I purchased this tool to clean out my gutters around the house.The side of my house slopes away so the extra reach is necessary.I use it in conjunction with a commercial duty pressure washer, gutter elbow and high pressure nozzle.
The first thing to mention is that these are tricky to use when they are fully extended.You will need to pull DOWN on the unit when you trigger the spray (it acts like a rocket nozzle when using the gutter elbow).The entire unit tends to dance around, even with the harness.I recommend having one person man the actual pressure washer (wheel it around, wrangle hoses, etc.) while the other concentrates on directing the spray with the wand.
I have a major complaint with this unit and that has to do with using it for the first time.The unit extends via two nested aluminum pipes that are held in place with a spring loaded clip.The hose runs along the inside of these pipes.The problem is that these pipes are essentially FROZEN SOLID and will NOT budge when you first get the unit. I used penetrating oil on each joint and also lubricated the hose and that did not work.I was able to clamp the end into a vise and repeatedly lunged my full body weight (250+ lbs) to get it to move (1/2" at a time).Yes, this is with the spring clips released :-).Using this method it took about 30 minutes of pulling (1/2" at a time) to get both parts fully extended.Once the pipes were fully extended I hosed then entire thing down with lithium grease.Now it slides very easily by hand.I have to imagine that the original lubricant (if any existed) melted out as this product was shipped from overseas?
Although getting the unit into working condition was a pain, I am not aware of any competing product.In fact, it seems that most pressure washer fittings are made by General Pump overseas.If anyone is aware of -quality- fittings that don't corrode I would be interested in hearing about it!
Click Here to see more reviews about:
General Pump Telescoping Spray Wand - 6-18 Feet Long, Model# DLTG18AProduct Description: 4000 PSI telescoping spray wand extends from 6 to 18 feet long. Max. PSI: 4,000, Range (ft.): 6-18, Material: Aluminum
Buy cheap General Pump Telescoping Spray Wand - 6-18 Feet Long, Model# DLTG18A now
The fittings to connect to the wand are not the exact same as the original Karcher trigger gun.I had to substitute the fittings from my old gun to make this work.There was no way to do this without stressing the plastic.For a product with 'Karcher' in the title, I would expect the fittings to match.I would be aware to buy if you don't want to go through this hassle.
