UK’s best cordless pressure washers: WORX, DEWALT, KARCHER, and NORSE rated for price and power

Update: this was a faithful servant to me for three years and I have to say I want to leave it top. The Yard Force I have just bought is probably just as good as this but heavier and obviously after all this time I have gotten used to it. With that said, you really can’t go wrong. I used mine at least 3 times a week for 3 years before it finally gave up the ghost. I am well impressed with the battery considering.

Original after testing:

The WORX WG630E powershot truly is a cordless pressure washer. There is no separate water tank or large battery pack to carry around. Instead, the small battery pack slips straight into the spray gun itself, just like the hose. Before we really get into the review though let’s have a little look at their demo which is pretty fair:

The hose can then be placed in any water source, be it a river, bucket, or swimming pool and off you go.

This cordless pressure washer is powered by a 20V 4.0Ah ‘powershare’ battery, so if you already own another WORX product, you’ll be able to use the one from that.

This particular version of the Hydroshot has been fitted with a brushless motor giving it more power and better efficiency, so it will make your battery last longer.

Brushless motors also tend to last longer than standard electric motors.

While this is the most powerful cordless pressure washer out there behind the Dewalt, in the high power mode setting it produces 20 bar which is enough to clean the dirt of bikes and light jobs like that. Let’s be honest, you don’t really buy a cordless pressure washer for power, you buy one because you need the freedom of movement and convenience it gives you. When you compare it to the Yard Force after all these years I have to say I still prefer this.

At only 2.4 kilograms, carrying around the WORX WG630E is a piece of cake and the battery will run out before your arms do. The lack of weight also makes it easy to lift or lower the washer into hard to get areas like into gutters or under wheel arches.

The WG630E cordless pressure washer comes with a 5 in one nozzle, so you can choose what kind of spray you want by simply twisting the nozzle head. The lightest setting is a mist that would be great for bathing the dog (not to mention blasting out the dog kennel), and the highest powered setting is good for blasting dirt off cars without risking damaging the paint job.

Like most WORX products the build quality of this cordless pressure washer is pretty good. I mean, if you are expecting something to match up to your Makita corded tools, you’ll be disappointed, but the WORX WG630E is a solid bit of kit for something so light.

UPDATE after testing:

When I compare this to my trusty WORX that wen’t to the graveyard last week, I have to say I am thoroughly impressed. Bare in mind I have this thing in my hand and have been able to compare the units side by side, I would happily say that the WORX feels a bit more powerful to use. Neither can strip a car clean of the mud. Both do just fine on wet mud from boots and bikes. They both easily clean up wheel arches too. For some reason mud sticks much better on a painted surface when dry than the wheel arches and trims. In the hand it is pretty heavy but certainly considerably lighter than carrying a portable pressure around on your shoulder as I have done in the past when you compare the product categories side by side.

First things first. A 100% full battery will give you 16 minutes runtime. Forget whatever the manufacturers claim or other people have ‘said’ online. I’ve had the thing in my hand and literally checked by putting a timer on it. With that said, it’s definitely inline with my WORX which started to fade battery wise towards the end when compared directly as they are head to head rivals.

On with what I found in testing:

I can easily clean a dirty dried trim with this. Let’s take a look at that:

And after giving it a blast – apologies for the picture quality I have taken these from the short video I made:

However, with me still giving the WORX the edge, and I am still leaving it top spot, there is just no way that you can ignore this when considering value for money. For me, blasting out my chicken coops has been the limit of expectancy. However, with that said. The scrubber brush attachment will definitely get your car clean far easier than doing it the old fashion way with elbow grease. And with total honest this will not pull enough dirt off without scrubbing – here’s a picture where you can see how it’ll pull some but not all dirt:

As you can see it really needs the scrubber after but then even when using my electric or petrol washer I still have this issue, just to a lesser extent. Here’s a picture of the scrubbing brush attached:

It’s also super easy to blast your car shampoo and wheel cleaner with the spray pot. That is probably the thing it stands out on when car cleaning. It’s so easy to use:

Another super use I found for it, when I wanted to clean out my charcoal bbq this was far easier than pulling out my massive petrol pressure washer – you’ll see in the testing that literally strips paint! This is not anywhere near that kind of power, but miles ahead of mains water pressure power.

There are three settings – you’ll notice above there in the car cleaning pictures I am using the most concentrated and powerful setting. The other two setting are more gentle. One is larger droplets that is ideal to clean off your pets:

The other is the traditional blaster – but it is not as powerful as the spinning concentrated washer option:

One thing that worked me up was turning it on. 😀 Totally obvious there’s a huge power button on top called eco but obviously knowing I want full blast, that’s how you turn it on! So I was hesitant to press it – obviously ig you read the instructions that’s fine but I didn’t. Here’s a look at that:

Original review:

It’s very very difficult not to be impressed by the Yard Force 22Bar 20V Aquajet Cordless Pressure Cleaner. It’s arrived late on the scene in real terms (maybe three years behind the WORX) but it’s quickly become a best seller and quite frankly, it’s easy to see why. They had time to workout the flaws on the other models and do their best to patch them. And for the most part, they’ve done a brilliant job.

The water connection is easy. The standard hose reel (or automatic hose reel if your flash) with the hose connector simply slots straight in without much fuss or leaks. I’d be inclined to set this up with a flexible expandable hose as I do with the WORX

What you’re getting for very sensible money is a full kit and it’s cheaper than the rival bottom of the range WORX. You have a 2.5 Amp batter and charger, with a load of accessories thrown in. But is it any good? Well it’s no electric pressure washer powered by mains for sure but it does have one up on some of the cordless models with two power settings – I’m not sure it needs that though – for the most part blasting full power on this makes most sense – unless you’re trying to conserve battery for longer work. The multi jet nozzle is a real bonus too – no need to do much to change settings other than twist the nozzle. It has low pressure, high, and turbo, that’s the same as I use on my beastly petrol Wilks pressure washer.

Matching the WORX for power, it produces 22 bar. Now I just want to point out this isn’t going to strip paint off the walls but it will blast down your muddy bike lovely, or blast out the chicken coop as I often do with my WORX.

If you want to clean mud, and not so hard grime that a hose with decent pressure can’t manage then works. If I wanted to use this as an alternative to algae remover for things like my bird bath, then this is a cracking bet.

This is a little gem I’ve uncovered. It’s not been around long enough since I first wrote the article based on the WORX I bought but I think had it been – this might well have been my pick. It’s a few quid more than the Yard Force but delivers more power (a genuine extra 3 BAR) and that’s the general opinion online too.

The Norse SK25i comes with a 2 year warranty, lances, and a nozzle for different pressure spray setting, and it comes with a battery and charge (plus some pressure washer detergent as a bonus) which is pretty nice actually considering it’s essentially a budget tool – after all, those don’t sound like the traits of a budget cordless pressure washer do they?

Just like the other washers that don’t have a tank, this can be fed via the mains water or a barrel of fresh water – it’ll prime itself too so no need to fill up the washer or hose with water to get draw – they claim 8 seconds which really is good.

But the biggest surprise is yet to come – it only weighs 3lbs. It’s much lighter than the other options and yet delivers more power. It’s really hard not to like this little cordless pressure washer but i’ll try 😀 :

You’ll get about 10-15 minutes from a battery – remember before you think that’s rough, a decent 6 amp Makita battery for example costs the same price as this whole bit of kit – within the realms of reasonability it’s a great buy and you can get additional batteries from Amazon if you follow my link anyway.

As with every single cordless pressure washer out there, you’ll hear someone complaining about the power. The bottom line is, if you want this for more than cleaning mud off your bikes and kids toys, cleaning the pets gently, cleaning down the conservatory, cleaning out the chickens, or blasting some algae off furniture and bird baths then you’re buying the wrong thing entirely. You’ll need to look for a corded electric version.

Update:

Got a brief go with this. Have to say it’s all of the extra power stated and when you compare it to the WORX and the Yard Force that I’ve also tested this machine is miles better. The problem is the price tag. I don’t think you can justify the outlay – it’s definitely better than the Makita version too but I couldn’t justify the money – sorry Dewalt I absolutely love your other ranges but this one doesn’t make sense at this price point to me.

Original review

😀 Never never never, have I seen the actual ‘best’ product rated online so badly :D. This cordless pressure washer can actually pull algae and slime off patios which by the way the other manufacturers by and large tell you not to do bother doing so.

The Dewalt fan boys are expecting miracles here. Have a look at what this cordless pressure washer can do for you and we will get into the review:

This is absolutely the real deal but you have to remember it’s still half the power of even a small portable electric pressure washer. I think the problem is Dewalt set the bar so high, everyone was expecting more. In my opinion this is just not understanding what a cordless pressure washer can do. This is vastly more powerful than my overall top pick the WORX. This genuinely kicks out over 34 BAR and that is about ten more than the nearest competitor in this review. It’s a seriously powerful bit of kit ‘as far as cordless pressure washers go’.

Where the problem lay though is the price. It’s practically twice the money of the WORX considering they throw in the batteries as well. And I would have to say this is not twice as good as the WORX, just much better. So if you want the best of the best then this is the choice and certainly for professional use.

It’s really easy to get going. Just chuck it on the end of a hose or attach a hose into fresh water and pull the trigger. You’ll be blasting mud off cars in seconds.

If you look at the drawbacks, the first one is the price to power which is what’s upset some die hard Dewalt fans. The second thing – given the power is high, it’s not exactly ideal for gently cleaning your pets paws before they jump in the back of the car. Also you want to make sure you have the batteries too – this is a bare unit.

The bottom line is, if this was priced inline with the cheaper models in this review it would be a 4.9/5 product. I have no doubt about that.

The GDC40 model from Greenworks is one of, if not the most powerful cordless pressure washers out there. We actually rated this most powerful cordless pressure washer in another review.

It is powered by a larger than usual 40V lithium ion battery that helps this machine produce up to 70 bar of pressure. When you combine that with a 300 litre per hour flow rate, you have a cordless pressure washer that is capable of getting medium level cleaning jobs done.

The machine consists of the main gun and 6 metre high pressure hose, and a 20 litre water tank/bucket that you carry to your required working area.
Please note, that with the high water flow rate, you’ll have to make a few trips to refill the tank if you’re cleaning something large.

The tank measures 37 x 46.5 x 43.5 cm and all together with the gun and hose the weight is 7.9kg. When it comes to storage, the other parts of the pressure washer fit nicely into the water tank which is a good space saving feature and it looks pretty good too:

Word of warning, if you want to get the most out of this cordless pressure washer, you need to use a 4ah battery. Using a 2Ah just won’t cut it, and you’ll be disappointed at the pressure output. With 4AH fitted and fully charged, you’ll be surprised how much cleaning power this has.

The Greenworks GDC40 cordless pressure washer is built well and the plastic parts all feel robust enough to withstand a bump or two.

One thing I don’t understand, is why Greenworks didn’t put wheels on the water tank, as a full tank can be quite heavy. I’m a fairly fit guy and found it manageable but if you suffer from back problems you’d be better off with the WORX WG650E.

At first glance you might be forgiven for thinking that at just under 230 quid, this Bosch Cordless pressure washer is much more expensive than our other reviews. The thing to keep in mind though is that unlike the WORX and Greenworks products, this one comes complete with the battery and charger, so it actually works out competitively priced. It also won our best build quality portable pressure washer review in another post. You can pop this in the back of the car and clean the dogs paws on the lowest setting which cuts down a lot on mess.

The Bosch cordless pressure washer also comes with a smart brush head attachment that works wonders on windows. It has a nice design where the water flows out of the centre of the brush head and straight onto the surface you want to clean.

At 15 bar of pressure, it can’t compete with the Greenworks GDC40 in the power stakes, but it does a good job of lighter stuff like washing down gardening equipment and furniture.

The water tank of this Bosch model can hold 15 litres, and thankfully Bosch were wise enough to put a good set of plastic wheels on it, which really helps with those refill trips.

The wheels are made of plastic but are high quality and strong just like the rest of this durable cordless pressure washer.

Charge time for the battery is around 100-110 minutes and a full charge will see you cleaning away for about 50-60 minutes, which is actually very good.

There are 3 pressure settings and the spray gun has 4 spray patterns you can choose from. There is the most powerful pencil jet which you would use for things like dried up mud clumps, a 15 degree fan jet for getting into tighter areas, a 50 degree wide spray that is better for cleaning larger things like a bicycle or garage door, and a shower spray pattern that is perfect for giving your pets a bath.

My biggest gripe with this Bosch cordless pressure washer is that the hose is only 4 metres long. That means you have to move the water tank around with you even if you are not going that far. It’s not a huge problem because, as mentioned, the tank has wheels to get around on, but I still found it a little annoying.

I’m going to save you a lot of time here, and money. If you want something for stripping muck off decking or patio cleaning then move along. Cordless pressure washers aren’t and probably never will be there for that job. On the other hand, do you want something portable to blast out gutters, clean off the bike, or give the car a going over? That’s exactly what this product is designed for and does it well.

I don’t really like the way Karcher advertise this model to remove ‘stubborn dirt’. It kind of sets themselves up for a fall because that’s so open to interpretation and the whole reason this thing isn’t being rated 4.5 to 5 stars every time. It half implies you can run along and blast your decking, which you can but the battery won’t get you far.

Basically, if people knew this was a convenience tool rather than a deck cleaning ripper, the feedback would be far more positive. And with that said, if you buy it for cleaning gutters, conservatories, bikes, cars, caravans, and so on you will be absolutely delighted with the power and performance of this cordless pressure washer. I love it for it’s intended purpose! You can’t expect a battery powered pressure washer to perform in anyway like a mains or petrol pressure washer. It’s all about convenience!

You get tons of pressure from this Karcher cordless. 24 bar to be precise. That’s only 6 less bar than a little portable pressure washer that still requires mains power. That is quite incredible really considering we are talking about using a very safe 18 volts compared to mains power. On the upside too though, you’ll just about get around a big car on one charge. You have a handy battery gauge that’ll tell you exactly how long that’s left though:

It’s a little weighty but nothing too over powering. It’ll pull up grime off of alloys well enough. You’ll need to purchase any hose attachments separately. It comes with a multi-jet and dirt blast lance but car washer head. Setup is super easy, make sure you have a quality hose connector and your hosepipe then away you go. There’s two ways, running off a tap, or run out of a bucket of water. It’s not self priming so it’ll need a bit of water feed to get it going. From a performance perspective it’s a great item.