This is an extension of the 'tile or granite' thread (bunker almost done, granite won, not the best job but getting there, pics later), as one sort of led to the other covered briefly in the moan thread which also ended up not where I expected, at Boonthavorn.
Homepro had the Karcher k3 at 6990, heading for the checkout with two trolleys when I remembered that Boonthavorn next door had the k3 on sale, left everything as is, off to Boonies to check and sure enough it was discounted to 5990, HomePro wouldn't match so Boonie got my money.
But first some scary stuff they sell there!
Don't know why it's landscape, the pic was took as portrait.
Anyway, the k3 finally made it home.
This was the easy bit, everything slotted in as and where it should, and we’re ready to roll, tomorrow.
Upside down...NEV!
Here is where I wanted to start, the back bit, two pics from the same spot, lots of dirt to play with and nobody to see if I fcuk up.
Side could also do with some tlc.
Layout is simple, three taps with hoses attached, front (car port), side (pool and patio) and back.
Electric no problem, now all I need is a water source...
…one that works
Leaky hose, over the past days tried a rubber sealant and wizard tape from Lazada, hopeless.
What’s worse is the nerves; wifey’s watching and waiting patiently for the disaster, she was against buying this toy, said best way I’ll use it once and that’s if I can get it to work without killing anyone, better to spend the money on her kitchen even though she has carte blanche for that.
How to deal with this in flow, so to speak.
Easy, cut the rotter!
Hindsight says I should’ve ditched the short end, but this works; well it doesn’t actually and I might discover it doesn’t allow me to reach behind the tank, but that comes later.
Now all I need is a clamp for the k3 input.
No clamp. Where do I get a clamp on a Sunday with building shops closed?
Let’s try nicking it from another hose, but she’s still watching, and no point taking it from the front or side hose if I will need to reattach it there later.
So off to the side. I know, let’s do the side first.
Good idea, connected the side hose to the k3.
Pause.
Er, still need a clamp. I do wish she’d go away.
Now I’m at side, still need a clamp, still no clamp, and pointless returning to the rear as that’s an admission of fcukup so it looks like we’ll be going live from here, which means doing the parts most travelled and visible, so let’s get it right!
Off to the back to nick its clamp, wifey asks if I know what I'm doing.
Plugged in with water and electric, and off we go.
Two barrels, one devoted to hard jet and the other supposedly offers soft/med/hard which is displayed on the trigger gun. Let’s start soft.
Can’t get it to work on soft or med, it goes straight to hard and stays there. Ok, we can work on that and the detergent option later.
Ready to shoot, the patio could do with a rinse but for now not aiming for spectacular, let’s see if it washes off the top layer, and deeper stuff can be addressed later.
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Before and after pics don’t do justice, it does remove the top layer no problem, focus on a spot and it will give up, for a deeper clean will need the detergent option but not now. I’m liking this.
Got a bit carried away shifting grime buried into grout, blasted through it easy enough and it’s satisfying to see brownish grout that should be white turn to white, but the manual says don’t get frisky for a reason, and when jets of grout started flying all over the place I got that message.
Manual also says stay on soft for paintwork or you won’t have any, and that’s there for a reason as well. Wifey hasn’t noticed anything, yet; should've started out back.
Doesn’t show in pics but a clear difference, even wifey conceded a smile. Spine tingled on the steps when I heard a thud, it was the k3 falling, onto the sandstone lip and inches from the pool.
Tip: park yours so that if it falls it won’t be into a pool, esp on your first use with others watching and waiting for you to fcuk up.
Now she's gone shopping, I can’t undo the nozzle on the front hose, too tight, still unnerved from the shock of nearly losing my new toy, so off to the back where nothing can go wrong and if it does nobody will notice.
Clamp issues now under control. Tip: you will need two clamps.
Remember these?
All systems go, and minutes later…
Excellent result for a first wash; later on will experiment with detergent but delighted with this. It’s actually cleaner than it looks because some of the dirt didn’t wash away and settled to dry back on. No problem, that will clear on the next wash.
Not sure how much water this thing uses, quite a lot, but it was exciting to see stubborn blotches gradually give up, and black turn to white as streams of dirt slosh around. Accidentally hit my foot with the jet. Tip: Be careful, this is not really a toy and can bloody hurt.
Doesn’t show but I washed down the walls as well, from a distance and with heart in mouth.