Experience with Great Stuff spray foam gun
Houghton123
| Posted in Tools for Home Building on
Anyone have experience, good or bad, with the guns Great Stuff offers for their foam? I’m looking at the Model 14, $55. Aluminum body, plastic can attachment receiver, supposedly replaceable nozzle. That’s the gun that shows up locally.
I’ll be doing foamed-in-place sheet foam to insulate the whole floor (from the drarwlspace) – 1500 sqauare feet – and about a third of the ceiling the same way. And lthen, of course, whatever uses come up after that.
And a question about the guns in general: I see pictures of the guns being used with the can other than upside down, but one thread here said that, like the rattle cans, they need the can to be upside down to work. Can I use the gun in odd orientations, like with the gun sideways?
Replies
i have a similar foam gun (different brand) and it works great. side ways, upsidedown, rightside up it doesnt make much of a difference. make sure your foam can is shaken well prior to foaming.
Keep can on top
I recently used the same gun ... once.
Your control of the flow and placement of the bead is far better than it ever is with a disposable can. The metal nozzle is long enough that keeping the can inverted was never a problem.
I used the acetone cylinder to clean the gum. I have not used the gun since; I should be using it again sometime soon- I truly hope it's not plugged!
Since the gun will wind up spraying a jet of acetone out the nozzle, you really want to do the cleaning OUTSIDE, in a NO SMOKING area.
I've done a lot of foaming in the last 5 years, on projects just like you're describing. I would strongly recommend the FNS 500 gun, which is the best gun I've found. It's under $30 on the Foam N' Seal website. The Teflon coating is amazing--the dried glue just peels right off.
http://www.foamnseal.com/fns-500/
The barbed tip on the FNS 500 lets you add some plastic hose or a tapered tip to direct the foam into small cracks or around corners. I had problems with the hose and tips popping off and making a huge mess until I started using a small piece of Tyvek tape to wrap around the gun/tip connection. No more problems with the tips popping off.
I've used a bunch of different brands of foam, and there are differences. You'll have to see what works best for you. Most cans can be sprayed in any orientation for a very brief period of time when they are new. But as they empty, it become necessary to keep them as vertical (upside down) as possible. If not, you start releasing pressure without spraying any foam.
To spray in the places you're describing, while still keeping the gun in the correct orientation, I use a length of hose that I can direct wherever I need the foam. The gun and can are pretty large and awkward, so it often works best to have the gun out of the way a little bit. With hose attached, the process is a bit messier--much like the cheaper rattle cans. Each time you stop, the foam in the hose continues to expand and ooze out.
Make sure you also buy some cans of cleaner. You'll want it to get foam off of your hands and everywhere else it ends up getting smeared. It's a messy job! I also try to clean the gun a little bit each time I change cans, especially the threads and area where the can connects.
Good luck!
I have that gun and it works as good as most - I've been around a dozen or so guns and my opinion is that to always keep a can of foam attached and don't bother with the cleaner. As the nozel wears and doesn't seal completely eventually it will develop enough of a slow leak that the material near the tip will cure and render it useless at which time you throw it away and g t another. With light use a new gun can easily go 6 months to a year in between uses with the foam can screwed on. On a worn out gun you won't be able to go more than a few weeks without it freezing up. Simply give the gun a small squirt once in a while and it will be ready to use when needed
A better bang for your buck are the generic guns - some $25 guns will be better than a $100 gun.
If you don't know, some spray foam is a very good adhesive and can be used as a fast curing wood glue with strength that rivals carpenter glue....
Foam guns
I sell those, 5 for $80 delivered. Generic brand made in China just like all the rest. First one I bought years ago was a Hilti. Expensive, about $100 then.
They don't last forever, especially if you drop it off a ladder.
Joe H