Pressure Washer Advice Needed.

[London Best]

I have a Nilfisk pressure washer which is now a few years old but still works really well. My problem is with the car shampoo attachment. This used to dispense loads of suds via the lance, but now seems to dispense very little, not 10% of what it originally did. I have washed and cleaned out the attachment and nozzle, to no effect. The original instructions are merely drawings of how to assemble the parts, no troubleshooting help at all, and I can find nothing on line. Does anyone have any experience of this happening? Or any helpful suggestions?

[ditchman]

no excactley the problem ................GET A STHIL......they have the shampoo attatchement

 

s

[old'un]

Does not help with your problem but....

After bad experiences with the newer Karcher models I Bought one of these a couple of years back and I cannot fault it, done loads of jobs around the garden, used regularly on the cars and lent it to a few mates, one was so impressed with it he went out and bought one..https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb669prw-130bar-electric-pressure-washer-1-8kw-240v/5014j

Edited February 5, 2021 by old'un

[Walker570]

I'm with Ditchie on the Sthil. Never fails.  I did not buy the shampoo attachement but like all Sthil attachments they are normally 100%.

[London Best]

I am not looking to replace the actual pressure washer, that has always worked fine and still knocks barrow loads of carp off the Land Rover. I just wanted to know any ideas why something with no mechanical parts should decrease in performance.

[billytheghillie]

has your water pressure altered?

[Walker570]

3 hours ago, London Best said:

I am not looking to replace the actual pressure washer, that has always worked fine and still knocks barrow loads of carp off the Land Rover. I just wanted to know any ideas why something with no mechanical parts should decrease in performance.

You shampoo your Landie..... disgusting treatment

I would not have thought mains water pressure would cause a problem as the pump will control the pressure. 

.

[yorkshire graeme]

I don’t know if it would help you but if that’s broken you could look on Cleanyourcar.co.uk and buy yourself a snow foam canon. Basically you use is as per what you would use your shampoo attachment but it covers the car in a really thick blanket of foam that you can use either to loosen the dirt then wash as normal or as an added lubricant for when you wash the car. I moved away from the standard shampoo attachments when mine did what yours has and I’ll never go back 👍

[ditchman]

14 hours ago, Walker570 said:

I'm with Ditchie on the Sthil. Never fails.  I did not buy the shampoo attachement but like all Sthil attachments they are normally 100%.

i like the stil as you can put any old carp in the soap bottle......and it works like a very simple carberetta ...........all the other built in soap attatchments on other machines are fine for a couple of mths ....then fure up and they are bloody useless...........

sthil are not that expensive now...so they are a must look.............

[243deer]

my first port of call for anything water based that is or might be blocked is white vinegar, then a dissolved dishwasher tablet then if they have failed, caustic soda. Maybe use a bit of dylon dye as a tracer colour to see if things are improving

[London Best]

Thanks chaps, all good ideas.

11 hours ago, Walker570 said:

You shampoo your Landie..... disgusting treatment

 

.

Don’t be silly! Just her car.

[Walker570]

Just now, London Best said:

Thanks chaps, all good ideas.

Don’t be silly! Just her car.

I forgive you

[Medic1281]

I’d guess it’s a seal gone somewhere, probably just an O ring that is failing and it’s drawing in air.

[billytheghillie]

3 hours ago, yorkshire graeme said:

I don’t know if it would help you but if that’s broken you could look on Cleanyourcar.co.uk and buy yourself a snow foam canon. Basically you use is as per what you would use your shampoo attachment but it covers the car in a really thick blanket of foam that you can use either to loosen the dirt then wash as normal or as an added lubricant for when you wash the car. I moved away from the standard shampoo attachments when mine did what yours has and I’ll never go back 👍

This, I have a snow foam cannon, and use snow foam from the bay of plenty £9.75 for 5 litres, can,t fault it.

[figgy]

As above snow foam attachment, can use on any pressure washer. 

If you want a good one buy a Kranzle commercial pressure washer 

[Jim Neal]

I'm not familiar with that particular machine but most of those systems to draw chemical up from a reservoir are what's called a "venturi".

The flow of chemical from your reservoir is limited by a little widget called an orifice It's basically something cylinder shaped with a hole through the middle of a pre-determined diameter, to give a certain flow rate.  Your orifice is usually located in the draw pipe, check the diagram again.

When a venturi stops working it's usually that orifice which clogs, or gets a bit of grit stuck it in.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Jim Neal

[London Best]

Thanks JN, I understand all that. I have soaked the nozzle in white vinegar for 24 hrs but am unable to test because the outside tap/hose pipe are frozen solid now.

[Jim Neal]

Hope you get it sorted 👍

[London Best]

Update. Job sorted. Soaked in vinegar for 24 hrs, then tried the dishwasher, then boiling water, all with no effect. The Venturi orifice was obviously clear but when I tried blocking one end and sucking there was no suction at the lift pipe fitting. So I tried to clear it with a nail but I was unable to push it through. No knowing the hole size I tried a small drill, 2mm, and couldn’t grip it tight enough to twist it through. So I put the drill in a chuck and with the improved grip was able to clear the hole. The blockage came out as black dust and had been set like concrete. Result! The soap dispenser works well again. Thanks everyone for your interest.