[Karcher] / Pressure Cleaner Chemicals

[Anonymous No.1115141]

Hello DIY,

First time poster here. I recently inherited a used Karcher Pressure Cleaner. I have the basic attachments and the cleaner is all in good working order.

I've seen Karcher supply both generic "cleaner" and "car shampoo" branded under their names.

It's probably a long shot, but why can't you run a non-branded cleaner chemical in your pressure cleaner over what the manufacturer sells?

[Anonymous No.1115164]

>>1115141
Read any thermo/fluids book.
Chemicals that are physically similar can have completely different properties especially when used in a specific system.
That being said nothing disastrous would probably happen, reduced velocity from being too viscous from the nozzle. It could also corrode parts that weren't meant to take certain chemicals. The engineers who made the thing are probably smarter than you.
tl;dr saving a few dollars and ruining your hundred dollar machine is not worth.

[Anonymous No.1115178]

>>1115164
Yeah, I was thinking of perhaps trying this on a junk pressure cleaner first to measure the life span.

Probably not worth as you've said.

[Anonymous No.1115189]

>>1115141
Who says you can't?

I have a K2.xx series Kaercher. Its the regular household one that breaks all tge time and is impossible to find spares for.
Both the low and high pressure detergent systems are downstream of the pump and work using a Venturi principle.

The high pressure one is just a short extension/lance/wand with a bottle underneath.
It attaches to the gun and you can control the mixture of detergent/water and the fan spread.

The low pressure one is a clear tube on the pressure washer that sucks up soap from any soap bottle.
You have to remove the extention/lance/wand to use it.

[Anonymous No.1115194]

>>1115189

My chemicals have to go into a tank that integrates into the whole pressure cleaner, I imagine it injects straight into the pumping system. Not as an attachment.

However, as you've said I could put an external tank where water and said chemical can be mixed outside of the pump.

Just for clarity and so other Anon's know my model is the k2 180. in pic related.

[Anonymous No.1115338]

>>1115194
I'm not sure how the ones with a tank work. I know the Industrial HDS models have tanks. But I've never seen one.

All the ones I've seen have a clear plastic tube as an inlet and no tank inside the washer itself.

Even with a tank, detergent might still be injected downstream of the pump though, for reasons of simplicity.

This is because detergents are sometimes oily, like radiator coolant.
Oil doesn't compress like water does, and it may put too much stresses on the pump.
Regular detergent will also gum up internals of the pump unless you run clear water afterwards.

Designing a detergent that; cleans well, compresses like water, and leaves no harmful residue costs a lot of money.

Not likely from a company that basically makes disposable pressure washers.

If it were me, I'd use a non Kaercher detergent without worry.