Solved My Karcher issue

My old Karcher PW lasted approx 8 years. It owed me nothing. Finally the motor would continuously run when you released the handle. It also lacked a spool to roll up the hose when done, and I was envious of the new models that had that feature. So I bought a new one and sold my old one. The new one is a K5.540 that is slightly more powerful than my old one and, of course, had a spool. It`s not perfect of course and my biggest beef is that the hose can kink too easily in my opinion. But, in general I`ve been very, very happy with it. Even though the power rating is only 100 psi more, it feels much more powerful than the old one. Life was great.

Until a few weeks ago.

Now, please bear with me for a minute, because my procedure using the PW was key to it lasting a long time I believe. For instance, my start up procedure is as follows:
1) Connect hose
2) Turn hose on
3) Squeeze handle a few seconds to purge air
4) Plug in PW and push button on plug to turn on

To store it, I always did the following:

1) Unplug the PW
2) Disconnect the hose
3) Squeeze handle to remove any water (if you fail to do this, it`s much harder to manipulate the hose AND more importantly, it`s hard on the pump to keep it pressurized)
4) Roll up hose

A few weeks ago while using it, the pump kept going after I released the handle and would not shut off even if I turned the power switch on the front to the "off" position, just like my old one had. It started doing it intermittently and then would do it more often (maybe 1/3 of the time). I figured in time it would get to 100% of the time, so I called Karcher customer service for Canada.

Can I just say their customer service rocks! Yes, initially, I was on hold for quite a while (maybe 10 minutes) until a representative got on the phone. Once she did however, she immediately advised me that she would send me out a brand new one to replace mine, and, I did NOT have to return the old one (I was thinking I`d have it fixed locally and keep it as a backup). It`s called their "Rapid Exchange Program".


This is where things get interesting and why I wrote this thread. Thanks for being patient up to this point. My replacement was being shipped and I was still using the new one. I followed my start up procedure as usual, but, when I squeezed the trigger momentarily like I always do, it was continuing to sputter with air coming out of the nozzle. I normally would have stopped squeezing the trigger regardless of it still sputtering and would have gone on to use it. Not this time. This time, I held the trigger for as long as it took for the sputtering to stop. I think it took as long as 10 seconds. I wasn`t sure whether it would make a difference or not.

Guess what? It made ALL difference! (I guess there`s an advantage to trying to light your cigar one handed while you`re purging your power washer, LOL).

It did not fail (by that I mean keep running when I released the trigger). The next time I went to use it, I also made sure I depressed the trigger as long as it took to completely purge the air. Once again, flawless (excuse the pun) performance. I started to think I was on to something. What I did not do was to not purge it once to see if I could re-create the failure. I wasn`t looking to do that to the machine. I have used it now at least 10 times and not once has it failed. Each and every time I take as long as it needs during the purge phase.

I am convinced that I am on to something, so I called Karcher back (my replacement had arrived by then) and advised them of my finding. The female was quite excited and was going to tell her supervisor and all of her co-workers. I hope she makes "employee of the month". What a win-win. Who wants to deal with the BS of having to call, etc, even in spite of the excellent and no hesitation unit replacement when all one has to do is slightly modify their start up procedure to ensure a perfectly running power washer. Can you imagine the money it`s costing Karcher to send out all of those units?

I actually feel a bit guilty that I`ve got this brand new unit sitting in a box, but it`s my backup now in case I do something stupid with my current one (not out of the question, LOL).

Anyway, if any of you are struggling with a Karcher power washer that is staying on after releasing the handle, try what I suggest.

Cheers,
Rich

Good deal. I`m hoping that his new Kranzle I just got has service like you received if anything happens with it.

I give you HUGE kudos for calling them back to report your find! I own a business and I always encourage customers to let me know of issues or improvements they`d like to see and it feels good to know that they will help me produce great products.

ks

Karcher was great when replacing my failed unit (wouldn`t turn on anymore at all). Their replacement program is great.

You should always purge any and all air from the lines before powering any pressure washer. Air compresses, water does not. So your on demand pump in the pressure washer will not shut off if it`s trying to compress air. I`ve had this happen a few times when a rogue bubble somewhere in my 100` hose makes it way into the pump, then it`s a mad dash to turn it off to prevent any damage. I`ve had to purge the lines for 30+ seconds sometimes.

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Originally Posted by fly07sti

Good deal. I`m hoping that his new Kranzle I just got has service like you received if anything happens with it.

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Me too Don, me too.

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Originally Posted by KEVINS

I give you HUGE kudos for calling them back to report your find! I own a business and I always encourage customers to let me know of issues or improvements they`d like to see and it feels good to know that they will help me produce great products.

ks

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Kevin, That`s just me. The whole Golden Rule and all that. I know I`d want to know. Having said that, if they had kept me on hold for 30 minutes, no message would have been delivered, LOL.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShaneB

Karcher was great when replacing my failed unit (wouldn`t turn on anymore at all). Their replacement program is great.

You should always purge any and all air from the lines before powering any pressure washer. Air compresses, water does not. So your on demand pump in the pressure washer will not shut off if it`s trying to compress air. I`ve had this happen a few times when a rogue bubble somewhere in my 100` hose makes it way into the pump, then it`s a mad dash to turn it off to prevent any damage. I`ve had to purge the lines for 30+ seconds sometimes.

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Shane, I knew it had to be purged, I just didn`t realize to what extent. I wondered what the engineering explanation was of why the pump was staying on. Thanks.

Richy- Glad you got it sorted out, and *especially* glad to know that Karcher`s Customer Service is OK these days.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Accumulator

Richy- Glad you got it sorted out, and *especially* glad to know that Karcher`s Customer Service is OK these days.

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Absolutely no issues with me whatsoever.

Now I`ll probably start thinking about buying yet another Karcher :o