Foam Cannons

[Mazman]

I am very very happy with my MJJC Pro v2(not the S variant) and the fact that I got it for 50USD just makes it even better . Got some extra bottles as well. It uses a bit more foam than e.g. a MT22 but in my opinion much thicker and richer foam. Also it has a wide opening that makes the pouring of chemical/water easy.

I would get it over the S V3 only because of the shape of the bottle and that it can stand up with the gun attached to it. Even tough it is stated that it is wider now on the S3.

I run it with my Kränzle 1152tst and my Suttner gun. I do run a different quick release setup which in my opinion is much sturdier than the "popular" setup most folks are running. Running with KEW quick connects a bit more expensive but in my opinion better.

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[DFB5.0]

I'm dipping my toes down into this rabbit hole of foam cannons.

Now the Foam Cannon conundrum!

Had almost decided on the MTM Hydro PF22.2 along with the SGS28 spray gun.
The only turn offs with MTM are the narrow neck and metal on plastic thread.

Are these a real problem for casual use, or just a perceived problem?

And then I discover MJJC are on the cusp of releasing a new V3 foam cannon, taking pre-orders expected to ship 1st week of January (in Australia at least).

https://mjjc.com.au/products/mjjc-f...k-connect-pressure-washer-snow-foam-lance-gun



I dunno, the new MJJC v3 just has a "cheap Chinese" look about it.

First world problems continue.

The narrow bottle opening is a bit of a pain, but once you have a routine/technique in place, the excellence overall of the FP22.2 still shines through. There are a few different ways to fill the bottle -

- Add the soap to the bottle first, then submerge it in your rinse bucket to fill to the desired water level.

- Use a screw on funnel
Perfect Pour Screw-On Funnel | Chemical Guys Store
ausprodetailing.com.au/products/threaded-funnel
Adam's EZ-Fill Threaded Funnel Funnel : Amazon.com.au: Kitchen & Dining

- Fill the bottle with the required water level, then top it off with the soap quantity. This is how I do it.

In either case, once you have foamed, any remaining solution I pour into my soap bucket. While I don't have much issue with this, there has been some suggestion that soap solution left in the bottle for a period of time can cause the minerals in the water to attack the soap and reduce its foaming ability. That will depend on the hardness of your water. In any case, I just dump it out so as to start fresh each time.

The plastic on metal connection is not something to worry about, I have two PF22's cycling through multiple bottles and have not has an issue in the nearly 4 years of use.

As for the MJJC, the one you have posted does indeed look a bit tacky. Although it's good to see a weighted pickup tube, something the MTM doesn't have.

Personally, I would be going the MTM, buy once cry once and all.

I'd also look at the following -

- While I don't love Autoglym products, their foam cannon is the exception. It has the wide mouth bottle and a decent looking head.
Autoglym Polar Blaster Foam Cannon – Waxit Car Care
Autoglym Polar Blaster Foam Gun - AURPBKIT - Autoglym | Repco Australia

- BAR Wide Base Foam Cannon
BAR Wide Base Pressure Washer Foam Cannon – The Detail Store

- Clean Skin Foam Cannon
CleanSkin Snow Foam Lance Plus – The Detail Store

- Maxshine Snow Master
Maxshine Snow Master Foam -Fittings are pre installed (detailingshed.com.au)

- I'd avoid the Bowden's foam cannon, I have seen the bottle crack around the neck on multiple examples. Bowden's are apparently good with replacing the bottle free of charge, but that would be a needless hassle in my opinion.
Bowden's Own Snow Blow Cannon | Supercheap Auto

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

If you are just doing your personal vehicle there’s no need to buy a hundred dollar foam cannon and a thousand dollar pressure washer. I’ve had an electric 2000, psi washer and a $30 foam cannon for a few years with zero issues. The washer has at least 200 hours of run time on it and my cannon foams very good. It’s your money but for the weekly wash and for personal use it’s overkill buying. You do it for a living that’s different. It’s like comparing craftsman to snap on tools. Quality isn’t even close but for a backyard mechanic snap on is not needed when craftsman will do the same job for 75% of the cost.

 

[dusman59]

If you are just doing your personal vehicle there’s no need to buy a hundred dollar foam cannon and a thousand dollar pressure washer. I’ve had an electric 2000, psi washer and a $30 foam cannon for a few years with zero issues. The washer has at least 200 hours of run time on it and my cannon foams very good. It’s your money but for the weekly wash and for personal use it’s overkill buying. You do it for a living that’s different. It’s like comparing craftsman to snap on tools. Quality isn’t even close but for a backyard mechanic snap on is not needed when craftsman will do the same job for 75% of the cost.

I like your idea but you don't say anything about what you are exactly using.Links would be nice. I am using a garden sprayer which is ok but am looking for something better. Here in AZ its mostly dust I have to deal with. We went 110 days without rain so the cars stay fairly clean.

 

[Dena]

Something missing and that's how to get a car to dry spot free. The water here is hard, about 20 grains and it tends to be alkaline. I could install a sodium water softener but because the water is recycled, I hate to add any more minerals to it as that makes the waste water less desirable. I also know there are small units that use replaceable cartilages but they would probably be exhausted quickly. In addition, the air is dry and unless you work early in the morning or late at night, you don't have much time to towel dry the car.
In photograph we use wetting solutions which are a soapy solution that breaks the surface tension allowing the water to run off the film. You dip the film in a diluted solution and hang them up to dry.
Car washes use air blowers to remove the water before it has a chance to spot however that is a little impractical for home use.
Fortunately I don't have to use the well water at work. It has about 6 times the mineral content of what I have at home so it really spots. While it's safe to drink, we don't advise anyone do it and we provide bottled water to anyone in our office area.
Any good ideas on a simple way to have the cars dry spot free?

 

[dusman59]

Even with a water softener you will still get some spots. I always do wheels and tires first which is the opposite of the way I did back east because how things will dry on the paint first here. I use a yard blower and rinse using the flow method. I still need to use a good detailer spray to do touch up areas. Early mornings or late evenings are the only way you have a chance of success. And you can use a plant sprinkler can filled with denatured water as a final rinse. It really helps.

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

I like your idea but you don't say anything about what you are exactly using.Links would be nice. I am using a garden sprayer which is ok but am looking for something better. Here in AZ its mostly dust I have to deal with. We went 110 days without rain so the cars stay fairly clean.

I’ve been using green works pressures for awhile. I’ll post some pics when I have time this weekend. I’ve recently switched to a different foam cannon and I like it so far. Only have a half a dozen uses on it but so far so good. I got rid of my other cannon a few months back and I probably had a few hundred uses on it.

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

Something missing and that's how to get a car to dry spot free. The water here is hard, about 20 grains and it tends to be alkaline. I could install a sodium water softener but because the water is recycled, I hate to add any more minerals to it as that makes the waste water less desirable. I also know there are small units that use replaceable cartilages but they would probably be exhausted quickly. In addition, the air is dry and unless you work early in the morning or late at night, you don't have much time to towel dry the car.
In photograph we use wetting solutions which are a soapy solution that breaks the surface tension allowing the water to run off the film. You dip the film in a diluted solution and hang them up to dry.
Car washes use air blowers to remove the water before it has a chance to spot however that is a little impractical for home use.
Fortunately I don't have to use the well water at work. It has about 6 times the mineral content of what I have at home so it really spots. While it's safe to drink, we don't advise anyone do it and we provide bottled water to anyone in our office area.
Any good ideas on a simple way to have the cars dry spot free?

Using a water softener doesn’t add minerals to the water, it removes them. The water goes through a media of resin beads or whatever they are using and the salt is used to flush the minerals out of the media when it regenerates itself or you regenerate it to rid the minerals from the media. That is unless you are describing a softener system that I am not familiar with.

 

[Dena]

Using a water softener doesn’t add minerals to the water, it removes them. The water goes through a media of resin beads or whatever they are using and the salt is used to flush the minerals out of the media when it regenerates itself or you regenerate it to rid the minerals from the media. That is unless you are describing a softener system that I am not familiar with.

That's correct with one exception. The minerals, normally calcium in this part of the country are replaced with sodium. When you regenerate the resin, you drive the calcium out of the resin and put the sodium back in it. The complaint I have is the brine you use to regenerate isn't all used so it adds salt to the waste water when you regenerate. It wasn't an issue when I lived in California as it all ended up in the ocean but as I said, here it's recycled and they don't have a way to remove minerals.
Anyway, that's why soft water works so well. Calcium bind with the soap making it less effective. Sodium doesn't so a little soap goes a very long way. I would also have the same issue if a septic take was used. Reverse osmosis doesn't have that problem but it's production is so slow and wasteful that it's not a good option.

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

That's correct with one exception. The minerals, normally calcium in this part of the country are replaced with sodium. When you regenerate the resin, you drive the calcium out of the resin and put the sodium back in it. The complaint I have is the brine you use to regenerate isn't all used so it adds salt to the waste water when you regenerate. It wasn't an issue when I lived in California as it all ended up in the ocean but as I said, here it's recycled and they don't have a way to remove minerals.
Anyway, that's why soft water works so well. Calcium bind with the soap making it less effective. Sodium doesn't so a little soap goes a very long way. I would also have the same issue if a septic take was used. Reverse osmosis doesn't have that problem but it's production is so slow and wasteful that it's not a good option.

I see what you are saying. That makes sense

 

[Dena]

I see what you are saying. That makes sense

College industrial chemistry. It was an interesting class because we learned about every day chemistry. Resins in water softeners were interesting because they take up whatever is the majority chemical. When they recharge, sodium forces the calcium out. When softening, they take up calcium and give up sodium. Eventually the resin fails and needs to be replaced but you can get a lot of cycles out of it before that happens.

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

We never delved into that but we did use a water softener years ago. It lasted us 10 years but our well water wasn’t that hard. Maybe 10 on the scale if I remember which was just barely more hard than the city water. We only went through maybe 5-6 bags of salt a year

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

Here is the foam that I get with my setup. This was a little thicker than I like but it’s easily adjustable by the amount of soap added. I’m using a new soap and it definitely foams up and it is super slick.

 

[5.0ALM]

FYI...

Battle of the Best Snow Foams for Foam Cannons!

Battle of the Best Snow Foams for Foam Cannons!
Are you ready for the ultimate snow foam battle?
Join me as I put eight of the most popular car wash foams to the test in this foam cannon showdown!
From price and scent to foam thickness, dilution ease, rinsing capability and overall value - we’ve got it all covered.

 

[5.0ALM]

I had all but decided on a Griot's Garage BF302 Boss foam cannon, primarily because of the stainless steel manifold and the bottle's profile.

Then!
I discover GG do not ship internationally.

What is it with some of these American companies that won't ship outside of the USA?
Why is it that hard?
Rhetorical questions.

The MTM is also worthy 1st choice, and the updated wide mouth bottle option would be an obvious no-brainer choice for an existing MTM owner, but I started looking at the MJJC Pro V2.

Which is now sold out (on MJJC Australia).

I am very very happy with my MJJC Pro v2(not the S variant) ...

I would get it over the S V3 only because of the shape of the bottle and that it can stand up with the gun attached to it. Even tough it is stated that it is wider now on the S3.

And for this reason ^^^.
Wide mouth and wide(r) bottle base.

I did watch an IMJOSHV video recently discussing the [upcoming] MJJC Pro V3 foam cannon.



He alludes to a November 2023 availability.
Obviously this never happened.

I emailed MJJC Australia yesterday (Saturday evening) inquiring availability of the Pro V3, and to my surprise, got a response back not long after.

Hi Adam,

Greetings from MJJC Australia and thank you for getting in-touch.

The Pro V3 was scheduled to be launched by 2nd Quarter of 2024 but has been delayed.
We do not have any indication on its launch date yet.

As for the S V3 which we currently have available, they share the same foam lance system as the Pro V2 with some design updates predominantly on its Quick screw cap which requires only 3/4 of a circle turn to tighten or remove the foam cannon lance cap from the bottle.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Team MJJC Australia

The Pro V3 sounds like it will have a stainless manifold.
Good, like the GG BF302 that I can't buy.

The bottle profile is like the V2.
Hopefully it is opaque to some extent.
Although clear, the S V3 bottle just looks cheap and nasty.

Wide mouth quick-release bottle like the S V3, and the updated MTM bottle - good.

If the MJJC Pro V3 has failed to appear down under by June, I'll get the GG BF302 when I'm working in the USA in June.

Yes, I know, 1st world problems.

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