Hydrocell Power Washer GFS-CL1

Deeply dissatisfied – Failed after 2 years with only occasional use (washing house exterior, car, etc). The battery charges but the pump won't work. No joy from the company who recommend we send the unit to them from central Victoria, at no little cost to us. Not good value for money. Little wonder this model has been discontinued.

Find another product – A week out of warranty the charger failed got told bad luck it's a $25 part buy a new one. Seals leak and 18 months in the battery won't charge

Very cheap construction – Very disappointing its a low quality product made in china at this high price I was expecting Australian made or German made. I operated it for 5 minutes and the screws fell out from underside. And there is water leaking from the fittings. It has a 3 way switch high and low but only operates at low. And this is a tradie model I wouldn't like to… Read more

see the domestic use product. You pay a premium price for a below average product. Do some researching you will fine similar products for half the price.

Perfect for ac maint – Love it. Reliable, quick delivery, local help on call. Perfect pressure for ac coil cleaning. I use with the wash bag they have and recently picked up a back up battery torch too. Tidy cleans every time and don’t need to connect to power or tap. Had one hiccup, gave them a call and it was resolved quickly, no issues since. 15/10, love it. Would buy again.

great at first but doesnt last – i found these machines really great for what i need - i use them for washing down broodmares before artificially inseminating them and they work fine for a while but these machines all fail in the same way - they stop charging, both types, the torch battery one and the older style type with lead acid battery. the lead acid battery ones are… Read more

actually more reliable. Also they dont last a long time, i have about 9 of them here now , none working but the company says that i am the only person this happens to, where it stops charging and also leaking but i can see now that i am not the only person

Total garbage – I have thrown it in the bin where it belongs. Constantly falling apart and leaking Chinese made crap Have purchased a quality sprayer from the United States Paid a lot more but you can’t compare the quality It’s so much better

Absolute Rubbish – Do yourself a favour everyone...steer clear of the Hydrocell Brand, they are made from cheap chinese mass produced rubbish. The nozzles are crap, the fittings are crap, the pressure switches are crap, the hose they use is cheap and nasty, in fact everything about the HYDROCELL brand is CRAP!!! Being an electrician by trade, I thought they might… Read more

be a good item to have at home to clean my own split system evaporator coils. At first glance the units look nice, good styling, and reasonably sturdy, well thats where it ends.

First the supplied nozzle leaked, and as they use a smaller sized quick connect fitting, I was unable to adapt either a standard gardening style of nozzle or find a fitting to adapt to the small hose. So out with the garden sprayer to finish the job.

Credit where credit is due, the online store that I purchased it from did send me a new nozzle and quick connect adaptor plus a nice cheapo cooler bag....yayyyyyyy!

By the time the replacement nozzle had arrived the job was completed.

12 months later, time to do the evap coils again....out with the new replacement nozzle, equipped Hydrocell, dismantle the Fan coil units, turn the Hydrocell on, nice little motor hum, SPLAT, the pressure switch on the hydrocell pump decided to die, and the nice shiny new nozzle ended up across the other side of the room, split ASUNDER from the uncontrolled pressure, water was pissing everywhere, all over the fabric couch, which by the way was moved 3 metres away to avoid such incidents...

Angry, you EFFIN bet ya left one!!!!

Moral of the story, HYDROCELL ARE EFFING CRAP!!!

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THEM...

Good from far but far from good – Works well out of the box. After a month or two it started dripping, fixed that. Then charge issue, fixed that. Then battery issue. Ive brought three so far but not again.

Hydrocell – What a joke, after 3 months & used half a dozen times the part that fits from the pump to the water container broke, and they wouldn't honour the warranty.

Don't waste your money – They advertise these for commercial purposes which is a joke Had ours for a couple of months and the sprayer started falling to pieces Wouldn't recommend buying one for commercial purchases

Clever & Efficient 12 Volt Portable Washer – I did some research to find, a replacement 12-volt portable washer for another brand machine, to wash down some windows where a tap for a garden hose was not available. My final selection was the new Lithium battery powered Hydrocell GFS-CL1 from the Melbourne supplier. My first test using the spray gun’s nozzle set for a narrow jet stream,… Read more

proved ample water pressure to hose away dirt at the top of 5-metre windows on a ground level building. The 6-metre hose allowed me to leave the machine in the back of the car and use the 12-volt power cord in the car’s cigarette lighter. The trigger on the spray gun is one of the best I have used. Only light trigger pressure was required and dirt collected on the sills washed away without any need for scrubbing. When releasing the trigger, the Hydrocell’s pump shuts off and goes into stand-by mode but the instructions warn that this is only for momentary use and must be turned off at the main switch then depress the trigger to release the pressure in the hose.

I used an optional accessory spray gun fitted with a detergent bottle to wet and soap the windows to save time and the need to apply the detergent separately. The Hydrocell was quiet enough to allow me to do the work at night and avoid the sun’s heat, which is another great feature.

The 17-litre water tank is a generous size. The water pressure is lower than a household hose using urban water supply, but it did the job efficiently with less water. My old machine required filling half way through a job but the Hydrocell completed the work on one fill. Water efficiency is important to me when the whole idea of this type of unit is to provide water cleaning where no regular water supply is available. I do not want to be looking around for a tap or other water supply to refill the tank if it is avoidable. An efficient machine saves me time and work.

When washing the car, adjusting the spray gun’s nozzle to a fine spray, saved water and wet the car quickly, ready for the scrubbing broom. I used the detergent bottle again to reduce time and additional work. Using only half a tank of water to wash the car, it was more efficient than a household hose. I could have used clean rainwater from a tank for a better finish.

The fine spray is great for cooling down. I will use it camping for laying the dust as well as cooling down the camping area quickly using the fine mist, or dampening down areas to reduce fire risk. It will be better to use the car cigarette lighter and conserve the unit’s lithium battery since I will not know when I will have access to 240 volts for recharging. The lithium battery is a nice back up in case a small fire needs putting out.

For me, the Hydrocell would make a fast, portable shower for camping, after swimming or washing up after doing some dirty work. I would only use the fine spray since the jet spray setting could certainly be strong enough to cause an eye injury, so the Hydrocell is not for children.

I have found the Hydrocell to be a clever, modular design, where a twist of the 17-litre water tank, separates it from the bottom section that contains the pump, hose connection, battery, on/off switch and power recharging port. This allows easy filling through the 8cm wide filler mouth, the cap of which is fitted with a type of valve that reduces water spillage in case of accidental tipping, but still allows air to enter and prevent a vacuum forming. At the bottom, another valve closes when disconnecting the tank from the power base but allows the water to flow again when reattached into the locking position.

Without separating the tank from the base, I have filled it successfully with a spouted bucket, trigger hose or watering can with no spillage. It is a nice feature to have the separation option though. The tank’s construction uses a tough plastic similar to the type used in the manufacture of ice chest coolers for food and drinks.

Snap fittings on the hose allow quick connection of the spray gun or fitting to the pump. When not in use, a mesh storage compartment on the back of the machine holds the hose and spray gun. The outlet connector on the base to which the hose is connected is made of plastic. Plastic has the advantage of preventing the corrosion I have found on aluminium and other metal fittings. I have broken plastic hose connectors after pulling on the hose too hard, my fault, but the Hydrocell has easily replaceable connectors. Just screw out the old and screw in a new fitting, available from the supplier at a small cost.

I purchased a couple to have on hand as spares, although the supplier has a good range of parts and accessories. When my Hydrocell arrived, there was a little damage under the base which, when reported to the supplier was dealt with favourably. This, along with the spare parts in stock, and handy tips video on their website, shows me I am dealing with a company committed to backing up the cleverly designed products they sell.