Snow foam failure

[Brechin Slate]

Hi all

Recently bought a cheap Top Tech pressure washer from Euro car parts as the price was very good and I needed one for all sorts of cleaning jobs.  It came with a dtergent bottle rather than a snow foam lance but I gave it a go anyway with Auto Glym Polar Blast.  The results were very poor, I couldn't get a good lay er of foam on the car in fact it looked like I'd just thrown a bucket of soapy water over it.  Followed all recommendations etc.

So I bought a snow foam lance, not easy as the Top Tech fitting seems to be unique to them so I adapted a Bosch one.  Still rubbish results and the lance sucks hardly anything out of the 1 litre bottle.  I'm toying with the idea of making my own venturi but any advice in the meantime would be welcome.

[Paul Brooksbank]

Surely the detergent will do the job even if it doesn't go all snowy? I still use Screwfix wash and wax! 

[ColinBarber]

10 minutes ago, Paul Brooksbank said:

Surely the detergent will do the job even if it doesn't go all snowy? I still use Screwfix wash and wax! 

The problem is that is that it will run off before properly loosening the dirt. I struggle with my Karcher foam jet and Polar Blast being too weak on the max setting - not sure which one is at fault but I think I'll give Bilt Hamber auto foam a go next.

[hockeyedwards]

32 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

Bilt Hamber auto foam a go next.

Literally the best stuff! I've switched over to most of their products. Have to get the ratios correct, but boy oh boy does it work!

[Herbie]

Great results here with a Karcher. I can't remember what brand of snow foam and it's too late to go out to the garage now, so I'll post it tomorrow.

[malcolmw]

I use the Autoglym snow foam (diluted 1:5) with my Stihl pressure washer. It clings well and works OK to remove the worst of the grime but the pressure washer pulses when using the foam lance. Reverting back to the normal jet everything is fine. I don't understand this as I have a good water supply and pressure. The detergent spray which came with the washer does not give a very good result as noted above

I find that to get a really good result I have to apply the foam leave it for a bit and then go over the car with a sponge to loosen the greasy road dirt. A pressure wash off then gives a pristine finish.

[westo3]

I also am a fan of Bilt Hamber bought a foam lance from Clean your Car co. (their own band ) attached to a Karcher, works really well

[Brechin Slate]

Did some digging around, the connections on my washer are the Stihl type.  Will now find a decent Lance to fit.

[steve2006]

B & M were selling a snow foam kit which included a bottle with integrated sprayer which connected to a standard hosepipe fitting.

Produces plenty of foam although the quoted amount of washes per bottle is a bit optimistic unless you have an original Fiat 500, clings well enough and smells of bananas.

[Brechin Slate]

10 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

smells of bananas

Can't think of a better reason to buy one. Unless it smelled of bacon 😀

[steve2006]

1 minute ago, Brechin Slate said:

Can't think of a better reason to buy one. Unless it smelled of bacon 😀

I have since avoided going to any zoos, Windsor Safari Park or Gibraltar .....those monkeys don’t need any further encouragement 😀

[hockeyedwards]

1 hour ago, Brechin Slate said:

Unless it smelled of bacon

Chemical guys do a bacon air freshner spray... ha! They also do a Watermelon snowfoam (delightful) and a cherry wax (to die for)... good at cleaning too 😛 but Bilt Hamber is currently king for me!

[Brechin Slate]

Schoolboy error on my part - my lance has a mixture adjustment knob, I thought that turning it towards the + would increase the foam/water ratio...apparently it works the opposite way round.  The mixture control is an air bleed screw, turning it towards the + allows more air into the lance thus weakening the venturi effect and sucking less product from the bottle.  Stripped the lance, cleaned and rebuilt, results to be checked when it's car washing weather again 😄

[Brechin Slate]

Fixed! Finally got to clean the car today with the rebuilt lance.  Foam sticks to the car like ***** to a blanket.  Shiny as you like, now to work through this bottle of Polar Blast so I can try the Bilt Hambler that gets such good reviews 👌 

[Probster]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:57 PM, Brechin Slate said:

Hi all

Recently bought a cheap Top Tech pressure washer from Euro car parts as the price was very good and I needed one for all sorts of cleaning jobs.  It came with a dtergent bottle rather than a snow foam lance but I gave it a go anyway with Auto Glym Polar Blast.  The results were very poor, I couldn't get a good lay er of foam on the car in fact it looked like I'd just thrown a bucket of soapy water over it.  Followed all recommendations etc.

So I bought a snow foam lance, not easy as the Top Tech fitting seems to be unique to them so I adapted a Bosch one.  Still rubbish results and the lance sucks hardly anything out of the 1 litre bottle.  I'm toying with the idea of making my own venturi but any advice in the meantime would be welcome.

Hi,

Did you ever have any joy getting a snow foam lance for your Toptech washer? I too have a Toptech washer (yellow) but have been unable to source a snow foam lance even though eurocarparts sells one for this particular model it does not fit properly and leaks everywhere! Told they've had a few returned for this reason! 

[ALAW]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:57 PM, Brechin Slate said:

Hi all

Recently bought a cheap Top Tech pressure washer from Euro car parts as the price was very good and I needed one for all sorts of cleaning jobs.  It came with a dtergent bottle rather than a snow foam lance but I gave it a go anyway with Auto Glym Polar Blast.  The results were very poor, I couldn't get a good lay er of foam on the car in fact it looked like I'd just thrown a bucket of soapy water over it.  Followed all recommendations etc.

So I bought a snow foam lance, not easy as the Top Tech fitting seems to be unique to them so I adapted a Bosch one.  Still rubbish results and the lance sucks hardly anything out of the 1 litre bottle.  I'm toying with the idea of making my own venturi but any advice in the meantime would be welcome.

Tell me about it Mike more complicated than i thought ive just posted an update on my scenario.