got a gerni?

[stumped]

looking at buying a gerni of some variety to clean the 4by after getting nice n dirty... just wondering what ppl have used and what u'd recommend. it's gonna be a tax write-off for a business, so it doesn't have to be a budget one.

is an expensive one HEAPS better than a cheapie? any specs that are worth looking out for? feed back of any (related ) kind is welcome... share the wisdom!!

[blkmav]

I have a $100 GMC from Bunnings and its ace!

I just use CT-18 truck wash and the GMC sprayer to wash mine. Comes up a treat.

Forgot to mention it has 2 year replacement warranty.

[TUFFRANGIE]

Hey buddy we have a genuine gerni, it cost heaps more that a karcher as you probably know. If we were to buy another one I wouldn't get another gerni would definately get a Karcher or similar.

This is because
1)It broke after a short period of time
2)We took it back, they told us they fixed it after they had had it for ages
3)They charged us the cost of repairs even though it was meant to be under warranty apparantely it was our fault
4)The repairs cost about the same as a new Karcher
5)It doesn't work any better than a similar Karcher i have seen
6)The switch on it broke and needed repairing again
7)It must be female cos it is tempremental and sometimes doesn't work

Have also heard don't go with a budget Karcher cos they can break however the better more expensive ones are good.

When the gerni is working it is awesome!! Being able to wash the car in water restrictions without having to go and spend all your savings at a car wash is awesome.

Also great for getting off that terrible gembrook mud that sets like concrete as most Victorians will know

This is just my opinion i may have got a dodgy gerni but also customer service was terrible so wouldn't go back

Hope this helps

[chimpboy]

My el cheapo pressure washer from Supercheap is great, gets heaps of use, cost bugger all, and never fails.

It's certainly up to the task of getting mud off a fourby. I can't see the sense in spending more unless you've got some other more full on uses for it.

Jason

[stumped]

will be used for cleaning work trucks and vans regularly, so has gotta take a fair bit of abuse without having problems...

so karcher is a good brand... don't know the first thing 'bout pressure cleaners, only found out today that gerni is a brand specific that's become a generalisation like hoover

i guess most hardware shops would carry this kinda gear?

[-Mick-]

will be used for cleaning work trucks and vans regularly, so has gotta take a fair bit of abuse without having problems...

so karcher is a good brand... don't know the first thing 'bout pressure cleaners, only found out today that gerni is a brand specific that's become a generalisation like hoover

i guess most hardware shops would carry this kinda gear?

I have one of the lower model karchers and I'm not chuffed with it It goes ok but plays up pretty regularly now it's 6 or so months old

[J Top]

Check your water quality.Some recommend running a water filter before the unit.
J Top

[Hybrid]

Ive only used the cheapo karchers and a top end indutrial jobby (dont remember brand). The one that is classed as "industrial" on the side wasnt much bigger than the karcher but had fancy ceramic pistons or some shite. As you can see I cant be much more help other than to say the supposed industrial one was 100000000% better than the cheap karcher. The cheap karcher wasnt worth the plastic it was made out of. It had crap pressure and quite often would stop working till after only a couple of uses it packed it in for good.

[lay80n]

Mate if ya come over i got a karcher (my olds do anyway and it seems to migrate to my place regualy). Its only mid spec one, but it does the job fine.
Layto....

[mr Z]

i had a cheaper karcher, it lasted 6 months using it once a week using a water filter

i replaced it with a stihl and it performs alot better, i would definetly recommend stihl and also spend the extra $$$

one thing to look for is the water flow rate (the higher the better)

low flow rate washers are crap to use it takes so much longer to get coverage

[JemmyBubbles]

I do roof restoration so I alwayz gots a nice big bad ole blaster that can put out 5500 psi on demand... MMMMM paint stripping power.

I think these things go for like....4k Or some shit you can pick em up from auctions cheapER. Could even make a business out of it...

This is random info but yeah,,,These things clean so dang well... I can have my entire undercarriage spotless in less than 2 mins... mmmm 5500 psi... : )

[Raymond Spackman]

I had a car detailing buisness. I used a Stihl blaster & it was great. It outlasted any other blaster I had including a gerni.. in the detailing shop the blasters cop a hidding & never had any trouble with the stihl machine.

[droopypete]

I have a mid to high spec Stihl, and it is ace, I have a few diferant lance's depending on what I am doing.
it is about 3/4 years old and works every time like a champ.
Peter.
ps, I believe Honda is on the vurge of releasing on as well.

[MKPatrolGuy]

I sell Stihl at work and have only had one complaint, said it was cutting out. We couldn't fault it, put it down to not getting enough water from the tap.

I have a mid spec Karcher I went halves with a mate on. Got it quite a while ago. Does the job really well, did have a prob not long after we got it, but the warranty service was great. If it ever dies though I'll be replacing it with a Stihl or one of the new Briggs & Stratton petrol jobs

P.S. I can also get a pressure washer that puts out 26,000psi

[rocknferoza]

We have got one of the big gerni brand gernis at work. I would not recomend a gerni after the problems we've had with ours. When it does work properly it's realy good
Can adjust the presure and also adjust the heat I've found on alot of jobs when using heat you don't need much presure at all
Bigest problem we have is if it runs out of diesel for heat we have trouble trying 2 get the air out of the system so u can use the heat.

Just my 2 cents

James

[Ralf the RR]

I've used a few different types over the last few years.

Don't get the lower pressure model (whatever brand).
1450 psi is not all that good.

Get the 1750 psi or higher versions.

As for brands, well the Karcher's get hot with continual use.
Something about the pump design.
Bosch and Gerni (I think) use the water to cool the pump.
Apparently these are better for long continuos use.
Although the Bosch unit I used a few months ago was a piece of cr#p.
It was a 1400ish psi model, and was hopeless at removing caked on dirt/grease.

If you want to spend up big, get a model that heats.
We have one at work that is absolutely awesome.
High pressure hot water/steam will clean anything.

[V8Patrol]

I bought my Gerni back in 1999 and it wasnt the top of the range either. The model is a NG-250A and puts out 2755psi of pressure, I also bought the "turbo head" nozzle which increases the size of the water droplets by 1000 times, this mother "hits" hard and will take paint off and will cut your dumb ass fingers if they wander into the wrong place ( holding a part that your washing is not a good idea).

It cost $1855 all up and is used for much more than just doing the 4x4, the old man recently "demossed" his roof in 2 days ..... not bad for an 80 year old !, and it has stripped the paint from many a motor and greasy engine bay.

Gerni ring me once a year and ask how its going and this reminds me its due for a service. To date it has never failed in anyway, does a fantastic job, and with regular servicing should last me a lifetime.

Very happy with the Gerni

Kingy

p/s
I can also run hot water through the unit but never have, I find cold water does the job well enough.

[moose]

P.S. I can also get a pressure washer that puts out 26,000psi

they get 1 in at KW , end of the year to clean the chassis spray booth !!!

He has to keep it moving , or it cuts through the METAL !!!!

variable up to about 50,000 psi !!!

its so (insert sarcasim) SMALL , it is mounted in the back of a truck !!

[BRT]

I Used to have a high pressure cleaning business for a couple of years.
I had three units all by spitwater. Great units had a honda key start engine. Never had any major problems the guy i sold the business to still uses the original equipment about five years on.
Although the pressure rating is important the most important part is the liters per second rating i.e. at 30psi some units will spit out 1/4 as much water as a better unit.
More water = Faster Cleaning
Lernt that lesson the hard way bought a smaller unit to start with cause the psi was the same. when i got the bigger lt per sec it cut the cleaning time down to half.
I know most of this applies to cleaning industral stuff but it was bloody great on the 4by.
might pay to get one with an adjustable pressure.
Cheers
Darryl

[droopypete]

I used to use my Stihl chainsaw to remove trees in my garden now I use my Stihl prssure washer
just point the lance at the ground and it turns the soil around the roots into mud and the tree falls over, roots and all,
Bullants don't like it either
Peter.

[stumped]

thanks guys, appreciate the feedback...


thanks for the offer layto, but my mate needs one for his business anyway, and he's just down the road so it's pretty convenient

[Davidh]

One thing to consider about the cheapies, they have short hoses.
I got a GMC unit from Bunnings, and it works well, but it's quite low pressure compared to the car washes.

Most annoying thing though, the hose is only 3m long, maybe shorter actually, and you have to move the unit around the car a lot.
It's also no good when you need to wash your roof and the hose is already stretched.

[JemmyBubbles]

P.S. I can also get a pressure washer that puts out 26,000psi [/quote]

Holy crap man... my pee pee feels so small now...

Yeah turbo heads are the G.O. for cleaning fiddly shite ie; where you point it cleans. really cleans...

Damnt another bloke has a 50,000 psi variable water blaster HOly Crap. I am gonna go and cry now. THAT IS HUGE ...



Oh yeah thats the other thing... All this low flow talk reminds me... I got me a garden hose that is the equivalent of having a 3" mandrel bent exhaust for ya turbo... The hose is like an inch round with standard fittings it pumps out water good ... Keeps the machines really happy...

[Pal]

If it does not have steam dont buy it .
The hot water makes the job a breeze.

[stumped]

been talking to a coupla ppl 'bout these... what's the deal with different pressure ratings? like 2450psi turbo, 1885psi max, 1600psi working??? does that mean that u can use it at 1600 for ages, but can't take the higher pressure for long?

[bigbluemav]

A couple of years ago I spent $500 on a Karcher 390 M, a lower mid range one with (I think) 1750psi pressure.

If I had it to again, I'd just buy a cheapie from Bunnings or SuperCheap. I only use it clean the 4'bies and occasionally around the house (gutters, cement etc.)

Its broken down twice, once fixed under warranty, once I had to pay.

With $500, I could have bought 5-6 of them!!


Regards

[80UTE]

Ive got the largest single phase Karcher with Diesel water heater and it works just ace. I weighs about 100KG and you need a ute to move it which is great as its too big to man handle so people dont ask to borrow it. The hot wash is just so much better for cleaning 95 Deg C and its nice to use on a cold day cleaning the rig underneath lying in the warm muddy mess. It was $4000 + but its industrial construction so should last me a life time.
wally

[Ric]

got a karcher. The only problem we have is matching the tap pressure to what is needed to run the karcher. mine doens't work if the tap pressure is too high. Takes a good 5 mins to match the tap pressure to how quickly the karcher can pump the water.