Getting great foam from your Snow Blow Cannon.

So you've just got your new foam cannon and are all ready to share your first glorious social media post, only to find the foam is not as good as you have seen in other images or videos, or it might be that you have had it for a while and feel its not as good as it used to be.

Don't worry, we have made this guide for you, with all the simple tips and tricks we have learnt the last few years to identify what needs to be done to get your foaming up to being awesome. We break the foaming issues we have seen over the last 5 years into these three categories: 

1. The Initial Set-up, for those new to using the Snow Blow Cannon.

1. Pressure Washer or Water Source, both critical for foaming performance. 

3. Cannon Blockages, that can happen randomly or gradually over time.

The Initial Set-Up

For any first time users of the Snow Blow Cannon, these are three neccesary things to do, all imperative for the cannon being able to foam well: 

1. The blue knob is not turned towards "-" minus side. For maximum foam, the blue adjustment knob on the top of the cannon needs to be turned clockwise, to the "-" side and then a smidgeon back, which will draw less air and suck more suds through the cannon, meaning thicker foam. Make sure to not tighten the knob up which will prevent any airflow, it needs to be free to rotate. 

2. The front fan nozzle is set too wide, so you do not get a good thickness of the foam. Turn the front blue nozzle just a little bit from the fully closed/ jet mode to get a nice fan angle and a more solid build up of foam. 

3. The clear plastic tube is not connected or it's kinked. In the box with your Snow Blow Cannon, there will be a clear plastic tube that needs to be connected to the brass barb on the base of the cannon unit. This tube is vital for the cannon to be able to suck up the Snow Job solution and produce foam. Also check that the tube not kinked inside the bottle, or sitting perfectly flush with the inside bottom of the bottle.

4. The pressure washer has an airlock. Air can get trapped inside the pressure washer if it's turned on while the hose is not attached, or still has air in the lines, which will prevent proper water flow through the cannon. Attach your hosepipe to the machine and pull the trigger on your handle with the machine switched OFF for 20-30 seconds to allow any air to escape before the pump pressurizes the lines. This is critical on lower-powered machines like the Karcher K2 and Gerni 3600.

Pressure Washer/Water Source

  1. Your pressure washer needs to have good PSI and water flow. We recommend having a machine with over 1800 PSI, and a good water flow rate over 7L/min, to produce nice thick foam. Adding some extra Snow Job foam to the cannon (between 20ml-50ml) can also help make up for lack of pressure/flow rate on smaller machines. We have this guide to help choosing a pressure washer by clicking here.
     
  2. Good water quality. If you're using harder bore or dam water, this will negatively affect the foaming ability of our Snow Job foam. Always use good quality water. You may also benefit from a filtration system, to prevent any debris from entering your pressure washer.
     
  3. Low water pressure from the tap. If the tap doesn't have enough pressure, you can starve the pressure washer of water causing it to perform poorly. This can happen when hooking up to water tanks without a separate pump, or even bad water flow from the mains source.
     
  4. Kinked/damaged hose. If your hose has any kinks, splits or holes, this will affect the water flow to the pressure washer, which can cause poor performance. Always use a good quality hosepipe and fittings.

Cannon Blockages

The Snow Blow Cannon's performance can be affected by a lack of water flow, which can be caused by areas in the canon becoming blocked. So check out the following places to see if there is any dirt or grit causing a blockage. You can find a link to our guide on pulling the cannon apart down the bottom of this section. 

  1. The breather hole for the Snow Blow Cannon bottle is blocked. On the top side of the round brass piece that screws onto the bottle, there is a small hole that allows air into the bottle. If this becomes blocked it can stop the cannon from being able to suck up the liquid from the bottle. It can be quickly cleaned out with a paperclip or a pin.
     
  2. The intake hole for the snow solution is blocked. Inside the brass barb that holds the clear plastic tube, there is a small hole in the middle that needs to be clean to be able to suck up the Snow Job solution. Remove the clear plastic tube, and poke a paperclip or pin up through the barb and into the small hole in the centre, to clean it out.
     
  3. The venturi nozzle is blocked. Behind the pressure washer adapter, inside the cannon, there is a small nozzle that increases the water velocity and foam. If it is blocked, there will be no water flow through the cannon, or your pressure washer might stop and start. Unscrew the pressure washer adapter and the brass extension to reveal the silver coloured venturi in the cannon head. Using a paperclip or a pin, poke through the central hole of the venturi to unblock it. You can also unscrew this with a flat blade screwdriver for easier access.
     
  4. The mesh aerator is blocked. Over time, product can slowly accumulate and dry inside the cannon, causing the fine mesh aerator to block and affect the foam quality. To help prevent this, we recommend running 15-20 seconds of clean water through the cannon after every use, especially with the Happy Ending. You can also flush your Snow Blow Cannon with a mixture of 100mls Orange Agent and 100mls water in the cannon bottle to help clean it out. If it's blocked it will need to be replaced, please feel free to contact us directly for more details on this. 

If there is a more serious build up of gunk and debris inside the cannon, you may need to take it apart to clean out the internals. Our Snow Blow Cannon disassembly guide takes you through how to do this, as well as involving a lot of the above processes step by step, to restore the foaming performance of your cannon. https://www.bowdensown.com.au/blog/snow-cannon-disassembly-guide/ 

If this guide has not managed to solve your foaming problem, we also offer a free cannon service for anyone who has purchased our Snow Blow Cannon. 

Once your cannon head arrives our team will give it a thorough inspection to fix any issues, and then test to make sure it’s working before posting it back to you the same week we receive it.

Please complete the form below to arrange the free Cannon Service.

 

If you have any questions on anything in this guide, please feel free to email our team using info@bowdensown.com.au, or call our office from 9am till 4pm business days on 1800 351 308.

Happy foaming, 

Gareth Bostock