Customer Reviews

Karcher K 5.85 M Plus 1850-PSI 1.5-GPM Electric Pressure Washer with 25-Foot Hose and Hose Reel

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have owned a few Karchers. My old unit broke during some deck cleaning - it was probably about 5 years old. I ended up ordering an FAIP because there were several good reviews on it. I quickly regretted buying the FAIP PWS1750 unit.

I promptly returned the unit to Amazon and ended up buying this Karcher unit. It is considerably more money, but I believe it is worth it. It exudes much better quality in many ways over the FAIP. The high pressure hose reel is a great feature- this is the feature that sold me. Unlike the FAIP PWS1750, the hose stays connected when you reel or un-reel the hose - I mean, isn't that how a hose reel is supposed to work? It makes it very easy to put away (I only wish the power cord did the same thing).

The optional T-racer surface cleaner attachement is much better than the FAIP's ultra cheap PowerWash Broom.

It is on the high end for an electic power washer price wise, but also quality wise. You know the old saying; you get what you pay for. This unit is made in Germany whereas the FAIP is made in China.

This is my 3rd Karcher; the only weakness of most Karchers is the garden hose connection. It is not very robust and can break off if you don't take it easy -I don't know why they have not beefed that up over the years.

Unpleasantly Surprised (rewrite)

I ordered a Kärcher K5.85MR through Pressure Washer Direct. The week it took to get to me counted towards the 30 day warranty. The item arrived with a cracked right wheel and missing lower bracket for the spray-wand storage, otherwise, it worked beautifully.

My complaint concerns Kärcher customer service. Their call center is located in the Philippines, but their hours are M-F 9AM-5PM EST. Their automated greeting advised to have the invoice handy, as they "may" need a copy faxed to them--there's no "may" about it, they insisted, even if the product is factory-direct shipped and warranty-registered. My experience with customer service was nothing but a hassle, and by the time I receive replacement parts, the item will be out of warranty. I would've rated the product itself a "5" if not for the very cheap and inadequate wheels. I rate the customer service and warranty a "1".

Basically, I'm pleased with my purchase, but I consider it an "As Is" purchase because of the warranty and customer service. I hope I'll not have to deal with Kärcher's customer support again any time soon.

Pressure Washer Direct credited $25 to my account as a "courtesy credit" for the inconvenience, and I would order through them again without hesitation.

I purchased a Karcher 3.67M directly from Amazon and used it twice a week for over 15 months (in the blazing hot sun, and freezing cold) and it finally started acting up on me. Instead of resolving the problem, I decided to purchase a new unit instead as I felt the 3.67M had served me well for the $170 I paid for it.

Anyways, I have now had this K 5.85M for a little over a month and it is an excellent machine. I spent the extra $$$ for the on-board hose reel and aluminum pump because I use my pressure washer so frequently. I'm loving the on-board hose reel, and there's even a cord wrap on the back of the handle for wrapping up the electric cord so the pressure washer and all of its included items are quickly and easily stored away. I intend on continuing my bi-weekly use of this machine and I will update this review as I have more experience with it. Keep in mind that you may need to purchase or have the little o-ring to connect your garden hose to the unit. Mine did not come with one; I'm not sure if it was left out by accident or if you are expceted to have your own...in any case, I just pulled the one from my old Karcher and put it in the new one and problem solved.


It is obvious that since most of the negative reviews for Karcher pressure washers on Amazon are not verified purchases, people just come and bad-mouth Karcher with no justification. This is my second Karcher pressure washer purchase straight from Amazon and both of them ran great straight out of the box. Potential buyers should also keep in mind that all the unhappy people are more likely to post a review to complain and warn others. But all the satisfied purchasers are less likely to make a review because they are just happy with their unit so there is not much to say.

Update April 1st, 2011: About 6 months in now and the unit is still running fine. Only used it about once a week during the winter months because of all the snowfall we had.

I purchased Karcher K 5.585 1850 PSI in May - I had another Karcher i was using and wanted one with a little more pressure. I ordered this Karcher but didn't use it until last week or so since I had just used the old Karcher when I ordered this one. Well, water just went everywhere from the trigger area and couldn't use it. I called Karcher and they do not warrant anything third party online (which Amazon is) and 30 days is up since i bought it from Amazon. I am stuck with a Karcher that I paid good money for and didn't work from the getgo so be warned if you buy online.

The first thing to realize on this washer is that this washer is German. The attachment nozzle on the front is large and brass. To connect a hose you need to have a metal coupling on your hose. You'll spend 15 minutes trying to connect a plastic coupled hose to this thing. Second some genius decided to put a GFI on the cord for plugging it in. I plugged mine into an outdoor outlet that already had a GFI and --zippo-- nothing. The GFI on the washer would not set. I removed it and plugged it into an outlet in the garage without its own GFI and -bingo- worked fine. I'm sure alot of the washers people say were dead on arrival was caused by this "safety" feature. So if you get one --make sure the machine is off, plug it in, press the top button (reset) on the plug, the little window will fill with red if its set, then turn the machine on...remember its German it cares. Once working the machine is relatively quiet with reasonable strength. I used it to clean concrete around a pool and clean sap off of a deck. The jet it comes with is about 2 1/2 wide for cleaning. I spent the $50 for the T-100 attachment and whoa this thing cleans 12 inches wide and really really well. So I would spend the extra bucks if your going to spend this much money anyway.

The Kacher pressure washer performs well. I have only used the pressure washer on three occasions. The only improvement I would recommend is where the water hose connects to the pressure washer. This could be constructed better, i.e. use a brass connections instead of a plastic connection.

I bought this pressure washer to wash my 3 vehicles and my lawn tractor & outside blinds on my house. It does a good job for these uses but I have a gas powered washer for the heavier work. Karcher needs to wise up and have hoses which use more universal connections. It always turns me off ( and I feel this is universal) when you have connections which are only available from the manufacturer and often are triple the price they should be.Shame on you Karcher for this all too prevalent scam.

I did alot of research online for Pressure Washer. I really wanted the K 5.93 model of Karcher, but it was out of stock in every store (online and local). So, I bought this model. It costs more, so I figured it might even be better. I can't say whether or not it's better than the K5.93 model, but I can say that it did not meet my expectation. The pressure is not as strong as I had expected. I used it to clean my car. It didn't clean very well. I don't recommend it for the price. $200 would be a more reasonal and fair price for this item.

Purchased new, on January 30, 2011.

It is now May 30, 2011, and the unit is not working properly.

Pros are:

* Unit has wheels to roll around. Very helpful.
* Unit has the onboard pressure hose reel, and has a hook to hang the electrical cord.
* Unit is very powerful at 1850PSI

Cons are:

* Unit trips electrical breakers alot (2-3 times when using the unit).
* Unit could have more durable plastic (plastic could be slightly thicker in certain areas).
* Unit failed after 4 months (on the day), when used for a total of 3~4 times since January.
* Even after allowing all air to escape from within the pressure lines, the unit continues to power on and off when in use, for the first 30 minutes of use. It's very strange to have it cycle on and off when you engage the trigger, even after you have purged all the air out of the unit. Very annoying having it power down and back up, and back down, etc...

This unit supposedly has a built in aluminium pump for "enhanced" durability. However, the unit began making wierd noises last night, and now, it puts out half the power. In other words, my brother's 1300 PSI Karcher unit (which is really old), has more power than this unit at 1850 PSI. Obviously, the pump or something inside is damaged. I never ran this with the water off, except for a few seconds during every shut down to remove the water from the pump. Which users are instructed to do in the owners manual. Users are instructed to run the motor/pump with electricity on, but the water off, for a few seconds to remove excess water from the pump. I forgot what page in the manual it says to do this...

It has always been cared for, never damaged, dropped, or destroyed in any way. I am very sad about this.

I will submit an update after any repairs and/or replacements have been made.

I purchased the K 5.85 M to add to my detailing arsenal it works great at cleaning up my vehicles and paired with a foam cannon it works wonders. It has plenty of pressure and the GPM is right where you want it for cleaning your vehicle. I hope it lasts me I know before winter starts I am going to use some Karcher Pump Guard to protect it. I did buy some quick disconnects to prevent breaking the inlet tube this way if the hose moves it wont apply pressure to the plastic inlet tube not only that it makes hose connecting and disconnecting really easy. Here is a picture of how I snow foamed with it!

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