[TR] Off topic, pressure washers

[Joe Curry]

My Electric unit is also a Karcher, purchased back in the mid 90's.  I
originally bought it to clean the moss off my Tile Roof when I lived in WA.
Ehen I got down to AZ I didn't need to use it so much so it sat for a while.
When I finally got around to using it, I discovered the seals in the pump
had dried out rendering it useless.

I borrowed a neighbor's unit (also a Karcher) that he bought for about 100
bucks and proceeded to blow out a seal in the pump.  So I ordered a pump
rebuild kit for my unit for about $60.00 and it works as good as new.

Considering the pronouncements of a couple of list members, I am tempted to
suspect that the cheaper Karcher units may not be very well made.  I paid
about $350 for the one I bought and therefore figured an extra 60 bucks for
a kit would be worth the expense.  Now I have to get a new seal for the
neighbor's unit.  It is only about 20 bucks according to the tech on the
phone.  Apparently it is a common occurrence since the tech recognized the
symptom straight away.

Joe C.

-----Original Message-----
From: triumphs-bounces+spitlist=cox.net at autox.team.net
[mailto:triumphs-bounces+spitlist=cox.net at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Jim
Holmgren
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 7:57 AM
To: triumphs at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [TR] Off topic, pressure washers

<snip>
We have a brand here in UK called Karcher, very reliable, they are probably
world wide. Very satisfied with mine.
</snip>

I've purchased a couple of Karcher electric pressure washers on eBay.  Both
of
mine broke after one season's use.  Could be bad luck on my part, or my
fault
for buying 'refurbished' on eBay.

I bought a small gas powered model at Sears that was on sale about 4 years
ago
- it still starts on 1-2 pulls every time, even right out of the shed in the
spring.  Yes, it's about as noisy as running a lawn mower (maybe a little
less) but unlike the Karcher, most of the parts are not plastic.  It has 4
different tips for diffusing the spray.  I'm very satisfied with it.

I suppose the moral of the story is that unless you are willing to 'roll the
dice', buy one locally from an established company that offers service if
you
have any trouble.


Jim