What is wrong with my foam cannon?!

choijw2

choijw2

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So.... I was working on this car.... Really dirty, never seen this much tar build up on a car before (I will post in show and shine when I'm done)

Anyways I pulled my karcher out and set my foam cannon with CG citrus wash. It was giving me really thick foam and by the time I cover the half of car with foam bath..... My cannon starts shooting nothing but water while bottle is still half way filled.

I wondered if something was wrong with this soap so I dumped left overs and made new batch with Mckeeys Xtreme.... Same result, shooting nothing but water even at full bottle.


I got this new cannon last weekend.... What is happening ?!
 
Make sure the straw inside of the product bottle is not clogged or blocked by debris.
 
Could just be defective...

If it were older I would say it is the strainer inside the nozzle (the thing that aerates the soap/water to make the foam). It looks like a cylinder of steel wool and it can get clogged from leaving soap in the unit for extended periods of time.
 
It seems as something either the aerator or the tube is clogged. As the others have said.
 
I saw one once with a split in the side of the tube at the top. It was just sucking air, no soap was ever getting up to the head.

Pull the plastic tube off and turn it around, if it now pulls soap up the tube is defective and you should send it back. Or maybe the mfg can just send you a new tube. However my friend just found and used a straw that fit.
 
I got this about 3 weeks ago and used it every weekend.

Urgggg
 
Dang.... I am known for unlucky btw....

After 3 uses... It clogs up lol
 
The link I posted seems to be for an old version.

The link Bobby B posted has instructions for the current version.

I took mine apart and cleaned the plug although it didnt really look dirty. It seems like it would never dry out or be easily flushed without full disassembly each time. Which would be a PITA.

I like this concept but mine has never worked quite like I've seen in videos. I'll see if it has improved after cleaning when its not 100F+ out
 
Took a 7/8th and inch (i think) wrench and some attitude.... and leverage

Put the inch wrench flat while its attached (on bench or lap) and hold the brass section steady

Position the 7/8 so you leverage down to break it loose
 
Omg I tried all evening yesterday and still no movement...

Might as well order new one.... Why do I have to go through this only after 2 use....
 
choijw2 said:
Omg I tried all evening yesterday and still no movement...

Might as well order new one.... Why do I have to go through this only after 2 use....
Click to expand...

I have been through this before - I doubt your foam cannon is bad.

But, I can almost guarantee you what is bad - your adapter that attaches the cannon to the Karcher gun.

Now, I can't tell from your pics if you have the plastic adapter or the brass adapter for the Karcher wand. I'm pretty sure if it's a Karcher K series pressure washer, most likely you have the plastic adapter.

What I'm going to tell you I know is 200% correct for the plastic Karcher K series adapter, it may or may not apply to the brass one - but I'm guessing it does.

When you look at the black plastic adapter, it looks like just a hollow tube adapter...But, it is not...

Inside of the adapter, there are little do-dads. I can't remember if there are 2 pieces or 3...

But, I know there is a little plastic straw looking think held in by an O-ring. If this O-ring becomes dislodged, the plastic straw can come out. The o ring is inside the adapter and is just held in by friction.

Either way, if this happens, the foam cannon will spray nothing but water. Ask me how I know...

I'm 99% sure this is your problem.

There is nothing really to break in a foam cannon, and it's very unlikely it could clog after 2 uses.

The only other possibility I can see is the suction straw is loose or split - but I'm guessing you checked this since it would be pretty obvious.
 
CanyonCarver said:
mines a karcher adapter too

I'll look at that part.

Good advice ty
Click to expand...

There is no doubt that you have a piece of debris somewhere in the unit. Remove the brass end piece which contains the wire strainer. Once that is off, take a piece of wire and jam it through the tubes, end to end and all the way through. You most likely have a clog on the input side of the injector, which is located directly behind the middle squared-off brass piece in the middle. You may go as far as removing this if you wish, but that will require a full dismantling of each part which is more work than necessary. I would do the wire procedure referenced above prior to a full tear-down.
 
Optntdr13 said:
There is no doubt that you have a piece of debris somewhere in the unit. Remove the brass end piece which contains the wire strainer. Once that is off, take a piece of wire and jam it through the tubes, end to end and all the way through. You most likely have a clog on the input side of the injector, which is located directly behind the middle squared-off brass piece in the middle. You may go as far as removing this if you wish, but that will require a full dismantling of each part which is more work than necessary. I would do the wire procedure referenced above prior to a full tear-down.
Click to expand...

I failed to mention above, once you have the strainer part removed, check for "daylight," end-to-end. A failure to observe the aforementioned "light" will be indicative of the problem I referenced above re:debris.
 
I am having a similar problem, also after 3 uses. Mine will weakly shoot a watery soap that comes out steaming hot. I don't think it's my pressure washer because my other attachments work just fine. I will try to clean mine but I don't think it should need it after having it for 2 weeks and using it 3 times.
 
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