Premium Foam Cannon orifice size

[rrmccabe]

I just took delivery on a Premium foam cannon today.  I was tired of dragging my gas pressure washer out and since I wash inside and in the winter I really cant run it anyway. So decided to buy an Adams pressure washer version 2.0.  Its down on pressure considerably over the gas unit but I think it will be good enough for my coated vehicles.

That said, it seems that Adams sizes the orifice for a variety of pressure washers.  I have watched some online videos were they recommend changing out orifice for the smaller GPM units like the one I just bought.  However, I have not found anyone mentioning what to buy.

Does anyone have recommendations.  I have read "I bought mine on Amazon" but have no idea what to get.

 

Rich

[falcaineer]

My recommendation is not to change anything. They're both optimized for washing a car and will work perfectly well for your needs, including coated.

[rrmccabe]

Hey Chris, thanks for response.  I did find a video that showed the orifice size was 1.1 mm.

 

This video shows the hang time for the foam being much longer.  For $6 you can buy two orifices and two foam maker pads.

 

Seems it would be worth it??

 

 

 

 

[RayS]

Hi Rich,
The one thing to keep in mind is that the volume of foam is affected by which shampoo you are using, Mega Foam (most) vs Ultra Shampoo (good) vs Graphene Shampoo (least) all give different volumes of Foam.   Also you water hardness or PH level can affect the volume of foam.   I'm not sure which size oriface I am using and it is in my external garage so I'm not going a looking tonight.  I due use the electrict pressure washer and actually prefer it over the gas, which I found to be too powerful at times.  I have not had any moulding, badges or even registration decals damaged by the electric, but did with the gas one.

[rrmccabe]

Thanks Ray,  Well I will be using the least most the time with graphene shampoo. I am not hung up on playing the foam game like some people do. I just would like to keep it on the car as long as possible

 

[RayS]

If there is real high humidity and I use the foam cannon on the truck with Graphene Shampoo it tends to run off the sides quickly.  The plus side is that you can see the road grime come off at the same time, so it makes it easy to get the truck washed.  

[rrmccabe]

This should be fun.  I dont often use pressure washer because I dont want to get out gas unit. I normally wash in my garage and this will allow me to foam and wash with door closed so I should use it more.

 

I think the foam looks cool but honestly people probably get carried away with the importance of it. I guess the point is, keep the vehicle soapy and wet for awhile. 

Another thing that intrigues me is possibly using more mitts or even microfiber towels and once they are spent never take them back to the bucket. Just keep pulling out a new one.  Find out this weekend as I do a full wash.

I guess the only question I have is, I wonder if there are pros to switching back to regular shampoo or the graphene is the way to go on graphene spray coated vehicle.

[RayS]

While I don’t track my usage of the Foam Gun vs Foam Cannon, I have little doubt that I use the Foam Gun 10 or more times for each time I use the Foam Cannon.   For large vehicles, very dirty vehicles or when doing multiple in a day, then I tend to go for the Pressure washer and Foam Cannon, otherwise the hose and Foam Gun is plenty.

 

I rarely do Rinseless washes and when I do, I go through a lot of wash pads and microfibers.   Then again when I do a waterless wash, even on the wife’s garage queen, I go through multiple waterless towels and microfibers.  I don’t hesitate to change wash pads or towels when doing anything with the vehicles.

 

I have washed Graphene coated vehicles with regular shampoo, ultra and mega foam.   They all work well on Graphene vehicles if you follow up with Graphene CS3 or Graphene Detail Spray as a drying agent.   When using Graphene Shampoo, unless in the direct sun, there is generally no need for a drying agent if you blow dry.

[rrmccabe]

Hi Ray,  I have had an Adams foam gun for about 5 years (best guess) and I am sure its had less than 15 uses.  Just never really found much value it it as most everything I put on ran off. Maybe I am doing it wrong.  Just seemed like a lot of shampoo down the drain.

 

I finally got a chance to give the new pressure washer 2.0 a workout with the premium foam cannon. I did order a 1.1mm nozzle for it and I can say the difference is significant.  Would recommend the 1.1mm to anyone running a pressure washer with similar pressure/gpm.   

 

I would say the cannon is going to make me change my normal wash process. 

 

I tossed 3 pads in a bucket of water with grit guard but added no soap as I usually do.  Prepped the tires and wheels with normal chemicals and then foamed just tires and wheels with graphene shampoo. Finished wheels/tires and rinsed them off with pressure washer and gave the vehicle a quick pressure washer rinse to remove debris and clean fender wells. Once complete I snapped the foam cannon back on and foamed the truck.   Washed the truck using the 3 pads in the bucket and the shampoo hung the entire time. Have to say I have never felt I had more lubricity than this time.  The actual wash time was less but probably offset by the fact I had 3 pads to rinse out after.

 

The only thing I am undecided on is rinsing with the pressure washer. Not sure the value in that except for saving water. I like my Adams fire hose nozzle and is much quicker than the pressure washer and I feel does a better job.

I am considering going to a larger nozzle size on the pressure washer which will drop pressure and increase GPM.  Maybe that will help the rinse.

Overall I like the setup. Adams put a really nice hose and gun on the 2.0.

[RayS]

Thanks Rich for the note about the 1.1mm nozzle and I'll need to seriously consider adding it to my next order.   As for the rinse, I've used the pressure washer, many different nozzles for the hose and nothing has compared to the Fire Hose nozzle.  Now if I could just keep it in my area instead of being on the wife's hose for her plants it would be nice.  

[rrmccabe]

4 minutes ago, RayS said:

Now if I could just keep it in my area instead of being on the wife's hose for her plants it would be nice.  

 

Understand that !  I have been known to have to go looking for it. I should buy another.  Having quick disconnects on everything makes switching easier so going back to the firehouse is not a big deal. And as you agree it does a great job.

[Marshall]

1 hour ago, rrmccabe said:

 

Understand that !  I have been known to have to go looking for it. I should buy another.  Having quick disconnects on everything makes switching easier so going back to the firehouse is not a big deal. And as you agree it does a great job.

rrmccabe, that an interesting report on changing the cannon nozzle to meet your PW capabilities. Definitely makes sense. I'm running 3000 psi/3 gpm on my gas unit and it's mated perfect to the my Adams premium foam cannon. I had a competition foam gun with my garden hose for a year or so. I was like you, disappointed in the foam amount and lubricity. I will say my PW capacity allows for a good rinse down, I just prefer a final rinse with my garden hose and fire nozzle running with deionized water.  Glad to hear your enjoying your new PW with the cannon!

[rrmccabe]

Hi Marshall. I am sure at your PSI/GPM your cannon works great.  I am probably about half the GPM as you so switching to the 1:1 orifice really helped.   Be nice if Adams included the 1.1 orifice for those of us with the smaller units.

 

But I just grabbed a tip off Amazon which comes with one of those little pads that go inside the gun too.

[RayS]

On 3/28/2024 at 8:48 AM, rrmccabe said:

so switching to the 1:1 orifice really helped

The 1.1 orifice arrive and I had to test it out and the results were rather impressive.  It does make me wonder why it is an included option, especially how inexpensive it was and I did buy in bulk.   I appreciate the note in the forum and I'm sure it help others.

[rrmccabe]

Glad it worked out for you Ray.

 

I was quite surprised the difference in thickness in foam. With the 1.1 the foam hung around a lot longer and really has made me rethink the potential wash process.

 

Rich

[Marshall]

20 hours ago, rrmccabe said:

Glad it worked out for you Ray.

 

I was quite surprised the difference in thickness in foam. With the 1.1 the foam hung around a lot longer and really has made me rethink the potential wash process.

 

Rich

Rich, what you and Ray are seeing makes sense totally. I'm surprised it's not an option on the cannon? Lots of people are using the smaller PW's