If You Were Part of the Recent Foam Canon Group Buy...

B

BlackElantraGT

New member
First, I'd like to thank usdm for hooking us up and shipping it out in a timely manner! I know it was probably more work than he anticipated especially if he had to assemble the units himself. You rock! :2thumbs:



Now comes my problem. I got mine this afternoon and was so psyched to try it out on my neighbor's car. The problem is, I can't seem to attach the canon to my gun. I have the Karcher 5.85 from Costco. The canon's adapter looks to be about the same size as my other karcher attachments, but I can't seem to push down and twist like how I would normally install the normal attachments. I will try to take a photo later tonight to show what my regular attachments look like.



I'm no muscle man, but still fairly strong so even with all my effort I haven't been able to get it to twist and lock properly. Did any of you have any problems the first couple of times or was this as easy to attach as your other attachments?



Here are the photos to show the differences:

DSC01031.jpg




DSC01032.jpg
 
Grab yourself a caliper and compare dimensions. Even a very small difference that can not be perceived with naked eye or measured with regular ruler will affect fitment of things.
 
I had zero problems. I know this may sound silly, however make sure you are turning it the correct way. It will go in 2 ways, right side up, or upside down, however it won't do anything if you are turning it to "lock" in the wrong direction.



I have a Small Karcher Gas Powered model...forget the model while I am here at work.
 
The fitment is a bit tighter so I am having trouble pushing it down somewhat, but it's the twisting and locking part that I'm not able to do. I'm twisting it in the same direction and fashion as I would with the normal attachment.



I'm almost sure there's no way I can get this to work without modifying the adapter. Inside my gun, I can see a little spring and I'm no engineer, but I believe how it works is the notches that you see in my normal attachment allows you to push the spring just a couple of millimeters, allowing the attachment to be further pushed in to twist and lock. When I attach my normal attachments, it's a springy, twist and lock action, not just push down, twist and lock.



This model was recently released (less than 6 months ago?) here in the U.S. and as far as I know, only Costco sells this particular model. I'm thinking somehow maybe the design of the gun was changed just slightly.
 
If someone could help me by posting a picture of their adapters and the inside of their gun I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
 
Hey guys.



First off, thanks for the support, and yes, it was a lot more than I anticipated

it would be. Those are the breaks I guess.



Anyway, I actually have the same problem in regards to the ease of install.

One would have thought it would be a snap, but not quite. It does require a lil

bit more elbow to get the adapter on. I think part of the reason may be

a mental thing actually. The plastic lance is a lil thicker and feels sturdy

enough so that you can literally grab any part of the lance and attach it

to the gun. The foamer, on the other hand, does not seem to offer

the same kind of means to easily attach to the gun. The other possibility is

that the notch section is slightly thicker itself requiring you to push a lil further

to insure proper connection. But once its on, its smooth sailing.



Another wacky thing I did not realize is that there is a specific way yo put this on.

I cant really explain save to say that one way will have the bottle upside down,

while the other way is the way ti should be.



I guess it will take a lil time for us to get familiar with this thingy, so let

the games (and the head scratching) begin :D
 
So you were able to eventually get it to twist and lock? If so, that's good news for me. Maybe this is a sign that I need to start working out again.



I will try to give it a go again.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
So you were able to eventually get it to twist and lock? If so, that's good news for me. Maybe this is a sign that I need to start working out again.



I will try to give it a go again.
Click to expand...



:rofl yeah, I was beginning to question my manhood on this one as well
 
This is going to sound like I'm joking, but I wonder if a water-based personal lubricant would help it slide all the way down easier. I'm thinking after awhile, the fit/form won't be as tight and make this a much easier process.
 
I finally was able to get it to twist and lock! Holy cow, what a tight fit. I'm a husky, fairly strong guy and I was struggling with this!



Now the question is whether or not I'll be able to detach/reattach this as easily as I would like.
 
I had a chance to try out the foam cannon tonight. It was pretty fun to use, although it can get messy like McNab mentioned in his Foam Cannon vs Foam Gun review. I don't see myself using this at every wash though because with the AutoBrite Karcher adapter, it is a pain putting and taking the foam cannon off. I think the problem might be that the adapter is just very slightly bigger than the OEM twist and lock connection, at least for my U.S. model pw. If you're older or not very strong, I highly advise not to go for this combo with the Karcher adapter because I know that there will be some people who just will not have the strength to get it to attach properly. On a difficulty scale from 1-10 for attaching this properly, I would rate it at least 8.5, if not higher. As a tip, for you to apply as much force/torque as possible, you will need to have the solution bottle off to get a good firm grip. I think it would be next to impossible trying to do this with the solution bottle on. Once your car is foamed up, you have to remove it and use your original attachment to rinse. Removal is slightly easier to do, but it's still somewhat difficult.



McNab already did a great review so this is just my initial impressions and review of it. Like he mentioned, you will definitely need a bigger solution bottle and a longer siphon hose. I went to Lowes and was able to find it in the sprinkler section. They had a wide selection of tubes you can pick from. I believe I purchased the 7/16" tube and so far it looks like it'll work. I haven't tested it though. If I got the wrong one or didn't get enough, I can always get more. It's pretty cheap. I bought a foot for 19 cents after tax.



For my first try, I just wanted to see how clean I could get the car by just foaming, and rinsing. I used CG's Citrus Wash n' Gloss because I currently have no protection on my paint anyway so I didn't care if it stripped wax or not. Using the supplied small bottle, I had to refill at least twice, although 3 times might have allowed better foam coverage. Each time I filled it, I used 1 oz of soap. Probably too much, but I just wanted to play with this anyway.



I did not break out my stool, nor did I feel like refilling a third time so my roof got the least amount of foam coverage. From just foaming and rinsing, I was surprised at how well it did at cleaning without the use of a wash media. When I dried with my waffle weave, my towel was completely clean in all areas, even the lower panels, except for the roof of the car, which left my towel slightly dirty, but nothing compared to how dirty my towel gets when drying an ONR wash (using a sponge to clean, a waffle weave to dry).



I can see myself using this to prep a car by pre-foaming, rinsing, then washing normally, but on one that's already protected and it's just going to be a simple wash, it's too much effort and hassle for something that basic. Plus, one would have to play around for awhile to get the right dilution ratio to not strip any protection. Not to mention, you'd go through soap a lot quicker.
 
I suppose you could, but I like to rinse first using the pw, and then with a gentle stream of water so there's less to dry. I have the Y-splitter along with quick connects, so I really do not mind breaking out the pressure washer to do a normal wash. It's just this new foam cannon attachment that's a pain.



Here's my normal process (minus wheels/tires):



1) Pre-rinse using the pw. This rinses away most of what's on the car, but it doesn't get the surface completely clean.



2) Conventional 2-bucket wash. I find that the soap and wash media helps get most contaminates off, but I believe it's pollen that I have, that doesn't want to come off, without using more pressure and a little scrubbing, so I try to be as gentle as I can, and leave the hard to remove stuff for the next part.



3) Rinse using pressure washer. I find that the soap dwelling and the pressure of the pw helps to rinse the car clean.



4) Rinse using gentle stream of water from regular hose w/o attachments. Cuts back on the amount of water I have to dry.
 
I'm still trying to get the hang of mine. So far, I am slowly figuring that I do

need to work on tweaking the ratios for each carwash I have. And yeah, I definitely

have to look into getting a bigger bottle and tubing.



Another thing I did notice personally, is that pressure really does make a difference

in terms of the intensity of the foam. I recentlly purchased and extra section

of hose so I would not have to move the PW around got get around the car.

That additionaly length of hose really did reduce the intensity of the spraying

action of the regular water. The resutl was the foam came out very weak. Even

after doing two layers of foam per panels, i found it ran down really quick; in

fact, i would say almost as quick as my Gilmore. So I will be looking into

getting a more robust unit in the no too distant future.



All that said, I have to agree on one thing; it does indeed create a higher level of

foam versus the Gilmore, albeit the foam seems to last as long as the Gilmore.

It will definitely have a place in my arsenal for the "touchless" was procedures.



That is once I get these darned ratios sorted out.
 
I don't know how well this will work or not, but I just did a quick test fit and if you don't feel buying a bigger bottle, a 2 liter soda bottle will fit. I only bought a foot of tubing and this was too short for the soda bottle. You'd need to buy 2 feet and cut to the correct length if you want it to pickup all the way from the bottom of the bottle (they only sell by the feet)
 
Until you get a bigger bottle, you might want to try putting straight soap in the bottle. Then use the ratio dial to dial in the foam to the desired level. You'll get much more use out of the small bottle doing it this way.



Target sells Rubbermaid 32 ounce squirt bottles that work very well. Home Depot and Lowes both sell the pickup tubing.



I've tried tons of different soaps. The very best combination I've found so far is one ounce of Z7 with three ounces of CG's Citrus Wash & Gloss in my 32 ounce bottle. Top off the bottle with water, then dial the ratio on the gun to max.



The lubrication of the Z7 with the cleaning power/gloss of the CW&G is about the best you can get. Mounds of nice cling-y foam, too.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Until you get a bigger bottle, you might want to try putting straight soap in the bottle. Then use the ratio dial to dial in the foam to the desired level. You'll get much more use out of the small bottle doing it this way.



Target sells Rubbermaid 32 ounce squirt bottles that work very well. Home Depot and Lowes both sell the pickup tubing.



I've tried tons of different soaps. The very best combination I've found so far is one ounce of Z7 with three ounces of CG's Citrus Wash & Gloss in my 32 ounce bottle. Top off the bottle with water, then dial the ratio on the gun to max.



The lubrication of the Z7 with the cleaning power/gloss of the CW&G is about the best you can get. Mounds of nice cling-y foam, too.
Click to expand...



Yeah man, I remeber those crazy videos :drool: I cant find my Z7 though, so I figured

since I have to get the car ready for winter anyway, Id just work with what I got. I was

thinking of sacrificing my Perls with some CGWG, but I dont know.......



decisions, decisions..........
 
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