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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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#1
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Expanding Foam
Hi
Bought a can of Polycell expanding foam for a job the other day - £7 odd in Focus. Used a small amount. Wanted to use it again over the weekend and everything is gummed up solid. After its first use I wiped the thread on top of the can, cleared the tube as best I could, but still U/S. Cleaned it all prior to second attempted use, still U/S. When I was in Machine Mart the other day I saw some 'No Waste' expanding foam, but too pushed for time to look and it isn't on their web site. Any tips on which brand survives more than one use? (I don't intend to fill a canoe with it BTW). -- Dave The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 |
#2
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Expanding Foam
I had this same issue and eventually, having tried everything I could to get the nozzle cleared, screwed a small screw down inside the plastic nozzle then when it got to the bottom and I heard some hissing of the gas propellant, pulled it out with a pair of pliers... It dragged this plug of solid foam ( that I couldn't see) out of the plastic nozzle... Lo and behold...Foam application started working again... Ged The Medway Handyman wrote: Hi Bought a can of Polycell expanding foam for a job the other day - £7 odd in Focus. Used a small amount. Wanted to use it again over the weekend and everything is gummed up solid. After its first use I wiped the thread on top of the can, cleared the tube as best I could, but still U/S. Cleaned it all prior to second attempted use, still U/S. When I was in Machine Mart the other day I saw some 'No Waste' expanding foam, but too pushed for time to look and it isn't on their web site. Any tips on which brand survives more than one use? (I don't intend to fill a canoe with it BTW). -- Dave The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 |
#3
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Expanding Foam
The Medway Handyman wrote: Hi Bought a can of Polycell expanding foam for a job the other day - £7 odd in Focus. Used a small amount. Wanted to use it again over the weekend and everything is gummed up solid. After its first use I wiped the thread on top of the can, cleared the tube as best I could, but still U/S. Cleaned it all prior to second attempted use, still U/S. When I was in Machine Mart the other day I saw some 'No Waste' expanding foam, but too pushed for time to look and it isn't on their web site. Any tips on which brand survives more than one use? (I don't intend to fill a canoe with it BTW). Buy a gun for it - http://www.toolstation.com/messages....5661&mainWin=1 They're £9.90 and keep the foam fresh for months. Also more controllable and less messy. Otherwise I think Polycell do a resealable one, but it wasn't very good when we tried it. A |
#4
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Expanding Foam
The Medway Handyman wrote: Hi Bought a can of Polycell expanding foam for a job the other day - £7 odd in Focus. Used a small amount. Wanted to use it again over the weekend and everything is gummed up solid. After its first use I wiped the thread on top of the can, cleared the tube as best I could, but still U/S. Cleaned it all prior to second attempted use, still U/S. When I was in Machine Mart the other day I saw some 'No Waste' expanding foam, but too pushed for time to look and it isn't on their web site. Any tips on which brand survives more than one use? (I don't intend to fill a canoe with it BTW). Buy a gun for it - http://www.toolstation.com/messages....5661&mainWin=1 They're £9.90 and keep the foam fresh for months. Also more controllable and less messy. Otherwise I think Polycell do a resealable one, but it wasn't very good when we tried it. Two questions about the guns: 1. What makes them easier to clean out than the plastic nozzle supplied with the can? 2. The main problem I find with a part-used can is not with the nozzle at all, but with the liquid inside the can very quickly going treacly and losing its fizz. -- Ian White |
#5
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Expanding Foam
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message . uk... Hi Bought a can of Polycell expanding foam for a job the other day - £7 odd in Focus. Used a small amount. Wanted to use it again over the weekend and everything is gummed up solid. After its first use I wiped the thread on top of the can, cleared the tube as best I could, but still U/S. Cleaned it all prior to second attempted use, still U/S. When I was in Machine Mart the other day I saw some 'No Waste' expanding foam, but too pushed for time to look and it isn't on their web site. Any tips on which brand survives more than one use? (I don't intend to fill a canoe with it BTW). -- Dave The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 A wet matchstick is your friend here. Do the usual 'spray other way up' trick to clear most out by just having the propellant come out, then insert a wet matchstick into the nozzle. When you next come to it, pull out the plug that will have formed round the matchstick. The tubes are fun to clear. I usually push a welding rod down and right through a few minutes after last use. Don't do what I did once, and drop a new can on it's nozzle and break the valve so all the faom comes out without being able to stop it - what a mess ! AWEM |
#6
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Expanding Foam
In article ,
"The Medway Handyman" wrote: Bought a can of Polycell expanding foam for a job the other day - £7 odd in Focus. Used a small amount. Wanted to use it again over the weekend and everything is gummed up solid. I have found (over a couple of years, with more than one can) that the trick is to wait for everything to solidify, then use appropriate tools to pick, scrape, push out the solidified foam. I use an old hat pin (!! dunno where we got it) to push the core out of the main application nozzle. Because of the smooth surfaces of the applicator there's never much of a problem in cleaning off solidified foam. The wife's nail varnish remover is used for cleaning stuff that's still gunky. john |
#7
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Expanding Foam
In article , The
Medway Handyman writes Hi Bought a can of Polycell expanding foam for a job the other day - £7 odd in Focus. Used a small amount. Wanted to use it again over the weekend and everything is gummed up solid. After its first use I wiped the thread on top of the can, cleared the tube as best I could, but still U/S. Cleaned it all prior to second attempted use, still U/S. When I was in Machine Mart the other day I saw some 'No Waste' expanding foam, but too pushed for time to look and it isn't on their web site. Any tips on which brand survives more than one use? Cleaning out the tube & nozzle with cellulose thinners will make it more likely to be reusable. Drip some in the nozzle, shake out then put in some more & leave upright. -- fred Plusnet - I hope you like vanilla |
#8
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Expanding Foam
Ian White wrote:
Two questions about the guns: 1. What makes them easier to clean out than the plastic nozzle supplied with the can? You buy a can of cleaning solvent that mounts on the gun in the same way. So after each use you flush all the foam out of it with the solvent. 2. The main problem I find with a part-used can is not with the nozzle at all, but with the liquid inside the can very quickly going treacly and losing its fizz. That seems to be caused by the can leaking its propellent through a non sealing valve. -- Cheers, John. /================================================== ===============\ | Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk | |-----------------------------------------------------------------| | John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk | \================================================= ================/ |
#9
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Expanding Foam
John Rumm wrote:
Ian White wrote: Two questions about the guns: 1. What makes them easier to clean out than the plastic nozzle supplied with the can? You buy a can of cleaning solvent that mounts on the gun in the same way. So after each use you flush all the foam out of it with the solvent. Ahh, I see... thank you. 2. The main problem I find with a part-used can is not with the nozzle at all, but with the liquid inside the can very quickly going treacly and losing its fizz. That seems to be caused by the can leaking its propellent through a non sealing valve. Funny, they all seem to do that for me, and there's never any obvious evidence of leakage. -- Ian White |
#10
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Expanding Foam
You only use the cleaner after you finish a tube, and not necessarily
after every tube - every 3 or 4 tubes is usually fine. The gun has a metal rod down it's nozzle which is retracted to release the foam, so the seal is made at the very tip of the gun. There is therefore no foam exposed to air after you've finished, so nothing dries up - effectively the gun becomes part of the can, not an extension nozzle. Because this valve mechanism is higher quality than on a disposable can, it doesn't leak propellant, so a part used can keeps for ages. The important thing is to always keep a can on the gun, so you need to have the next can ready for when you finish one. Andrew Ian White wrote: John Rumm wrote: Ian White wrote: Two questions about the guns: 1. What makes them easier to clean out than the plastic nozzle supplied with the can? You buy a can of cleaning solvent that mounts on the gun in the same way. So after each use you flush all the foam out of it with the solvent. Ahh, I see... thank you. 2. The main problem I find with a part-used can is not with the nozzle at all, but with the liquid inside the can very quickly going treacly and losing its fizz. That seems to be caused by the can leaking its propellent through a non sealing valve. Funny, they all seem to do that for me, and there's never any obvious evidence of leakage. -- Ian White |
#11
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Expanding Foam
Andrew wrote:
You only use the cleaner after you finish a tube, and not necessarily after every tube - every 3 or 4 tubes is usually fine. The gun has a metal rod down it's nozzle which is retracted to release the foam, so the seal is made at the very tip of the gun. There is therefore no foam exposed to air after you've finished, so nothing dries up - effectively the gun becomes part of the can, not an extension nozzle. Because this valve mechanism is higher quality than on a disposable can, it doesn't leak propellant, so a part used can keeps for ages. Thanks - you've made a sale! The important thing is to always keep a can on the gun, so you need to have the next can ready for when you finish one. Yep, understood. -- Ian White |
#12
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Expanding Foam
Thanks Andrew & John - I am a wiser man. I shall be ordering a gun & some
gun grade foam. -- Dave The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk 01634 717930 07850 597257 |
#13
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Expanding Foam
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Andrew Mawson" saying something like: Don't do what I did once, and drop a new can on it's nozzle and break the valve so all the faom comes out without being able to stop it - what a mess ! I had an unusual scupture spontaneously form in the back of the van from a leaky foam can. -- Dave |
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