Kärcher K3.550 T250 Pressure Washer

Bought this to replace an older Karcher that had died.
This new one is more powerful and has a very smooth delivery.
Cleaned the patio in half the time from the previous model.
Detergent dispenser is much improved and actually worked.
Only time will tell if the water cooling lengthens the life of the motor.

A few years ago we had one of thse pressure-washers (Alto) and although we were pleased with that one we found this to be easier to handle. It did all the cleaning of patio and paths very well. After having checked other machines over the last six months my husband and I are more than pleased with this Karcher. As for assembly we had very little trouble and got there in the end!

Ensure you read the updates at the end! This is definitely NOT Vorsprung durch Technik.
Bought this to replace a failed Kew (now Nilfisk-Alto) Dynamic X-tra, so performance is compared with that. One major fault in the design of the Kew was the use of painted steel self-tapping screws to hold various components together, mainly screwed into plastic. After a year these started to rust, splitting the plastic they were screwed into and resulting in major parts (like the main nozzle assy.) falling apart, followed by the main housing! This made me avoid Nilfisk Alto, in case they use the same methods as Kew. The Kew HP hose was 10 metres long and meant the washer and mains extension reel could be parked well clear of the wet area for most tasks, an excellent facility. However, the hose was crimp-clipped onto the pump assembly inside the housing, so when the hose was damaged (caught on the edge of a flint) a major repair cost was incurred.

It has so far not proved possible to confirm what the screws in the Karcher are made from so only time will tell. On the positive side, the Karcher has a removable HP hose. However, it is of very limited length which means moving the washer and mains extension lead around when doing the car and patio, and water does splash onto both, so it's doubly important to use an RCD. Extension hoses are available but at extortionate prices for what they are.

The Kew came with a useless rotating car brush but also with a very useful under-chassis angled extension rod - very good at getting mud and salt away from under the car and wheel arches. Will really miss this.

The Kew's car detergent system produced a dense foam over the car with about a half cupful of their solution - the Karcher uses loads of their solution and results in just slightly bubbly water. The water pressure washing nozzles of both cleaners have proved similar.

The Karcher T250 rotating patio and wall cleaner is excellent - cleans well without being too harsh. If you go at paving slabs with a strong jet you'll start destroying the surface. The T250 seems just about right.

UPDATE on Karcher reliability after 6 months ownership: After about 3 months I noticed a small puddle developing under the washer after it had been in use for 30-40 minutes, but Karcher say "slight leakage is normal" in the manual. This was getting bigger at each subsequent use. By 6 months a significant, constant stream of several litres was flowing from somewhere inside, source not visible from outside. Contacted Amazon, who agreed immediately to replace the whole kit. Excellent Amazon service - the replacement arrived within 2 days and the faulty unit was collected by their carrier the following working day. Will keep this updated if any reason arises.

UPDATE 2: Replacement unit seemed fine to start with but at last use no detergent was appearing on the car. Gave up onon that and shampoos by hand. When I went to switch the Karcher on again to rinse the car I noticed a puddle under the machine and that the detergent bottle was half empty. Found the clear plastic 8mm hose at the lower rear of the machine was disconnected - it's just a push-fit and brushing against it with the main hose disconnects it! Very poor Konstruktion! I have now fitted a jubilee clip and will see if that's better.