Have you ever left a spray foam gun on the hose over the weekend and showed up Monday with crossed fingers hoping it works? Remember how it felt opening the valves and pulling the trigger, only to have the gun plug up instantly? Yep, the A-side or isocyanate, crystallized in one of the fluid passages, and Monday isn’t fun anymore. Well, here’s an easy preventative measure so that doesn’t happen again.
A-side reacts with a lot of materials because a lot of materials have at least a trace amount of moisture in them. Isocyanate is constantly seeking moisture, drawing it out of the air so it can cure and harden. Iso, being a high-performance glue, makes a bond that is usually stronger than the materials stuck together. Yes. This is why it’s so frustrating to clean it out of small passages in the gun! If you haven’t experienced it…way to go! It’s not fun! Most of the time parts need to be repaired or replaced because they get damaged during the cleaning/scraping/drilling process that ensues.
Instead of letting the chemical harden in the gun, here’s a way to purge that fluid out. All you need is a nifty little flush pot, which by the way, was designed for exactly that purpose. A flush pot is a metal canister with a coupling block and a short hose that attaches to the gun. Simply fill it with a mild plasticizer, like Surf-A-Lube or TSL, tighten the lid, and pressurize it with air. All it takes is a 10-second pull of the trigger while the safety is off and VOILA! All of the fluid passages are purged clean and you… can rest easy.
One could say, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” That’s true if you spray 6 days a week, almost every week. It’s a pretty safe bet if it only sits a day or two, but three days is always iffy. I’ve seen countless gun problems this would have prevented over the last decade. If you spray often, this is a quick and easy task. But, if there are multiple days between jobs, I really, really, encourage you to do it. Really. Really, Really.
Every spray foam insulation rig should have a flush pot assembly like the one we use in the video. To get one for your rig, contact your sales representative or the IDI location nearest you. Here at IDI, our goal is to make you better, so if you have questions about this process or want more information on SPF best practices, we have a nationwide team of spray foam service technicians who are ready to help. Please like and share this tip and check back soon for more!