Snow foam - too runny, is it because it's on a hose?

[Watts]

Am I wasting my time snow foaming from a hose? I don't really want to get a jet wash as I have a lack of storage space but I'm getting frustrated with the way things are. My lance is excellent quality, I've tried the different settings to no avail. The foam is very 'foamy' but runs off the car quicker than I can spray it on.

This is about a minute after emptying the bottle on the lance:



Any tips anyone? Or am I just going to have to get a jet wash? If so, can anyone recommend a very compact one but I don't want to compromise it's operation, I don't want to trade one problem for another!

[Booth11]

I've never used the type of set up you have so can't help with tips on getting a better foam in that scenario, but as I'm sure you know, the foam should dwell for around 5 mins before running off completely, and this is easily acheived with a pressure washer and snow foam lance.  A proper lance gives quite a lot of adjustability over dilution, foam thickness and spray which all helps.  I believe the non jet washer type have limited adjustment.

Not entirely sure how the hose type work but with a proper lance, as a guide you should be using a good inch of snow foam liquid in the bottle topped up (to near full) with tepid water then attach to your hose/pressure washer.  Some snow foams are by nature thinner than others, I've used thinner and thicker solutions, but despite that, all should coat the car and dwell like so:

ValetPro Advanced snow foam used with Karcher K2 and snow foam lance


And after a few mins


In terms of a good compact jet washer take a look at the Karcher K2 Compact.  It's not the most powerful but is perfectly good for car wash duty.  This is the exact one I use specifically just for my car washing.  It's a very good price on Amazon atm and has the additional patio cleaner attachment.  Course you'll need a karcher fit lance but you can get these on ebay for about £20

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B009QX8AOA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458223720&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=karcher+k2+compact&dpPl=1&dpID=41hJYWPn5PL&ref=plSrch

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/161660075681?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=122&chn=ps&googleloc=9045999&poi=&campaignid=270621186&device=m&adgroupid=16885268106&rlsatarget=pla-146650309986&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=122&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F710-134428-41853-0%252F2%253Fipn%253Dicep%2526icep_id%253D67%2526mtid%253D1673%2526kwid%253D1%2526crlp%253D64198248666_563391%2526icep_item_id%253D161660075681%2526itemid%253D161660075681%2526icep_meta_categ_id%253D12576%2526icep_etrs%253DY%2526icep_epid%253D-999%2526icep_ctlg%253D-999%2526icep_cond%253DNew%2526targetid%253D146650309986%2526rpc%253D0.15%2526rpc_upld_id%253D65763%2526device%253Dm%2526icep_msku_flag%253Dn%2526icep_cbt%253Dn%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9045999%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D270621186%2526adgroupid%253D16885268106%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-146650309986%2526gclid%253DCIb9wMj0x8sCFer0cgod934GEQ%2526srcrot%253D710-134428-41853-0%2526rvr_id%253D998993323283&ul_noapp=true

[Watts]

Thanks for that, very helpful. I'm using Valet Pro Advanced Neutral snow foam, the only place it dwells though is on the drive! I shall give the K2 some thought, they have deals on them in my local Tesco fairly regularly but as I said it's to do with storage.

[kalimon]

Thanks for that, very helpful. I'm using Valet Pro Advanced Neutral snow foam, the only place it dwells though is on the drive! I shall give the K2 some thought, they have deals on them in my local Tesco fairly regularly but as I said it's to do with storage.

Treat yourself to one of these, will last a lifetime probably and pretty compact
http://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/index.php/pressure-washers/kranzle-pressure-washers/kranzle-k1050p-quality-pressure-washer.html

[Watts]

Crikey, that's a piece of kit and a half! Size is the object here, not price, but within reasonable limits - I am a bit of a tighta**e!

This seems very good, any issues anyone can see?

http://www.karcheroutlet.co.uk/products/product.asp?id=5086

£34 + £6 for another 6 months warranty.

[Booth11]

Crikey, that's a piece of kit and a half! Size is the object here, not price, but within reasonable limits - I am a bit of a tighta**e!

This seems very good, any issues anyone can see?

http://www.karcheroutlet.co.uk/products/product.asp?id=5086

£34 + £6 for another 6 months warranty.

That's the model I use - obviously this is a refurbished unit so assuming it's all in good working order, looks like a good deal.

[dipstick]

What ratio of water to snow foam do you use Rebecca, and what settings on your lance please? I'm looking at one currently after a similar issue with snow foaming with a normal hose as per the OP!

Thanks

Steve

[Booth11]

What ratio of water to snow foam do you use Rebecca, and what settings on your lance please? I'm looking at one currently after a similar issue with snow foaming with a normal hose as per the OP!

Thanks
Steve

Hi Steve

Most proper snow foam lances have a 1 litre bottle.  I put about 1 inch (100ml) of snow foam solution in and fill the bottle to almost full with tepid water, like so (demo with my 3 year old lance):



There are 2 main adjustments: 
1) dilution, controlled by a +/- knob on the top of the mechanism.   
2) Spray angle which controls the spread of the spray. Too narrow and it will only cover small areas, too wide and you'll end up with spray missing the car and wastage. Aim for mid angle.

To adjust the dilution dial.  This setting very much depends on the snow foam you are using but with ValetPro foam, I turn it to fully closed and then back one half turn:


upload an image

Finally the spray angle setting .  My preferred is o have the lance blades about 2mm apart which gives a medium angle spray sufficient to cover whole panels without missing the car, and wasting the foam.



It's a bit of trial and error but you soon get to know which settings give the optimum thickness and spray.  Hope this helps.

[Eccie]

Watts have a look at this link http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=184268

[Watts]

Cheers Eccie, I think I'll go down the route of a PW though, just need to sort a bit of space in the shed. Was tempted by the refurbished route above but looking at reviews it seems hit and miss. Some people getting unused machines with very minor marks, others getting broken kit that clearly hadn't been looked at let alone refurbished. I'll sort the shed and keep my eye out for a deal.

Thanks everyone for their input, at least I'm decided now and will get a K2.