RinseKit bike pressure washer review

The RinseKit pressure washer a really clever idea that’s really well executed in many ways but there’s a fundamental flaw that potentially limits it’s usefulness unless you add accessory kits.

Construction

The RinseKit looks like a big hard-body coolbox with a sturdy handle and removable lid that’s tough enough to sit/stand on if you’re short of a seat/step. It’s insulated like a coolbox too, so you can use it as a warm shower or a cool down spray depending on the weather. Flip the lid and the 7.5 litre (2 gallon) reservoir in the main body of the RinseKit is sprouting a chunky ‘non kink’ braided hose over 2m long with an on/off switch and standard push fit connector. That syncs with a trigger controlled shower head with six different rotary 'rose' settings from ‘jet’ to ‘mist’. Each lock into place with a solid click and the whole set up feels solid and well designed. You get an outside tap adaptor included and there’s a plug in heater kit for warming your water up for showers. There’s room under the lid for brushes, rags, sprays etc. too, so your whole cleaning set up can be kept neatly self-contained

Performance

The really ‘clever’ bit of the design is that fact there’s no motor to power the water flow either. Instead, you just connect it to a normal hose outlet (domestic tap adaptors are available) and let it fill until the water pressure can’t get any more in. That means no worries about batteries being flat, connecting to a car/van hook up or any other motor issues. It also means there’s no extra weight besides the water and the RinseKit itself so it’s easily portable.

The problem is that the water pressure in the tank depends entirely on the pressure of the source you’re filling it from. So while the tank has a 60psi (4.1bar) maximum rating the average UK domestic pressure is 30-45psi  (2-3 bar) and the minimum UK legal pressure is only 10psi (0.7 bar). Whatever pressure you start with drops dramatically once you start using it - particularly if you use a higher flow rose setting. You’ll generally get around 1-2 minutes of adequate power to wash chunks of less tenacious filth off, but it soon dies off to just a trickle.

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Verdict

The initial pressure makes it fine for a road bike rinse or two but it means using a brush and careful rationing of rinsing is key to getting a single mountain, cross or gravel bike properly clean. You’ll have to be equally clever with soap and miserly with the actual water use if you’re using as a shower for yourself/your trail dog too.

That means the optional ‘Pressure Booster’ screw in hand pump (£33.00) to let you re-pressurise the reservoir is actually more of an essential for off road or multiple mountain bike washing. At which point, the relatively small reservoir becomes the issue and the whole set up looks pretty expensive compared to powered solutions that offer more consistent results for dirtier bikers.

Tech spec

• Capacity: 9L
• Pressure: 60psi
• Accessories: Hose nozzle, 6ft hose, hose bib adapter, hot water sink adapter, on/off valve, quick connect