How to use a Karcher Pressure Washer with a Bucket


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If you don’t have an outside tap or a hosepipe, then you may wish to use a bucket of water to draw water into your pressure washer. Using water from a bucket, water butt, tank, or barrel will save the amount of water you use.

Using the Suction Hose

With the upper models of the Karcher pressure washer range, there is the feature of using a suction hose. This allows you to drawer water from a source such as a bucket or water butt, and below we shall tell you how.

Using Pressure Washer Suction Hose with a Bucket

To draw water from a bucket or barrel you will want to use the Karcher suction tube, this is a plastic pipe that has a screw fitment on one end that is attached to your pressure washer. The other end has a filter and can be dropped into the water, be it a bucket, pond, barrel etc.

Once dropped in, you are ready to go. The filter on the suction tube will help prevent grit and stones from being drawn into and used by the pressure washer.

How to use a Karcher Pressure Washer with a Water Butt

The video below shows how easy it is to use a water butt with your pressure washer. You can attach your hose to the water butt tap instead of an outdoor mains tap and the way you go. The other way you can do this is by using the suction tube. Screw the one end to the suction tube input on your pressure washer, and then drop the other end of the tube that has the filer on it into the water butt and sink it to the bottom.

The filter on the tube will help prevent grit and dirt from being sucked up and passed through your pressure washer, helping prevent any damage.

If you don’t have a suction hose you can buy the Karcher 5m Suction Hose and Filter for Pressure Washer Accessory. It is 5 metres in length, making it easy to reach and extend to your water butt, with a solid screw fitment on one end and a clever filter on the other which is a single-way valve. This is compatible with the Kärcher K3-K7 series pressure washers.

>Best Karcher pressure washer

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26 Comments

      • Wendy

        The k2 plus says that water can be drawn from a bucket or tank. This is printed on tne box. How is this done please?

        Reply
        • John Wignall

          I have no proper info on my pressure washer.know it’s aT50T Racer it as a number2.125 onitcan I use it on a water barrel if I obtain a proper Kartcher pipe desined to go in a barrel I am on a water meter and want to use in this way if I can wil you give me any info how to buy one Thank you

          Cher

          Reply
        • John Wignall

          What do I need to make my karcher work from a water barrel it say on the box it is aT50Tracer on the machine it say2.125 please can you help me

          Reply
      • Andrie

        Would a small, cheap, 12v water pump from eBay feeding the Karcher K2 work?
        I use a similar setup on my boat with success.
        Hope this helps!

        Reply
      • Funkyvaleter

        I have same issue with a K4 ,karcher say it’s an airlock they email you instructions to solve it.It works for a while then fault comes back,then my machine packs up completely goes back for repair, they loose my 10m hose send a 6m one back,finally admit it and send a new 10m hose ,machine back so is fault ,terrible

        Reply
  1. Darren wilkinson

    I recently bought a G4.10 petrol power washer for cleaning my motocross bike. What’s the best set up to draw water from a 275L barrel in my van????

    Reply
  2. Neil

    Cannot offer you positive advice, sorry. I have experienced the same problem. I even tried “priming” the suction hose by filling it with water and trying to stop both ends with my finger tips while I connected it to the Karcher. Still would not draw water in.
    Repeated failures and had to give up; had to use a mains tap.

    Reply
  3. Sujamak

    Does my Karcher K4 Basic have the suction function as you show. Tell me how to do it.
    I’ve been trying so hard but always failed.
    Thanks.
    Sorry for my broken English

    Reply
  4. Darren

    A rechargeable battery powered version would be ideal when you need to clean areas well away from a house or mains supply.

    Reply
  5. Malcolm Bunn

    I have got a K4 eco marcher.it workers perfect with a hose but not with the suction hose.and need this to clean the slabs around the pool please help.

    Reply
  6. Delvon

    I just bought the K5 premium 2000 psi with the suction hose and it is only spraying a very small amount how can I fix this

    Reply
  7. Pat Canderton

    I have a garden but do not have an outside tap and cannot reach the kitchen taps but I would like to get a pressure washer that works with out a hose pipe attached to the water faucet can you advise on the Best Buy if there is such a thing please

    Reply
  8. James McLachlan

    Hi can someone help me please. I have a T350 T racer attachment that’s not getting to full pressure I’ve changed nozzles & still no better. The lance pressure is normal. Any ideas ?

    Reply
  9. Daunter

    I use a k4, it takes a while before drawing water from my tank. I often have to connect it to a mains tap first to bleed out all the air trapped in the machine. It works pretty well once it begins drawing. I like the pressure, but after using it a few times, I have a tough time changing between the dirt blaster, vario and foam Lance. There’s just so much friction that the yellow bushes tend to stick inside the trigger gun when I pull out each accessory and because of this, I’m always fighting the leaks

    Reply
  10. Bob

    My K7 Premium pulsates and has weak pressure when using a bucket. I primed the hose and ensured there was no air in the hose.
    Is this normal.
    Does the water supply need to be higher than the pressure washer?

    Reply
  11. gw

    The K2 Basic I have just bought from screwfix has no way of delivering detergent through the lance
    the detergent bottle will only screw into the short tube there fore water pressure at this short range would cause
    the user to get covered in detergent immediatly there is No Tube /suction attachment at the rear of the unit
    should there be one? If not the product description is poor and misleading and I will return the unit to the store asap

    Reply
  12. Libor Supcik

    I imagine you position the bucket above and connect the hose, fill it somehow with the water so that the gravity does the suction. Alternatively suck on the hose from the bucket first and attach it when it drips around with the bucket not too higher, then hang it higher.

    Reply

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