory and remove it after every use.
You’d be surprised how much water is in there. Removing the HP hose routinely also means that the connection stays serviceable rather than the usual solid mass that they become - remember that due to the design of the connector, it doesn’t need to be more than snug by hand.
I also break the rule on running dry, and once the hoses are off, spin the motor up for a half a second to purge the pump.
I figure that worrying about piston wear is silly if the pump housing cracks due to freezing.
Changing the subject slightly, but WTF is the point of this new thing from Karcher? For the life of me I cannot see any point in having a 'Smart' bluetooth controlled pressure washer or am I missing something?
I recently bought a new stihl washer. The salesman told me to put the hose into some car anti Freeze mixture and let it suck some around the system to
Prevent freezing.
Turn the water off at the mains and then pull the handle to expel the water out of it.
Don’t do that if there is still power to the unit.
Be fine for a minute or so to clear it out, the risk is overheating the motor, which will take longer than 30 seconds.
I've suffered two pressure washer and one Vax death from them being stored in our garage. I did have a pile of blankets that I put over them, but the cold eventually seeps in. When my beer fridge died I moved our crappy electrolux out of the house and into the garage as a replacement. Where it promptly shut down due to being too cold. two sheets of kingspan, some old wood, a roller blind and a 40w greenhouse heater later and I have this:
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Yes it's a bodge, but it does the job, the fridge is happier, the vax and washer both survived the latest cold spell and I've now got somewhere to dry my big dry bags and wheel bags.
Quite glad to read this as mine froze and now leaks. Can't see how to get inside the unit once the yellow shell is off so probably time for a new one unfortunately.
Karcher K3.550 here. Pulled it out of the garage yesterday to give the decking a blast and it was leaking out of the bottom of the casing as soon as I put the water feed on. With nothing to lose I tried it and it was giving good pressure so just got on with it. At the end of the job I noticed it wasn't leaking any more and isn't this morning either after giving it another go, so whatever was up, it's reseated itself.
Now does anyone know how to make the upside down detergent bottles feed? I never has on mine, and I've never got round to sorting it.
Now does anyone know how to make the upside down detergent bottles feed?
I thought it was just me! I'd be interested in a fix for this.
I've had my Karcher apart to find the leak...
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Plastic manifold thing had split....
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Not got round to fixing it yet though. It's the bottle infeed bit which has split and as I don't use that I'll probably just fill it with araldite and re-assemble. Need to buy some more oil as it pissed itself all over the new patio......
I had same symptoms as OP, and took it apart and found same issue as FootFlaps. Was able to order a replacement control head housing for £27 from eSpares, fitted it no problem and it has been fine for the last 5 years. There was a wee bit of confusion about which particular head housing I needed, but Karcher e-mail me a spare parts manual for my machine and also recommended Amazon, Espares, Buyspares or online shops, stating these 'can be cheaper'! Think I did a search using the Karcher spare number and got the right one form eSpares that way.
Mines been leaking for years. Still blasts mud off a frame and grime off the van 🤷♂️
Lols I’m glad it’s not just me who fixes vintage washers - have a 15 year old macalister which is like Trigger’s Broom. When it broke recently the OH even offered to buy me a new one, but I realised how attached I’d become to it so turned her down and fixed it (again) 😀
Ref detergent bottles - mine has 2 and they’ve always been very intermittent, but they will only work on a low pressure setting. I realised none of my lances would go low enough, but if I just take the end off completely, then the pressure is low enough to draw the detergent...
My nilfisk lives outside, in Scotland. I just run it for a little bit with the water off at the end of each use to pump out most of the water.
My Karcher is 10 years old and has always been stored outside in the shed. I also remove the hose and the head and run the unit for 30seconds to pump the water out before putting it away.