# Is The Nilfisk C120 All You Need?



## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

Hi all, I am having trouble deciding which pressure is right for car cleaning.

I know some here have the C110 or C120. But how much pressure is too much pressure to clean a car with? 

Some say more pressure the better? Is this true?


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## petemattw (Nov 3, 2008)

high pressure with low flow rate doesn't really do much. A good flow rate 400l/h + will be better than something that's just super high pressure.

It's a balance, but for most people on here, a C120 is more than adequate. It's what I use and I think it does a great job!


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## Scotie (Aug 24, 2016)

C110's in my experience last around 4-6 months, the C120 seems alot more robust is and more than adequate for cleaning a car.


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

I forgot to mention, i'll be looking to get a qwashers 20 meter hose extension, So would I need a pressure washer that's powerful enough to push the water that far? So say a C135 instead?

As I am under the impression, that pressure will be lost over a longer distance. Unless a C120 can do that perfectly fine with anyone's experience?


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## ENEP (Mar 20, 2017)

I have a Nilfisk C125, does the job just fine.

Don't know if the extended hose requires more pressure/flow. I use mine with the stock included hose.


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## Scotie (Aug 24, 2016)

R32 mad said:


> I forgot to mention, i'll be looking to get a qwashers 20 meter hose extension, So would I need a pressure washer that's powerful enough to push the water that far? So say a C135 instead?
> 
> As I am under the impression, that pressure will be lost over a longer distance. Unless a C120 can do that perfectly fine with anyone's experience?


i use the C120 with a 15m hose for qwashers, and i have experienced no drop in pressure at all


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

ok thats good to know. Does the C125's reel able to wind up a 20 meter hose? and does it have a cable holder?


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## spyk3d (Nov 25, 2007)

You will lose some pressure over any hose longer than 10mtrs in length. You can roughly work out what you will lose here.

You can offset some of that loss by having a bigger internal diameter hose, which is what I did, my 15m hose is DN08. This means that the internal diameter of my hose 1/4" or 13.7mm compared to the standard nilfisk hose which I believe is only 5mm internal diameter.

Will you be changing the gun or still using the existing one with a longer hose?


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

spyk3d said:


> You will lose some pressure over any hose longer than 10mtrs in length. You can roughly work out what you will lose here.
> 
> You can offset some of that loss by having a bigger internal diameter hose, which is what I did, my 15m hose is DN08. This means that the internal diameter of my hose 1/4" or 13.7mm compared to the standard nilfisk hose which I believe is only 5mm internal diameter.
> 
> Will you be changing the gun or still using the existing one with a longer hose?


So I'll be losing around 4psi by the looks of it. I'll be using the standard kit that comes with it.


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## spyk3d (Nov 25, 2007)

R32 mad said:


> So I'll be losing around 4psi by the looks of it.
> 
> I'll be suing the standard kit that comes with it. Maybe a C135 would be more sufficient perhaps. I mean some of these pressure washers car cleaners use that you pay a tenner for seem quite powerful and I like how they remove dirt off easily.


I use a Nilfisk C110 and you can see my setup in the pressure washers thread. I have in my opinion more than enough power to do what I want/need and that includes cleaning the patio. If it dies at some point I will invest in a better machine, perhaps a Kranzle if funds allow but for now my little C110 is doing me proud.

4PSI in the grand scheme of things wont make a massive difference and as I said if you get a bigger internal diameter hose which I think you will if you are getting a 20m one then I would really not worry too much about it.

The C135 has 15 more bar than the C120 and the motor is 300W more powerful but the flow is still the same at 440l/hr. Ideally if I was going to get the C135 over the C120 I would want more flow, not to mention that a quick google shows that the C135 is roughly £50 more expensive than a C120 which is a lot for arguably the same washer just with a more powerful pump. The hose regardless of the reel is still only 6m in length meaning that you would still need to buy the 20m one from Qwashers.

At the end of the day it all depends on what you are willing to spend but all of them will do the job of cleaning your car.


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## neilmcl (Mar 26, 2010)

R32 mad said:


> I forgot to mention, i'll be looking to get a qwashers 20 meter hose extension, So would I need a pressure washer that's powerful enough to push the water that far? So say a C135 instead?
> 
> As I am under the impression, that pressure will be lost over a longer distance. Unless a C120 can do that perfectly fine with anyone's experience?


Do you really need a 20m hose? My 10m hose is more than enough to get round the car with the pw out the front.


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

neilmcl said:


> Do you really need a 20m hose? My 10m hose is more than enough to get round the car with the pw out the front.


Yeah I live in cul-de-sac, so need a hose that's longer to get to the car.


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

spyk3d said:


> I use a Nilfisk C110 and you can see my setup in the pressure washers thread. I have in my opinion more than enough power to do what I want/need and that includes cleaning the patio. If it dies at some point I will invest in a better machine, perhaps a Kranzle if funds allow but for now my little C110 is doing me proud.
> 
> 4PSI in the grand scheme of things wont make a massive difference and as I said if you get a bigger internal diameter hose which I think you will if you are getting a 20m one then I would really not worry too much about it.
> 
> ...


That's a good point you make. I guess the C135 came to mind as I was thinking about power cable storage and the C135 looks like it has it, where else I see the C110 / C120 and C125 doesn't have this?


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## spyk3d (Nov 25, 2007)

R32 mad said:


> That's a good point you make. I guess the C135 came to mind as I was thinking about power cable storage and the C135 looks like it has it, where else I see the C110 / C120 and C125 doesn't have this?


Your right there isn't any cable management as such, however they all have at least one hook on the back and I just coil my power cable up and put it over this hook. You can see the hook I mean around the 40 sec mark. Its more than enough for your power cable. 




The reel on the C135 also wouln't be able to handle your 20m hose as it will most likely be either a single or double steel wire hose.


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## Deje (Aug 12, 2016)

spyk3d said:


> I use a Nilfisk C110 and you can see my setup in the pressure washers thread. I have in my opinion more than enough power to do what I want/need and that includes cleaning the patio. If it dies at some point I will invest in a better machine, perhaps a Kranzle if funds allow but for now my little C110 is doing me proud.
> 
> 4PSI in the grand scheme of things wont make a massive difference and as I said if you get a bigger internal diameter hose which I think you will if you are getting a 20m one then I would really not worry too much about it.
> 
> ...


Nilfisk indicates different values of water flow, the value given when the machine is under pressure (Qiec) is what should be considered. for nilfisk c 135 it is between 350-380 l / h depending on the model.

https://consumer.nilfisk.co.uk/en/products/Pages/category.aspx?CategoryId=30605485


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

Deje said:


> Nilfisk indicates different values of water flow, the value given when the machine is under pressure (Qiec) is what should be considered. for nilfisk c 135 it is between 350-380 l / h depending on the model.
> 
> https://consumer.nilfisk.co.uk/en/products/Pages/category.aspx?CategoryId=30605485


So a C120 has 310 l/h. So to get anywhere near to 400 l/h at the nozzle would have to be the D140. But it seems C120 is good enough to clean a car with.


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## Deje (Aug 12, 2016)

R32 mad said:


> So a C120 has 310 l/h. So to get anywhere near to 400 l/h at the nozzle would have to be the D140. But it seems C120 is good enough to clean a car with.


Yes and yes, a c120 is good enough, but if I were to buy a new PW today (have a Karcher k2) it will be a Kränzle 1050p.


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

So to understand how powerful 310l/h of the C120 is, are we saying it's just about powerful to clean a car, but ideally would you want 400 l/h at the nozzle to really clean a car more effectively and easily? 

As in it's just about verging on being powerful enough, but could do with more pressure and flow rate?


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## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

Scotie said:


> C110's in my experience last around 4-6 months, the C120 seems alot more robust is and more than adequate for cleaning a car.


You must have been very unlucky if your C110s only lasted 4-6 months. Mine is 5 years old now and still going. I have bought another C110 for when my old one gives up the ghost. For car cleaning a car a C110 is more than adequate, and I use a Qwashers 10m hose with no ill effects. I use a variable nozzle too. C110s are great, sturdy little beasts. :thumb:


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## Scotie (Aug 24, 2016)

pxr5 said:


> You must have been very unlucky if your C110s only lasted 4-6 months. Mine is 5 years old now and still going. I have bought another C110 for when my old one gives up the ghost. For car cleaning a car a C110 is more than adequate, and I use a Qwashers 10m hose with no ill effects. I use a variable nozzle too. C110s are great, sturdy little beasts. :thumb:


Been through 4 of them, usually it was O-Rings in either the lance or the pressure washer itself, luckily i bought via Amazon so was given a replacement hassle free. However the C120 just feels like it is built alot more robust (Touch Wood), and the slightly more power definitely does help.


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

What would be the satisfactory water flow rate of a garden tap provide for a pressure to work optimally?


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## Reactiv (Jul 12, 2010)

Useful thread for me as I'm also looking at the C120 (skipped the C110 after reading about the slightly better build quality).

Two things to ask/add from me which might also help OP:

There are seemingly lots of different year models for these machines from different sellers all with different prices. These days newer doesn't mean better as manufacturers optimise cost//profit by swapping in cheaper parts.

Is there a particular model year for the C120 that is the 'best'/better one. I.e. have they cheaped out on the newer models?

Secondly - I saw a Youtube video saying you shouldn't plug a pressure washer into an extension cable. Is that true? Like the OP my source (electric) and car are a little way from one another so the need to run the unit near to the car can only be done with an extension power supply.

One side note - how is it for doing things like patios etc?! Need to get my monies worth!


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## R32 mad (Feb 3, 2008)

spyk3d said:


> You will lose some pressure over any hose longer than 10mtrs in length. You can roughly work out what you will lose here.
> 
> You can offset some of that loss by having a bigger internal diameter hose, which is what I did, my 15m hose is DN08. This means that the internal diameter of my hose 1/4" or 13.7mm compared to the standard nilfisk hose which I believe is only 5mm internal diameter.
> 
> Will you be changing the gun or still using the existing one with a longer hose?


Actually I worked that out wrong using the wrong chart.

How much pressure would you lose with a 25 meter hose?


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## akk_quattro (Jun 12, 2018)

R32 mad said:


> So I'll be losing around 4psi by the looks of it. I'll be using the standard kit that comes with it.


I think that loss is for elevation of outlet, not for length of hose. In fact, I don't think you'd lose any pressure due to hose length, let alone 4 psi. When full, a hose's outlet will discharge the same volume of water that is being injected into it at the intake. Simple physics. So, as petemattw suggested above, the pressure capabilities of a PW are not the main factor here but the volume of the water that comes out of your tap. All that the PW is doing, is to amplify the pressure by means of its motor and directing the flow through much narrower hose. It simply cannot increase the volume of water that flows in a given time window.

I myself use my C110 through a 25m hose and still get a solid pressure, more than enough for washing a car IMHO. More than that and I think it would actually start doing more harm than good. I wouldn't be comfortable to wash my car at super high pressures, after all, it's not a tank I'm washing :driver:


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