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Karcher frv alternative?

  • Thread starter Another Clean Window
  • Start date
A

Another Clean Window

Hi

I've been looking at the karcher frv surface cleaner and I love the fact it sucks the water up and pumps it to a drain.

I'm at the point now where I'm pricing up to buy a pressure washer and surface cleaner but can't find anything similar that sucks up water.

Anyone know of anything good?

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The only alternatives I know of need a vacuuming as well to suck up the water and then you are emptying the tank every five minutes.

The Karcher is very good but small diameter so the first clean takes longer but you don't need to rinses down before turbo washing and there isn't loads of muck to brush up so it could actually be quicker in the long run.

There are two disadvantages to the Karcher one is it doesn't like gravel which blocks up the suction pipe and secondly the connection with the lance is **** and leaks a lot.

 
Thanks for your reply, I didn't realise you needed a separate vacuum makes sense though, I was under the impression you don't need one for the karcher though?

As much as I like the karcher products (used them for years around the house) I don't want to carry them in my van, personally if someone turned up at my house to pressure wash a drive and they pulled out a karcher machine I'd send them away and do it myself, looking for a well built rugged looking surface cleaner that customers look at and think wow look at that. Just the image I'm trying to build

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Mosmatic do a lot of FSC's with vacuum ports, just a case of having a wet and dry vac to attach to it (incidently there are some 1500w ones on sale in Aldi at the moment for £45 which seems too good to be true but might be worth a punt) the only problem is Mosmatic are insanley expensive as opposed to your regular whirlaway models, you just need to figure out if the convenience is worth the expense really. for instance, heres one I found online Mosmatic FL-AH520 Surface Cleaner Vacuum Port Pressure Washing Cleaning 80.764 | eBay , at £1600 its a bit of a push if you ask me, an 18-20" whirlaway is a fraction of the price and to be fair you could get a package to include one with a 21lpm machine for less than the cost of this single FSC, if youve got the demand and its essential to have a vaccum port to get jobs done quick and onto the next then go for it, if your just having the odd job here and there then its definatly not worth it in my opinion

 
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The karcher FSC doesn't need a vacumn to make it work, some of the water is diverted to a Venturi nozzle that creates a vacumn which sucks up the water and dirt.

I don't use a Karcher washer I use it with my 21l/m petrol washer so it still looks impressive.

It cost me about £450 which included an extra 5m of hose and fitting it to a regular lance so I could use it with my normal pressure washer.

If I was only allowed two bits of kit for my pressure washer it would be a Turbo Nozzle and the Karcher FRV30, I have a Mossmatic FSC and I would take the Karcher over the Mossmatic far more useful.

 
Mosmatic FL-AH520 Surface Cleaner Vacuum Port Pressure Washing Cleaning 80.764 | eBay[/url] , at £1600 its a bit of a push if you ask me, an 18-20" whirlaway is a fraction of the price and to be fair you could get a package to include one with a 21lpm machine for less than the cost of this single FSC, if youve got the demand and its essential to have a vaccum port to get jobs done quick and onto the next then go for it, if your just having the odd job here and there then its definatly not worth it in my opinion
Interesting, thanks for your input.

I have a gutter vac but the thought of using it to suck up all that water then have to keep emptying it puts me off a bit tbh, I can't see that the work I'm trying to get would warrant that extra cost either, maybe I'll just put my money towards a better pressure washer and add to it in the future.

The karcher FSC doesn't need a vacumn to make it work, some of the water is diverted to a Venturi nozzle that creates a vacumn which sucks up the water and dirt.
I don't use a Karcher washer I use it with my 21l/m petrol washer so it still looks impressive.

It cost me about £450 which included an extra 5m of hose and fitting it to a regular lance so I could use it with my normal pressure washer.

If I was only allowed two bits of kit for my pressure washer it would be a Turbo Nozzle and the Karcher FRV30, I have a Mossmatic FSC and I would take the Karcher over the Mossmatic far more useful.
I see, quite clever then but I can see how it blocks up then like you said in the previous post,

I've watched a few videos of it in action and I must say it does a good job, but you never see what pressure washer they are using

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Nope lol, still no idea what to get.

Might go with the karcher and get a cheap surface cleaner as well, then see how I get on with them.

Need a pressure washer first, just waiting for some money to come in

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Nope lol, still no idea what to get.Might go with the karcher and get a cheap surface cleaner as well, then see how I get on with them.

Need a pressure washer first, just waiting for some money to come in

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Unless you are washing large areas don't get a FSC just get the Karcher and a turbo nozzle, between those two you will be able to tackle small to medium drives.

Make sure you get a powerful pressure washer to power the FSC.

 
Good advice, thanks.

I want one between 20-30 lpm but realistically I'll probably go with a 20,

Toying with the idea of building one just need to sit down and learn some things first

Need to source a good priced Honda engine and then figure out all the bits to bolt onto it.

I've seen people drag a wheelie bin around as a reservoir, seemed like a really good idea but then you have a pressure washer and reservoir to move, I've got pictures in my head of a 200L trolly mounted tank with pw bolted next to it that I can drag around with a hose pipe attached filling the tank.

I love these sorts of projects, like I said though got a lot to learn about what parts to use first

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