Iowa Spray Foam Equipment

Using commercially available plural-component proportioning equipment, spray foam professionals are able to apply foam to building structures. Foam can also be applied using cans or bottles and DIY Spray Foam Insulation Kits for small projects.

You can use 55-gallaon drum sets to store the polyol resin and isocyanate material components. There are certain specifications that must be met when you are shipping or storing the drum sets. One you get to the job site the material components are then transferred to a machine using special pumps, transfer pumps.

The machines used to apply spray foam have two proportioning pumps for each component. These pumps heat and proportion the two components, isocyanate and polyol resin through heated hoses to the spray gun. These two components are separate through the whole process until they reach the spray gun and are mixed together and applied.

Proportioning Machines

There are a numerous amount of different proportioning machines that are made by many companies. There are certain aspects that should be looked at when purchasing a new one. The important ones include the type of drive system, output and pressure capacity, heating capacity, and electrical system.

The drive system is one of the most important aspects because it is what makes the portioning pumps go up and down and back and forth. These pumps ratio the material and move them out throughout the machine that eventually reach the spray gun. Drive systems are usually either pneumatically, electrically, or electric-hydraulically driven. Pneumatically is using the least expensive because the air is compressible why hydraulic is considered more expensive but higher performance.

Spray Guns

Every spray gun has a certain technology in it, which allows it to mix both components immediately so that they can exit the spray gun joined together. One the two materials come together inside the gun, they begin to react as soon as they mix and exit the spray gun. If the reacted material is not released from the gun, it will harden up inside and become unusable. However there is a system inside the spray gun called purging that makes sure this does not happen. There are three different purge systems that are all different. They are a mechanical purge, air purge, and solvent purge.

Heated Hoses

The construction market, specifically the commercial roofing and perimeter wall insulation is the most common SPF applications. In this case it is not always the easiest to lift the machine and all of its components to the roof. This is where the heated hoses come into play that could be several hundred feet to reach wherever spray foam needs to be applied. The materials are pre-heated in the machine but once they enter the hoses, the chemical heat is maintained until they are mixed so that the foam does not harden.

Auxiliary Equipment

There is much more equipment to Spray Foam machines then just the proportioning machine, spray gun, and heat hoses. There are different power tools that are used to set up, clean up and perform operational activities. The auxiliary equipment needs electrical power to run so it normally needs a mobile generator that has sufficient power to hand the job or power provide at the building site. You also normally need a supply of compressed air because that is what is need for the transfer pumps to pump the materials from the drums to the machines. In addition to that, spray guns also need air, along with pneumatic machines, which require air in specific volumes.

Mobile Spray Rigs

These are the turnkey trailer systems that have all the necessary tools integrated to complete a spray foam application job. They can either be a tag-along style or situated in a box truck. The benefit in having one of these is that everything you need is in one place, including the power and air supply.