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Karcher pressure washer broken again?
thermidorthelobster:
I had a little Karcher pressure washer which broke after light use; the switch that switched it on and off with water pressure failed, and so much of the rest of it was also knackered that I had to throw it away.
So I bought a bigger one, a Karcher K650M which has a drum design which seemed to be slightly more robust than their conventional ones.
The last couple of times I've used it, when I use the wand on full pressure, the motor cuts in and out - about 2 seconds on and half a second off. If I use the pressure setting on the wand to lower the pressure, then it works fine, but of course it's useless for cleaning because the pressure's too low. If I use a brush it also works fine.
I thought maybe the supply pressure was too low to maintain the flow of water, so the motor was cutting out to avoid cavitation, but the mains pressure here is eyeball-removing, so I can't see that's the case. Additionally, the machine's designed to suck water out of a water butt if necessary, so it shouldn't need positive pressure at all. It has an inlet filter but this is perfectly clear.
Any suggestions from somebody who knows their way around a Karcher pressure washer, or are they just basically a pile of cheap rubbish that doesn't last five minutes?
waveydavey:
That sounds like the bit on the wand is basically a flow restricter; like a gun on a hosepie in effect.
If you have high flow (lower pressure) then the pump keeps going to try and get pressure.
If you slow the flow (higher pressure) then the backpressure gets to the cut out pressure and it stops the pump to avoid damage.
It really should be set though so it runs continuously even at maximum pressure; the pressure switch in it may be set a bit light?
Bishops Finger:
Mine normally does this thought it was the flow of water from the tap because if the tap flow is too grate hose couplings come undone
waveydavey:
It could actually be that the pump and mains pressure combined are causing excess pressure; try throttling the tap a Little bit; obviously not so much that it may go dry but they really don't use a lot of water.
piggysteve:
Sounds like lack of water, in our big Karcher at work there's an in line filter where the hose connects to the machine.
Steve
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