Fitting AB Foam Lance

[Brand86]

Ok I know there are meant to be issues with the fitting of these to Karchers, but it just doen't seem the same shape/size as the existing one and if they think I am going to spend hours f**king around drilling/ sanding/ using papier-mache to solve it then Autobrite can go suck lemons.

A shot of the Karcher lance compared to the Autobrite one (sorry about the poor focus). The Karcher one has the two indented bits on the yellow ring bit you can see, the AB one doesn't...

Matt (who I ordered from, not who made it!) kindly send me some instructions for if it is tight but I'm not going to start drilling and grinding myself to get this fixed, it just plain doesn't seem to work.

Any suggestions? This is really f**king me off!

 

[Brand86]

Just tried again and still doesn't work...severely pissed off right now and thinking should have saved the money, feel like I am going to break the Karcher gun or foam lance trying to fit it

 

[aceface]

No suggestions mate, like you say I know there were some issues with tight fitting, but not sure on what became of it.

Bet you were so excited aswell!!

Have you actually tried fitting it or are you just judging from the fact that the ends don't look the same?

 

[Brand86]

Yeah mate have been waiting for ages to get one and wanted to do my mums car for her with it as a late mothers day present. I tried connecting it, it goes in but you need to rotate it once its in (assuming its fitted the same as the original Karcher lance it comes with) and it just doesn't rotate. I have tried some WD40 to try and reduce the friction but still no look. I don't want to force it because I am scared of breaking either the gun or the lance. The sheet Matt supplied me with recommends opening the gun and sanding part of it down but a. I don't have the right tool to remove the screws and b. For a piece of metal piping and some plastic it is bloody expensive and I don't see why I should have to do this.

To be honest I am considering sending it back and sticking with the Super Spray as it works well enough, and well...it works.

 

[aceface]

Yeah it does seem a bit of a con when you pay 50 quid for, lets face it, not very much, and then have to strip it all down and start modifying it!

Oh well, good luck anyway!

 

[Christophe]

cant see properly on that pic. Whats the yellow bit?

On mine it is a b*****d but im used to it and there is a slight technique in getting it on and off. The first time i got very stressed.

This is how i do it on mine

Angle the lancer so the bottle is horizontal to ur left. Then push and twist downwards. Bit of force needed.

To take off which is worse i find you do exactly the same but other way. So push and twist upwards.Sometimes if you wiggle it before u push and twist it'll click a bit meaning it ready to come off.

hard to explain so sorry if that makes no sense.

 

[Brand86]

TBH I think Autobrite are having an absolute laugh with this product, might work ok once its fitted but this is just stupid. Will have another couple of goes but if not its going back as quite simply I don't see the need for me to be f**king about sanding stuff down to make their product fit.

Thanks for the advice Cristophe will have another go now, but scared of breaking stuff really...

 

[The Big Yin]

Never had any probs when i had one. Tempted to try out the superspray for the money as i no longer have a p/w

 

[Revels]

I was talking to my mate about it and he had to sand it down, although he still said it doesnt fit very well so doesnt really bother with it.

Its in my car, i'll go get it and get you a pic in a min, might be able to see the difference.

 

[Brand86]

Cool cheers Revels, just tried again and no luck. Looks very similar to the Karcher fitting but must be slightly larger as its not working. How long does sanding down metal take?!?

Will have a go later with my dad but trying to force it doesn't seem the way to go. Piece of s**t it really is.

 

[Revels]

Sanding down metal will takes ages!

 

[Brand86]

Exactly...

Thinking its going to have to go back, shame as I have wanted one for ages, but if it doesn't fit it doesn't fit...

 

[mattjk]

What a joke hey. a bl00dy rip off and doesnt even fit!

 

[Brand86]

Exactly, so far definitely could not recommend the product, will be getting sent back later tonight by looks of things. Save your money guys and get a Super Spray

 

[Christophe]

TBH I think Autobrite are having an absolute laugh with this product, might work ok once its fitted but this is just stupid. Will have another couple of goes but if not its going back as quite simply I don't see the need for me to be f**king about sanding stuff down to make their product fit.

Thanks for the advice Cristophe will have another go now, but scared of breaking stuff really...

People are saying sanding down but you dont need to. I take mine on and off about 5 times a wash and do it every week. First time i couldnt do it at all and after a while it got easier. It's hard to break. "touch wood" as knowing my luck it'll break this weekend lol.

Once you got it working you'll love it and want to wash everycar in sight lol.

 

[Christophe]

Is it going in but wont twist??

 

[Brand86]

Yeh no twisting...scared of snapping it by forcing it and don't want to sand in case the standard Karcher fittings don't work...yeah I do want it to work thats why I am getting so annoyed with it! Suggestions?

 

[Middo]

i had a chat with both mark at autobrite, and with the karcher rep that comes into my work. both of them give a completely different story, and imo he should stop selling them as theres been loads of horror stories.

marks a genuine guy, so if if i were you i would just send it back and get the karcher equivalent which is bound to fit properly.

 

[Christophe]

ye this was the problem i had at first. Dont want to scare you but getting it off can be harder lol.

u'll have noticed the lancer twists ye? Which is why you need to just put it into the karcher so the bottle is horizontal and facing left. That way when you twist it doesnt just twist the lancer.


The trick is push it really hard into the karcher and at the same time twist it downwards. Same method as if you were opening pills that are in those push and twist bottles.

 

[Brand86]

I ordered it from i4detailing not Autobrite directly (i4detailing manage to sell it cheaper than buying directly too somehow...) but I know it can work, but the fact I was sent a sheet explaining how to either sand part of the Karcher gun down or drilling it(!) doesn't bode well in my eyes. If I buy a tyre for my car I don't have to carve it into a circle so it fits well...don't see why I should have to for this.

 

[Brand86]

ye this was the problem i had at first. Dont want to scare you but getting it off can be harder lol.

u'll have noticed the lancer twists ye? Which is why you need to just put it into the karcher so the bottle is horizontal and facing left. That way when you twist it doesnt just twist the lancer.


The trick is push it really hard into the karcher and at the same time twist it downwards. Same method as if you were opening pills that are in those push and twist bottles.

I tried that though. When you say the lance twists do you mean twists in the Karcher gun or the top bit of the lance (it seems to twist around a bit? Not sure if its meant to?)

 

[7MAT]

Its not an AB lance, we just use the same supplier.

In fact all of the Karcher foam lances available (both std and HD) use the same brass connector, which I understand the manufacturers are now looking into.

Brand86 you have PM.

 

[Christophe]

i am a big gay french wanker. thats why i like renaults so much. i put my willy in my exhuast at night time.

lol lmaoroflpmsl.

p.s you should push it really really hard into the karcher. it feels better that way

 

[Brand86]

Just spoke to Matt at i4detailing and he has a possible cunning solution...which will HOPEFULLY work. If it does then could mean this problem is solved once and for all, just a shame the manufacturers of the connection don't do it themselves!

Will let you know how it goes!

 

[Christophe]

i am a big gay french w**ker. thats why i like renaults so much. i put my willy in my exhuast at night time.

lol lmaoroflpmsl.

p.s you should push it really really hard into the karcher. it feels better that way

Ok people this isnt me i got hi-jacked at work. left it on when i went for my lunch. school boy error haha

 

[mattjk]

LOL I like that ^^

 

[Brand86]

^ Was wondering what all that was about!

Update: After speaking to Matt on the phone (bloody nice guy) a tin of WD40 and enough muscle to make Popeye jealous, managed to get the lance on and decided to have a practice on the mum's Golf. WOW. Literally so much spunk started coming out I cracked up and had to get my mum to show her that the black Golf was now white...I stopped laughing when I realised I had sprayed our neighbours windows and our garage! :S

Anyway, brilliant little device once you get it working. I think it is expensive for what it is made of but it is really good.

10/10 to Matt and i4detailing though too, package arrived quickly and he is even fabricating a slightly different adaptor which should fit easier. Thumbs up!

 

[Christophe]

glad u got it working. So much fun though as it really gets thick. i always end up washing parents car when i do mine as i cant stop lol

 

[Brand86]

It was hella fun, didn't bother cleaning it at all just sprayed it off but seemed to loosen the baked on mud and stuff really well, I want to use it again already!

 

[The Big Yin]

Yes it does become addictive , it will wear off in time ----- NOT !!

 

[Brand86]

It's like being a Ghostbuster!

 

[Eddieb]

glad to see you get it sorted mate. I used mine for the first time last weekend and thought it was great fun!

 

[Brand86]

The word that comes to mind is "spunktastic"

 

[The Big Yin]

Now you just have to master the touchless wash using the snowfoam

 

[aceface]

Now you just have to master the touchless wash using the snowfoam

Not conviced there will ever be such a thing TBH. I'd never feel comfortable drying straight after just foaming and rinsing.

 

[Turner]

Brand can i ask how you got it to work as Mat is sending me a HD foam lance and i will be like you like really excited about using it when i t arrives so any tips would be appreciated mate

 

[Brand86]

Now you just have to master the touchless wash using the snowfoam

Not conviced there will ever be such a thing TBH. I'd never feel comfortable drying straight after just foaming and rinsing.

I agree, still got to follow upp with a mitt, 2 (or 3 or more!) bucket method and normal shampoo. Snow Foam doesn't leave a great finish!

Brand can i ask how you got it to work as Mat is sending me a HD foam lance and i will be like you like really excited about using it when i t arrives so any tips would be appreciated mate

Sure mate...I sprayed some WD40 onto the lance connector and some more into the Karcher gun bit...then put the lance into the gun, then whilst holding the butt of the gun into your chest firmly but slowly push it RIGHT down into the gun, then when its as far as it will go slowly rotate it right. TBH my lance seemed slightly mis-aligned (probably my fault trying to push it in!) so when it was in the bottle wasn't hanging straight down but I just didn't twist is 100% but still stays firmly in.

For the solution I put like 2-3 cm Snow Foam in the bottle and the rest hot water and this produced great results.

Even at minimum concentration some Snow Foam still comes out, but as your meant to rinse the lance through with clean water after using it I just emptied the remains, rinses out and filled with cold water and ran that through.

Should have taken some photos as I didn't think it would work well first time but I was wrong, worked great!

 

[Turner]

Cheers mate