Replies

1. 
   Bill_Flather | Mar 18, 2002 04:10pm | #1

   *
   I had the same question. I called Cocoon and they told me the blowers should be able to do it. I also called the manufacturers of the blower (Promax, model 118). The person I spoke to was not confident that it was really up to the task of dense-packing, but was more of an open attic type unit. It may be possible if you use a really lean mix; lots of air, light on the cellulose, and as short a section of feed hose as possible, but may take a long time to do it. I found a Promax 218 and it did a fine job. Check out equipment rental shops in the area and see if any of them handle cellulose blowers.

   Pics of my effort here:
   http://webx.taunton.com/WebX?128@@.2cbfdedc

1. 
   Jerry | Mar 19, 2002 06:31am | #2

   *Bill,That was a very informative thread you started. Believe it not, I found and read that thread before posting :-) The reason I asked is because my Lowes doesn't seem to have the same blower. It's green instead of blue and doesn't look as tall. I don't think it's a Promax. I was hoping someone knew something about it.Thanks,Jerry

1. 
   wflather | Mar 20, 2002 09:13pm | #3

   Jerry,  The Lowes blowers here (central PA) are similar to the one in the picture, but about half as tall. I called Cocoon and they told me that they were Promax 118's. I found the Promax site on the internet and called them. The rep I talked to was familiar with the process, and admitted that to achieve dense pack with the 118 may require some patience and a lean mix. I have an ever so slight edge because the agency I work for sponsors a weatherization program that has been dense packing with cellulose for years. They are really way ahead of most local contractors on weatherization science. The wx guys here also were sceptical about using a Lowes variety blower for this and agreed to loan me one they use, same make, better model (218); same basic footprint, but twice as tall and more powerful motor.  I got my cellulose at Lowes and used the loaner from our wx guys to blow it. If you use the Lowes blower, you probably would want to keep the blast gate at the bottom of the hopper mostly closed. measure a couple of cavities and calulate how much many bales of cellulose it will take to fill them to 3 - 3.5 lbs / sq ft. You can see if you are actually hitting your target. (sorry to be redundant if you already figured that out).

   Have you read any of the dense pack articles in past FH issues? They are useful if you haven't.

   Good luck, cellulose is a whole lot more pleasant to work with than fg.

1. 
   Fred_Lugano | Mar 20, 2002 09:38pm | #4

   Still lost.

   The key element of a good blower is the feed device. On lesser models, the fan is mounted externally and #### cels out of the hopper. The good one have a rotary "air lock" which takes the cels from the bottom of the hopper.

   With an air lock machine, the air pump never sees insulation so it can achieve higher pressures and flows.

1. 
   oldjerry | Mar 24, 2002 09:28am | #5

   Fred,

   From what you've described the Lowes machine sounds like an air lock machine, so i guess it'll work for me. The blower seems to be mounted underneath, because you can't see it. there's an adjustable gate at the bottom of the hopper that the cells falls through. Am I on the right track?

   Jerry

2. 
   Fred_Lugano | Mar 24, 2002 11:06pm | #7

   Dear Jerry,

   That's it. I used a green model years ago from HD to see if people could get good results. It worked fine, if a little slow. But I'm spoiled with robust equipment.

   The green unit had a 2 1/2 inch hose take off, a grate over the hopper that made it hard to feed, and rubber tipped paddles.

   By sliding the gate closed, you can get a very lean mix and it will pack tight. I did a bag count and verified high densities.

   One trick we found useful with a small machine, is to lay a blue tarp under it before starting. You get lots of spillage feeding the narrow hopper. The tarp makes clean up and recovering useful insulation easy.

   Regards, Fred

   [email protected]

2. 
   oldjerry | Mar 24, 2002 09:43am | #6

   Bill,

   Thanks for all the help, and I have read the FHB articles (thanks Fred!); however, I'm always eager to learn from someone else's experience. I just hoped I'd find someone who has used that blower successfully. It might be a Promax, but as I said, it's green. I tried to find a Promax web site so I could get a look at their machines but had no luck. The Cocoon site wasn't very helpful either.

   Jerry