To answer your question about pressure ratings. A lot of company dont list the operating pressure, they list the overflow valve (or unloader valve depending on your country) opening pressure. Simply put, the operating pressure is whats reached when the trigger is pulled. So the pressure created by the nozzle as a fixed amount of volume runs through it. The overflow valve opening pressure (sometimes called spike pressure) is the pressure that needs to be reached for the machine to go in to bypass mode. So in the end overflow valve opening pressure is ALWAYS greater (10-20%) than operating pressure. So of course the marketing department uses opening pressure in the literature and nomenclature.
All these manufacturers love to only mention the "max pressure", but the devices are never able to reach that pressure. They should be obligated to mention the "working pressure", but you can only find these in the small prints. The "working pressure" is the realistic pressure. For the Karcher K7: the working pressure is 160 bar (16 mpa) 180 bar (18 mpa) is pure marketing. For the Ava P80: the working pressure is 130 bar (13 mpa) 160 bar (16 mpa) is pure marketing.
Just purchased a k5 compact. My testing got 6.4 lpm. Minimum flow in specs is 7.5 to 8.3 max. So mine is about 15% under minimum flow rate. Also, you didnt subtrsct bucket weight from the 8.1kg of water. My 15L bucket weighs 650gms. So if yours is similar you got around 7.5 kg or 7.5 lpm
The specs of all pumps are usually stated like it like this: max pressure = zero flow-rate. So this KÄRCHER can give max. 18MPa / 180bar - but at zero flow-rate, it is nothing but the internal safety relief valve setting. Note that the hose says it on its print, too, at 2':24": max. 18MPa. That's a hint for you as a user that 18MPa won't be the actual operating pressure, if that is also the Max-rating of the hose. The operating pressure you can actually get depends heavily on the flow-rate, and vice versa. That is true for any make & model of a pressure washer. So with a nozzle that lets out a lot of water, the working pressure will be much lower than with a nozzle that lets out only a little bit of water. My Dad still uses a KÄRCHER pro-series model of some 30+ years ago in his winery, and that delivered 240bar at full flow-rate of the standard nozzle. THAT is useful power to clean farm equipment. :)
Thanks Sam, great video. Also thanks for the explanations in the comments. Some of the points I didn’t fully understand first time watching. Just wondering, how long did it take to wash your driveway? Would you say it is faster than your previous machine?
Been a while now and probably time I redo my paths and driveway again. But I think when I used to do it would take me around 5 to 6 hours and if I went any faster it would leave lines . With the Karcher K7 paired with the Tracer 7 I think I can happily say its halved that time with a more even result. If I want to get better and faster result then there is nothing really that's electric that can. So in order to go the next step then it has to be petrol powered and thats too noisy and too heavy for my back right now..... oh previous was the Aldi branded one and the top of the line Jet-USA 3500psi which turned out the cheap Aldi was more powerful than the JET Usa. I complained and told them my findings and that they were not as per label. They asked for me to return the unit for testing. Next day no result, instead they reversed my payment immediately and said nothing of their testing results. Basically they did that to shut me up and get the unit from me before I could test like I did the K7. So don't buy a Jet Usa because the claim nominal 2500psi @ 6.8l ..... unless I had a really bad unit it wasn't even close! Anyway that was a long time ago, maybe now they have gotten better
But one downside of the Karcher is the metal alloys they use instead of the brass parts like some of the better quality units, Kranzle (german made and had some unfortunate inflation issues over the last few years) have brass parts and people like the longevity they have
This is definitely late, but if you choose an karcher professional pressure washer they have brass parts too, and some saw that they have ceramic coated stainless steel
Cheers mate. Very informative Sam. But have I missed the point here? Correct me if I'm wrong but your PSI measurement came out to only around 1800PSI using the Karcher lance and a little higher using the Audi one. Both nowhere near the claimed 2500 PSI. And isn't ultimately the PSI reading the real measure of how powerful the device is at removing dirt? Many thanks in anticipation of an explanation as I'm minded to get one of these otherwise.
Wow how time flys.... been almost 2 years now. Memory is a little foggy but as said at around the 1 minute mark the MAX rating of any pressure washer should NOT be believed on any pressure washer, it is most likely the pressure of peak intermittent spikes it could possibly handle from time to time! When ever you look at pressure washers you need to get the nominal rating which on this unit is 13MPa (around 1885psi). Think of it like this , lets say your car can rev a maximum of 8000rpm but what happens if you hit that peak for long periods of time? kaboom! just because its rated at 16MPa MAX doesn't mean you should! hope that makes sense. In any case when looking to buy NEVER fixate on the MAX rating (That's the sales mumbo-jumbo to suck you in ) instead look at the lower figure ALWAYS as that should be the nominal running it can handle constantly. So the aim of this video is simple. It is to test the unit for nominal PSI vs kW vs Q as stated on the label . It states nominal rating of 13MPa@2.2kW and at that rating it should pump out 8.2L/min so therefore I conclude that it does that. I get that my test were not lab quality precise but neither are the nozzles, eg: a blue nozzle from amazon vs a quality brand will give you different readings, so in short nothing is perfect. If the power at your house is 240Vac and the power at my house is 230Vac the results will not be the same but nominally it will be close. So in reality, if you try to understand in what I consider "the holy trinity" of nominal PSI/Kw/Q ratings of pressure washers you should be able look at any pressure washer and with the perfect nozzle size be able to achieve those nominal ratings that are stated on the label. Hope that has made it clearer for you.
Good test! Thaks! I have the same model. Bought just yesterday. But my pressure washer consumes 3 kW of energy. And it actually has a minimum pressure of 150 bar compared to your pressure washer. Interesting...This iformation i saw on the back side.
Thank you for the feedback. Yes its funny that the exact same pressure washer has different ratings in different locations. Which location are you from?
@@SamFerlauto I'm from Kazakhstan. Where are you from? US? Or UK? It turns out that the sink does not produce the declared power and pressure? Or is everything okay? I tested my Karcher K7 yesterday. The pressure is a little weak. Because I have problems with the voltage in the network. It is weak and sometimes less than 200 volts. I will install a voltage stabilizer, and also put a barrel of water for Karcher K7
@@SamFerlauto Uu Australia. It's so far. Good country! Good people live there. Exotic nature and most dangerous animal's on the planet Earth)) Printed on the bottom K7 compact 3Kwt power 15Mpa(150 bar) min pressure. 18Mpa(180 bar) max pressure. Water consumption 9.2l min, and 10 l max Sorry for my English)) It is not our native language
Interesting. So you have a more powerful motor than the Australian version. 3kw vs mine at 2.2kw and 9.2l vs mine at 8.2l. 1 thing I can tell you is the standard turbo lance should be very strong but the adjustable one is much weaker. To get more pressure you will need to get an attachment with adjustable tips like I did in my testing but to understand what pressure you are getting you will need to do similar and buy a guage and quick connect attachments . See my description for amazon links. Also your English is good and I can understand you well
Yeah it's a good little unit. The packing up gets a tedious as the hose n cord wrap around the unit but other than I find the compact size when packed away a bigger advantage
Get the gauge checked/calibrated.. cheap gauges can be out by over 50% and change in accuracy depending on pressure… and don’t believe the ‘calibration’ cert provided 👍 Talking as someone who works in a laboratory with pressure testing equipment to NATA and AS standards.
Thanks for the advise but that was 2 years ago! I get where your coming from but I accept it could be out a little but dare say I don't think its more than +/- 5% at worse. But like you say can't know for sure unless I get it certified. Not gonna happen for quick test for measuring round about figures for a home test environment. To me the nominal power it draws vs litres per minute seem to line up with the pressure I measured with the cheap amazon gauge. The 3 all line up pretty close . If 1 of the 3 was off then I could blame a faulty cheap amp/watt meter or the cheap amazon pressure gauge or the bathroom scale. It's a simple test that I did with what I had with no money or sponsors or donations. Happy to send you the gauge if you like, only used it for that 1 off test 2 years ago. Wouldn't surprise me if its internals are corroded by now but if you can verify it at your cost then I'm happy to send it to you if postage is not too expensive!
Hello, thanks for your review. I have some questions. In your measurements, the K7 gives a maximum force of 130 bar (13 mpa) and discharges 8 liters of water per minute. In my country, this machine is very expensive. I just need a machine that will wash my car vigorously, do you think? Can you tell me the brand / model that is stronger but not too expensive and you have used before?
Sorry but I have only tested this one. For washing a car a 40degree tip at around 1000psi is ideal from what I have seen from other car detailed video's.
Hi Sam. I bought this K7 compact home unit for 6 months now, worked fine with no problems, but just now it happend to leak very powerful from the output water quick-connector (where you plug the water cord gun in) when the unit is off with the water open all the way up, without the gun plugged in. When I plug the gun, it doesn't leak anymore and works normally. Is this normal to shoot water out when the gun (cord) is disconnected, but only with the water hose connected and open? Thanks.
I've not tried running without a hose in the past but yes this will be normal as I have just removed my quick connector and can look through it... so there is no valve so therefore when the hose is not connected and the tap is on you will have water coming out of the quick connector.
@@SamFerlauto that's true. I've just look with a flashlight and it doesn't have any valve in there, it's just a clear hole. I was not sure if it has to shoot water from there if the gun is unplugged with the water hose on. I was really worried because I left the k7 in my workshop till now and the temperature was near to 0 degrees celsius. Today a took it home in the boiler room. Sorry for my english. Thanks a lot. Wish you a happy new year and good luck! 🥂
Hi I have at the moment the old K750MX about 20 yrs old. Its losing power now so I'm looking for a new machine. Will the older karcher product like the T300 racer and the telescopic spray lance still fit this Compact K7 , please ?
I looked online for a standard T300 Tracer and it is the standard Karcher attachment so I would say 99.9% yes its the same and should seal and fit correctly
Hi I have just bought the Compact K7 from Karcher Trafalgar. I also have had the Karcher 750 MX for approx 20years and decided on a new machine as I imagine the 750MX is losing power. I tried the K7 Compact today with my Karcher T300 racer and I can't help thinking that my old 750 MX has as much power if not more than the Compact K7. Is this at all possible ?? .MY old 750MX would lift the T racer off the ground when it was new. Plus, after releasing the trigger on the Compact K7 there is an audible hiss from the machine for a split second, is this normal ? Thanks in advance for any replys.
Hey James. I'm by no means no expert on various pressure washers and haven't used the K7 for a while, but can say that I don't recall a hiss when letting go of the trigger. It could be possible that maybe a valve might be stuck open by either dirt or debree that could have come through the water line or metal debree from the manufacturing process. This could explain less pressure that is allowed to build up and the hiss could be the back flowing pressure bleeding back. If possible you should take it back and get another unit or get Karcher to check it out. So but currently travelling so I can't even confirm if the hissing happens on mine
Thanks for the video - nice to validate their specs. Just wondering your take on it... is the lance that comes with it that bad? Do you think it should be replaced to make the unit worthwhile? Thanks!
The test was simply to validate the spec sheet. Now that it can supply the correct psi and litres per minute if you play with different nozzle orifices to match. The Turbo lance is really good and it blasts very well but the variable lance is ok cranked up but not as good as a tuned tip with a smaller orifice. Also I did pair it up with a Ryobi patio cleaner which gave me great results and much faster in completing the job BUT was a real pain to find all sorts of attachments to attach it with no leaks. Unfortunately it hasn't stopped raining here almost every weekend since I made the video and not gonna be sunny anytime soon! I want to buy a T7 and do away with all the attachments and see if I can get it to perform like the cheap Ryobi patio cleaner but until I get good weather that ain't happening!
You say they are crappy but I’m not happy with Karacher as my first K7 compact from 12 years ago lasted 10 years and the latest one managed 2 years and died, Karcher will not help or diagnose the problem by calling their support. I used mine very lightly as well, cleaning the car in the sumner maybe every fortnight and 2-3 other times for patio or other things. A repair centre cost is more than half of the price of the machine and that’s before any parts might be needed. I will not be buying any more from them.
Umm you didn't take off the weight of the bucket.. the bucket would weigh at least 750grams to a kilo. That drops the flow to around 7.1lpm. Also you used the non standard nozzle for the flow test. This is not to appropriate and changes the flow as the outlet size is different. 1600 psi is extremely poor for such an expensive machine. To give you a comparison, the $129 dollar ozito will give you 1600psi and 6lpm... This karcher is a overpriced piece of junk, and not to mention extremely unreliable and poor customer support from Karcher. Stay away and do your own research. Some info: Karcher k2 1250psi @ 4.07lpm K3 1500psi @ 4.4lpm K4 and k5 are the same 1400psi @4.4lpm K7 1600 psi @ approx 6-7lpm
Hey thanks for commenting and yes your right I didn't weigh the bucket. It was around 750gr. Couple of points though 1. hard to see on the video but a lot of water was splashing out as well so probably lost 200 or so grams there. So I would say around all up your looking at around 7.6lpm at 1850PSI 2. Yes I used a tip that doesn't come with the unit to reach the nominated pressure, amperage and kW rating, but how else can you test the nominal ratings? In a perfect world where I had all the time in the world and I wasn't recoving of a back injury I would probably make a followup video. But no one is paying me to test it and this video was simply to show my quick findings and to get it to close to the nominal ratings. Anyway the unit I have is still going and still doing a decent job. Maybe when it dies I'll buy an Ozito and test that out for you!
To answer your question about pressure ratings. A lot of company dont list the operating pressure, they list the overflow valve (or unloader valve depending on your country) opening pressure. Simply put, the operating pressure is whats reached when the trigger is pulled. So the pressure created by the nozzle as a fixed amount of volume runs through it. The overflow valve opening pressure (sometimes called spike pressure) is the pressure that needs to be reached for the machine to go in to bypass mode. So in the end overflow valve opening pressure is ALWAYS greater (10-20%) than operating pressure. So of course the marketing department uses opening pressure in the literature and nomenclature.
All these manufacturers love to only mention the "max pressure", but the devices are never able to reach that pressure. They should be obligated to mention the "working pressure", but you can only find these in the small prints. The "working pressure" is the realistic pressure.
For the Karcher K7: the working pressure is 160 bar (16 mpa)
180 bar (18 mpa) is pure marketing.
For the Ava P80: the working pressure is 130 bar (13 mpa)
160 bar (16 mpa) is pure marketing.
Just purchased a k5 compact. My testing got 6.4 lpm. Minimum flow in specs is 7.5 to 8.3 max. So mine is about 15% under minimum flow rate. Also, you didnt subtrsct bucket weight from the 8.1kg of water. My 15L bucket weighs 650gms. So if yours is similar you got around 7.5 kg or 7.5 lpm
Great test. Am looking at buying the compact one to replace my old kartcher. Will now. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for your support. You won't regret it. The unit is good and so far so good
Thanks for the great video, but could you tell the orifice size for the red nozzle.😅
The specs of all pumps are usually stated like it like this: max pressure = zero flow-rate. So this KÄRCHER can give max. 18MPa / 180bar - but at zero flow-rate, it is nothing but the internal safety relief valve setting. Note that the hose says it on its print, too, at 2':24": max. 18MPa. That's a hint for you as a user that 18MPa won't be the actual operating pressure, if that is also the Max-rating of the hose.
The operating pressure you can actually get depends heavily on the flow-rate, and vice versa. That is true for any make & model of a pressure washer. So with a nozzle that lets out a lot of water, the working pressure will be much lower than with a nozzle that lets out only a little bit of water.
My Dad still uses a KÄRCHER pro-series model of some 30+ years ago in his winery, and that delivered 240bar at full flow-rate of the standard nozzle. THAT is useful power to clean farm equipment. :)
Thanks for the video. It's exactly what I was looking for.
Looks like you didn't take away the weight of the bucket.
Thanks Sam, great video. Also thanks for the explanations in the comments. Some of the points I didn’t fully understand first time watching. Just wondering, how long did it take to wash your driveway? Would you say it is faster than your previous machine?
Been a while now and probably time I redo my paths and driveway again. But I think when I used to do it would take me around 5 to 6 hours and if I went any faster it would leave lines . With the Karcher K7 paired with the Tracer 7 I think I can happily say its halved that time with a more even result. If I want to get better and faster result then there is nothing really that's electric that can. So in order to go the next step then it has to be petrol powered and thats too noisy and too heavy for my back right now..... oh previous was the Aldi branded one and the top of the line Jet-USA 3500psi which turned out the cheap Aldi was more powerful than the JET Usa. I complained and told them my findings and that they were not as per label. They asked for me to return the unit for testing. Next day no result, instead they reversed my payment immediately and said nothing of their testing results. Basically they did that to shut me up and get the unit from me before I could test like I did the K7. So don't buy a Jet Usa because the claim nominal 2500psi @ 6.8l ..... unless I had a really bad unit it wasn't even close! Anyway that was a long time ago, maybe now they have gotten better
@@SamFerlauto thanks Sam, great info. I hope to upgrade my K2 to a K7 soon
But one downside of the Karcher is the metal alloys they use instead of the brass parts like some of the better quality units, Kranzle (german made and had some unfortunate inflation issues over the last few years) have brass parts and people like the longevity they have
Very true.
This is definitely late, but if you choose an karcher professional pressure washer they have brass parts too, and some saw that they have ceramic coated stainless steel
I bought this and replaced everything but the body. It has a better hose, a better gun and brass quick connections.
Can you do one using the machine on diff surfaces or cleaning different parts
Cheers mate. Very informative Sam. But have I missed the point here? Correct me if I'm wrong but your PSI measurement came out to only around 1800PSI using the Karcher lance and a little higher using the Audi one. Both nowhere near the claimed 2500 PSI. And isn't ultimately the PSI reading the real measure of how powerful the device is at removing dirt? Many thanks in anticipation of an explanation as I'm minded to get one of these otherwise.
Wow how time flys.... been almost 2 years now. Memory is a little foggy but as said at around the 1 minute mark the MAX rating of any pressure washer should NOT be believed on any pressure washer, it is most likely the pressure of peak intermittent spikes it could possibly handle from time to time! When ever you look at pressure washers you need to get the nominal rating which on this unit is 13MPa (around 1885psi). Think of it like this , lets say your car can rev a maximum of 8000rpm but what happens if you hit that peak for long periods of time? kaboom! just because its rated at 16MPa MAX doesn't mean you should! hope that makes sense. In any case when looking to buy NEVER fixate on the MAX rating (That's the sales mumbo-jumbo to suck you in ) instead look at the lower figure ALWAYS as that should be the nominal running it can handle constantly.
So the aim of this video is simple. It is to test the unit for nominal PSI vs kW vs Q as stated on the label . It states nominal rating of 13MPa@2.2kW and at that rating it should pump out 8.2L/min so therefore I conclude that it does that. I get that my test were not lab quality precise but neither are the nozzles, eg: a blue nozzle from amazon vs a quality brand will give you different readings, so in short nothing is perfect. If the power at your house is 240Vac and the power at my house is 230Vac the results will not be the same but nominally it will be close.
So in reality, if you try to understand in what I consider "the holy trinity" of nominal PSI/Kw/Q ratings of pressure washers you should be able look at any pressure washer and with the perfect nozzle size be able to achieve those nominal ratings that are stated on the label.
Hope that has made it clearer for you.
Thank you for your excellent test, reply from Hong Kong.
Your welcome. Thanks for the feedback.
Good test! Thaks!
I have the same model. Bought just yesterday. But my pressure washer consumes 3 kW of energy. And it actually has a minimum pressure of 150 bar compared to your pressure washer. Interesting...This iformation i saw on the back side.
Thank you for the feedback. Yes its funny that the exact same pressure washer has different ratings in different locations. Which location are you from?
@@SamFerlauto I'm from Kazakhstan. Where are you from? US? Or UK?
It turns out that the sink does not produce the declared power and pressure? Or is everything okay?
I tested my Karcher K7 yesterday. The pressure is a little weak. Because I have problems with the voltage in the network. It is weak and sometimes less than 200 volts. I will install a voltage stabilizer, and also put a barrel of water for Karcher K7
Australia. What are all the values on the specification plate on the bottom of the unit.
@@SamFerlauto Uu Australia. It's so far. Good country! Good people live there. Exotic nature and most dangerous animal's on the planet Earth))
Printed on the bottom K7 compact 3Kwt power
15Mpa(150 bar) min pressure. 18Mpa(180 bar) max pressure.
Water consumption 9.2l min, and 10 l max
Sorry for my English)) It is not our native language
Interesting. So you have a more powerful motor than the Australian version. 3kw vs mine at 2.2kw and 9.2l vs mine at 8.2l. 1 thing I can tell you is the standard turbo lance should be very strong but the adjustable one is much weaker. To get more pressure you will need to get an attachment with adjustable tips like I did in my testing but to understand what pressure you are getting you will need to do similar and buy a guage and quick connect attachments . See my description for amazon links. Also your English is good and I can understand you well
Does this mean it doesn't get the advertised 2600 psi ?
Thanks for your yob! Great test. Can you share link to inline pressure gauge adapter? I can't find it.
Well done mate from Melbourne! You got me going for it!
Yeah it's a good little unit. The packing up gets a tedious as the hose n cord wrap around the unit but other than I find the compact size when packed away a bigger advantage
@@SamFerlauto yeah ordered one last night from Supercheap Auto and they will deliver on Friday as they had none in stock!
@@Milele good on you. I'm just bought the T7 T-racer this morning. Putting video together on that hopefully today. So stay tuned
@@SamFerlauto can’t wait to see the video and demonstration!
@@Milele It's done and now up. Enjoy ruclips.net/video/FGUCcLrbvO0/видео.html
Get the gauge checked/calibrated.. cheap gauges can be out by over 50% and change in accuracy depending on pressure… and don’t believe the ‘calibration’ cert provided 👍
Talking as someone who works in a laboratory with pressure testing equipment to NATA and AS standards.
Thanks for the advise but that was 2 years ago! I get where your coming from but I accept it could be out a little but dare say I don't think its more than +/- 5% at worse. But like you say can't know for sure unless I get it certified. Not gonna happen for quick test for measuring round about figures for a home test environment. To me the nominal power it draws vs litres per minute seem to line up with the pressure I measured with the cheap amazon gauge. The 3 all line up pretty close . If 1 of the 3 was off then I could blame a faulty cheap amp/watt meter or the cheap amazon pressure gauge or the bathroom scale. It's a simple test that I did with what I had with no money or sponsors or donations. Happy to send you the gauge if you like, only used it for that 1 off test 2 years ago. Wouldn't surprise me if its internals are corroded by now but if you can verify it at your cost then I'm happy to send it to you if postage is not too expensive!
Thanks for this. Going to grab one now.
Comprehensive real world testing!
Thank you
just bought k7 wcm today,not that impressed with presure compared to my old k2
Do hose stop end connectors effect flow or performance?
Not sure what you mean.
Have you ever tested k2.050 it says 100 bar what could be real pressure
Karcher k2 1250psi @ 4.07lpm
K3 1500psi @ 4.4lpm
K4 and k5 are the same 1400psi @4.4lpm
K7 1600 psi @ approx 6-7lpm
Hello, thanks for your review. I have some questions. In your measurements, the K7 gives a maximum force of 130 bar (13 mpa) and discharges 8 liters of water per minute. In my country, this machine is very expensive. I just need a machine that will wash my car vigorously, do you think? Can you tell me the brand / model that is stronger but not too expensive and you have used before?
Sorry but I have only tested this one. For washing a car a 40degree tip at around 1000psi is ideal from what I have seen from other car detailed video's.
Hi Sam. I bought this K7 compact home unit for 6 months now, worked fine with no problems, but just now it happend to leak very powerful from the output water quick-connector (where you plug the water cord gun in) when the unit is off with the water open all the way up, without the gun plugged in. When I plug the gun, it doesn't leak anymore and works normally. Is this normal to shoot water out when the gun (cord) is disconnected, but only with the water hose connected and open? Thanks.
I've not tried running without a hose in the past but yes this will be normal as I have just removed my quick connector and can look through it... so there is no valve so therefore when the hose is not connected and the tap is on you will have water coming out of the quick connector.
@@SamFerlauto that's true. I've just look with a flashlight and it doesn't have any valve in there, it's just a clear hole. I was not sure if it has to shoot water from there if the gun is unplugged with the water hose on. I was really worried because I left the k7 in my workshop till now and the temperature was near to 0 degrees celsius. Today a took it home in the boiler room. Sorry for my english. Thanks a lot. Wish you a happy new year and good luck! 🥂
@@calinsandor9518 thank you. Hope you get nice goodies from Santa! Your English is perfect no need to apologise!
Hi I have at the moment the old K750MX about 20 yrs old. Its losing power now so I'm looking for a new machine. Will the older karcher product like the T300 racer and the telescopic spray lance still fit this Compact K7 , please ?
I looked online for a standard T300 Tracer and it is the standard Karcher attachment so I would say 99.9% yes its the same and should seal and fit correctly
@@SamFerlauto Thank you.
Wonderful analysis!
Hi I have just bought the Compact K7 from Karcher Trafalgar. I also have had the Karcher 750 MX for approx 20years and decided on a new machine as I imagine the 750MX is losing power. I tried the K7 Compact today with my Karcher T300 racer and I can't help thinking that my old 750 MX has as much power if not more than the Compact K7. Is this at all possible ?? .MY old 750MX would lift the T racer off the ground when it was new. Plus, after releasing the trigger on the Compact K7 there is an audible hiss from the machine for a split second, is this normal ? Thanks in advance for any replys.
Hey James. I'm by no means no expert on various pressure washers and haven't used the K7 for a while, but can say that I don't recall a hiss when letting go of the trigger. It could be possible that maybe a valve might be stuck open by either dirt or debree that could have come through the water line or metal debree from the manufacturing process. This could explain less pressure that is allowed to build up and the hiss could be the back flowing pressure bleeding back. If possible you should take it back and get another unit or get Karcher to check it out. So but currently travelling so I can't even confirm if the hissing happens on mine
Thanks for the video - nice to validate their specs. Just wondering your take on it... is the lance that comes with it that bad? Do you think it should be replaced to make the unit worthwhile? Thanks!
The test was simply to validate the spec sheet. Now that it can supply the correct psi and litres per minute if you play with different nozzle orifices to match. The Turbo lance is really good and it blasts very well but the variable lance is ok cranked up but not as good as a tuned tip with a smaller orifice. Also I did pair it up with a Ryobi patio cleaner which gave me great results and much faster in completing the job BUT was a real pain to find all sorts of attachments to attach it with no leaks. Unfortunately it hasn't stopped raining here almost every weekend since I made the video and not gonna be sunny anytime soon! I want to buy a T7 and do away with all the attachments and see if I can get it to perform like the cheap Ryobi patio cleaner but until I get good weather that ain't happening!
You say they are crappy but I’m not happy with Karacher as my first K7 compact from 12 years ago lasted 10 years and the latest one managed 2 years and died, Karcher will not help or diagnose the problem by calling their support. I used mine very lightly as well, cleaning the car in the sumner maybe every fortnight and 2-3 other times for patio or other things. A repair centre cost is more than half of the price of the machine and that’s before any parts might be needed. I will not be buying any more from them.
@@Pain4yourmind Where are you? In the UK they have a 3 year warranty.
u had leak there ...
Gerni 7000 is better
Umm you didn't take off the weight of the bucket.. the bucket would weigh at least 750grams to a kilo.
That drops the flow to around 7.1lpm.
Also you used the non standard nozzle for the flow test. This is not to appropriate and changes the flow as the outlet size is different.
1600 psi is extremely poor for such an expensive machine.
To give you a comparison, the $129 dollar ozito will give you 1600psi and 6lpm...
This karcher is a overpriced piece of junk, and not to mention extremely unreliable and poor customer support from Karcher.
Stay away and do your own research.
Some info:
Karcher k2 1250psi @ 4.07lpm
K3 1500psi @ 4.4lpm
K4 and k5 are the same 1400psi @4.4lpm
K7 1600 psi @ approx 6-7lpm
Hey thanks for commenting and yes your right I didn't weigh the bucket. It was around 750gr.
Couple of points though
1. hard to see on the video but a lot of water was splashing out as well so probably lost 200 or so grams there. So I would say around all up your looking at around 7.6lpm at 1850PSI
2. Yes I used a tip that doesn't come with the unit to reach the nominated pressure, amperage and kW rating, but how else can you test the nominal ratings?
In a perfect world where I had all the time in the world and I wasn't recoving of a back injury I would probably make a followup video. But no one is paying me to test it and this video was simply to show my quick findings and to get it to close to the nominal ratings.
Anyway the unit I have is still going and still doing a decent job. Maybe when it dies I'll buy an Ozito and test that out for you!
Never mind the karcher, buy a mower mate
Any advice on how to wind up the hose after use. It has a mind of its own.
@@spmck6526 lay it out straight then coil it up , that's what I do, it works fine