Bloody brilliant video Specky as someone who has multiple lances and get mixed results with foams I’m going to be testing my BigBoi pro lance before I hit record again MJJC lances eat foam in seconds the BigBoi one doesn’t and the lances very mixed results well done Sir 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
What can I say Professor? You’ve taken one of the most ‘taken for granted’ accessories and explained fundamental errors that so many of us are guilty of. Fantastic delivery, easy to follow and understand. Nailed it 👍
OMG! Your are my hero of the day! - So much (for me) VERY important information, you DO NOT GET from ANY other on youtube! And those informations is vital! I am a new high pressure owner, and have zero knowledge what is good, what is not etc. Today, I will try to figure out what I need to buy in form of foam cannon or whatever they are named, but also what foam brand I have to buy. Thank you so much for all this extreme vital information! - Greetings from Denmark. All the best to you and yours, and all the nice people here reading this.
Per, thank you so much for your comment. I'm absolutely delighted that you found the video useful and I'm happy to answer any more questions you might have along your journey. All the best 🤓👍🏻
Congratulations on an ace video Professor McSporran. I'd tried the empty the reservoir into my wash bucket procedure before and scared myself silly on the quantity of product I required. From following your explanation it turns out I hadn't used the maximum flow rate. Following your instructions I filled, displaced and measured the capacity of my foam reservoir. I had never given it a thought but it turns out my 1 litre graduated holder actually only holds 900ml. Hmm. Long story short : I previously used 100ml in 1litre which produced poor foam and used the full litre each wash. Now I get good foam using 450ml in 900ml and emptied only half the reservoir. That was good old Bilt Hamber. Next time it's Garage Therapy. I've still to check their PIR. Thanks again Speccy. Cheers John
I already know most of this, however I have not seen a more thorough and, at the same time, easy to understand exploration of the the subject! Great video, well done!
Great vid mate , I’ve just done one of me bikes with a new autobrite lance an foam I shoved it in Willie nillie an needless to say I may as well of tipped it down the grid complete anti climax and I’d built meself up for great things was ready to sling the thing up the yard !!!! So will take on board what you’ve shown Thankyou Trev
THANK YOU! I knew it…I knew these dilution ratios didn’t make sense! SCIENCE! I don’t need an upgrade or some “hack” to make thicker foam. You are awesome 👏🏼
Well explained. I think a lot of people completely forget that water pressure and flow rate through the pressure washer has an impact and just focus on the lance itself. Having said that I generally just go 50/50 with BH Autofoam in my MJJC V2 as I know it's roughly the correct PIR. I get the results I want and it saves a lot of time not having to be precise to get exactly 4%.
Very informative and well presented video Specky! I really like using the Griot's BOSS foam cannon system. It takes all the guess work out of it. With the foam cannon, you can connect the chemical bottles directly to the foam cannon (as you can with others of course) but the thing I like it those innovative metering tips they came up with. It disperses the product directly with the water so no pre-mixing. You would think it would use a lot more product, but actually it uses less and SAVES product. You can still mix solution in the provided bottle if you are using something other than griot's chemicals and you need to dilute it via the manufacturers recommendations, but, you can also directly hook up a lot of other manufacturers bottles directly to the BOSS cannon also and those metering tips work perfectly dispensing those chemicals too! It's a fantastic system. I think you might have showcased the BOSS system previously on your channel? I can't remember. Either way, great job, you really brought up some interesting points, especially on how diluted product doesn't come out of the end of the cannon as the same dilution ratio as you mixed, it's much more diluted once mixed with the water flowing through the cannon. The metering tips might work with the MJJC Pro Foam Cannon also but they would have to be purchased separately from Griot's Garage web site. I thought I watched a previous video somewhere (maybe here?) that someone showed those Griot's metering tips being placed into the metal ball at the end of the pick up tube for the MJJC Pro. I am pretty sure that MJJC makes the BOSS Foam Cannon for Griot's. They look VERY similar and some of the parts look identical. And MJJC also have the inner barrel on the PRO for hooking up bottles directly but without the threading that the Griot's BOSS has that holds the bottle onto the cannon itself so you can't use it like the BOSS system cannon. Griot's may have had some "exclusive" deal with them (or maybe even a patent on that feature) that only THEY can have that inner thread and outer "dual" thread design for the supplied bottle or for hooking up other bottles directly. MJJC also have the same metal ball at the end of the pick up tube that allows it to fall anywhere and pick up product no matter how it's turned. And the same soft (but durable) pick up tube also. Great information on PIR too! That really showcases that most of us have never used the right dilution ratio's! LOL. I have never done a PIR and didn't even know what it was until about six months ago watching Jon at The Forensic Detailing Channel. I would tend to put more soap in the cannon anyway, so for me, it may have been closer to the PIR?? It's amazing how much difference there are between not only the quality of the foam cannons available now days and how much differently they perform. If I had one word of advice (for a person who has about 5 foam cannons of various qualities and price range.........just get the GOOD ONE! MTM, MJJC Pro, Griot's BOSS, etc. Just pay the extra money and get a good one. You will not be disappointed. The cheap cannons seem to break or stop working at a much higher rate than the more costly ones. The more costly ones are quite simply a better quality. They cheaper ones work, but they just don't seem to have the foam quality of the more costlier versions. My Griot's has those great features noted above and it's built like a darn tank compared to a cheap one off of Amazon. Will the cheaper ones work? Certainly they will, but for how long? Sometimes not long at all. The only other good advice I could give is clean out your foam cannon after EVERY use! Spray some plain water through the cannon at pressure to rinse it out. Doing that will give almost infinite life to your foam cannon. But for me, still, it's the BOSS cannon with the metering tips so I don't have to worry about dilution ratios and PIR's, etc. The only change might be a different tip to increase or restrict the flow rate slightly for different thickness' of foam. I tend to use the max foam tip in my BOSS cannon. That BOSS cannon does produce the best foam I have ever seen. The only downside is that is it probably the most expensive cannon on the market today, but, you do get a quality cannon for the price. Plus Griot's does sell the cannon and chemicals, and microfiber drying towels as a "kit" for about $169 US dollars. Sounds like a lot, but it's worth it because you get three quality chemicals and a large PFM drying towel too, plus a couple of other products. Griot's also sells replacement filters, internals, repair kits, etc so in the rare chance you did have a problem years down the road, they have it covered so you can get your cannon back to factory fresh! Not many others offer the parts and replacement internals, orifices, etc.
Ahh yet another thing I've been doing wrong..lol excellent video. Looks like I need to add way more BH Auto Foam. This explains why so many people complain about a certain snow foam not being thick enough or too runny.
Keep in mind that more product doesn't equal more foam. The lance you use can be good at delivering product but still produce a thin foam. I'll have more videos about this hopefully soon!
Great video thanks Specky, I recently bought a snow lance from amazon and Autoglym polar blast snow foam. Hoping to use it for the first time this weekend. I’ll check if there’s a recommended dilution ratio and if so use your calculation method to work out what ml I’ll need in the lance’s bottle for the best result. Cheers 👍
Brilliant thank you, why has no one else done this? Its a game changer, to get a descent foam, which i still haven't, ive gone from a £100 jet wash to a karcher k7, still watery foam, then from a £20 cannon to a mjjc v2, still watery foam, all because different brands saying 10 -1, or about an inch. Ive doubled my snow foam and still been watery, so by your calculations im still over diluted, so then you can compare from your basic foams to your high end, thank you so much. Very helpful. Liked and now subscribed.
Honestly it'll depend on multiple factors like water pressure, pressure washer power, flow rate of the foam lance etc. 10:1 is a "general" amount to cover most situations but it's best to work out what you actually need for your own setup, if you care enough about it.
I have just done mine. Im running a karcher k7 and mjjc cannon, i had 12.6 litres of flow rate, although the cannon was opened up fully, i had the karcher on medium setting. I use ez carcare snow foam as a general quick wash at the 10 -1 it advises ( 100ml to 900ml water ) and was runny before i watched this so next time i will get it at its propper dilution, i also use polar blast but that has a giude of 1 in 4 ratio, cant wait to try them both on your advise and work out costs per wash, i have a bmw x6 so its a tiny bit bigger than a fiesta 🤣🤣
Just started using a foam cannon and could not understand why foam seemed thin even tho i used the 1:30 ratio it said on the label... Now i know i need to check what is the full amount of water i need to apply that 1:30 to. Thanks for the help
Brilliant video Dr Specky McSporran. So well explained and informative. I upgraded for the standard Nilfisk lance and Nilfisk Snowfoamer a couple of months ago. The new short trigger and generic in2detailing snowfoam lance is so different to the Nilfisk setup. On my first use I used the same ratio of AutoGlym polar blast as I use to and the difference was night and day. Finally got hold of some garage therapy snowfoam so will do a full PIR checkup/setup. Certainly show how much difference the lance makes and how bad reviews can be miss leading.
Hi speccy! I worked my flow rate out to be 24ltr on by eBay special bottle. 4% PIR worked out at a full 1ltr bottle neet!!! Typically I go at 5:1 in the bottle, making the PIR circa 1.0%. Although I do use the full bottle on 1 car. Thanks for posting the video, Keep up the good work!
Good video, I 1st picked up the importance of PIR and how to work it out from a Detailing & the Beast vid a few years ago but this reinforces the differences and why results vary so much, well done Specky
Thanks for this Specky, I ended up with 13.5 litres in the bucket from my 1ltr Dodo Juice cannon and bigboi combo so if I'm right it dilutes whatever i put in it by around 1 to 12.5 So using BH autofoam diluted to 50% gave me 4% pir and I got decent foam and cleaning👍I wasn't using enough product before☺️
Firstly, awesome video! I wish I knew that like......... 4 years ago, before working with the system I currently use now. I personally sucked at math in school, that's why I just use the Griots Garage Metering tips. There's zero calculations involved, simply pour your favourite product into your snow lance bottle and press the trigger, THAT'S IT! I find that this not only conserves time, but it also conserves on product, as I can now use 1 oz to do a car instead of 3-4 oz to keep the mixture rich to compensate for the slower flow of water. If you haven't already, please do a video demonstrating the differences or similarities between the two. Regards - Dinero
Brilliant, thank you. The thumbnail showed the problem I was having. Explained exactly where I was going wrong and how to fix it. One thing I'm still confused about is how to read the flow rate, as the value quoted in the video are at max setting which typically you would not be using. I have an AVA Smart P60 and the manufacturers quote a flow rate of 6.7L per minute. Isn't this a more important figure, and how would this figure be combined with a product's PIR ratio?
Flow rates are usually based on an unhindered connection i.e. no nozzle on the end of the gun/lance. As you know, running your pressure washer without a nozzle makes a different sound compared to when you have a nozzle fitted. The flow rate of the snowfoam lance is more important as it already accounts for the change it may make to the flow rate coming from the pressure washer. As for the change in flow rate using the dial, this is not something we can measure easily therefore adjustments would be better made to the chemical dilution while running the lance fully open. I hope this helps.
I've heard about it but I don't like the idea of buying two foam products to make a better one. I'd rather use a better single product, but Foam+ could be useful to boost other products like APC etc.
Wow!! What an extremely well explained video! Made so much sense! Absolutely agree, each variation of canon, washer etc etc is different! This was a good watch 🙌
Hi. It is wonderful video. A quick question. When you mentioned to keep the dial wide open, you meant max of water and less of foam liquid from the bottle or is it vice-versa. Thanks.
The bottle with water and snowfoam pre-wash also needs the air from the bottle in order to work correctly, right? So ... I guess the bottle shouldn't get filled completely?
I've been meaning to do this exact thing with my setup but just always bang product in and hope for the best. Going to give it a try next time out and work out exactly what PIR I end up with. I do think if manufacturers use PIR rather than the standard 10.1 then people will have a better experience using the products 👍👍 great video
Thank you, kind Smurf! I do think that companies producing snowfoam for "professional or enthusiast" use should include proper panel impact ratios. I don't have a problem with 10:1 style ratios for general consumer use though.
Great content specky, I use a K2 with the autoglym lance. I use the BH pir ratio witch is 486ml of product with 514ml of soft Scottish water. Only problem for me is that it doesn’t start foaming up till 3 quarters down the bottle. Witch is really annoying, it could be down to the Karcher hose restricting the flow. I have a Screwfix special that is more powerful, and I have modified the QR gun to fit. I have just not tried out on the car yet.
Strange that it doesn't foam straight away. I had that when I first used snowfoam and just kept twiddling the top dial until something changed and there was foam aplenty.
Do you run your K2 for 30 seconds or so before connecting your lance? This blows out any air from the hose and ensures a full bore of water. If you have any air in the hose when you connect your lance it might take a while to properly combine with the product in your bottle.
I've just been doing your flow rate check, and the bucket was getting close to overflowing with only a fraction of the water in the bottle used. So I measured what remained in the bottle and subtracted that from what I started with - and I had used 304ml. There were 34 litres of water in the bucket. That gives a flow rate of 113litres per litres of product, which seems inordinately high compared to figures in your test. The lance is a Stonebank eBay special. Has anyone else found such a high figure ? The pressure washer I'm using claims 150 bar.
Definitely noticed the difference between my eBay special and the detailed online one. Will be looking at the mjjc version 2. My birthday at the end of the month 👍👍👍
I’m only at the start of the video but I presume this video might be about panel impact ratio but I may be wrong , most manufactures don’t tell us this , bilt hamber do and I think it’s crucial as 1 pressure washer and Lance may end up diluting the snow foam with double the water compared to another brand so it won’t work right
This was fascinating, thank you Specky! Fantastic to see the real differences in flow rates between the different lances, especially to see how the MJJC V2 is performing, no wonder that throws up such thick foam, aside from how it aerates the product, it's the volume of product in there! Did you also see that BH state you should get 4 average size cars from a litre of pre-mix solution?
@@SpeckyMcSporran it's post (although a good joke to be made!). The wording on the PIR calculation diagram is "Please note - it is not necessary to use all diluted auto-foam in one wash. One litre of diluted product should last 4-5 washes". I've achieved that before, you need a really wide fan on the lance and you're running around it, barely getting any on it really, it's definitely not a blanket of foam!
@@SpeckyMcSporran I need a winter warrior car that still hasn't been cleaned in order to demonstrate the difference in cleaning ability...but I've done most of my customers now 🙃 One thing I was wondering on the video is where you found in the analytics you had drop off. I skipped from about 2m45s to 6m30s (ish) when you were talking about fan width and orifices (because this isn't nee info for me, it was relevant information for some and glad it was included...but it's hard to make that sort of stuff engaging).
Brand new power washer owner as of about 3 hours ago, so this may not be the smartest question lol but-.. wouldn’t it be potentially worth the effort to “figure out” the correct position of the adjustment screw (and locking down/gluing/marking or whatever) instead of doing a mixture every time? Then you would just put in 100% product and could have the correct end result without having to measure?! I don’t have the real world experience to know if this is feasible, but it will be my first experiment so wish me luck! Lol
I recently bought an Autoglanz Snow Storm, and it looks identical to the MJJC's. I have a Nilfisk Compact 125.7, and thought I might as well use the Nilfisk Snow Foam, but Nilfisk does not state a PIR, just the 1:10 mixing ratio.
Yes very few manufacturers state a PIR, it's something I'd like to see change across the industry. Knowing your own lances flow rate will help you have a better understanding of how it'll impact the effectiveness of your foam.
Great video specky! So.....what about when the instructions say "add 2 inches to the bottle" i switch between bilt hamber autofoam and auto finesse avalanche. I use a mjjc lance which has a similar output to the duel one that you tested,so 400ml of bh to a litre,yet the af avalanche states "2 inches" so with that in mind the bh snowfoam is a more accurate dilution level.....what do you think?
I touched on this in the video but basically only two snowfoam manufacturers actually care that you use their product correctly, the rest just give you a general/average dilution ratio that works for the average Joe. I'd like to see more manufacturers publish their recommendations for panel impact ratios so the professional and enthusiast user can get the best for their hard earned money.
Very useful video cheers, I'm new to using foam and just got a pro kleen lance plus with some of their foam. Not impressed with the foam which suggested it was super concentrated and to use 9:1 and boy does the lance guzzle the stuff, looks similar to your duel unit and guessing it's just as thirsty if not worse. Drank a whole bottle to just about cover a fiat 500 went on fairly thick and covered well but the stuff did not dwell very well at all. Debating whether to send it back and spend a bit more on a lance or just try a better foam product first.
Fit like the day loon. Very technical video that had it been anyone else I would have been nodding off as I have in the past. I may go ahead and work this out sometime I am at a loose end as you intrigued me. I have always gone for 50ml to 450ml or 75ml to 675ml or 100ml to 900ml depending on the size of car and not thought anything about it. I presume a 4% PIR is a good general setting if there are no instructions on the snow foam. Regarding sealants what would you suggest for a PIR. Have you tested the cleaning power of a PIR of 4% against a 10 to 1 ratio which surely at the end of the day is the whole point in us using this item and Snow foam. The boy returned from Uni in Aberdeen at the weekend with a car with multiple layers of seagull s**t. I had put GT CS and Sigma on it before he went up at Xmas and TFR and Snow Foam lifted it all including sealants but no etching as far as I can see. Just an idea for Aberdeen folk as my car had been hit on 3 panels by one gull within 10 minutes of arriving and there are rings on the clear.
Fit like John? Ah yes, the scourge of Aberdeen strikes again! Thankfully I live in the Shire so the dreaded "Scurry" is less often seen. I haven't tested the cleaning ability of 10:1 Vs 4% as of yet but that'll be another video. I'm glad I wasn't boring you enough to put you to sleep 🤣
There are many ways to use a lance. I always use every product without dilution because I have tested and calculated where the adjustment screw has to be to give me for example 4%. I find this is the easiest way.
Great video mate as usual. It's funny but just last night at work I was watching Mark from Sparkclean Autos telling you how to work out the pir and he was using the MJJC Pro lance. I think he said about 160ml of foam to 840ml of water in the lance, would give 3% pir. Spooky or what ????😮😮
I agree with the general premise of your video, I've been banging on about this issue for years. Because the extra level of dilution that occurs differs so much, different manufacturers of snow foam chemicals will base their instructions on what they think that extra level of dilution is, some will assume 10x extra dilution, others will assume 13.5x extra dilution. If they published that extra detail it would allow us to adapt their products so that we could use it safely on our particular setup. Otherwise with flask instructions only you could be either: a) Creating snow foam that's too weak so it's cleaning ability is awful b) Creating snow foam is way too strong and could cause damage to the clearcoat (if using acidic or alkaline snow foams) c) you happen to have the goldilocks setup that the snow foam manufacturer had in mind when coming up with their flask based instructions d) the manufacturer is producing a chemical that is safe at any level meaning that that their product is largely inneffective no matter what concentration level is used There is another issue and that's the confusion caused by the snow foam manufacturers themselves by not being clear on their instructions. Sometimes the dilution ratio on the product refers to the final dilution (i.e. PIR) and not the flask dilution (e.g. some CarPro products). Infamously Koch Chemie GSF dilution instructions refer to use in a pump foamer, but most youtube content creators misread that to mean instructions for use in a foam gun so they assumed these were flask based instructions rather than PIR. I have over 20 permutations of different lances, with different orifices and on different pressure washers to get a wide range of dilution factors (anything from 7.0x - 18.5x). Notice I said dilution factor. What I do is fill the flask with water and use it until I get measureable amount of water in a container (4-5 litres). If I weigh both the flask and container before and afterwards, that difference will give me the amount of water used up in the flask and the amount of water collected, and I divide one into the other to get my dilution factor. With that dilution factor I then multiple it by the PIR required and times that by the amount of snow foam solution required. This avoids having to judge any displacement issues, different sized flask issues and judging when the flask is empty, e.g. pickup tube in the flask can stall especially at an angle, or the flask is opaque and difficult to see the level (ahem! Carbon Collective). Mathematically you get the same end result, but when I explain it to beginners they find it easier to understand when it's broken down in this way and avoid some of the common pitfalls.
To get even more geeky, snow foam cannons are, in effect, eductor or jet pumps, also known as vacuum ejectors or simply ejectors, which are water aspirators or vacuum pumps consisting of a tee shaped fitting, employing the venturi effect. Still with me? The flow of water from the power washer, passes through the straight portion of the tee, which has a restriction at the intersection or branch, where the pick-up tube is attached. This restriction produces a vacuum by means of the venturi effect which occurs when water flowing through a pipe or tube is forced into a narrower section. This results in a pressure decrease and a velocity increase. This drop in pressure creates a vacuum which is what sucks liquid into the flow, through the branch, through the pick-up tube, from the reservoir. Adjustments to the rate of chemical draw are made via an adjuster dial which moves a piston into and out of, the flow from the branch. You mention the power of the pump (power washer) and mains supply but, within limits, the rate of flow through the orifice, changes the strength of the pump and therefore the rate of pick-up, faster flow, more suction, slower flow, less, making the mix almost the same. Some might disagree but when we’re talking about single figure percentages, the differences are minimal. Some will also want shaving foam rather than suds and increase the amount of product but, apart from impressing the neighbours and giving you something to post, what isn’t in contact with the surface, isn’t doing anything. Personally, I’m in the neat product camp, altering the mix using the adjuster. It means that I can top-up the bottle with product and not have to fiddle with dilutions. I worked out the PIR with the adjuster set for 1, 2, 3 & 4%, made a note of the pointer position, half turn anti-clockwise to 6 o’clock etc.
I can't give you a ratio as it's specific to you. You'll have to measure how much water your lance uses and make the calculation. For me, the MJJC V1 and V2 need around 400ml and 380ml respectively.
Hi watch the video again . How many ml of product do you use in your mjjc v2 cannon only ask out of interest. I do not have a mjjc yet so it's not me finding out for I'm just curious cheers yes vary good video
It should work the same way as we don't need the bottle measurement, just the amount of water. Do the same thing, measure the total water needed to drain your bottle and multiply it by the percentage of panel impact ratio you need.
It's catch 22. I sympathise with the manufacturers as for sure there are a lot of consumers that just want to know how much product to put in their lance. But this just does not stack up as the variation based on equipment in use can be massive. So I also blame the manufacturers for not acknowledging this. We need PIR based measures. I tend to take ratios for sprayer bottles as this is given more commonly on products then work that back to what it means to achieve that as PIR in my foam lance.
I think most chemical breaks want to give a generic average number that will suit most people. I'd like to see more brands (specifically those who are popular with professionals/enthusiasts) make panel impact ratios available and even make a bigger deal of it.
Must test my old HD Autobrite Foam Lance but first I need to disassemble it and put the aerator mesh in some citric acid or Cilit Bang to get rid of left over product and limescale (Sth London water, mmmm)
Great video, this will be very useful to a lot of people I think 👍🏻 I think you mentioned that you had the mixing valve set to max water flow (I may be wrong)? It would have been interesting to see the flow rates with the mixing valve giving max product as this is how most people use them and it would change the PIR again.
No, the valve was set to maximum product delivery. Sorry if I didn't make that clear, I was measuring the maximum product delivery to the water stream.
Wow, that does make those higher flow figures really significant then! If your lance does 17ltr then at something like 1:10 your getting minuscule amounts of product, your only getting something like 6% of the already diluted product through the lance, per litre…… Really makes you understand why companies like BH push the PIR so much haha
Hello, would you be in a position to recommend a foam lance model? Ive been looking online for a while and im just not sure what to buy. I have an older k3500 karcher and planning on using magifoam prewash. Budget is ideally £30.00 as I'm not a detail enthusiast just want to get the best bang for my buck. Thanks in advance.
@@SpeckyMcSporran thanks for the advice I found the prokleen foam lance for £25.00 and decided to give it a shot. If I do get into detailing then I'll look again at the upper end of the market.
@@SpeckyMcSporran Do you know of any decent bug and tar spray/remover? I've seen a brand Nano Go - looks to remove all the hard to remove stains but again it's a gamble for me.
Can I ask, what's the point of the dial on the top of the snowfoam if you run it a maximum for the test and calculating PIR. I've guessed at the amount of product and have reduced the flow rate through the nossle so there's a happy medium between thickness of product and longevity of product. Is there a right and wrong position of the dial?
That's a great question. Basically when you adjust the top dial you have no way of knowing how much it impacts the flow/dilution rate. They could add numbers to the dial but there's no way to tell 100% how much difference it makes without turning it and running the flow rate test again for each dial rotation. There's no right or wrong for it though, just figure out what works best for you. I hope this helps.
Most snowfoams are designed to work with cold water as it would be cooled rapidly by the flow of water through the lance. If you have a heated pressure washer then the heat would definitely help to a degree.
Hi sorry to ask another question when you emptied your foam Canon in to the bucket am I right to say you still had the main water on ? I ask this coz I did that my calm cannon is 700 ml but when was empty it filled 5 liter bucket don't seem right to me that at I ask the question cheers
great information... Once you are down the Rabbit hole there is a ton of information to digest... Hey BTW, is the a starwars hat you are wearing? it looks like the Empire logo
ok maybe a stupid question but......when you snow-foam and you add the 1 litre water and snowfoam solution when you connect the pressure washer do you snowfoam with the tap connected to the pressure washers on or off? as with it on its more water coming through?????
Are you talking about the tap on the wall providing water to the pressure washer? If so then, yes, that needs to be on or the pressure washer won't do anything.
Keep in mind I only say it's not great as far as using it at 10:1 dilution. One of my favourite snowfoams for sheer cleaning power is Infinity Wax Powerfoam.
That's a lot of Bilt Hamber, I always read that you didn't need to use much of it, so it was really economical. 1:10 would be a lot smaller amount of product, about 90ml of product compared to 300ml+, that would be about 1:2.
You have to think about how much the foam lance will dilute the mix. 10:1 in isn't 10:1 out which is why it's important to know your own lances introduction rate. I was basing my figures on the percentage that Built Hamber themselves stated is typical use.
So are we starting a campaign to know PIR from all manufacturers? I believe only Garage Therapy and Bilt Hamber offer that information so unless you’re using them you have to go on the standard ratio given 🤔 In reality I’m sure most people just think that’s a bit thin or not cleaning well so I’ll just add a bit more next time without actually working out the numbers.
Those are fair points. I think I'd like to see manufacturers of "professional or enthusiast" snowfoams make that information available. But I'm not complaining about the general 10:1 dilution info for general use consumers.
Help! I have a Nilfisk P180 and an Autobrite Snow Foam Lance, good water water pressure from the tap. Lance open to Max. And used 100 litres before the lance bottle was empty. Is this possible?
@@SpeckyMcSporran thanks for the quick reply mate. Will try again tomorrow. I wonder weather the filter needs look at as I don’t notice any difference when turning the tap on the lance.
Very professional video. I used BH Touch Less last week for the first time and had to work out my PiR which was a little confusing at first but this video explains it well 👍🏼
Help!!! I have Meguires snow foam bottle, filled to 1l , opened up the control, filled up 57L of water in buckets, still had 1L of water in the bottle, when I shut the water flow down, I got 19L of water before the bottle was empty, Help !!!!
Ok, 19L of water is 19000ml so you'll need to multiply 19000 by the percentage of panel impact ratio. So 4% means multiply 19000 x 0.04 which is 760ml of snowfoam topped up with water when you have the dial set to least water.
Bilt Hamber does not necessarily recommend 4% pir that's just an example. They actually say between 1 and 5 percent. 1 for lightly soiled and 5 for heavily soiled vehicles. This is a bit like wiping your arse, dirtier it is more cleaner you need.
I just put 100 to 150 ml of foam top up to 500 ml with water depending on how dirty car is , only use 500 ml of total product on my vw van For me never failed ,never bothered to work it out
That's fair, not everyone needs to know but you're using the foam at an above-average dilution ratio, which is likely closer to the correct panel impact ratio. 👍🏻
@@SpeckyMcSporran guess i should actually pull my finger out and work it out correctly. It doesn't seem over kill rinses off ok Bilt hamber autofoam is what I use BTW love your chanel thank you
Your water quality will impact your foam almost as much as your dilution ratio. DI water foams way more than hard water. You will need to adjust your dilution ratio bases on the water you use.
Well done sir. Puts a lot of stupid arguments to bed as far as I am concerned. The amount of experts on FB arguing about how to apply it , do it this wray, do it that way, yada yada yada. Fact is if you don’t use the PIR Process, then you Aint never going to get the full performance of the product, regardless of the manufacturer/ product company
Just fill the bottle with pure product and turn the mix knob on top to get the desired thickness of foam thats what its there for, ots not rocket science?
Bloody brilliant video Specky as someone who has multiple lances and get mixed results with foams I’m going to be testing my BigBoi pro lance before I hit record again MJJC lances eat foam in seconds the BigBoi one doesn’t and the lances very mixed results well done Sir 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
What can I say Professor? You’ve taken one of the most ‘taken for granted’ accessories and explained fundamental errors that so many of us are guilty of. Fantastic delivery, easy to follow and understand. Nailed it 👍
Thanks so much Bazza!
Probably the best video I've seen showing how your Lance can make a big difference 👍
Thanks so much, Nick! 🙌🏻
OMG! Your are my hero of the day!
- So much (for me) VERY important information, you DO NOT GET from ANY other on youtube! And those informations is vital!
I am a new high pressure owner, and have zero knowledge what is good, what is not etc.
Today, I will try to figure out what I need to buy in form of foam cannon or whatever they are named, but also what foam brand I have to buy.
Thank you so much for all this extreme vital information!
- Greetings from Denmark.
All the best to you and yours, and all the nice people here reading this.
Per, thank you so much for your comment. I'm absolutely delighted that you found the video useful and I'm happy to answer any more questions you might have along your journey.
All the best 🤓👍🏻
Congratulations on an ace video Professor McSporran.
I'd tried the empty the reservoir into my wash bucket procedure before and scared myself silly on the quantity of product I required. From following your explanation it turns out I hadn't used the maximum flow rate. Following your instructions I filled, displaced and measured the capacity of my foam reservoir. I had never given it a thought but it turns out my 1 litre graduated holder actually only holds 900ml. Hmm. Long story short : I previously used 100ml in 1litre which produced poor foam and used the full litre each wash. Now I get good foam using 450ml in 900ml and emptied only half the reservoir.
That was good old Bilt Hamber. Next time it's Garage Therapy. I've still to check their PIR. Thanks again Speccy.
Cheers John
Thank you, John! Really glad the video helped you get the right foam!
I already know most of this, however I have not seen a more thorough and, at the same time, easy to understand exploration of the the subject! Great video, well done!
That's very kind, thank you 🙌🏻
Great vid mate , I’ve just done one of me bikes with a new autobrite lance an foam I shoved it in Willie nillie an needless to say I may as well of tipped it down the grid complete anti climax and I’d built meself up for great things was ready to sling the thing up the yard !!!! So will take on board what you’ve shown
Thankyou Trev
THANK YOU! I knew it…I knew these dilution ratios didn’t make sense!
SCIENCE!
I don’t need an upgrade or some “hack” to make thicker foam.
You are awesome 👏🏼
Haha thank you sir! 🙌🏻
Well explained. I think a lot of people completely forget that water pressure and flow rate through the pressure washer has an impact and just focus on the lance itself. Having said that I generally just go 50/50 with BH Autofoam in my MJJC V2 as I know it's roughly the correct PIR. I get the results I want and it saves a lot of time not having to be precise to get exactly 4%.
50/50 is pretty damn close for many lances, if it works for you then that's all we can ask!
Nice one specky, really explains it clearly. When I get around to finally using a snow cannon, I'll re watch this, cheers!
Glad it helped you!
You're right, I am using it incorrectly. I shall now work out my flow rate etc and see if my product has a recommended PIR
Very informative and well presented video Specky! I really like using the Griot's BOSS foam cannon system. It takes all the guess work out of it. With the foam cannon, you can connect the chemical bottles directly to the foam cannon (as you can with others of course) but the thing I like it those innovative metering tips they came up with. It disperses the product directly with the water so no pre-mixing. You would think it would use a lot more product, but actually it uses less and SAVES product. You can still mix solution in the provided bottle if you are using something other than griot's chemicals and you need to dilute it via the manufacturers recommendations, but, you can also directly hook up a lot of other manufacturers bottles directly to the BOSS cannon also and those metering tips work perfectly dispensing those chemicals too! It's a fantastic system. I think you might have showcased the BOSS system previously on your channel? I can't remember. Either way, great job, you really brought up some interesting points, especially on how diluted product doesn't come out of the end of the cannon as the same dilution ratio as you mixed, it's much more diluted once mixed with the water flowing through the cannon. The metering tips might work with the MJJC Pro Foam Cannon also but they would have to be purchased separately from Griot's Garage web site. I thought I watched a previous video somewhere (maybe here?) that someone showed those Griot's metering tips being placed into the metal ball at the end of the pick up tube for the MJJC Pro. I am pretty sure that MJJC makes the BOSS Foam Cannon for Griot's. They look VERY similar and some of the parts look identical. And MJJC also have the inner barrel on the PRO for hooking up bottles directly but without the threading that the Griot's BOSS has that holds the bottle onto the cannon itself so you can't use it like the BOSS system cannon. Griot's may have had some "exclusive" deal with them (or maybe even a patent on that feature) that only THEY can have that inner thread and outer "dual" thread design for the supplied bottle or for hooking up other bottles directly. MJJC also have the same metal ball at the end of the pick up tube that allows it to fall anywhere and pick up product no matter how it's turned. And the same soft (but durable) pick up tube also. Great information on PIR too! That really showcases that most of us have never used the right dilution ratio's! LOL. I have never done a PIR and didn't even know what it was until about six months ago watching Jon at The Forensic Detailing Channel. I would tend to put more soap in the cannon anyway, so for me, it may have been closer to the PIR?? It's amazing how much difference there are between not only the quality of the foam cannons available now days and how much differently they perform. If I had one word of advice (for a person who has about 5 foam cannons of various qualities and price range.........just get the GOOD ONE! MTM, MJJC Pro, Griot's BOSS, etc. Just pay the extra money and get a good one. You will not be disappointed. The cheap cannons seem to break or stop working at a much higher rate than the more costly ones. The more costly ones are quite simply a better quality. They cheaper ones work, but they just don't seem to have the foam quality of the more costlier versions. My Griot's has those great features noted above and it's built like a darn tank compared to a cheap one off of Amazon. Will the cheaper ones work? Certainly they will, but for how long? Sometimes not long at all. The only other good advice I could give is clean out your foam cannon after EVERY use! Spray some plain water through the cannon at pressure to rinse it out. Doing that will give almost infinite life to your foam cannon. But for me, still, it's the BOSS cannon with the metering tips so I don't have to worry about dilution ratios and PIR's, etc. The only change might be a different tip to increase or restrict the flow rate slightly for different thickness' of foam. I tend to use the max foam tip in my BOSS cannon. That BOSS cannon does produce the best foam I have ever seen. The only downside is that is it probably the most expensive cannon on the market today, but, you do get a quality cannon for the price. Plus Griot's does sell the cannon and chemicals, and microfiber drying towels as a "kit" for about $169 US dollars. Sounds like a lot, but it's worth it because you get three quality chemicals and a large PFM drying towel too, plus a couple of other products. Griot's also sells replacement filters, internals, repair kits, etc so in the rare chance you did have a problem years down the road, they have it covered so you can get your cannon back to factory fresh! Not many others offer the parts and replacement internals, orifices, etc.
Best comment of all time.
Ahh yet another thing I've been doing wrong..lol excellent video. Looks like I need to add way more BH Auto Foam. This explains why so many people complain about a certain snow foam not being thick enough or too runny.
Keep in mind that more product doesn't equal more foam. The lance you use can be good at delivering product but still produce a thin foam. I'll have more videos about this hopefully soon!
You would be the best science teacher ever!!
Great video thanks Specky, I recently bought a snow lance from amazon and Autoglym polar blast snow foam. Hoping to use it for the first time this weekend. I’ll check if there’s a recommended dilution ratio and if so use your calculation method to work out what ml I’ll need in the lance’s bottle for the best result. Cheers 👍
I always pre rinse and always start at the bottom too. Always land up spending hours washing the car. It's a job worth doing right. 👍
Absolutely 👌🏻
Absolute brilliant video, been searching for something like this for a while now.
Thank you!
These videos become better and better! 👏👏👏
Brilliant thank you, why has no one else done this? Its a game changer, to get a descent foam, which i still haven't, ive gone from a £100 jet wash to a karcher k7, still watery foam, then from a £20 cannon to a mjjc v2, still watery foam, all because different brands saying 10 -1, or about an inch. Ive doubled my snow foam and still been watery, so by your calculations im still over diluted, so then you can compare from your basic foams to your high end, thank you so much. Very helpful. Liked and now subscribed.
Thanks so much, I'm really glad you found it useful! 🙌🏻
Does this mean that if companies advertise 10-1 ratio, is that now a 10% product agaist flow rate ? Like bilt is 4%?
Honestly it'll depend on multiple factors like water pressure, pressure washer power, flow rate of the foam lance etc. 10:1 is a "general" amount to cover most situations but it's best to work out what you actually need for your own setup, if you care enough about it.
I have just done mine. Im running a karcher k7 and mjjc cannon, i had 12.6 litres of flow rate, although the cannon was opened up fully, i had the karcher on medium setting. I use ez carcare snow foam as a general quick wash at the 10 -1 it advises ( 100ml to 900ml water ) and was runny before i watched this so next time i will get it at its propper dilution, i also use polar blast but that has a giude of 1 in 4 ratio, cant wait to try them both on your advise and work out costs per wash, i have a bmw x6 so its a tiny bit bigger than a fiesta 🤣🤣
I look forward to hearing your results!
Just started using a foam cannon and could not understand why foam seemed thin even tho i used the 1:30 ratio it said on the label... Now i know i need to check what is the full amount of water i need to apply that 1:30 to. Thanks for the help
I'm glad I could help!
Brilliant video Dr Specky McSporran. So well explained and informative. I upgraded for the standard Nilfisk lance and Nilfisk Snowfoamer a couple of months ago. The new short trigger and generic in2detailing snowfoam lance is so different to the Nilfisk setup. On my first use I used the same ratio of AutoGlym polar blast as I use to and the difference was night and day. Finally got hold of some garage therapy snowfoam so will do a full PIR checkup/setup. Certainly show how much difference the lance makes and how bad reviews can be miss leading.
Hi speccy! I worked my flow rate out to be 24ltr on by eBay special bottle. 4% PIR worked out at a full 1ltr bottle neet!!! Typically I go at 5:1 in the bottle, making the PIR circa 1.0%. Although I do use the full bottle on 1 car. Thanks for posting the video, Keep up the good work!
Holy moly! Was your top dial set to full product flow?
Heard you talking about this on the podcast, Really interesting video!
Good video, I 1st picked up the importance of PIR and how to work it out from a Detailing & the Beast vid a few years ago but this reinforces the differences and why results vary so much, well done Specky
Thank you! 🙌🏻
Thanks for this Specky, I ended up with 13.5 litres in the bucket from my 1ltr Dodo Juice cannon and bigboi combo so if I'm right it dilutes whatever i put in it by around 1 to 12.5 So using BH autofoam diluted to 50% gave me 4% pir and I got decent foam and cleaning👍I wasn't using enough product before☺️
Glad I could help! 👍🏻
Very good specky, it's a surprise to how much product you really need. It works out pretty much half water half snowfoam for my set up.
It was surprising to me, too! Hopefully this will help people have a better understanding of what goes on 🤞🏻
This is actually very help full.thanks Bro 👍
Thank you!
Brilliant video Specky, you address a lot of issues people run in to 🙌🏻
Thank you!
Firstly, awesome video! I wish I knew that like......... 4 years ago, before working with the system I currently use now. I personally sucked at math in school, that's why I just use the Griots Garage Metering tips. There's zero calculations involved, simply pour your favourite product into your snow lance bottle and press the trigger, THAT'S IT! I find that this not only conserves time, but it also conserves on product, as I can now use 1 oz to do a car instead of 3-4 oz to keep the mixture rich to compensate for the slower flow of water. If you haven't already, please do a video demonstrating the differences or similarities between the two. Regards - Dinero
Sadly Griots is a brand with little reputation/representation in the UK so I'd be unlikely to feature them.
@@SpeckyMcSporran That is true, they reside in the US but I still use them here in Jamaica.
Brilliant, thank you. The thumbnail showed the problem I was having. Explained exactly where I was going wrong and how to fix it.
One thing I'm still confused about is how to read the flow rate, as the value quoted in the video are at max setting which typically you would not be using.
I have an AVA Smart P60 and the manufacturers quote a flow rate of 6.7L per minute. Isn't this a more important figure, and how would this figure be combined with a product's PIR ratio?
Flow rates are usually based on an unhindered connection i.e. no nozzle on the end of the gun/lance. As you know, running your pressure washer without a nozzle makes a different sound compared to when you have a nozzle fitted. The flow rate of the snowfoam lance is more important as it already accounts for the change it may make to the flow rate coming from the pressure washer. As for the change in flow rate using the dial, this is not something we can measure easily therefore adjustments would be better made to the chemical dilution while running the lance fully open. I hope this helps.
@@SpeckyMcSporran Superb, thank you for taking the time, very much appreciated.
Great video Specky! I wasn't thikning of all these before I watched your video. Very useful and very informative! Well done
Thanks as always Viktor!
Great video, great delivery and most importantly great subject matter - The man, the lab coat and the hat - he returns..
Haha thanks mate!
"Auto glanz foam+", use a bit of that and it helps alot with the foam.
I've heard about it but I don't like the idea of buying two foam products to make a better one. I'd rather use a better single product, but Foam+ could be useful to boost other products like APC etc.
Wow!! What an extremely well explained video! Made so much sense! Absolutely agree, each variation of canon, washer etc etc is different! This was a good watch 🙌
Plus now it's possibly the reason why I wasn't happy with my mjjc in my video 😑 😉
Thank you so much! 🙌🏻
Great wee video again mate
Thank you!
Brilliant explanation - very ‘academic’ like 👍😁
Hi. It is wonderful video. A quick question. When you mentioned to keep the dial wide open, you meant max of water and less of foam liquid from the bottle or is it vice-versa. Thanks.
I meant wide open to allow the highest flow of foam into the water.
@@SpeckyMcSporran - Thank you so much for the clarification.
No problem 👍🏻
The bottle with water and snowfoam pre-wash also needs the air from the bottle in order to work correctly, right? So ... I guess the bottle shouldn't get filled completely?
That's generally correct but some bottles have a breather hole to compensate.
I’m glad you did all the hard work. Seems you need a lot of BH in the mix for it to be effective 🙈
Whys this guy only got 7k subs? He should have 70k at least with the quality of the videos
😲🥺💗
I've been meaning to do this exact thing with my setup but just always bang product in and hope for the best. Going to give it a try next time out and work out exactly what PIR I end up with. I do think if manufacturers use PIR rather than the standard 10.1 then people will have a better experience using the products 👍👍 great video
Thank you, kind Smurf! I do think that companies producing snowfoam for "professional or enthusiast" use should include proper panel impact ratios. I don't have a problem with 10:1 style ratios for general consumer use though.
Great content specky, I use a K2 with the autoglym lance. I use the BH pir ratio witch is 486ml of product with 514ml of soft Scottish water.
Only problem for me is that it doesn’t start foaming up till 3 quarters down the bottle. Witch is really annoying, it could be down to the Karcher hose restricting the flow.
I have a Screwfix special that is more powerful, and I have modified the QR gun to fit. I have just not tried out on the car yet.
Strange that it doesn't foam straight away. I had that when I first used snowfoam and just kept twiddling the top dial until something changed and there was foam aplenty.
@@SpeckyMcSporran cheers mate I will try that this weekend 👍🏻
Do you run your K2 for 30 seconds or so before connecting your lance? This blows out any air from the hose and ensures a full bore of water. If you have any air in the hose when you connect your lance it might take a while to properly combine with the product in your bottle.
@@allanmountford21 never thought of that, I will give that a try. Thanks mate 👍🏻
Great video specky think this will clear up a lot for people.
Thanks Tom! I really hope it does! 🤞🏻
I've just been doing your flow rate check, and the bucket was getting close to overflowing with only a fraction of the water in the bottle used. So I measured what remained in the bottle and subtracted that from what I started with - and I had used 304ml. There were 34 litres of water in the bucket. That gives a flow rate of 113litres per litres of product, which seems inordinately high compared to figures in your test. The lance is a Stonebank eBay special. Has anyone else found such a high figure ? The pressure washer I'm using claims 150 bar.
Definitely noticed the difference between my eBay special and the detailed online one. Will be looking at the mjjc version 2. My birthday at the end of the month 👍👍👍
Check out my video on the MJJC lance, I have a referral code if you're considering buying it!
@@SpeckyMcSporran
Cheers will have a mooch.
Hi just work it out well I think so truer an done it with a calculator I work it out at 200 ml
Cheers I'm going to watch that part again on the video
I’m only at the start of the video but I presume this video might be about panel impact ratio but I may be wrong , most manufactures don’t tell us this , bilt hamber do and I think it’s crucial as 1 pressure washer and Lance may end up diluting the snow foam with double the water compared to another brand so it won’t work right
Is the solution pick up (use) directly linked to the flow rate of the snow cannon?
I would say yes, from my observations.
This was fascinating, thank you Specky! Fantastic to see the real differences in flow rates between the different lances, especially to see how the MJJC V2 is performing, no wonder that throws up such thick foam, aside from how it aerates the product, it's the volume of product in there!
Did you also see that BH state you should get 4 average size cars from a litre of pre-mix solution?
Are we talking pre-dilution or post?
@@SpeckyMcSporran it's post (although a good joke to be made!). The wording on the PIR calculation diagram is "Please note - it is not necessary to use all diluted auto-foam in one wash. One litre of diluted product should last 4-5 washes".
I've achieved that before, you need a really wide fan on the lance and you're running around it, barely getting any on it really, it's definitely not a blanket of foam!
I was going to mention that, barely a teaspoon of product hitting each panel 🤣
@@SpeckyMcSporran I need a winter warrior car that still hasn't been cleaned in order to demonstrate the difference in cleaning ability...but I've done most of my customers now 🙃
One thing I was wondering on the video is where you found in the analytics you had drop off. I skipped from about 2m45s to 6m30s (ish) when you were talking about fan width and orifices (because this isn't nee info for me, it was relevant information for some and glad it was included...but it's hard to make that sort of stuff engaging).
Brand new power washer owner as of about 3 hours ago, so this may not be the smartest question lol but-.. wouldn’t it be potentially worth the effort to “figure out” the correct position of the adjustment screw (and locking down/gluing/marking or whatever) instead of doing a mixture every time? Then you would just put in 100% product and could have the correct end result without having to measure?! I don’t have the real world experience to know if this is feasible, but it will be my first experiment so wish me luck! Lol
I recently bought an Autoglanz Snow Storm, and it looks identical to the MJJC's.
I have a Nilfisk Compact 125.7, and thought I might as well use the Nilfisk Snow Foam, but Nilfisk does not state a PIR, just the 1:10 mixing ratio.
Yes very few manufacturers state a PIR, it's something I'd like to see change across the industry. Knowing your own lances flow rate will help you have a better understanding of how it'll impact the effectiveness of your foam.
Great video specky! So.....what about when the instructions say "add 2 inches to the bottle" i switch between bilt hamber autofoam and auto finesse avalanche. I use a mjjc lance which has a similar output to the duel one that you tested,so 400ml of bh to a litre,yet the af avalanche states "2 inches" so with that in mind the bh snowfoam is a more accurate dilution level.....what do you think?
I touched on this in the video but basically only two snowfoam manufacturers actually care that you use their product correctly, the rest just give you a general/average dilution ratio that works for the average Joe. I'd like to see more manufacturers publish their recommendations for panel impact ratios so the professional and enthusiast user can get the best for their hard earned money.
Very useful video cheers, I'm new to using foam and just got a pro kleen lance plus with some of their foam. Not impressed with the foam which suggested it was super concentrated and to use 9:1 and boy does the lance guzzle the stuff, looks similar to your duel unit and guessing it's just as thirsty if not worse. Drank a whole bottle to just about cover a fiat 500 went on fairly thick and covered well but the stuff did not dwell very well at all. Debating whether to send it back and spend a bit more on a lance or just try a better foam product first.
If you can get a small sample of a different snowfoam to confirm then you're better doing that before spending more on a new lance.
@SpeckyMcSporran thanks, I reported the issues to the supplier of the lance and foam and they've sent me a different foam to try 👍🏻
Wow what an excellent deep dive in to the lances
Very informative
Great video
Love these videos where you go in to more detail.
Thank you! 🙌🏻
Fit like the day loon. Very technical video that had it been anyone else I would have been nodding off as I have in the past. I may go ahead and work this out sometime I am at a loose end as you intrigued me. I have always gone for 50ml to 450ml or 75ml to 675ml or 100ml to 900ml depending on the size of car and not thought anything about it. I presume a 4% PIR is a good general setting if there are no instructions on the snow foam. Regarding sealants what would you suggest for a PIR. Have you tested the cleaning power of a PIR of 4% against a 10 to 1 ratio which surely at the end of the day is the whole point in us using this item and Snow foam. The boy returned from Uni in Aberdeen at the weekend with a car with multiple layers of seagull s**t. I had put GT CS and Sigma on it before he went up at Xmas and TFR and Snow Foam lifted it all including sealants but no etching as far as I can see. Just an idea for Aberdeen folk as my car had been hit on 3 panels by one gull within 10 minutes of arriving and there are rings on the clear.
Fit like John?
Ah yes, the scourge of Aberdeen strikes again! Thankfully I live in the Shire so the dreaded "Scurry" is less often seen.
I haven't tested the cleaning ability of 10:1 Vs 4% as of yet but that'll be another video. I'm glad I wasn't boring you enough to put you to sleep 🤣
Great video.
I just tend to use a 50/50 mix as I feel I can't go wrong. Although means cost wise is more but oh well. 😂
You do what works for you bro 👊🏻
There are many ways to use a lance. I always use every product without dilution because I have tested and calculated where the adjustment screw has to be to give me for example 4%. I find this is the easiest way.
That's fair, I'm not sure how best to calculate when only using the top dial but I'm glad it works for you.
Does it change if you don't open the lance dial fully?
This test was performed with both lances at their most open settings. Closing down the screw will weaken the solution and create less foam.
Great video mate as usual. It's funny but just last night at work I was watching Mark from Sparkclean Autos telling you how to work out the pir and he was using the MJJC Pro lance. I think he said about 160ml of foam to 840ml of water in the lance, would give 3% pir. Spooky or what ????😮😮
It just goes to show you how different all our experiences can be!
I agree with the general premise of your video, I've been banging on about this issue for years. Because the extra level of dilution that occurs differs so much, different manufacturers of snow foam chemicals will base their instructions on what they think that extra level of dilution is, some will assume 10x extra dilution, others will assume 13.5x extra dilution. If they published that extra detail it would allow us to adapt their products so that we could use it safely on our particular setup. Otherwise with flask instructions only you could be either:
a) Creating snow foam that's too weak so it's cleaning ability is awful
b) Creating snow foam is way too strong and could cause damage to the clearcoat (if using acidic or alkaline snow foams)
c) you happen to have the goldilocks setup that the snow foam manufacturer had in mind when coming up with their flask based instructions
d) the manufacturer is producing a chemical that is safe at any level meaning that that their product is largely inneffective no matter what concentration level is used
There is another issue and that's the confusion caused by the snow foam manufacturers themselves by not being clear on their instructions. Sometimes the dilution ratio on the product refers to the final dilution (i.e. PIR) and not the flask dilution (e.g. some CarPro products). Infamously Koch Chemie GSF dilution instructions refer to use in a pump foamer, but most youtube content creators misread that to mean instructions for use in a foam gun so they assumed these were flask based instructions rather than PIR.
I have over 20 permutations of different lances, with different orifices and on different pressure washers to get a wide range of dilution factors (anything from 7.0x - 18.5x). Notice I said dilution factor. What I do is fill the flask with water and use it until I get measureable amount of water in a container (4-5 litres). If I weigh both the flask and container before and afterwards, that difference will give me the amount of water used up in the flask and the amount of water collected, and I divide one into the other to get my dilution factor. With that dilution factor I then multiple it by the PIR required and times that by the amount of snow foam solution required. This avoids having to judge any displacement issues, different sized flask issues and judging when the flask is empty, e.g. pickup tube in the flask can stall especially at an angle, or the flask is opaque and difficult to see the level (ahem! Carbon Collective). Mathematically you get the same end result, but when I explain it to beginners they find it easier to understand when it's broken down in this way and avoid some of the common pitfalls.
You, sir, are way above me in the geek factor and I salute your work!
@@SpeckyMcSporran Perhaps I should change my name to the Greek Geek! 🙂
That's what I'll call you from now on! 😉
Dr. Specky McSporran-stein 👌👍👨⚕️
To get even more geeky, snow foam cannons are, in effect, eductor or jet pumps, also known as vacuum ejectors or simply ejectors, which are water aspirators or vacuum pumps consisting of a tee shaped fitting, employing the venturi effect.
Still with me? The flow of water from the power washer, passes through the straight portion of the tee, which has a restriction at the intersection or branch, where the pick-up tube is attached. This restriction produces a vacuum by means of the venturi effect which occurs when water flowing through a pipe or tube is forced into a narrower section. This results in a pressure decrease and a velocity increase. This drop in pressure creates a vacuum which is what sucks liquid into the flow, through the branch, through the pick-up tube, from the reservoir. Adjustments to the rate of chemical draw are made via an adjuster dial which moves a piston into and out of, the flow from the branch.
You mention the power of the pump (power washer) and mains supply but, within limits, the rate of flow through the orifice, changes the strength of the pump and therefore the rate of pick-up, faster flow, more suction, slower flow, less, making the mix almost the same. Some might disagree but when we’re talking about single figure percentages, the differences are minimal. Some will also want shaving foam rather than suds and increase the amount of product but, apart from impressing the neighbours and giving you something to post, what isn’t in contact with the surface, isn’t doing anything.
Personally, I’m in the neat product camp, altering the mix using the adjuster. It means that I can top-up the bottle with product and not have to fiddle with dilutions. I worked out the PIR with the adjuster set for 1, 2, 3 & 4%, made a note of the pointer position, half turn anti-clockwise to 6 o’clock etc.
I appreciate this explanation, especially about the venturi effect!
Good video makes since you never said about the mjjc in the mjjc 2 wots the ratio for that as I do my snow foam 2 to 3 Oz or around 60 ml cheers
I can't give you a ratio as it's specific to you. You'll have to measure how much water your lance uses and make the calculation. For me, the MJJC V1 and V2 need around 400ml and 380ml respectively.
Hi watch the video again .
How many ml of product do you use in your mjjc v2 cannon only ask out of interest. I do not have a mjjc yet so it's not me finding out for I'm just curious cheers yes vary good video
380ml but your number will be different.
Great insight into this. How does it work with a cheap karcher snow foam lance. Lucky if I have a 300ml bottle to fill.
It should work the same way as we don't need the bottle measurement, just the amount of water. Do the same thing, measure the total water needed to drain your bottle and multiply it by the percentage of panel impact ratio you need.
@@SpeckyMcSporran thank you bro. I’ll do this later on.
It's catch 22. I sympathise with the manufacturers as for sure there are a lot of consumers that just want to know how much product to put in their lance. But this just does not stack up as the variation based on equipment in use can be massive. So I also blame the manufacturers for not acknowledging this. We need PIR based measures. I tend to take ratios for sprayer bottles as this is given more commonly on products then work that back to what it means to achieve that as PIR in my foam lance.
I think most chemical breaks want to give a generic average number that will suit most people. I'd like to see more brands (specifically those who are popular with professionals/enthusiasts) make panel impact ratios available and even make a bigger deal of it.
Must test my old HD Autobrite Foam Lance but first I need to disassemble it and put the aerator mesh in some citric acid or Cilit Bang to get rid of left over product and limescale (Sth London water, mmmm)
Water so hard it has tattoos!
Oh my god I am confused!!! I’m going back to bucket and sponge and fairy liquid 😂😂😂
Great video, this will be very useful to a lot of people I think 👍🏻
I think you mentioned that you had the mixing valve set to max water flow (I may be wrong)? It would have been interesting to see the flow rates with the mixing valve giving max product as this is how most people use them and it would change the PIR again.
No, the valve was set to maximum product delivery. Sorry if I didn't make that clear, I was measuring the maximum product delivery to the water stream.
Wow, that does make those higher flow figures really significant then! If your lance does 17ltr then at something like 1:10 your getting minuscule amounts of product, your only getting something like 6% of the already diluted product through the lance, per litre……
Really makes you understand why companies like BH push the PIR so much haha
Yep, I'd like to see more manufacturers make their PIR figures available.
Hello, would you be in a position to recommend a foam lance model? Ive been looking online for a while and im just not sure what to buy. I have an older k3500 karcher and planning on using magifoam prewash. Budget is ideally £30.00 as I'm not a detail enthusiast just want to get the best bang for my buck. Thanks in advance.
The AmazonBasics lance is good for £20, Detailed Online do one for £25 which is good but needs stronger dilution.
@@SpeckyMcSporran thanks for the advice I found the prokleen foam lance for £25.00 and decided to give it a shot. If I do get into detailing then I'll look again at the upper end of the market.
That looks like a good one 👍🏻
@@SpeckyMcSporran Do you know of any decent bug and tar spray/remover? I've seen a brand Nano Go - looks to remove all the hard to remove stains but again it's a gamble for me.
Most all purpose cleaners will do the job for bug removal. Get a dedicated tar remover for tar spots.
Can I ask, what's the point of the dial on the top of the snowfoam if you run it a maximum for the test and calculating PIR. I've guessed at the amount of product and have reduced the flow rate through the nossle so there's a happy medium between thickness of product and longevity of product. Is there a right and wrong position of the dial?
That's a great question. Basically when you adjust the top dial you have no way of knowing how much it impacts the flow/dilution rate. They could add numbers to the dial but there's no way to tell 100% how much difference it makes without turning it and running the flow rate test again for each dial rotation. There's no right or wrong for it though, just figure out what works best for you. I hope this helps.
@@SpeckyMcSporran Yep. that helps... sort off... not really 😂
Good vid. Better to use a hot wash or a cold wash
Most snowfoams are designed to work with cold water as it would be cooled rapidly by the flow of water through the lance. If you have a heated pressure washer then the heat would definitely help to a degree.
Really useful video - well done Specky.
great food for thought. Cheers
🙌🏻
Hi sorry to ask another question when you emptied your foam Canon in to the bucket am I right to say you still had the main water on ?
I ask this coz I did that my calm cannon is 700 ml but when was empty it filled 5 liter bucket don't seem right to me that at I ask the question cheers
Yes everything was on, water and pressure washer. If you get 5 litres then that just might be the correct answer.
great information... Once you are down the Rabbit hole there is a ton of information to digest... Hey BTW, is the a starwars hat you are wearing? it looks like the Empire logo
Thank you Barry, I enjoy these little deep dives.
And yes, that is 100% my Empire hat, I have a Rebel one somewhere too 😉👌🏻
ok maybe a stupid question but......when you snow-foam and you add the 1 litre water and snowfoam solution when you connect the pressure washer do you snowfoam with the tap connected to the pressure washers on or off? as with it on its more water coming through?????
Are you talking about the tap on the wall providing water to the pressure washer? If so then, yes, that needs to be on or the pressure washer won't do anything.
Just curious, if you don’t rate bilt hamber auto foam that much. Then what would you say is your top recommendation?
Keep in mind I only say it's not great as far as using it at 10:1 dilution.
One of my favourite snowfoams for sheer cleaning power is Infinity Wax Powerfoam.
Great video! Really interesting subject 👍🏻
Thank you!
That's a lot of Bilt Hamber, I always read that you didn't need to use much of it, so it was really economical. 1:10 would be a lot smaller amount of product, about 90ml of product compared to 300ml+, that would be about 1:2.
You have to think about how much the foam lance will dilute the mix. 10:1 in isn't 10:1 out which is why it's important to know your own lances introduction rate. I was basing my figures on the percentage that Built Hamber themselves stated is typical use.
Great video, thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
So are we starting a campaign to know PIR from all manufacturers?
I believe only Garage Therapy and Bilt Hamber offer that information so unless you’re using them you have to go on the standard ratio given 🤔
In reality I’m sure most people just think that’s a bit thin or not cleaning well so I’ll just add a bit more next time without actually working out the numbers.
Those are fair points. I think I'd like to see manufacturers of "professional or enthusiast" snowfoams make that information available. But I'm not complaining about the general 10:1 dilution info for general use consumers.
Great video and nice intro pal 🤍
Thanks, also I hate you. 🤣
Help! I have a Nilfisk P180 and an Autobrite
Snow Foam Lance, good water water pressure from the tap. Lance open to Max. And used 100 litres before the lance bottle was empty. Is this possible?
Sounds like the knob on top was fully closed, turn it fully the other way and try again.
@@SpeckyMcSporran thanks for the quick reply mate. Will try again tomorrow. I wonder weather the filter needs look at as I don’t notice any difference when turning the tap on the lance.
That's a possibility
A lance maintenance video would be much appreciated! As I have no clue how to look after this peace of equipment.
That's a great shout!
Are we getting an old Fusso vs new Fusso comparison any time soon?
Hopefully yes
Very professional video. I used BH Touch Less last week for the first time and had to work out my PiR which was a little confusing at first but this video explains it well 👍🏼
Glad you found it useful!
very well explained
Thank you! 🙌🏻
Even different brands give different results using the 10:1 dilution from the same set up I’ve found
Help!!! I have Meguires snow foam bottle, filled to 1l , opened up the control, filled up 57L of water in buckets, still had 1L of water in the bottle, when I shut the water flow down, I got 19L of water before the bottle was empty, Help !!!!
Ok, 19L of water is 19000ml so you'll need to multiply 19000 by the percentage of panel impact ratio. So 4% means multiply 19000 x 0.04 which is 760ml of snowfoam topped up with water when you have the dial set to least water.
Thanks for info, give it a blast in the morning, 👍👍
Definitely been doing it wrong, only ever put 200ml into 1L, keep up the good work, your helping us novices 👍
Glad you've found it useful
Brilliant
Bilt Hamber does not necessarily recommend 4% pir that's just an example. They actually say between 1 and 5 percent. 1 for lightly soiled and 5 for heavily soiled vehicles. This is a bit like wiping your arse, dirtier it is more cleaner you need.
I just put 100 to 150 ml of foam top up to 500 ml with water depending on how dirty car is , only use 500 ml of total product on my vw van
For me never failed ,never bothered to work it out
That's fair, not everyone needs to know but you're using the foam at an above-average dilution ratio, which is likely closer to the correct panel impact ratio. 👍🏻
@@SpeckyMcSporran guess i should actually pull my finger out and work it out correctly.
It doesn't seem over kill rinses off ok
Bilt hamber autofoam is what I use
BTW love your chanel thank you
Thanks for the support Jez! 🙌🏻
Your water quality will impact your foam almost as much as your dilution ratio. DI water foams way more than hard water. You will need to adjust your dilution ratio bases on the water you use.
Yep, that's a good point and something I perhaps should have included. I think I take my soft Scottish water for granted 😄
Great Video!!!!
Thank you cap'n!
Well done sir. Puts a lot of stupid arguments to bed as far as I am concerned. The amount of experts on FB arguing about how to apply it , do it this wray, do it that way, yada yada yada. Fact is if you don’t use the PIR Process, then you Aint never going to get the full performance of the product, regardless of the manufacturer/ product company
Exactly! Thank you Peter! 🙌🏻
Great video 👍 somebody needed to do this rather than just moan about Bilt Hamber and its PIR.
😄👍🏻
Rather complicated. Think I'll go back to my how big is the universe video.
🤣🤣🤣
Just fill the bottle with pure product and turn the mix knob on top to get the desired thickness of foam thats what its there for, ots not rocket science?
Only do this if you want to waste product.
1st
On form today!
@@SpeckyMcSporran it's 3am here😄
GO TO SLEEP!
@@SpeckyMcSporran 😄😄😄that's what I was doing and then all.of the sudden, the doctor is in the house 😄😄😄
🤣🤣
What a bunch of crap!