In Wal-Mart, they have a foam gun

If that price is currently available and if you haven't posted a good deal already this month, sure, you may list it there.
 
vespid said:
From the picture on Messner's website, it looks the same as the Gilmour. Except the Gilmour has a brass quick disconnect which isn't shown in the pic on the Messner site. So, I'm not sure if the Butchers Gun has it or not.
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The only brass disconnect that came with mine (from Messner's and also my first one, from a different janitorial supply company) was the one in the middle of the gun, that attaches the pistol grip (which I promptly remove anyhow).



As Bill D said, the ones with the sliding brass mixing valve are all made by Gilmour. This includes the Butcher's and the Simple Green-branded ones.
 
Accumulator said:
The only brass disconnect that came with mine (from Messner's and also my first one, from a different janitorial supply company) was the one in the middle of the gun, that attaches the pistol grip (which I promptly remove anyhow).



As Bill D said, the ones with the sliding brass mixing valve are all made by Gilmour. This includes the Butcher's and the Simple Green-branded ones.
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Gotcha ... What do you use in place of the pistol grip?
 
vespid said:
... What do you use in place of the pistol grip?
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I use a plastic shutoff, one that has a big raised area for the on/off. I find it much more user-friendly than the pistol grip, and the shutoff I use is easy to manipulate with one hand. Also handy when I have a different nozzle on instead of the foamgun.



I've tried the much sturdier brass and potmetal shutoffs, but I find the plastic one easier to use with one hand. Gotta replace them pretty frequently though, they start to leak and then they break apart, launching the nozzle. I replace them at the fist sign of leakage, no biggie as they're pretty inexpensive.
 
Accumulator,



My plastic shut offs work awfully. Do you recommend strictly the plastic ones from Sears? I know you caution against the use of the brass kind for car washing entirely. Don't ever want them to launch when they fail! :scared:
 
Accumulator said:
I use a plastic shutoff, one that has a big raised area for the on/off. I find it much more user-friendly than the pistol grip, and the shutoff I use is easy to manipulate with one hand. Also handy when I have a different nozzle on instead of the foamgun.



I've tried the much sturdier brass and potmetal shutoffs, but I find the plastic one easier to use with one hand. Gotta replace them pretty frequently though, they start to leak and then they break apart, launching the nozzle. I replace them at the fist sign of leakage, no biggie as they're pretty inexpensive.
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The shutoff valve that came with the "Buckeye" Gilmour (lol) is basically junk in my opinion. It is very hard to operate and useless for one handed operation. I've gotta pick up one like you have. ;)
 
Bill D said:
..My plastic shut offs work awfully. Do you recommend strictly the plastic ones from Sears? I know you caution against the use of the brass kind for car washing entirely. Don't ever want them to launch when they fail!
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Bill D- Wanna make sure I wasn't unclear: I don't caution against the brass ones for fear of launching, they don't do that. I just don't like operating them with one hand; the little "lever" that controls them isn't as comfortable as the one on the plastic version. Ditto with the plastic shutoffs that use small, "two bumps" levers. The ones I use have a big, rectangular lever that controls them. Three raised bars molded into the end where the plastic enters the mold and six on the other end. Very easy to use with thumb and forefinger, or even with just your thumb.



Somebody else might do fine with the brass/potmetal ones. They aren't *that* bad; I used them for years. But even those eventually go bad, the lever strips and doesn't control the valve's ball. They usually start to leak at the lever mounting screw right before this happens. Oh, and the lever on the metal ones can break if you drop it a certain way.



I got a bunch of them at Sears (gray body, black parts), but I got my latest batch at Lowe's (green body, black parts). Sears item# 71-69429, Lowe's #0 34411 20505 1 (number under UPC code). The two items are identical except that the levers are positioned 180 degrees differently (works the same, just has off/on on L/R side, you could probably disassemble them and make them the same). Heh heh, guess who they're made by...our old pals Gilmour. No name on the Sears-branded one, but they are *absolutely identical* except for color and the lever thing. As you can imagine, they're a lot cheaper at Lowe's.
 
Accumulator,



Thanks for clearing that up and for providing those numbers :2thumbs: Ah, Gilmour :up I'm becoming a big fan.



I need to make it to a Lowe's now for sure, I already want that Brinkmann dual beam xenon light :D
 
This should be a good time of year to get the shutoffs at Lowe's. Heh heh, they don't have much hose/garden stuff on the shelves during the winter :D



But *man* I wish these things would last longer before they start to leak (and potentially fly apart) :(



Post something about that light too, assuming you buy one. Gotta handle better than the user-unfriendly work lights we're using now ;) I've tried using my SurFire M6, but it only works for small areas.
 
I too use a foam gun as part of my washing routine. The only difference between mine and the Gilmore one is that mine has a sliding pin that allows you vary the amount of soap being used on the fly. That way, you don't need to pre-dilute your soap. Just set the pin to the ratio you want and spray away. It also means you can just fill up your container with pure soap and not worry about it until you're out (I haven't refilled mine since last summer.)



The pin locks into pre-dertmined ratios (0.5oz/gal, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, etc...)



If anyone's interested in the model, I'll try and take pics tonight of the foam gun. Can't recall exactly where I got it but it shouldn't be too hard to find.
 
That sounds exactly like my Gilmour. I think many of us a prediluting the actual product we are putting in the foam gun container prior to turning it on for washing.



That's extremely impressive you haven't filled it since last summer! :shocked: I'd find it fairly routine to refill it maybe once a month plus. Keep in mind the foam gun is on constantly only being switched back and forth to rinse per panel, up until the final rinse step a la Accumulator's washing technique.
 
Yeah, I use mine in a different way than you and Accumulator do (more of a pre-soak after initial rinse to loosen up stubborn dirt.) I'm sure I use a lot less than you guys do.



Plus, I have to admit I've been using QEW more and more and traditional washes less.
 
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