10 products, sold by My Tool Shed
All 10 pressure washers in this collection, ranked on specs, value and price. Use the filters to narrow them down.
No pressure washers match those filters. Try widening your budget or clearing a feature.
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A portable pressure washer goes where the mains can't: it runs on a battery and takes its water from a built in tank or a bucket, so you can rinse the bike in a trail car park, the car outside a flat, or muddy boots at a campsite. They suit cyclists, caravan and campervan owners and anyone with no outside tap.
We list 10 machines, from a 0.8kg Kärcher handheld to wheeled tank models holding up to 17 litres. Want more power and don't mind a socket? See our small pressure washers. Every machine is sold by My Tool Shed.
Three things: no mains cable, no tap and a weight you can carry. Every machine on this page runs on a battery, and none of them needs a garden hose. Some carry their own water in a tank. The rest suck it up from a bucket, a water butt or a jerry can through a suction hose. Most weigh 1 to 2.5kg, and the heaviest tank model is 7.5kg empty.
The trade off is pressure. A mains Kärcher K2 runs at over 100 bar from a tap. A portable jet wash gives 8.5 to 24 bar. That is plenty for a car, a bike, wellies, a dog or plastic garden furniture, and gentle on paintwork and bike bearings. It won't strip moss from a patio. For that, see our pressure washers for patios and driveways.
Fill the tank at the kitchen sink, wheel it out and start cleaning. There is nothing to connect and no bucket to carry. Three of our machines work this way:
A tank model is the best power washer with a water tank for cars and bikes away from home: it fits in a boot, it doesn't drip on the carpet and you know how much water you have. The catch is size. A full 15 litre tank adds 15kg, so wheels matter.
The pump sits in a gun shaped body with a short lance, like a big drill. Drop the suction hose (5 to 6m with a filter) into a bucket or water butt and the machine self primes. The Makita DHW180Z can lift water up to 2m. These are the lightest choice and pack into a bag:
The Kärcher OC sits on its own: a 0.8kg mini pressure washer with a built in battery, for quick jobs rather than a whole car.
Figures are the makers' specs. "Body only" means no battery or charger in the box.
| Model | Water from | Max pressure | Flow | Weight | Power | In the box |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kärcher OC | - | 15 bar | 150 l/h | 0.8kg | 7.2V built in, up to 30 min | Battery and charger |
| Sealey PW1712 | 17L tank | 8.5 bar | 150 l/h | 5.8kg | 12V built in 4.5Ah or 12V socket | Battery, charger, snow foam gun |
| Bosch Fontus 18V-6 | 6L tank | 20 bar | 72 to 132 l/h | 4.4kg | 18V Power For All | Body only |
| Bosch Fontus Gen II | 15L tank | 20 bar | - | 7.5kg | 18V Power For All | Body only |
| Draper D20 | 6m suction hose | 16 bar | 120 l/h | 2.2kg | 20V D20 | 2.0Ah battery and charger |
| Kärcher KHB 4-18 PLUS | Suction hose or tap | 21 bar | 170 l/h | 1.3kg | 18V | 2.5Ah battery and charger |
| Sealey CP20VPW | 6m suction hose | 22 bar | 120 l/h | 1.01kg | 20V SV20 | Body only |
| Black and Decker BCPC18B | 6m suction hose | 24 bar | 120 l/h | 2.5kg | 18V | Body only |
| Makita DHW180Z | Suction hose, 2m lift | 24 bar | 150 l/h | 2.3kg | 18V LXT | Body only |
| Einhell HYPRESSO 18/24 Li | 5m suction hose | 24 bar | 240 l/h | 2.1kg | 18V Power X-Change | Body only |
Prices move daily, but as a guide the handhelds sit between about £75 and £140 and the tank models between £150 and £240. Add a battery and charger to the body only models if you don't already own that brand's tools.
Less than you'd think. Flow rate is the number to read. At 120 l/h a machine uses 2 litres a minute, so a 10 litre bucket lasts about five minutes of trigger time. At 240 l/h (the Einhell) the same bucket lasts half as long. A garden hose, by contrast, can use 10 litres a minute or more.
Take a spare 20 litre water container in the van or boot and a tank model becomes a full car wash anywhere. With a bucket fed model, a collapsible bucket does the same job.
A portable power washer is only as good as its battery. Typical figures from the makers:
Use ECO or the low mode for rinsing and save high pressure for the wheels. A spare battery doubles your runtime, and if you already own Makita LXT, Einhell Power X-Change or Bosch Power For All tools, your drill batteries fit. Brand pages: Makita pressure washers, Einhell pressure washers and Bosch pressure washers.
A tank model in the boot or a handheld with a bucket. Keep the spray off the bottom bracket, hubs and headset bearings and use a wide fan, not the pencil jet. The Bosch Fontus 18V-6 was made for this, and the Fontus Gen II takes three bikes per fill.
The Sealey PW1712 is built for car shows, track days and mobile valeting, and its snow foam gun is in the box. For more pressure, a 24 bar handheld like the Makita or Einhell with a bucket. Our pressure washers for cars page includes mains machines, and we list snow foam lances too.
The 12V socket on the Sealey means you can top it up on the road. A handheld that draws from the van's own water container is the most compact choice. Rinse sandy wetsuits, camping chairs and the awning frame before they go back in the van.
The Kärcher OC is the handheld pressure washer to keep by the back door: 0.8kg, no setup, and it rinses muddy paws, wellies and steps in seconds.
A 24 bar handheld will clean plastic chairs and freshen a fence. For decking and paving you need far more bar, so see our cordless pressure washers, where the twin battery models reach 100 bar and over, or our pressure washers for decking.
A Temporary Use Ban stops you washing a car with a hose on mains water, and water companies say this covers pressure washers as well as hosepipes. But Bristol Water and others allow water from a water butt or other stored rainwater. A bucket fed handheld or a tank model filled from a water butt fits that rule. Rules and fines differ between suppliers, so read your own notice; Thames Water's hosepipe ban page is a good example. Always fit the suction filter when you use rainwater, as grit wears the pump.
If you have a socket and a tap near the job and want to clean slabs or render, a mains machine wins every time. Kärcher's home and garden pressure washer range shows the gap: even its entry level K2 has several times the pressure of the models here. Pick a battery one for cars, bikes and anywhere the mains can't reach. Not sure how much pressure you need? Read what bar pressure washer do I need, or start with our cheap pressure washers.
For bikes and cars away from home, the Bosch Fontus Gen II: a 15 litre tank, wheels and 20 bar. For the most power from a bucket, the Makita DHW180Z or Einhell HYPRESSO 18/24 Li at 24 bar. For the lightest, the Kärcher OC at 0.8kg.
Yes. Every model here takes water from its own tank or from a bucket, water butt or container through a suction hose.
Yes. 15 to 24 bar shifts road dirt and mud without risk to the paint. Use a wide fan nozzle, keep it about 30cm from the panels and add a foam pre-wash for the best result.
For the body only models, yes. The Kärcher OC, Kärcher KHB 4-18 PLUS, Draper D20 and Sealey PW1712 come with a battery and charger.
The Sealey PW1712 runs from a vehicle 12V socket as well as its built in battery. The others need their own batteries, charged at home. If you drive to trails or valet cars for a living, keep a mobile pressure washer and spare packs in the van.
