DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
- 4,600
- 2,372
When the MTM PF22 Foam Cannon hit the market a number of years ago, it instantly became the industry benchmark. The blend of performance, quality construction and durability won many friends across both professional and enthusiast users.
Several key factors set it apart from the competition -
- Ability to spray vertical and horizontal
- Reduced soap consumption without degradation of foam quality
- Spare parts backup, including rebuild kits, replacement filters, bottles and pickup tubes
- High quality HPDE plastic bottle
- Premium nickel-plated brass foam cannon body
- Made in Italy
But like any product, there was room for improvement. The earliest versions of the PF22 had a sexy looking bottle……………that would tip over if not completely full of liquid. MTM partially addressed this with the 22.2 update, the bottle reshaped to be wider at the bottom to prevent it tipping over. And yet…………………..it still tipped over when empty. This stems from the heft and bulk of the FP22 cannon body, which is much chunkier than key rivals.
Another irk was the lack of a wide mouth bottle to make filling easier. I will say, I never had a wide mouth bottle foam cannon, so I have always managed with the FP22.2’s narrow opening. The key to success was to fill the bottle with water first, then add the soap at the end. There were also complaints of the plastic bottle not threading nicely with the brass foam cannon body, although I have never really had much problem.
MTM knew they had to respond to the onslaught of newer competition sporting wide mouth bottles. With the latest update to the PF22.2, MTM have redesigned the bottle to have a wide mouth and a bayonet fitting. Retooling for a new foam cannon body would have been very expensive, so MTM designed a plastic adaptor to mate the old brass body to the new bottle. Some have complained that this is a half-assed approach but take a look at the competition……………they are doing the same thing. My only concern would be the durability of the bayonet fitting.
In addition to offering the complete foam cannon with the new bottle design and weighted pickup filter, MTM also sell a retrofit kit that includes the new bottle and adaptor plate. This is a clever move because rather than having to spend big on the complete foam cannon, it allows users of the older design to upgrade their existing unit. This kit will also fit other non-MTM foam cannons.
With three fully functioning foam cannons myself, I have converted all to this new wide mouth arrangement.
The black plastic adaptor is screwed onto the existing foam cannon body, nipping it up using firm pressure. I have seen the video where an additional rubber o-ring was fitted here to provide added threads for a tighter fit, but I really don't see the need. The adaptor is slotted to accept the tabs molded into the new bottle, which is then secured with an audible click.
The adaptor also has a rubber o-ring to provide a leak proof seal.
Old foam cannon given a new lease on life...................
Now, I have seen video's of the new setup where the user was complaining about the bayonet fitting, in particular unscrewing the foam cannon body from the adaptor by accident instead of unlocking the bottle. All I can say to that is they are doing it wrong. If you hold the black plastic adaptor and not the foam cannon body when turning, the bottle is easily attached and removed.
From what I can see, if you order the complete foam cannon, MTM now include a weighted pickup tube. This addition helps maintain foaming when the bottle is low on solution and used at certain angles. However, this was not sent with my retrofit kits. I actually had a spare Kwazar weighted filter on hand and attached it to the existing tube, which worked very well. For US customers, I see MTM Veloci now sell the weighted filter separately, along with additional bottles.
There are three main areas' where this new bottle design shines -
- Naturally, filling the container is now a breeze.
- Rinsing the bottle out at the end was considerably easier, with far less reactivation and the ability to properly remove all of the remaining soap residue owing to the ability to dump the contents quickly.
- The bayonet fitting is quicker to operate than screwing the bottle on and off like before (and other wide mouth foam cannons). You also eliminate the possibility of cross threading the brass foam cannon body against the plastic threads on the bottle.
Overall, I'm more impressed with the updated FP22.2 foam cannon that I had expected! After seeing a lot of negative media and comments on the new unit, my anticipation had been somewhat dampened. But I can also see why MTM went the route they chose with the updates, the actual foam cannon itself performed brilliantly, so a complete redesign was not needed. What they have delivered is an improvement on the original, helping it to function better. I also like that the retrofit kit is relatively cheap to update a current unit.
Several key factors set it apart from the competition -
- Ability to spray vertical and horizontal
- Reduced soap consumption without degradation of foam quality
- Spare parts backup, including rebuild kits, replacement filters, bottles and pickup tubes
- High quality HPDE plastic bottle
- Premium nickel-plated brass foam cannon body
- Made in Italy
But like any product, there was room for improvement. The earliest versions of the PF22 had a sexy looking bottle……………that would tip over if not completely full of liquid. MTM partially addressed this with the 22.2 update, the bottle reshaped to be wider at the bottom to prevent it tipping over. And yet…………………..it still tipped over when empty. This stems from the heft and bulk of the FP22 cannon body, which is much chunkier than key rivals.
Another irk was the lack of a wide mouth bottle to make filling easier. I will say, I never had a wide mouth bottle foam cannon, so I have always managed with the FP22.2’s narrow opening. The key to success was to fill the bottle with water first, then add the soap at the end. There were also complaints of the plastic bottle not threading nicely with the brass foam cannon body, although I have never really had much problem.
MTM knew they had to respond to the onslaught of newer competition sporting wide mouth bottles. With the latest update to the PF22.2, MTM have redesigned the bottle to have a wide mouth and a bayonet fitting. Retooling for a new foam cannon body would have been very expensive, so MTM designed a plastic adaptor to mate the old brass body to the new bottle. Some have complained that this is a half-assed approach but take a look at the competition……………they are doing the same thing. My only concern would be the durability of the bayonet fitting.
In addition to offering the complete foam cannon with the new bottle design and weighted pickup filter, MTM also sell a retrofit kit that includes the new bottle and adaptor plate. This is a clever move because rather than having to spend big on the complete foam cannon, it allows users of the older design to upgrade their existing unit. This kit will also fit other non-MTM foam cannons.
With three fully functioning foam cannons myself, I have converted all to this new wide mouth arrangement.
The black plastic adaptor is screwed onto the existing foam cannon body, nipping it up using firm pressure. I have seen the video where an additional rubber o-ring was fitted here to provide added threads for a tighter fit, but I really don't see the need. The adaptor is slotted to accept the tabs molded into the new bottle, which is then secured with an audible click.
The adaptor also has a rubber o-ring to provide a leak proof seal.
Old foam cannon given a new lease on life...................
Now, I have seen video's of the new setup where the user was complaining about the bayonet fitting, in particular unscrewing the foam cannon body from the adaptor by accident instead of unlocking the bottle. All I can say to that is they are doing it wrong. If you hold the black plastic adaptor and not the foam cannon body when turning, the bottle is easily attached and removed.
From what I can see, if you order the complete foam cannon, MTM now include a weighted pickup tube. This addition helps maintain foaming when the bottle is low on solution and used at certain angles. However, this was not sent with my retrofit kits. I actually had a spare Kwazar weighted filter on hand and attached it to the existing tube, which worked very well. For US customers, I see MTM Veloci now sell the weighted filter separately, along with additional bottles.
There are three main areas' where this new bottle design shines -
- Naturally, filling the container is now a breeze.
- Rinsing the bottle out at the end was considerably easier, with far less reactivation and the ability to properly remove all of the remaining soap residue owing to the ability to dump the contents quickly.
- The bayonet fitting is quicker to operate than screwing the bottle on and off like before (and other wide mouth foam cannons). You also eliminate the possibility of cross threading the brass foam cannon body against the plastic threads on the bottle.
Overall, I'm more impressed with the updated FP22.2 foam cannon that I had expected! After seeing a lot of negative media and comments on the new unit, my anticipation had been somewhat dampened. But I can also see why MTM went the route they chose with the updates, the actual foam cannon itself performed brilliantly, so a complete redesign was not needed. What they have delivered is an improvement on the original, helping it to function better. I also like that the retrofit kit is relatively cheap to update a current unit.
