Bought a Hawksmoor pressure washer

[V]

I think I have purchased at least eight K'Archer pressure washers over the last 40 years. I have had small units from 110bar to 170bar+ paint stripping monsters. I have tried to look after them as best I can, particularly during cold weather storage but they get to the point where they just can't be maintained any more. I have always been able to source the spares that I have needed to repair them, sometimes it was cheaper to just buy another. Yesterday, the K'Archer that I have kept running the longest has got to the point where I am fed up trying to keep it useable. The pump has started to seize and I didn't want to waste another hour to strip the machine down again to coax it back into operation.

 

For cleaning baked on off-road mud from my Jeep I have found that the absolute minimum pressure is 130bar. It's possible to clean a Jeep with a 110bar pressure washer but it just takes so much longer. I looked around and found a K'Archer K5 at my local Toolstation for £200 (down from £270) and I almost bought it, but I decided to check out some reviews first. I read a very favourable review of the Hawksmoor High Pressure Washer that was available from Toolstation for less than £90. The K5 is rated at 145bar, the Hawksmoor at 140bar. Breaking with my own tradition, I decided to buy the Hawksmoor at a third of the regular price of the K'Archer K5.

 

It's not perfect, but I am very impressed by how good it is for the money and I don't regret not buying the K5. It was easy to assemble, and appears to be well made. Time will tell how durable it is. The parts fit well and the lance comes with a variety of nozzles. I have tried all except the detergent tank nozzle. I like the adjustable spray pattern one best. The lance hose is softer than my K'archer hoses it moves easily and doesn't kink. The lance handle and trigger are comfortable and using it doesn't aggravate the tendon damage in my hands. It did a good job removing dried on Wales from my Jeep. Cleaning up the driveway was easy and the blast was strong enough to propel big clods of clay without having to get the shovel to move them. The rotary head for patio work was a bit disappointing. It works, but not as good as the K'Archer. I will have to look to see if the lance and hoses can interchange. The Hawksmoor lance isn't long enough to use with the rotary head without stooping and I'm only 5'7" tall. The bristles might also be too long as it just didn't move easily without tipping the rotary head over.

 

If you regularly use the rotary head for cleaning patios you will likely be better of with the K'Archer. As a pressure washer for an off-road Jeep, the Hawksmoor is a bargain. It comes with a 2-year warranty so I'm thinking if it lasts 3-years, it cost me just £30 a year. My K'Archer track record is around 5-years for each with repairs. The average cost per year has been between £60-£80 (based on £300-£400 models). All 4x4s are banned from my local jet washes so being able to clean my Jeep at home is essential and this departure from my usual buying habit has done a good job on it's first use.

 

 

A quirk of my Hawksmoor washer that might be model specific or a mains water pressure issue is when I trigger off, I can't immediately trigger back on. I have to wait a fraction of a second before triggering on again. If I trigger on instantly, I get an unpressurized water stream. Waiting just a tiny bit is all that is needed before triggering on for full pressure. I got used to this behaviour so quickly that I naturally started to use the momentary pause as an opportunity to release my grip a bit to stretch my fingers out before triggering on again.

Edited June 4 by V
Typo

[UKTJ]

Great review @V, sounds like a real bargain.

 

My Karcher is about 4 years old, but it just doesn't seem to generate good pressure.  Luckily for me, my local jet wash does not seem to have a no 4x4 policy, or if it does the staff do jot care enough to enforce it. If I do find my self prevented from using it I will look at the Hawksmoor.

[V]

1 hour ago, UKTJ said:

sounds like a real bargain

I hope so, only time will tell.

[digger]

I bought a Karcher K4 5 years ago. I am not a fan of branding. Experience is that it often leads to overpricing and only sometimes means good!

I had had a 'Draper', small and blue for 10yrs and gave it to 'Mud dodger' and think its still going!

I wanted more power and some attachments. K4 was on offer and claimed a 50% power increase on the Draper which is not correct unless the Draper had more power than claimed! It has never seemed very powerful in comparison.Surprisingly, it is still going even though it's very plasticky although odd fixings have been needed. The 5m pipe feed is too short! They do not sell a joiner only a 10M pipe! The health and safety trigger is a pain in the bottom! There are lots of good attachments although pricey if bought separate. The floor scrubber works well and especially for car cleaning the ' variable nozzle direction' extra. My worst issue is that it is very susceptible to low water pressure(we have that prob)  to the point that it ceases to work !

 

I still needed more power but am wary. I had had an experience in Belgium where the washer was too powerful and it started to strip some of my original transfers. My paint spray friend told me that they can strip off paint laquer too! 

 

I bought a petrol washer with variable pressure nozzles. So far excellent and ,on offer less than a K4!

[Black_box_jeep]

These short lances are good for getting into the nooks and crannies that are often difficult with the long lance, with various tips to give narrower angles/ higher pressure they work really well. 
one of the tips advises not to be used on car paintwork etc. if you have a karcher with the quick release connection at the lance then it’s a easy swap, but I think they do options to fit most brands etc. 

 

[jeepjimboy]

I decided to clean our cars and patio myself recently and bought a Karcher from Amazon, and why not. It came boxed and sealed from Karcher as a "home" kit. The extension lance did not fit the patio cleaner, completely the wrong bayonet. No help from Karcher so after a week of no replies it went back for a refund. Best thing I did as I then bought a Nilfisk with a 8 meter wind in no tangle hose! Great ! No lugging it around the car, or all over the patio. Every thing very clean!

[jeepjimboy]

5 minutes ago, Black_box_jeep said:

These short lances are good for getting into the nooks and crannies that are often difficult with the long lance, with various tips to give narrower angles/ higher pressure they work really well. 
one of the tips advises not to be used on car paintwork etc. if you have a karcher with the quick release connection at the lance then it’s a easy swap, but I think they do options to fit most brands etc. 

 

They are great, got the gun, adaptor for Nilfisk, quick release lance with all the quick release coloured nozzles. Use the correct colours for each part of the clean, no damage. Where would we be without YouTube and Amazon eh/

[Gerald F]

Bought  KEW Hobby Pressure washer in the late '80s – forerunner of Nilfisk. It's still going strong, though the internal switch has failed, so it must be switched on and off at the plug. However, it cost more than £200 then, so I paid for the quality! There's a special cranked lance for washing the underbody, with pressure restriction so as to avoid damage to brake lines, etc. which is good for wheel arches, etc.

I also have a Makita one, which is nowhere near so good, but cost less than £90, ten years ago. I'd go with the Nilfisk if I ever got another one.

[V]

28 minutes ago, Gerald F said:

Bought  KEW Hobby Pressure washer in the late '80s – forerunner of Nilfisk. It's still going strong

That's impressive. I guess I have got used to K'Archer pressure washers wearing out and needing replacement. If my Hawksmoor lets me down I will take a look at Nilfisk.

[jeepjimboy]

2 hours ago, V said:

That's impressive. I guess I have got used to K'Archer pressure washers wearing out and needing replacement. If my Hawksmoor lets me down I will take a look at Nilfisk.

[jeepjimboy]

Just saying, the Nilfisk 140 Core is a decent buy imho. I would have preferred the next model down as the power control is on the body of the washer, the 140 Core has the power control on the lance, by bluetooth to the body. Very handy, but don't work with an after market lance, hey ho. The game changer though is the 140 Core has, as I mentioned earlier, an 8 meter non kink wind-in hose. I wheel the washer out, leave it where it stands, wash all round the car, wheel it back in again. Happy days. (if one calls cleaning the cars "happy days"