Pressure Washer for "Foam Cannon"

[ECSIII]

If I understand correctly, the best “foam cannon” configuration for car cleaning uses a pressure washer rather than a water hose. What would be a good choice of a pressure washer solely for this purpose? In other words, if it were not going to be used for any other purpose at all. Thanks for your help.

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[jd_cobra]

Any pressure washer that has 1500-2000 psi and 1.2-1.4 GPM would be good. I have the Ryobi 1600 PSI I bought for like $120 a few years ago at Home Depot. It’s probably cheaper now.

 

[Seanuf99]

I use this thing. Works pretty good and is cheap if you already have dewalt 20v tools and can buy the tool only.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-...-0-Ah-Battery-and-Charger-DCPW550P1/314265865

 

[TrackMustang]

Any pressure washer that has 1500-2000 psi and 1.2-1.4 GPM would be good. I have the Ryobi 1600 PSI I bought for like $120 a few years ago at Home Depot. It’s probably cheaper now.

I have the same thing, it’s cheap enough so that if I don’t use it all the time who cares, if it breaks in a year who cares, but gets the job done without issues so far.

 

[Blade007]

I have one of these with my canon https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse...mzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

Be careful with the yellow nozzle, that thing cut my hand really bad. It is strong!

 

[junits15]

You'll find other uses for the pressure washer, its a good tool to have. Even just for rinsing off the car before you dry it.

Outside of that you'd be surprised what you can clean with just water

 

[Louk]

We got a sunjoe electric version. Came with all the foam cannon accessories. Got it on a Black Friday sale for about 80 bucks. Has been perfect for the job.

 

[joepro]

I also use a sun joe spx3000, I've put it through hell and back, it's more of a "power washer" but it just keeps going. Got a smaller "gun" on amazon as well and a foam cannon and just swap it out if im washing the cars.

Also get soap that will suds up in a foam cannon, some do not.

 

[MAGS1]

I have a Craftsman electric power washer but any of the above will do. 2,000 psi is the max I would go for cars, 1,600-1,800 psi is plenty. Anything more than 2k gets a bit rough for paint

 

[offcamber]

If I understand correctly, the best “foam cannon” configuration for car cleaning uses a pressure washer rather than a water hose. What would be a good choice of a pressure washer solely for this purpose? In other words, if it were not going to be used for any other purpose at all. Thanks for your help.

 

[offcamber]

This.
Buy and enjoy.

Active VE52 | 1800 PSI | 2.0 GPM | 13 Amp | Electric Pressure Washer (M22-15 Hose Fitting) https://a.co/d/cBR0nqI

 

[WD Pro]

For effective car cleaning, it’s mostly about flow rate

I have what I would class as bottom rung of a good automotive unit and in your units, it’s 2.2 GPM.

The small kranzle (what I would like) is 2.6 GPM.

WD

 

[kilobravo]

In my experience, the chinese pressure washers will do the job but just barely. They also fail predictably so I quit wasting money and picked up a Kranzle 1122TST. What a HUGE difference from the el cheapo versions!

Yep, it's not cheap and perhaps not for everyone but, if you're ultra obsessive about car washing, this is the way to go.

 

[DFB5.0]

For a long time, I always preferred using a hose mainly because the hassle and annoyance of setting up and using a pressure washer. The majority of pressure washers on the market come with short, crappy hoses and a gun that is unsuited to car cleaning. Combine a crappy hose, crappy gun and crappy OE fittings, using a pressure washer was just a chore.

My main requirement when replacing my old Karcher K2 was to be able to upgrade key components so I could tailor the machine to car cleaning. During this process, I learnt a lot about pressure washers, pressure washer accessories and how they all play together to make a machine tailored to car washing. I ultimately went for a Kranzle, and it's pretty bloody awesome, but also very expensive.

Kranzle K1122TST Pressure Washer | Obsessed Garage

For context, I use this machine a lot, I wanted something that was going to be a pleasure to use, serviceable and offer the ability to customize my attachments. I realize this is a very expensive machine, but the use it gets justifies the additional cost.

A couple of things you will need to consider -

-For car washing, stay with electric. A gas-powered pressure washing is just not needed for cars, is nosier and less convenient to use.

-Do you need a portable solution, as in a self-contained unit with a hose and wheels (like my Kranzle or Karcher). Or do you want something you can mount to a wall or even a service cart?

-Flow rate is more important than extreme pressure. Often, pressure washers will have big psi ratings, but that can be at the expense of flow. More flow equals more work being done.

-Save for the very lower end of the market, most pressure washers will be able to produce good quality foam. For example, that K2 I posted above ran a foam cannon no trouble, with a 1750psi rating.

-Consider pressure washers that allow you to change the hose and gun. (I will touch on that later)

-Spending more on a machine doesn't always mean a better machine for car washing. Quite often, a line of pressure washers from a brand will all have the same pump, the extra cost buys more useless accessories (deck cleaners, gutter attachments, crappy soap dispensers ect.)

Here are a couple of pressure washers at the low to mid level range that are more suitable for car washing -

(NOTE - I am from Australia, so I don't really know much about where you can get these in the USA, so I have linked you to Obsessed Garage just because that's an easy reference. Most of these units can be had elsewhere though, hardware store ect.)

Karcher K1700 Cube - This produces good specs, and importantly, can have upgrades hoses, guns and attachments added. These have a different pump than the rest of the cheaper Karchers, that's a good thing. Karcher have also introduced a couple of newer versions of the Cube, retaining the ability customize.

GPM - 1.1
PSI - 1700

Karcher K1700 | Electric Power Pressure Washer | Obsessed Garage
Kärcher Electric Pressure Washers / Power Washers | Kärcher (kaercher.com)

Active VE52 / 56 - Like the K1700, this can be upgraded. The bonus with this machine is the flow rate.

GPM - 1.84
PSI - 1090

Active VE52 | Active Pressure Washer | Obsessed Garage

Active 2.0 - This is the updated version of the VE52/56, offering superior longevity and flow rate. Don't let the low PSI fool you, it's the flow rate where this shines.

GPM - 2.0+
PSI - 700

Active 2.0 Pressure Washer | Budget Electric Pressure Washer | Obsessed Garage

From here, you move into the likes of Kranzle, AR Blue and Comet -

Kranzle K1322TS Pressure Washer | Premium Pressure Washer | Obsessed Garage (Static)
Kranzle K1122TST Pressure Washer | Obsessed Garage (Mobile)

AR Blue Clean AR630-TSS Pressure Washer | Obsessed Garage
Comet Static 1700 Extra | Pressure Washer | Obsessed Garage

As mentioned, the hoses supplied with pressure washers are generally always far too short for efficient car washing and will necessitate moving the pressure washer around, probably getting tangled with the garden hose and power cord in the process. And the standard guns are too long. Changing these two components will transform a pressure washer user experience, making the process quicker and more enjoyable. This is where adding specific upgraded hoses and guns comes into the equation, and why you should consider the units posted above, as they allow this to be possible.

Linking you to Obsessed Garage, they offer everything you need to upgrade the hose and gun in 3 different tiers. Have a browse through their solutions for each unit, making it easy to just buy everything you need to get up and going.

Solutions – Obsessed Garage

The key thing you want is a gun, I run both the MTM SGS 28 and Mosmatic OG Spec. This makes it easier to attach and disconnect a foam cannon without goofy proprietary fittings. These also swivel so the hose doesn't bind up. -

In short gun format, this makes wheel cleaning much easier.

Your foam cannon then connects to the short gun -

Optional, you can also add a wand for easier rinsing -

The above can usually be adapted to standard pressure washer hoses, although hose upgrades are very much worthwhile -

Pressure Washer Hose | KobraJet 3/8 Inch | Obsessed Garage Store
Gray KobraJet 3/8" Pressure Washer Hose – Obsessed Garage
High Pressure Hose | Pressure Washing Hose | Obsessed Garage

Adding all this to a cheap pressure washer might sound like madness, but these items can be transferred over to newer machines when required. As mentioned, most of the above is linked to Obsessed Garage, but they can be had elsewhere too.

Hope that helps.

 

[ECSIII]

Thanks for all the great replies. I'm a neophyte at this detailing activity and indeed will only be a light user of a pressure washer powered foam cannon. It was my intention to use the info gathered here to do further research and select a hopefully effective, lower-cost pressure washer for this purpose which could be added to the Christmas wish list. In the course of investigating these recommendations I found my way to the Karcher site and I couldn't resist the special $50 discount for the K3 which is normally offered there for $189.99 https://www.kaercher.com/us/home-garden/electric-pressure-washers/k-3-power-control-16761090.html

Now, I'd like to order a gun referenced by DFB5.0 https://www.obsessedgarage.com/coll...with-quick-disconnects?variant=39171350397079
But, of the 3 choices shown at that link, I have no idea which one I need for the K3 and the Karcher website was no help. So, please help me understand the correct choice for this particular application.

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