Griot's Garage Foam Cannon v2 experiences

[irvsmith]

I saw an advertisement for the Foam Cannon v2 and was excited at the prospect of not having to manually mix the solution. In retrospect this doesn't seem like that big of an issue. After trying a variety of suggestions from customer service who were very responsive and pleasant to work with I think I will be returning it and going for the PF-22 instead. I am posting some of my experiences in the hopes they might help the next person who buys the cannon.

Initially I got the cannon but then found out that the quick connect provided does not work with my Greenworks 1500 PSI 13 Amp 1.2 GPM Pressure Washer GPW1501. I had to go to Home Depot to get a replacement 1/4” quick connect. The threads of this replacement quick connect do not seem to line up completely with the threads within the cannon. As a result it is quite difficult to get it to be securely connected without having it spray water back at me. I finally used a wrench to get it to connect it but am nervous about damaging the threads in the cannon should I wish to go back to another quick connect.

I filled the reservoir with only Foaming Surface Wash and did not seem to get the level of foam I was expecting. It was more like a milk bath that did not stay on the paint very long. I then found out that to take advantage of the auto-mixing feature you use a 35 ounce bottle from GG and the reservoir is just for manual mixing. This is outlined in the manual but just didn't get that from the advertisements. The cannon uses metering tips at the end of the intake tube to control the amount of solution to enter the tube. There are three colors - one for gas powered washers, one for electric washers, and one which supposedly just provides the full foam experience. I swapped out the colored tip to the purple (electric washers) from the aqua (full foam) and didn’t seem to have a dramatic difference in output. I inserted the steel smaller orifice provided with the cannon with no real discernible improvement.

Lastly I read on the included that manual that in order to not have damage to the cannon you should end your washing with filling the reservoir with water so you can clear out the mechanism of any soap. On the surface this seems totally reasonable to expect - I am just finding that it is a bit challenging for me as a weekend warrior. The challenge comes from I fill the reservoir with the mixed solution. I wash the car. Afterwards I have to empty the remaining mixed solution into something else, filling it with water from the hose which is still connected to the pressure washer and so it was a bit tricky to fill it without creating a bunch of suds, reconnecting the reservoir, running the cannon for a bit to clear out the cannon, disconnect the reservoir and pour back in the mixed solution for the next washing.

To simplify this process I ended up buying some additional GG spray on wash and emptying it into my gallon container. I then washed it out with water and this way I could connect it to foam cannon after I finish washing the car and run water through the cannon without having to use the primary reservoir.

In defense of the foam cannon, this last part would be the same for any foam cannon and not just GG.

I did like the overall construction of the cannon. It seems pretty sturdy.

 

[Bruno Soares]

The design is nice, it stands up when not full of liquid. But if you just want one that works great get the MTM. Can’t stand on its own but just plain works. Especially with a 1.1mm orifice when used with low volume pressure washers like yours.

 

[briarpatch]

From what I've hard and read, the changes made to the BOSS cannon are definitely an improvement, but it's still not the PF22. I have a cheapie 20.00 Amazon special, and got a PF22 for Christmas......what a a difference. Maybe the next thing we'll see is a PF22 with a wider base and wider mouth top?

 

[fly07sti]

Ya I hoped it would work better also, but nothing I’ve used can compete with the PF22. I ended just buying extra PF22 bottles to be able to have options.

 

[fly07sti]

When I’m mobile, I take my little greenworks and with the 1.1 orifice in the PF22, it foams great. The soap here is McKee’s prep wash.

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[irvsmith]

Just a follow up - I sent the GG for exchange and hope the replacement works better. I received my PF22 and used it for the first time this afternoon. Here are some photos of the results.

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[SWETM]

IIRC the foaming surface wash is not a shaving cream thick foam when it's used. It's more function with that some of the thicker foam run off and takes the loose bigger dirt off and then is left with a wetting foam for dwell time. And also the shaving cream thick foam is not always what you would want. As it can be a bit heavy and cause it to run off too fast. So with the most prewash foam it's a sweet spot where the foam is not too thick and not too runny. This comes from when you have used the foam of choice for some time. Also if you have a very hydrophobic surface and you experience it to run off too fast. Look at the dirtier parts where you useally see the foam cling on better. Which is what you look for from a prewash foam at least. It's a little different when want to use it to foam on the car soap for touching washes. But if you measure what the setting and the mix of the car soap and water in the foamcannon bottle is for getting it to be the same dilution you have in the wash bucket. You will notice you don't get that crazy thick foam. And some car soap with a stronger dilution than the recommended one in a wash bucket will be harsh on some LSP and also can get it to be harder to rinse it clean off too. Then if you have hard water it can also be impact on the foaming ability. One tips that I useally do when dilute it in the foamcannon is to use warm water.

Also if you want to be certain to get the right dilution from the PW and foamcannon. You would be doing a measure on how much your setup dilute with the foamcannon on. This is different from PW to PW and the different foamcannons. It can be translate into oz but is easier to do the math in the metric system. Or we can try it with oz.
First I set the chemical mix setting on the foamcannon to max chemical output setting.
Then fill the foamcannon bottle with 10oz of water.
Spray into a bucket until the 10oz of water is empty and stop. Measure the total oz of water you have gotten in the bucket. It should be somewhere from 120oz to 250oz. Say you get 200oz then divided with 10oz you have your PW dilute it 1:20 On the highest chemical mix setting on the foamcannon. So take Meguiars Hyper Wash where the ready to use dilution is 1:400 IIRC. You would dilute it 1:20 in the foamcannon bottle and then max chemical output setting from the foamcannon. Say you would dilute it 1:5 in the foamcannon bottle and then max chemical output setting. You would have a dilution of 1:100 on Megs HW. So many does dilute car soap and prewash foam way to high mostly to actually be LSP safe. The chemical mix setting on the foamcannon often goes in between 1:20 to 1:60. So even on the lowest chemical mix setting on the foamcannon with 1:5 HW you have a dilution on the vehical of 1:300. This is also why the dedicated prewash foams foam better than the car soaps in their recommended dilution of use. This is also good to know what dilution your foamcannon and PW has as the dilution is often written in the solution that you have on the vehical. Cause there are often difference in the dilution of the different foamcannon and PW gives you. We had a tech savvy guy on a domestic forum that did an app for us on Android to help us get the right dilution from the foams we use. As long as you know what dilution your foamcannon has and the wanted dilution on the paint it gives you the dilution in the foamcannon bottle. Saves me some headache LOL. And also here you can see a difference to the dilution from the cheaper foamcannons and the kind like PF 22 for an example. Where the cheaper foamcannons is often dilution 1:12 up to 1:17 and the more knowned brands 1:15- 1:20. Also here is depending on the specs on the PW and what orifice in the foamcannon you have.

 

[irvsmith]

Thanks @SWETM! Says as I bow down - “I am not worthy.” That takes the foaming process to a whole new level for me. Thanks for the detailed response.


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[fly07sti]

Did you put the 1.1 orifice in it?

 

[irvsmith]

Did you put the 1.1 orifice in it?

Yes.


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[fly07sti]

Interesting. I will use the Griots Foam wash soon and take some pics to see how it looks with my set up.

 

[irvsmith]

It was quite an improvement in my book from what I was experiencing with the GG foam cannon 2.


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[irvsmith]

As a follow up - Here is the GG surface wash with the replacement GG foam cannon, 1.1mm orifice, auto mixing function with purple tip. After foaming and after a few minutes dwell. In person the initial foaming was thicker than it appears in the images.

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[Coatingsarecrack]

Just a follow up - I sent the GG for exchange and hope the replacement works better. I received my PF22 and used it for the first time this afternoon. Here are some photos of the results.

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What soap is this?


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[bob m]

What soap is this?


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As a follow up - Here is the GG surface wash with the replacement GG foam cannon, 1.1mm orifice, auto mixing function with purple tip. After foaming and after a few minutes dwell. In person the initial foaming was thicker than it appears in the images.

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

I tried surface prep with PBMG foam booster I got as a sample and it gave it a good amount more thickness.

Used it with pf22 and ryobi 2300 psi 1.2 gpm pressure washer. Might


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[fly07sti]

Here is my most recent experience using GG Surface Wash in my PF22 and my little Greenworks PW. 2oz of soap.

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[Coatingsarecrack]

That’s about what I get with no foam booster with my 1.2 gpm ryobi. Does a good job


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[SWETM]

I like how the Surface Wash seems to cling on great. Do you guys see the run off part from the foam too on the ground? As I understand it it's a 2 part foam that 1 layer run off easier and the 2 part leaves a thinner wet foam left. This is useally very effective to have on for a long dwell time without it to dry on the paint. It's also useally makes a big difference in the cleaning ability when you have it to dwell as long as possible on dirtier vehicals.

 

[Belo]

i have a power washer but didn't when i bought my foam gun years ago. the results are adequate just using megs gold class. What's the advantage of using a pressure washer to apply foaming soap, given that you're really just looking to cover the car with foam, and can someone convince me that it's worth the gas, setup and cleanup to use my pressure washer and spend the $100 on the cannon?

hobbyist only here