Karcher K5.85 M Plus Review

(Rated: 4.4 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Result Quality
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Having a solid pressure washer like the Karcher K5.85M Plus on your team when you have big cleanup jobs to take care of around the house is a great move. A residential pressure washer that has a high cleaning power rating and lots of convenient features can save you a great deal of time and energy on any number of different jobs. Whether you are power washing your deck and sidewalks, cleaning your siding and windows, or washing your car or grill down, a pressure washer like the Karcher K5.85M Plus will make the job a lot easier. That is because the Karcher K5.85M Plus can provide a consistently high pressurized spray that will blast tough stains away in just minutes. Jobs that used to take up your entire weekend can be finished in just a matter of hours with the Karcher K5.85M Plus, leaving you with more time to spend with your family.

Review Summary

An electric residential pressure washer like the Karcher K5.85M Plus offers you all of the convenience of a high powered spray with none of the drawbacks that are associated with gas powered models. Unlike a gas powered pressure washer, an electric model like the Karcher K5.85M Plus never produces and carbon emissions, so you not only do not have to worry about your impact on the environment when you’re using it, you also don’t have to worry about whether it is CARB compliant. You won’t have to deal with the hassles of keeping smelly gasoline on hand, and you will barely ever have to do any maintenance on the Karcher K5.85M Plus to keep it running smoothly.

But the Karcher K5.85M Plus does not just give you a leg up in the emissions department. It also provides the kind of solid cleaning power that you will need to get big jobs done quickly. A lot of electric pressure washers are not able to boast the kind of above average max pressure and flow rate that the Karcher K5.85M Plus provides. That’s why many homeowners still think that gas is the best option. But with the Karcher K5.85M Plus, you are getting all of the power you need with the convenience of zero emissions.

Specifications

The Karcher K5.85M Plus is a residential 2-wheel electric pressure washer that weighs 36.5 pounds and has overall dimensions of 15.6 x 14.3 x 35.4 inches. It has a 120 Volt / 60 Hertz pump and a state of the art direct-drive axial aluminum pump that produces a max pressure of 1850 PSI at a flow rate of 1.5 GPM.

The Karcher K5.85M Plus boasts a cleaning power rating of 2775 units. Its Pro-style, adjustable jet turbo spray gun produces a cold water spray. The gun attaches to a 25 foot long PVC plastic hose. The Karcher K5.85M Plus has a 35 foot long power cord and two large wheels. It comes with a one year warranty.

Description

The Karcher K5.85M Plus is the kind of superior residential pressure washer that you will certainly want to purchase if you have lots of big cleanup jobs to take care of around the house. As soon as you get it out of the box, it will be pretty obvious that this is a pressure washer that really means business. It weighs a bit more than the average model and is not terribly small either, but that is because it is loaded with convenient onboard features that are designed to help give you all of the cleaning power you will need for lots of different cleanup jobs.

The Karcher K5.85M Plus has a state of the art pump that is designed to provide high powered sprays without ever breaking down or needing maintenance to keep it running smoothly. The pump on the Karcher K5.85M Plus will reliably deliver more than 1800 pounds per square inch, giving the pressure washer one of the higher cleaning power ratings you can find on a residential model. That means you will be able to tackle the toughest of jobs with the Karcher K5.85M Plus, and finish big jobs more quickly than ever with it.

The Karcher K5.85M Plus is not just a tough pressure washer, it is also a surprisingly easy to use one as well. It has an onboard reel for winding up the PVC plastic hose, an adjustable jet nozzle for more conveniently selecting your spray level, and a number of great accessories that are offered separately. The accessories can make the Karcher K5.85M Plus even more versatile and ready to take on an even wider range of cleanup jobs. With all of the power and convenience the Karcher K5.85M Plus has to offer, it is most definitely worth the asking price. This is a solid pressure washer that will de dependable for a long time.

Pros

There are lots of great features that help to make the Karcher K5.85M Plus one of the better residential pressure washers on the market today. Not only does it boast a rather high cleaning power rating, it is also packed with convenient design notes that make it much easier to use than other models in its class. While there are a lot of excellent features to choose from, I narrowed down the list to the five best ones.

1. High PSI and flow rate : The PSI and flow rate should always be the first things you are looking for on any pressure washer you’re thinking of buying. That is because more than any other feature, these two product specs will determine how much cleaning power the pressure washer really has to offer. With a PSI of 1850 and a flow rate of 1.5 GPM, the Karcher K5.85M Plus packs enough cleaning power to handle even the toughest jobs you can find.
2. Adjustable jet spray gun : But the Karcher K5.85M Plus is not just a machine that offers raw power – it has a great deal of finesse as well. Unlike a lot of models that only offer three or four nozzles with set pressures, the Karcher K5.85M Plus has an adjustable jet spray gun. That gives you an almost infinite range of pressures to choose from so that you can always get exactly the right one for whatever job you have to take care of.
3. High quality water pump : The high PSI and flow rate, along with the precision pressure adjustment, are largely made possible by the fact that the Karcher K5.85M Plus has one of the best pumps you can find on a residential pressure washer. With a direct-drive axial aluminum pump, the Karcher K5.85M Plus has some really state of the art technology on board. This pump will never need maintenance to keep running smoothly and delivering the power you need for big jobs.
4. Easy to operate : The Karcher K5.85M Plus is one of the easiest residential pressure washers to operate on the market today. Unlike a lot of other ones that require you to fiddle with hard to reach connections and poorly designed control panels, the Karcher K5.85M Plus is very simple to operate. All you do is plug it in, hook up the intake hose and select your pressure setting, and you are ready to start cleaning in minutes. Plus there are plenty of convenient features such as the hose reel and spray gun holster.
5. Durable parts and design : All too often, manufactures seem to think that because a pressure washer is classified for residential use that it does not need to be built from durable parts. The Karcher K5.85M Plus is a clear exception to this trend. It comes with brass intake connectors that will never get worn down or leak. Its body and wheels are made of solid composite materials. And its hose is made with durable PVC plastic that will never develop micro-leaks.

As you can see, the Karcher K5.85M Plus is packed with all of the features you need to ensure that you will be getting solid cleaning power, long life, and a great deal of ease of use and convenience. This is one of the better residential pressure washers on the market today. It provides a high degree of performance, lots of cleaning power, and a number of really convenient features that make it a lot easier to operate.

Cons

While the Karcher K5.85M Plus certainly has everything you need to tackle the toughest cleanup jobs you could find around the house, there are a few areas that are not quite perfect. I do not think that any of the Cons I could find with the Karcher K5.85M Plus really impact the overall performance or ability in the slightest, but I do think that they are worth going over in some detail. Let’s take a look.

1. Not the most compact or lightest : The Karcher K5.85M Plus weighs more than a lot of other residential pressure washers out there, and it is not the smallest model, either. While that may make it difficult to take it with you to the top of a ladder or to store in a tight space, I think that the size and weight of it are more than worth all of the tough cleaning power the Karcher K5.85M Plus has to offer.
2. GFI on the cord may cause issues : As a safety feature, the power cord on the Karcher K5.85M Plus is equipped with a Ground Fault Interrupter. This is designed to prevent safety issues associated with using a high voltage appliance around water, and are typically seen on bathroom or kitchen outlets. The drawback of the GFI on the cord is that it might be tripped too easily, interrupting your work flow multiple times.
3. Certain attachments are sold separately : While it is great that the Karcher K5.85M Plus comes with the option to get attachments for different jobs, the drawback here is that most of them are sold separately, and they are not exactly cheap. At the same time, you really do not need many of the attachments to take care of most jobs with the Karcher K5.85M Plus, but if you do want an extended spray wand or cleaning brush, be prepared to pay extra for them.
4. PVC plastic hose is hard to extend : PVC plastic is a common material used to make the hoses on residential pressure washers. It’s lightweight and durable, and will not develop leaks along the seams. But it is also fairly hard to extend fully, especially when it has been coiled around the hose reel for any length of time. Fortunately the power cord is long enough to give you a fairly decent range of motion, in spite of the PVC hose.
5. Not the least expensive model : When you shop around, you will see that the Karcher K5.85M Plus is far from being the least expensive pressure washer in its class, and it has a price tag that is slightly above average. While this might put off some buyers, the fact is that you get what you pay for. The Karcher K5.85M Plus has a great design and solid components, and so while it isn’t the cheapest, I think it’s still a great buy.

I don’t think you will find any of those Cons to be so serious that they would make the Karcher K5.85M Plus seem like anything other than one of the best residential pressure washers on the market today. All things considered, this is still a very solid pressure washer that has a lot of great features, a solid overall design, and a high cleaning power rating. In spite of these Cons, the Karcher K5.85M Plus remains one of the best residential pressure washers out there.

Product Comparison

Pros and Cons lists can tell you a lot about the individual features of a given pressure washer, but savvy shoppers know that the best way to determine if a product is right for them is by doing a bit of comparison shopping. The following table looks at how crucial product specs on the Karcher K5.85M Plus stack up to those on two similar models. Let’s take a look and see if the Karcher K5.85M Plus really is the best model for you.

	Karcher K5.85 M Plus	Karcher K5.740	Campbell Hausfeld PW1350
Type	Residential	Residential	Residential
Class	2-wheel	2-wheel	Hand-carry
Dimensions	15.6 x 14.3 x 35.4	13.1 x 16.8 x 34.3	15x7x9.8
Power	Electric	Electric	Electric
Motor	120 V / 60 Hz (induction)	120 V / 60 Hz / 13 Amp (water-cooled induction)	120 V / 60 Hz
PSI	1850	2000	1350
GPM	1.5	1.4	1.3
Power Rating	2775	2800	1755
Pump	Direct-drive axial aluminum pump	Direct-drive axial	Direct-drive axial
Cold/Hot	Cold	Cold	Cold
Spray Gun	Pro-style	Pro-style	Ergonomic
Nozzle	Adjustable jet Turbo	Adjustable jet Dirt blaster	Adjustable jet Turbo
Hose	1/4-inch x 25-foot	1/4-inch x 25-foot	1/4-inch x 19-foot
Hose Material	PVC/plastic	PVC/plastic	PVC/plastic
Power Cord	30-foot	35-foot	35-foot
Weight	36.5 pounds	32 pounds	17 pounds
Warranty	1 year	1 year	1 year

The Karcher K5.85M Plus is the only model with a direct-drive axial aluminum pump, which alone is enough to put it in a class all by itself. But it also has one of the highest maximum pressures and overall cleaning power ratings of the three machines. While the other model made by Karcher is slightly tougher, I think that overall the Karcher K5.85M Plus has everything you need to take care of big, tough jobs quickly and efficiently.

Conclusion

So now that you have seen how the Karcher K5.85M Plus compares to similar models, I think it’s fair to say that it is one of the best residential pressure washers on the market today. But before you decide to buy it, let’s take one more look at the Pros and Cons, just to be sure it’s the right one for you.

Conclusion Pros

1. High PSI and flow rate.
2. Adjustable jet spray gun.
3. High quality water pump.
4. Easy to operate.
5. Durable parts and design.

The Karcher K5.85M Plus has everything you need to tackle big jobs quickly and easily. It has a high PSI and flow rate, a solidly built design and state of the art pump, and an easy to use spray gun. Overall I think that this is a great pressure washer to take on a variety of jobs around the house.

Conclusion Cons

1. Not the most compact or lightest.
2. GFI on the cord may cause issues.
3. Certain attachments are sold separately.
4. PVC plastic hose is hard to extend.
5. Not the least expensive model.

And the Karcher K5.85M Plus does not present any real problems in terms of power or performance. None of the Cons that I could find on the Karcher K5.85M Plus affected its cleaning power or overall ability in the slightest. While it could be perfected in some areas, overall I think it’s a great model.

Final Word

When it comes down to it, you want to make sure you are getting a pressure washer that is going to be able to handle the biggest, toughest jobs around the house just as well as it can handle smaller and more delicate ones. That means that you need to have a solid pump, high max PSI and flow rate, and easily adjustable pressure level. On the Karcher K5.85M Plus, you get all of that and more. The design of the Karcher K5.85M Plus is state of the art and the construction is very durable. It has one of the highest cleaning power ratings you can find on a residential model, and it is made to be easier to use than other pressure washers. This is a model that is going to be making your life a lot easier for a long time to come. The Karcher K5.85M Plus is a great pressure washer.

Best Price

The Karcher K5.85M Plus does not have the cheapest price tag for a residential pressure washer. While there is no way to get around the fact that you will be paying a slightly higher price for the Karcher K5.85M Plus, there is also no getting around the fact that if you want a quality machine, you have to pay more for it. With the Karcher K5.85M Plus you are getting a durable build and state of the art technology. The overall performance and quality design the Karcher K5.85M Plus has are more than enough to justify the higher price. I think that the Karcher K5.85M Plus is a great pressure washer that has a reasonable price tag.