Stihl RE 118

Stihl pressure washer – I have had a Sthil RE 118 for six years cleaning cars, paths, windows and house walls has been great never let me down till now the unit started turning on and off or hunting and would not restart which was due to wear of the plunger which operates the reed switch. Due to the age I repaired it myself when pulled apart I I notice the plunger… Read more

that operated the micro switch moved in and out when trigger not depressed Fixed by putting a small o ring over the head of the plunger stalk which lessened its travel Now works fine has been working like this for a year now a dollar fix plus time to dismantle. I have always used the unit with power on while doing a job not worrying about how long it is in the pause mode with power on. I would highly recommend the Stihl washers based on my experience to the point I have purchased Stihl Chainsaw, blower, hedge trimmer all work fantastic . Stihl products great gear.

absolutely terrible unit – this unit has been the worst pressure washer I have ever used. Ihave only used this unit 6 times to clean footpaths Exposed aggregate total 600 sq m does not start been back 5 times to repair shop for this problem .Now have it at another shop for same repair,this shop gave price of $280.00 to repair faulty switch said maybe i should buy another unit for $290.00. Dont waste your money , reliability is not good. Backup is poor  Show details

Rubbish - This is not the quality you are looking for – I have owned this washer for just over two years and have used it no more than 6 times to clean paths The last time it lost total pressure and water was running out from inside the unit. I took it back to the dealer and they pulled it apart. The assessment was that the control valve (made of plastic) had burnt out and the repair cost would be… Read more

$240 including labour I was advised by the dealer that it is not economical to repair although the unit looks brand new. I bought what I thought to be a quality product. Wish I has just gone to Bunnings.

Another customer lost to poor quality....updated – I have bee using Stihl pressure washers for around 9/10 years now. I think i owned the one before this one for at least 6 years, it was a loyal servant and never let me down. After about six it did pack up but I was more than happy with the service of it and no qualms at all. I was so happy i decided I would have the same model, obviously improved… Read more

over the years. After about 3 months I was getting no pressure so I duly took it back to the dealer. He told me I was probably using the wrong size cable. I duly took it back and it has been sort of ok for the past three years, although it constantly blows fuses in extension lead. Anyway the pump packed up today after less than 3 years use. And the use is only seasonal, I have had two summers out of it, for washing houses before painting in the summer. I estimate it may have done 3 weeks work max. I have now come to the conclusion that I will buy a dirt cheap one with slightly less pressure, attach the hose from the Stihl and use that. If I buy 4 in three years which i doubt I will it will be sweeter mentally than buying the Stihl rubbish. I did hear through the grapevine that the model I bought had a batch of dodgy pumps that year but the retailer denied it. Avoid is my advice.

I have since replaced my stihl washer with a new stihl model, the competition was not worthy so I looked again as I thought the previous one was indeed a faulty batch. I have been advised by the salesman that the reason the old machine kept blowing fuses was because the extension lead should be one of the heavy duty thick types and a maximum of 20 metres in length. He also told me that to only run it for two hours, then let it rest for half hour and turn it off completely. I have had this one for nearly 12 months now and have not blown any fuses, it's working a treat.

To add to the satisfaction of the stihl, I have been able to buy extensions to the pressure hose which connect very easily to one another. I have a hose of about 21 metres in length now which means I rarely need to move the machine at all. Another big plus is the wand. It is possible to jam it to the on position. I can actually hold the wand 12 inches from the water jet, with great control. This takes a lot of pressure off your arms copared to holding the wand with the trigger pressed constantly and at full stretch. Added to that, the wand actually spins midway so you dont need to twist your arm to get the spray positioned where you require it.

So to put it bluntly, I am very happy again, as I was with the first one I had owned. It was just a a shame the second one let me down so badly. Maybe I should have had it repaired but I binned it. I would recommend this to anybody wanting an above average pressure washer.

Worst Pressure Washer I've Owned – A few years ago when I needed a new pressure cleaner I decided I would not buy cheap and would buy what I believed to be a quality product. Well in hindsight I should have saved some money and bought something else cause the Stihl RE 118 has been the biggest piece of garbage I've had for pressure washer starting with not long after I bought it it… Read more

would keep on cycling when you stopped washing. At first this just happened occasionally and then rapidly got worse.

No problem so I took it in under warranty and was then told the part needed to fix it needed to back ordered as none were available so I got the cleaner back some weeks later.

Next thing was while doing a job it fell over and to my amazement the orange front tool cover had split and quite badly plus this cover faded very quickly so maybe not the best quality plastic !

I then noticed the pressure hose that goes from the cleaner to the hand piece was rusting and on closer inspection the plastic coating over the steel reinforce was incredibly thin so it rusted quite badly in short order.

I then bought a new hose off ebay which has proven to be of far better quality than the original and still looks good after more than a year,

At the same time I noticed it did not have the pressure it used to and has progressively got worse and so now I have gone and bought a new pressure cleaner so hopefully will have a better run with this one .

I did ring Stihl earlier on to let them know how unhappy I was to have paid so much for the unit and the issues I'd had but all I received was a, we're sorry that you're not happy with your purchase but offered nothing else, so needless to say will not be purchasing another Stihl pressure cleaner.

Great pressure and long hose and cord – We had a Karcher which split the pump housing over winter due to ice (we should have ensured it was fully drained). We though the Karcher was good...but this Stihl is much much better. More than enough pressure and the long hose and power cord is a must for around home use to prevent joining power cords and them laying over wet surfaces. Only… Read more

issue is the hose sits very poorly on the unit when in storage - it needs a better set-up for this - but of course this doesnt affect its actual use. The only time you would need more pressure would be if you wanted to rip paint off surfaces prior to repainting - such as pergola posts that have poor/peeling paint. Other than that, it would be very hard to justify paying any more for a higher end model.

I am very pleased with this – I have not owned a pressure washer before this, but after observing my friends using their Karcher washers, and after reading too many product reviews that were critical of the Karcher and Gerni models that were in my price range, I decided to have a look at Stihl. I already have a Stihl chainsaw and a Stihl hedge trimmer so I know Stihl quality… Read more

is first class. I saw my local Stihl dealer and had a real good look at both the RE108 and the RE118 models and I was impressed with the quality and according to the dealer the trouble free reputation of these units for a domestic application. Also Stihl is/was offering a $100 price reduction. I chose the RE118 because I like the 8 metre steel reinforced pressure hose - the RE108 has a 7 metre hose and its not steel reinforced. I have had the unit 2 weeks only but in that time I have cleaned our Vergola (78 metres of colourbond louvres cleaned both top and bottom sides), blown the leaves out of my gutters, and pressure washed the front and side concrete pathways. I could not be more pleased. My neighbour, who has a Karcher was also very impressed. All I need now is for this product, over the years ahead, to prove that it's got the same durability and reliabilty as my other Stihl products. I only use it for domestic use and for domestic use it carries a 2 year warranty. Recommended.

Owes me nothing – When I decided to purchase a pressure cleaner for my handyman/ cleaning business (sole trader) I checked out a few different brands/models before I decided on the little Stihl. I took a look at the stihl range because I've had such a great run with my Stihl SE122 vacuum cleaner. I settled on the RE118 at $699 because I couldn't justify the extra… Read more

$200 for the next model up with the hose reel built in, and little else. I use it when I do bond cleans mainly. I use it to wash exterior walls, flyscreens, eaves, garages, BBQ's and so on. I also decided to purchase the optional attachment for cleaning concrete floors too. Really handy for around pools, concrete floors and so on without making any mess. Well worth the extra bucks if you clean a lot of floors. It comes with 2 different tips + a tip cleaner built into the machine. I like the fact that I can use this in a confined space and not have to worry about noise or fumes and I also like the fact that I can lift it in and out of my vehicle on my own, unlike a petrol cleaner. Highly recommended! Compact, quiet, smooth operating, features and accessories and reasonably priced. Nothing so far that I can fault. Maybe a little more pressure at times to reach high eaves, but at 1900 PSI it still has more power than most car wash jetters.