A good machine bought second hand is one of the better purchases in this trade. A tired one is a boat anchor you paid to collect.
Fifteen minutes and a short list of checks separate the two. Most of those checks need nothing more than your eyes and a bucket of water.
For what it is worth, we do not sell used machines. We just end up repairing a lot of them, which is how this list got written.
Before you travel
Two questions on the phone save wasted journeys.
What is the full model number? Not "a Kränzle", not "a 150 bar one", but the actual number on the plate.
It tells you the class of machine, the supply it needs and the spares that fit. If the letters mean nothing to you, we have decoded the model names.
Can I run it on water when I get there? If the answer is no, treat that as information.
Perhaps the tap does not work, or the machine has just moved site and nobody can test it. A seller with a good machine wants you to run it.
1. Look at the oil before anything else
Find the sight glass, because this single check tells you more than anything else on the machine.
Clean, clear oil at the right level: good sign.
Milky, creamy or coffee coloured oil: water has passed the seals into the crankcase. That is a seal kit at minimum. Run it like that for any length of time and the bearings go too.
Not a walk away on a cheap machine, but it must come off the price.
Oil level low with no explanation: something is weeping somewhere, so find it before you agree anything.
2. Check for weeping at the pump head
Look at the joint between the pump head and the crankcase, underneath as well as on top.
Dried white or green mineral trails mean water has been escaping there over time. Fresh damp means it still is, and both point at the water seals.
3. Run it, and run it properly
Ten seconds on the trigger tells you almost nothing, so run it for a few minutes.
Watch the gauge. Does it reach the rated pressure and stay there? Steady is what you want.
Listen. A healthy pump is a consistent mechanical hum. Rattling, gravelly or irregular noise points at cavitation or worn valves. Bear in mind the seller's water supply may be poor, so check the tap before you condemn the pump.
Pull and release the trigger repeatedly. Pressure should build at once and drop cleanly each time. Hesitation, or pressure that builds then dumps, points at the unloader.
Let it sit in bypass for a minute with the trigger released, then pull again. It should pick straight back up.
4. Check the high pressure hose
Assume nothing here, because a hose is a safety component and it fails inward where you cannot see.
Run the whole length through your hands. You are looking for bulges, flat spots, deep abrasion, exposed braid and corrosion at the fittings. Check for stiffness and cracking near the ends, which is where they age first.
On any machine more than a few years old, budget for a new hose regardless of how it looks. It is a known cost, not a disaster. It is also the component you least want to discover the condition of the hard way.
5. Work the gun and lance
Squeeze the trigger a dozen times: it should be positive and consistent, with a clean shut off.
Look for weeping at the gun while the machine holds pressure. Check the quick release couplings for wear and the nozzle for a ragged or lopsided spray pattern.
These are all inexpensive parts, so none of them are reasons to walk away. They are reasons to negotiate.
6. Check the electrical side
Cable condition. Look for taped repairs, nicks, crushing and a plug somebody has replaced badly. A machine with a bodged lead has usually had a bodged life.
The supply it needs: single phase, three phase, or 110 volt site supply.
A 400 volt machine is a wonderful bargain. That lasts right up until you find out what a three phase supply costs to install. Confirm you can power it before you buy it.
Ask for a PAT certificate. Its absence is not damning, but its presence tells you the machine has been in an organised environment.
7. Ask for service history
This is not a formality, because on a rebuildable machine it changes the value a great deal.
A machine with annual services and a stack of written reports tells you plenty. Someone has replaced the seals on schedule and checked the valves. A machine with nothing has probably been run until something went wrong.
No history is not a deal breaker. It just means you price in a full service on day one, as part of the purchase price.
8. Check the parts still exist
This is where used buying goes badly wrong, and it is usually not a Kränzle problem.
Before you buy, confirm that seal kits, valve kits and an unloader are available for that specific model. On a machine built to be rebuilt they generally are, and we hold a good deal of it in stock.
A budget machine with a sealed pump often has nothing available at all. At that point the machine is worth its scrap value and no more.
Send us the model number and we will tell you straight whether it is supportable.
9. Price it as machine plus service
The right mental model for any used machine with no recent history is simple.
Purchase price plus a full service equals the real price.
A full workshop service on a cold water machine is £169 including VAT. A hot water machine with descale is £279.
Add that to the asking price, then compare the total against a new machine with a warranty.
Sometimes the used one still wins. Sometimes the sum reveals it never made sense.
If you want certainty before committing, our inspection is £39, and we always credit it against any work that follows.
The four things worth walking away from
Most faults are parts. These four are not.
- A cracked pump head. Almost always frost damage. The casting is the expensive part and a crack ends it
- Milky oil combined with a rumbling or knocking pump. Seals gone long enough to take the bearings and crankshaft
- A machine that trips the breaker repeatedly. Motor or insulation fault, and rewinds rarely make financial sense
- A model nobody can supply parts for. However cheap, it is a one repair machine
Everything else on this page is a negotiation, not an exit.
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth buying a second hand pressure washer?
For a well built, serviceable machine the answer is yes, because you can replace every wearing part. That returns a tired professional machine to full performance for a fraction of new.
For budget machines with sealed pumps it rarely makes sense: a single failure with no available parts ends the machine.
What should I check on a used pressure washer?
Oil condition first, then weeping at the pump head. Then run it for several minutes, watching the gauge and listening to the pump.
After that, check the high pressure hose along its full length. Then the trigger gun, the electrical cable and supply type, the service history and whether spares are still available.
What does milky oil mean on a used machine?
Water has passed the plunger seals into the crankcase, so it needs a water seal kit and an oil change.
Run in that state for long, and it may have damaged the bearings. Use that to negotiate, and get the machine inspected before you commit on anything expensive.
How much should I budget for servicing a used pressure washer?
Assume a full service on day one, unless there is recent documented history. That is £169 including VAT for a cold water machine, or £279 for a hot water machine with descale.
Add a new high pressure hose on anything more than a few years old.
Do Kranzle machines hold their value?
They hold value well, because Kränzle designs them for rebuilding. Stocked parts return a machine to full working order, so it stays worth something.
That is the same characteristic that makes it cheap to own in the first place.
The bottom line
Check the oil, run it properly on a decent water supply and inspect the hose. Then confirm the supply it needs and confirm the parts still exist.
Now add a service to the asking price and see whether the sum still works. Fifteen minutes of that beats a year of regret.
Kränzle UK does not sell used machines, but we do inspect, service and supply parts for them. Send us the model number before you buy and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth the money.