Snow foam with Karcher, not the same concentration anymore!

[Benji]

I got myself a pressure washer after xmas and having used the original foam lance with the hose pipe, i also wanted to try the karcher snow foam lance, so i picked one of them up aswell..which aren't cheap!

Anyway, when i first used it the results were great! The stuff came out like shaving foam!
When i use it now though, i might aswell go back to the original lance which just runs off the hose pipe.
I don't know what i've done! I dont think i've done anything 'wrong' i've played around with the quantity of foam and shampoo but nothing seems to work.
I always put some megs 'shampoo plus' in with the snow foam, as its often reccomended. I'm now thinking that maybe that's the problem? I did use snow foam and shampoo on the first go but maybe i've put too much in?

Any thoughts?

 

[FinerDetails]

inside the ance is a metal gauze, this is most likely clogged and needs cleaning. Take the lance apart - remembering how it goes together, and clean the gauze. Should be fine after that

 

[FinerDetails]

you could also just try filling the bottle with hot water, and a tad of fairy liquid to see if it will clear it. Obviously dont spray it over the car

 

[Benji]

inside the ance is a metal gauze, this is most likely clogged and needs cleaning. Take the lance apart - remembering how it goes together, and clean the gauze. Should be fine after that

That sounds like the most likely cause. One thing i did notice was that the foam was coming out how i wanted it, when i'd just about finished! There's abou 2mm of liquid left in the bottle and i get about 10 seconds of 'shaving foam' then it finishes!

 

[FinerDetails]

try mxing the foam with hot tap water when you fill the snom foam bottle.

 

[Benji]

I use about 3 inches worth of foam, a squirt of shampoo plus and then fill with water. Sorry i should've stated that earlier.

I'll try and dismatle the lance later on and give it a good clean through. Then also maybe run water through it.

 

[FinerDetails]

3 inch of foam???!!!!!! thats wayyyyyyyyy toooo mucchhhhhhh! 1 inch at most. Not only will it strip your wax off, thats prob why the gun is clogged lol.

I use 1 inch in a 1 litre bottle.

 

[Mat]

yeah, I only drop in an inch. If the car is really bad, i'll drop in (and I mean a drop) of some shampoo

 

[Benji]

I just went out and looked at the lance, i really dont want to take it apart, simply because of the fear of not being able to put it back correctly! lol

3 inches may have been an exaggeration. I put that in the last time i used it, because it wasn't foaming well.
I normally put about an inch and a half in, maybe more. I probably do overdo it though.
I was aware about it stripping the wax, but i got so fed up with it not working that i went on overkill last time!

I always run it through with water after im finished with it but yet it still doesnt foam.
It's such less hassle with the hose pipe foam lance than using it with the pressure washer that i was half tempted to not bother with it last weekend.

I'll give it another go tommorow, but maybe run warm water through it first, or maybe even some fairy liquid to help rinse it out.

 

[lm_gauci]

Does it matter what type of foam is used?

I normally put in 2" of foam, seems to cling on and remove more dirt than when i only put 1" in. Tbh i am a complete novice at this so most probably will try it again and see what results i get.

 

[Benji]

What type of foam?
I've only ever heard of 'Elite snow foam' but i'm not exactly a pro either.

I think mine is probably clogged up, and using the amount of foam i use it's far to thick to pass through the nossle as i want it too.

I'm going to go and try it soon, so i'll use 1 inch or even less of foam and see what happens.
Can always re-fill it if i run out early.

 

[lm_gauci]

There's a few different snow foams here:

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/foam-pre-wash/cat_67.html

I got 10litres free with my foam lance so will use that and then experiment with a few other types.

 

[Benji]

I just cleaned the car, and i put an inch of foam in the bottle and a tiny amount of shampoo a pea sized drop! lol

Anyway, again when i started using it it came out very weak, no 'foaming' but towards the end it seems to 'break through' and comes out how i want it.
I then tried again and used half an inch of snow foam, no shampoo and filled the bottle with warm water.
This time i had much longer with the 'foam' but again it was when the bottle was nearly empty.

I find myself going over the car as normal, but then when it foams at the end i rush around trying to cover as much as i can as quickly as possible!

The only way for me to solve it would be dismantling it i think.
I haven't ran it through with fairly liquid though, would that be a definate reccomendation?