Buy a cordless pressure washer with a tank only if there is no outdoor tap. If you will fill a bucket, you want a handheld from the cordless pressure washer guide, not this page.
A paved front garden that only has a kitchen mixer. A car park. A campervan pitch. An allotment standpipe that is a walk away. You fill the machine indoors and roll it to the work. Water is heavy. One litre is one kilogram. If that puts you off, buy a siphon gun and a jerry can instead.
Three UK-stocked tank machines do this in August 2026. Bosch Fontus Gen II, 15 litres, from £179. Kärcher OC 6-18 Premium, 12 litres, £229.99 bare. Makita DHW080ZK, a 50 litre case, £435 bare. Everything else with a jug on it is a rinser.
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The default household tank is the Fontus: fifteen litres, wheels, a kit around £198. Take the OC 6-18 if you already run Kärcher 18V. Take the Makita if you already run LXT and you need 55 bar and 50 litres.
Quick picks
Best everyday tank
Bosch Fontus Gen II
From £179
15 litre trolley, 20 bar, 18V Power For All. Fill it at the kitchen tap and roll it to a front garden with no outdoor tap.
Best Kärcher trolley
Kärcher OC 6-18 Premium
£229.99 bare
12 litre trolley, 24 bar, 18V Battery Power. The tank to buy if you already run Kärcher batteries.
Best pressure
Makita DHW080ZK
£435 bare
50 litre case tank, 55 bar working. The only tank machine here that behaves like a small pressure washer.
Comparison table
| Model | Tank | Pressure | Weight empty | Weight full (approx.) | Runtime (claimed) | Typical UK price (Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosch Fontus Gen II | 15 L trolley, or a tap | 20 bar | Bosch lists 6.4 kg without battery. Wickes lists 9.43 kg as sold | About 22 to 25 kg | Up to 60 min on 2.5Ah. The tank empties first | £179 bare; £198 kit |
| Kärcher OC 6-18 Premium | 12 L trolley, or a tap. Suction hose extra | 24 bar | 5.7 kg without accessories | About 18 to 20 kg | 12 min on 2.5Ah, 24 min on 5.0Ah | £229.99 bare; battery separately £58 |
| Makita DHW080ZK | 50 L case, self-prime, or a tap | 55 bar working, 80 bar max | 7.1 to 7.9 kg with batteries, tank empty | Do not lift it. 50 kg of water plus the case | 15 min high / 34 min low on 2 × 6.0Ah | £435 bare |
Prices checked 16 August 2026. Confirm whether a battery and charger are in the box. Full-tank weights are one kilogram per litre added to the published empty figures.
Bosch Fontus Gen II
The tank trolley for most UK homes with no outdoor tap
- Buy: Check latest price (£179 bare, £198 kit) · Bosch DIY
- Pressure / flow: 20 bar. About 90 to 186 L/h
- Battery / water: 18V Power For All. 15 L tank or a garden tap. 4 m hose
- Weight / runtime: 6.4 kg without battery on Bosch’s sheet, 9.43 kg as Wickes sell it. Add 15 kg when full. Up to 60 minutes claimed on 2.5Ah (battery, not tank)
Fifteen litres is enough for bikes, furniture and a careful rinse of a small car. It is not enough for a dirty family hatchback on one fill. Twenty bar is modest. Four spray patterns: pencil, 15° fan, 50° fan, shower. Leave the pencil jet off paint. Bare tool at £179 if you already own Power For All packs. Kit at around £198 if you do not. Drain it before the boot. Foam first, rinse with purpose. The Fontus in full is the Fontus review.
Kärcher OC 6-18 Premium
The trolley if you already run Kärcher 18V
- Buy: Check latest price £229.99 bare · battery around £58 · Kärcher UK
- Pressure / flow: 24 bar, 200 L/h. Not a K 2
- Battery / water: 18V Battery Power, sold separately. 12 L trolley or a tap. Suction hose extra
- Weight / runtime: 5.7 kg empty, about 18 to 20 kg full. 12 minutes on 2.5Ah, 24 minutes on 5.0Ah
Twenty-four bar sits a little above the Fontus and a long way below a mains K4 from the Kärcher hub. Kärcher says the 12 litre tank is enough for three to five dirty bikes. Tight for a car. If a tap is there, you can run it without the tank. Do not mix this up with the OC 3 Foldable: an 8 litre jug at about 5 bar, useful for boots, not road film. Not already on Kärcher 18V? The Fontus has a bigger tank and a cheaper complete kit. The OC 6-18 in full is the OC 6-18 review.
Makita DHW080ZK
The tank machine if you need 55 bar and 50 litres
- Buy: Check latest price £435 bare
- Pressure / flow: 30 to 55 bar working, 80 bar max. About 330 L/h on high
- Battery / water: two 18V LXT packs, none in the box. 50 L case, self-prime up to 1 m, or a tap
- Weight / runtime: about 8 kg with batteries, tank empty. Fill the case in place. 15 minutes high / 34 minutes low on 2 × 6.0Ah
This is the only pick that behaves like a small pressure washer. Fifty litres means a proper wash without walking back to the kitchen. Body-only at £435, then two LXT packs if you do not already own them. A first-time buy can pass £500. A mains K4 is faster if you have a tap and a socket. Do not buy it if you thought tank meant a 10 kg trolley you lift into a Fiesta. The case has wheels. Use them. The Makita in full is the Makita DHW080 review.
Litres versus the job
Litres are the first number, not bar. Under 8 litres is a bike, boots or a barbecue: OC 3 Foldable and the compact Fontus 18V-6. Rinsers, not in the cards above. Twelve to 15 litres is the useful household tank: Fontus and OC 6-18. Fifty litres is a van or a dirty car without walking back inside: Makita only in this UK set.
A dirty family car drinks water. Fifteen litres will get you through the rinse if you are disciplined. It will not get you through foam, rinse and a second pass on the wheels. At the higher flow, 12 to 15 litres is a few minutes of trigger time, not an hour. Bosch’s 60 minute claim is the battery. Fifty litres on the Makita is the first tank here that feels like a full car wash.
When a bucket wins
Buy a handheld from the cordless guide if you have a water butt, a bucket or a tap within a hose length. Buy a handheld if you want the machine in the boot, or you want 40 bar on a car, or you already own Worx 20V or Ryobi 18V and you do not want a third family.
The tank wins when the water is the problem, not the pressure. No outdoor tap. A pitch. A car park. A hose through the hall. All three picks can also run from a garden tap. If you always have a tap, you need a mains machine for cars or a handheld cordless for convenience.
Rolling weight
Add one kilogram per litre to the empty weight. A full Fontus is roughly 22 to 25 kg on its wheels. The OC 6-18 is about 18 to 20 kg. The Makita case is 50 kg of water plus the box, so you fill it where it will sit. If you cannot roll a 25 kg trolley over gravel, the Fontus is the wrong shape. Drain before you lift anything into a car.
Start with the packs you already own. Bosch Power For All is the Fontus. Kärcher 18V is the OC 6-18: a 5.0Ah pack makes a car rinse less stop-start. Makita LXT is the DHW080ZK, two 5.0Ah or 6.0Ah packs. A 2Ah pack is a bike-and-boots battery on every one of these pumps.