What do I need in a Waterblaster?

[nzspokes]

Im after a waterblaster to tidy up my deck, it will get used for other stuff.

How much PSI and flow do I need?

[bogan]

Just bought one myself the other week, Ryobi K2 for $116 bucks, fine for washing cars/bikes and taking dirt off shit. You're not going to get the deep penetration with it to take heavy build up and bring a shine back to old concrete or roofs though. I figure this will do 99% of the jobs I need, and if I find a 1% job I can borrow or hire one.

[Mike.Gayner]

I don't know anything about waterblasters, which why I bought a $200 Briggs and Stratton from Bunnings which is a huge piece of shit. Took my fucking HOURS to do my deck with it. Really cheaply made, very unimpressive.

Don't do what I did.

Edit: I think it was this piece of crap. Don't be me.
https://www.bunnings.co.nz/briggs-stratton-1800w-electric-waterblaster_p00327933

[russd7]

water would be a good start. just sayin :calm:

[Akzle]

if on town supply then water consumption no issue. otherwise lowest are about 5L/min.
m0ar PSIs are better.
long pressure hose is a must. 5 meters is minimum, 8 is good, 25 is ideal.

karcher and alto both do deck-scrubby heads, Necessary on pine deck as standard fan or spinny woosh-woosh head will nib the fuck out of the tread. hardwoods not so bad but still better not raising the grain.

electric is fine if you can never envision yourself needing to waterblast shit aweh from electrickery or during a power cut.
brass fittings beat plastic.

spending more jewgolds gets you better shit. i wouldnt expect to pay less than an ounce for a waterblaster.

also, stihl aren't shit.

[ellipsis]

...3000psi?...

[Honest Andy]

I had a bloke round to clean my place a bit. He did great work on everything with a great big waterblaster and heaps of cool attachments. EXCEPT the wooden decks which he wouldn't touch because he said it wrecks the wood. I thought "ahh, she'll be right" and had a go with my little toy Karcher. It took flamin ages and even the little Karcher was ripping bits of grain out in places when I wasn't careful.
Now I use a broom and bleach, or "30 Seconds", and hose off. Uses more sweat but takes less time :yes:

[flashg]

8.3 litres a minute @ 2100psi is what my karcher k5 puts out. It's plenty for cleaning the dirt bikes fast.

[flashg]

Also the karcher k5 (and some other karchers)is capable of sucking water from a tank if you don't have enough flow from your tap

[nzspokes]

I had a bloke round to clean my place a bit. He did great work on everything with a great big waterblaster and heaps of cool attachments. EXCEPT the wooden decks which he wouldn't touch because he said it wrecks the wood. I thought "ahh, she'll be right" and had a go with my little toy Karcher. It took flamin ages and even the little Karcher was ripping bits of grain out in places when I wasn't careful.
Now I use a broom and bleach, or "30 Seconds", and hose off. Uses more sweat but takes less time :yes:

Handy to know.

[R650R]

electric is fine if you can never envision yourself needing to waterblast shit aweh from electrickery or during a power cut.


Yeah nothing like the panic of not being able to clean up bloodstains during a powercut....

As for power level, had a weakass small unit, it was fine on concrete, you just had to get it real close to the surface. Water speed seems to drop off exponentially as it gets further away from nozzle.

Am I the only person who still washes their vehicles with soapy rags and garden hose and never has to buy suspension bushes or wheel bearings???

[YellowDog]

I don't know anything about waterblasters, which why I bought a $200 Briggs and Stratton from Bunnings which is a huge piece of shit. Took my fucking HOURS to do my deck with it. Really cheaply made, very unimpressive.

Don't do what I did.

Edit: I think it was this piece of crap. Don't be me.
https://www.bunnings.co.nz/briggs-stratton-1800w-electric-waterblaster_p00327933

Give you $40 for it?

[jasonu]

Im after a waterblaster to tidy up my deck, it will get used for other stuff.

How much PSI and flow do I need?

At least 3000psi and 3 gallons per minute. The gallons per minute is almost as important as the psi.
Be careful using it on wood, it will strip the wood if you go too nuts. Do tester runs where it doesn't matter. Can sometimes be better to chemically wash a wood deck.

[Akzle]

.

Am I the only person who still washes their vehicles with soapy rags and garden hose and never has to buy suspension bushes or wheel bearings???

what kind of a gay washes a vehicle??

[nzspokes]

what kind of a gay washes a vehicle??
Those of us that can afford them.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk

[swarfie]

Spend more, get better. I had a Ryobi I bought @ least 23 years ago. It had a bronze bodied pump and stainless valves. All these cheapass things you buy these days have plastic pump bodies and shit for valves. The good old Ryobi only stopped four months ago and back when it was new I was ridding EVERY weekend in the winter on my dirt bike (I marked out & ran trailrides for over 20 years) and used it to clean the bike and damn near everything including paths and the house. Just don't get too close to things like suspension linkages and wheelbearings or concrete as they take the sand out of it. Also applies for decks, they'll just wreck them.
More water delivery is what you need rather than big pressure. I think the new Nilfisk I bought has an output of 7.5 litres/min. and 1885 PSI and from memory the old one was 7 l/min. It's got a detergent dispenser which is brilliant for house washing/windows etc. So far it works well but then it's only new. I'd be happy if it lasts 1/2 as long as the old Ryobi....ya gets wot ya pay for.

[Banditbandit]

if on town supply then water consumption no issue. otherwise lowest are about 5L/min.
m0ar PSIs are better.
long pressure hose is a must. 5 meters is minimum, 8 is good, 25 is ideal.

karcher and alto both do deck-scrubby heads, Necessary on pine deck as standard fan or spinny woosh-woosh head will nib the fuck out of the tread. hardwoods not so bad but still better not raising the grain.

electric is fine if you can never envision yourself needing to waterblast shit aweh from electrickery or during a power cut.
brass fittings beat plastic.

spending more jewgolds gets you better shit. i wouldnt expect to pay less than an ounce for a waterblaster.

also, stihl aren't shit.


Yeah - I got a Stihl - paid just over $300. (Electric) Been water blasting the whole house - walls, eves, deck ...

It's been great. The nore you spend the higher the pressure - but it's a matter of working out how far away you need to hold the nozzle so that it cleans but does not damage anything.


It took flamin ages and even the little Karcher was ripping bits of grain out in places when I wasn't careful.


Yeah ... that can happen. Nozzle is to close to the surface.

[Gremlin]

Just be aware that blasting anything like driveways and decks can either rip out loose pieces, or leave a coarse finish that encourages growth afterwards.

Think we've had a Karcher for years, used intermittently.

[buggerit]

Spend more, get better. I had a Ryobi I bought @ least 23 years ago. It had a bronze bodied pump and stainless valves. All these cheapass things you buy these days have plastic pump bodies and shit for valves. The good old Ryobi only stopped four months ago and back when it was new I was ridding EVERY weekend in the winter on my dirt bike (I marked out & ran trailrides for over 20 years) and used it to clean the bike and damn near everything including paths and the house. Just don't get too close to things like suspension linkages and wheelbearings or concrete as they take the sand out of it. Also applies for decks, they'll just wreck them.
More water delivery is what you need rather than big pressure. I think the new Nilfisk I bought has an output of 7.5 litres/min. and 1885 PSI and from memory the old one was 7 l/min. It's got a detergent dispenser which is brilliant for house washing/windows etc. So far it works well but then it's only new. I'd be happy if it lasts 1/2 as long as the old Ryobi....ya gets wot ya pay for.

3000 psi ,but low volume for popping dents out of expansion chambers:2thumbsup

[HenryDorsetCase]

more power = better

[Blackbird]

Rob,
I've had a Stihl RE108 for about 3 years. 1750 psi, 440 litres/hr max water use. Utterly bullet-proof but any Stihl shop can service it if required. Comes with a rotating ball head and a fan head. The rotating ball head will slightly roughen bare wood as others have said but unless the deck is in bad nick, the fan head is sufficient. Apart from exterior house cleaning, my main use is cleaning our 30 metre long steep concrete drive which gets bloody slippery in winter - does a fantastic job. The 108 has been replaced by the RE109 at a tad under $500. Expensive compared with some other brands but it will last forever.

[Swoop]

I have a karcher from many moons ago (guessing 20yrs?) and it is still functioning although it has had one repair and the switch is rooted.
One thing I'm baring in mind if it gets replaced, is the ability to draw from a watertank. Some blasters can't do this and it's bloody handy if you have a catchment tank to draw from.

[pete376403]

I picked up a Karcher K5 at the tip when someone else was going to dump it. New "cylinder block and head" assembly from the local Karcher shop (the guy said it was their biggest selling item) got it going like new. Easy to fit.

[Daffyd]

Bear in mind most bike manufacturers and a lot of service people tell you NOT to use water blasters on their bikes as they can blow oil seals etc.

Having said that, I have used them on my bikes but only on wheels, tyres, etc. and steered clear of seals.

[nzspokes]

Bear in mind most bike manufacturers and a lot of service people tell you NOT to use water blasters on their bikes as they can blow oil seals etc.

Having said that, I have used them on my bikes but only on wheels, tyres, etc. and steered clear of seals.

Its for house cleaning.

[Banditbandit]

Its for house cleaning.

Don't you have a wife for that?

[Daffyd]

Its for house cleaning.

Cleaning cars and bikes was mentioned.

[Mike.Gayner]

As someone who uses his waterblaster to clean his bike, I think you're have to be borderline retarded to "blow oil seals" with it. If you're focusing the stream on sealed bearings, oil seals and electronics you are probably not the kind of person who should be handling a waterblaster, or anything mechanical. It's perfectly safe to wash a bike with a waterblaster.

[flashg]

As someone who uses his waterblaster to clean his bike, I think you're have to be borderline retarded to "blow oil seals" with it. If you're focusing the stream on sealed bearings, oil seals and electronics you are probably not the kind of person who should be handling a waterblaster, or anything mechanical. It's perfectly safe to wash a bike with a waterblaster.
Exactly [emoji16]
I had water blasters for years and never had any problems.

[george formby]

Concur about cleaning decks with chemicals. Not as satisfying but more effective. I use a solution of sodium hypochlorite (ide?), $56 +gst for 20 ltrs, makes a lot of bleach, ammonia (oven cleaner like firedog, cheap) and a good soap which acts as a surficant. Makes it stick.

Ammonia and bleach are salts and do bugger all damage to plants if you hose off saturated areas. The ammonia cleans what the bleach can't and lingers to retard mould spores. Been cleaning the house and decks like this for years. Repels spiders and each clean up gets quicker and easier. On decks I spray it on and leave it then repeat a couple of days later and hose off. On the house I spray it on and hose off 10 minutes later. You can see it clean as fast as you can spray.

I will say that water blasters are not good for your bike chain and will quickly show which decal was not stuck on properly, otherwise very handy for getting clay off the bike, your boots and your riding gear. They will also show you which windows will leak in a cyclone should you quickly want to put a sparkle on the home stead glassware 20 minutes before the G/F gets home. :facepalm:

[tri boy]

go 11 litres/min
2500 psi

Flow is king,
Seperate adjustable bypass 500psi-3000 is good.

Ones fitted with AV (Italian pump) are good.
Direct drive at 3400 rpm
or one at 2:1 running at 1800rpm will last forever.
Ya pays ya money, ya get what ya pay for;)

[Daffyd]

As someone who uses his waterblaster to clean his bike, I think you're have to be borderline retarded to "blow oil seals" with it. If you're focusing the stream on sealed bearings, oil seals and electronics you are probably not the kind of person who should be handling a waterblaster, or anything mechanical. It's perfectly safe to wash a bike with a waterblaster.

Hey... don't shoot the messenger. I was only quoting what I have read.

As I said I have used a water blaster on my own bikes without problems.

I had a Karcher and found it very good.

[Honest Andy]

As someone who uses his waterblaster to clean his bike, I think you're have to be borderline retarded to "blow oil seals" with it. If you're focusing the stream on sealed bearings, oil seals and electronics you are probably not the kind of person who should be handling a waterblaster, or anything mechanical. It's perfectly safe to wash a bike with a waterblaster.

I agree.
Ages ago I remember looking at a bike for sale in a car yard, it had been traded in. It looked in pretty nice condition and rode fine when I took it for a blat. Then for some reason while the young keen salesboy was crapping on about what a great deal it was, I took the oil filler bolt off and found the oil had turned all brown and foamy. Bad sign. And really strange on an air-cooled engine! During stern interrogation with threats of water-boarding the sales lad admitted that the motor had oil all over it so they hit it real hard with the steaming hot-water blaster...

Obviously it already had a blown gasket or seal, but I didn't stick around long enough to find out which one...

So, yeah, water blasters are really useful on bikes in good condition, and if you're careful,
AND if you don't use them to clean off that pesky oil and grease...

[R650R]

Thread dredge.... has anyone used the karcher drain cleaner attachment, is it any good, does it unblock stuff very well....

Are connections intervhangeable between brnds or do they have their own proprietory fittings??? eg will karcher stuff fit on a Ryobi etc.....

[russd7]

Thread dredge.... has anyone used the karcher drain cleaner attachment, is it any good, does it unblock stuff very well....

Are connections intervhangeable between brnds or do they have their own proprietory fittings??? eg will karcher stuff fit on a Ryobi etc.....

i suggest you apply for funding from some university to do some comprehensive research to find the answers to your questions and then post your findings here for all of us on KB who also have the very same un-answered questions ;)

[Akzle]

Thread dredge.... has anyone used the karcher drain cleaner attachment, is it any good, does it unblock stuff very well....

Are connections intervhangeable between brnds or do they have their own proprietory fittings??? eg will karcher stuff fit on a Ryobi etc.....
nah just get a fucken drain-unblocking cunt in.

*some* there's only so many threads rated for pressure. so u find much 1/2" bsp.
fucken score, cos a replacement hose on mine was all liek 200 buck.
cheapshit waterblaster with hose with same fittings 80 buck. thank-you fucken china cunts.