I’m tired of wasting half a can expanding foam whenever I need it. I buy Great Stuff, or similar.
Who hads a decent reusable foam system? How about Hilti?
There’s a real Hilti ( not a HD aisle) store about 10 miles from me. I think their deal is that if you buy a case of foam cans, you get the applicator gun free.
How long does the foam last if the can isn’t opened?
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Replies
A long time, though how long I'm not sure. I usually have a half-dozen cans on hand and they can sit for a year if I'm not doing something that needs them.
Free gun is a good deal. Depends on what they are charging for the foam though. I get mine from efi.org. Their foam is about 15 bucks a can. Their gun is basically the same gun as the hilti. The gun alone is about 90 bucks. I've had one clog up in about 8 years. You have to be diligent about leaving cans on the gun, and keeping the nozzle closed when not using it.
Steve
we almost always have a half can on the gun... doesn't seem to matter..
we used to take the can off and run cleaner thru it to store the gun... got lots of clogs..... seems to like being stored with a can on it
http://www.energyfederation.org/consumer/default.php/cPath/21_1177_439
I have this one--came in a kit with a green plastic box, two cans of foam, a bunch of needle tips and some cleaner.
I've put about 10 cans of foam thru it, followed their rec. to always leave a can of foam on the gun and have not had to use the cleaner at all.
Always goes. Even after sitting around for months.
It has a safety too--can u imagine the back of the truck if the trigger got depressed in amongst all the tools?!
I've had a can of WD-40 empty itself in a toolbox when the valve got bumped.
I don't want to imaging what a can of foam would be like.
I was going to ask a question when I saw this thread, but you kinda beat me to it.We had a can of foam explode on a gun this summer. I guess it was too warm in our shed.It was in a milk crate with a pair of vice grips, Estwing hammer, and 7-1/4" circular saw blade. The foam partially encapsulated the tools and pretty much filled up the milk crate.I tried to rescue the gun, but I think it's a goner. Fortunately it was the cheapest Great Stuff gun, so not a big loss.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
I tossed a full can of foam onto the floor of my cluttered pickup cab and it punctured on a saw blade. It was kind of like watching a car's air bag inflate. There was just INSTANTLY this big ball of foam on the floor. Sold the truck 5 years later and still had bits of foam stuck here and there.You can disassemble the Great Stuff gun. The old foam can be burned off with a propane torch or soaked in a strong solvent like Lacquer thinner. I've done this to guns that had been left with the can off and completely seized up with dried foam.
what ever gun yet get ditch the can of spray acetone they sell to clean it and buy a can of it instead, then dump it in a jar the size of the gun for cleaning ..
"I've had a can of WD-40 empty itself in a toolbox when the valve got bumped.I don't want to imaging what a can of foam would be like."
Now that made me laugh. I think you just invented a new form of torture for "the new guy". No more nailing his toolbox to the floor. Just fill it with Great Stuff at the end of the day and hang around the next morning to watch his reaction. ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Used some Foam in a old 'potty' ( lined with plastic ) our club 'borrowed' from another ( was ther meeting fines pot), painted a nice brown color, looked like someone s_ it in it, real good gag ,lol, when we presented it back to another club. Fined the club for loseing it, fines were donated to Cystic Fibrosis.
I had trimmed a bunch of squeeze out ( foam I mean) on my log house..some had blown into the dog pen.
Wife and I were out shoveling the poo and I saw an ole hunk of foam, I left it there. Wife looks over and says "There, ya missed one"..and pointed at it.
I picked it with with my hand and bit into it..and said " yeah, yer right". Man, she about dropped.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
"I picked it with with my hand and bit into it..and said ' yeah, yer right'."
Cheech & Chong movie:
Cheech & Chong walking, stranded, thru a desert. Chong picks up a lump of something.
Chong: "Hey, man! Peyote!" (Hands it to Cheech, who tastes it, makes a face and spits it out.)
Cheech: "Hey, man! That's not peyote! That's horse carp!"
Chong: "Yeah. I thought it might be."
Classic.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Or..(Sniff)..FIFI!..LOL.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
One positive for filling a tool box with foam- it makes it much tougher to steal the tools. <G>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg2OBWE0uYM
Thanks to all for the input.
Oh yeah.
Now THAT's what I'm talkin' about! ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
My version of that story involves a sure-fire torch. Luckily, I was only driving a short distance. But it was quite a surprise to open up the back of the truck, and find a bonfire!AitchKay
some day there will be a picture post of a giant conglomerate of tools/foam with the shape of a wheelwell to one side.
Hopefully the dog won't be caught up in it.
:-)
I've used the Great Stuff "pro" guns. They seem to work fine. The guns can be taken all apart and cleaned.
I like that gun too. I had the Hilti gun originally, but it got clogged up and there was no way to clean it. The Great Stuff 14 series is the one, I think.
I like Great stuff foam too - it's also a firestop!
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
I like Great stuff foam too - it's also a firestop!
My can of Great Stuff says cured foam is inflammable.
I have the sharpshooter-x from touch-n-seal.
I went with this brand because the supplier is close by, and the foam is a little cheaper than hilti. The door and window foam is perfect for what I do.
http://www.touch-n-seal.com/foamguns.htm
Gun was about $60 I think.
I bought the Great Stuff 14 at Menards a few months back. Have used it for about 10 cans of foam so far and am quite pleased. Only cost $35 on sale - $50 regular price. As others have mentioned - always keep a can on the gun and always close the valve when not in use. Much more convenient than the disposable cans.
I have the Hilti gun, which has worked fine for awhile. I only bought because HD was closing out their Great Stuff gun cans for $1.25 each, so I bought 50. It's fun to fill every crack in my board sheathing, I let my son do it to get him of the xbox.
BTW, some foams DO havea shelf life. I had bought some cans of sheathing glue foam, and they turned out to be close to their expiration date. They still stuck, but they didn't foam and flow as well as before.
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
shep,
What I do is save the nozzles. When using multiple cans I only use one nozzle and save all the others for future use..Unscrew the one from the empty can and screw it onto the new can.. (save the unused nozzle) when you have a 1/2 can or 1.4 can or even less turn the can right side up and spray untill only air comes out. Next time you use it you have a 50/50 chance of it working. If it doesn't replace the nozzle and try again, if it still doesn't take a sheetrock screw and screw it down the throat of the can and pull out the foam plug that's blocking the nozzle in the top of the can.
I have had over a 98% success rate using those methods with partial cans. I'll bet I've got over 30+ cases of foam in my house and still have a dozen new nozzles.
I've been using the middle Great STuff gun for about 3 years now. Love it. Usually keep a can of foam on it. Can sit for months between uses. As someone mentioned, Menards puts it on sale from time to time. Also, they put their foam on sale too. $10/can regually is $8 on sale.
The orange fire blocking or resistant or whatever foam also trims nicely. So I sometimes will over fill a space and then come back and trim it off. The window/door stuff doesn't trim quite as nice, but obviously has its uses. I noticed Menards has started to carry the adhesive foam, but I haven't tried that yet.
In between cans I will sometimes run thecleaner solution through it just to clean it out.
One point of advice: Make sure you screw the can on straight, or you can get a mess in a hurry. Also, when you pick up the foam at the store, make sure that the threads aren't messed up. I've had two cans in 3 years that had funky threads that I didn't spot until I tried to screw them on the gun.
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
I got the Hilti gun/case of foam/can of cleaner deal about 2 or 3 years ago. Sometimes I use it frequently, other times not for 4 or more months. I normally do not have a problem. After each use I clean the tip with acetone and leave on a can of foam.
The only time that I have had a problem was when the gun wasn't used for about 7 months. I removed the can of foam and attached the can of cleaner. I regularly worked some acetone into the tip, pulled the trigger, played with it, and so on. I did this several times a day for a few days. Finally, all of the foam was removed and the gun works fine. (Just be careful--when the last bit of foam does come out it will be followed by a blast of cleaner.)
I have never had foam accidentally mess up a tool box or storage area. I do store it carefully and keep it from getting too hot. As for accidents--like pushing the nozzle on a can of spray paint or WD40--the trigger lock and flow control knob should prevent any accidents except those caused by punctures, breakage, or excessive heat.