It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you
take it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:19:33 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you take
it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

You mean you didn't have a handy canoe?



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On 2017-12-05, Bob Eager wrote:

On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:19:33 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you take
it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

You mean you didn't have a handy canoe?

I suppose I should've put "minor" in the subject, as expanding foam
"incidents" go.

The only losses from this one were the basement bin (actually the bin
from a shredder that died years ago) and the cost of part of a can of
foam. No carpet, clothes, hair or other significant damage.

Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:19:33 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you take
it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

You mean you didn't have a handy canoe?



You don't mean like this bloke?


Peter Parry wrote on the Subject of the Expanding Foam

A friend of mine once built a canoe. He spent a long time on it and it
was a work of art.
Almost the final phase was to fill both ends with polyurethane expanding
foam.
He duly ordered the bits from Mr Glasplies (an excellent purveyor of all
things fibreglass) and it arrived in two packs covered with
appropriately dire warnings about expansion ratios and some very good
notes on how to use it.
Unfortunately he had a degree, worse still two of them. One was in
Chemistry, so the instructions got thrown away and the other in
something mathematical because in a few minutes he was merrily
calculating the volume of his craft to many decimal places and the
guidelines got binned as well.
He propped the canoe up on one end, got a huge tin, carefully measured
the calculated amounts of glop, mixed them and quickly poured the
mixture in the end of the canoe (The two pack expands very rapidly).
I arrived as he was completing this and I looked in to see the end
chamber over half full of something Cawdors Witches would have been
proud of. Two thing occurred to me, one was the label which said in big
letters: "Caution - expansion ration 50:1" (or something similar) and
the other that the now empty tins said "approximately enough for 20
small craft"
Any comment was drowned out by a sea of yellow brown foam suddenly
pouring out of the middle of the canoe and the end of the canoe bursting
open. My friend screamed and leapt at his pride and joy which was
knocked to the ground as he started trying to bale handfuls of this
stuff out with his hands.
Knocking the craft over allowed the still liquid and not yet fully
expanded foam to flow to the other end of the canoe where it expanded
and shattered that end as well.
A few seconds later and we had a canoe with two exploded ends, a
mountain of solid foam about 4ft high growing out of the middle, and a
chemist firmly embedded up to his armpits in it.
At this stage he discovered the reaction was exothermic and his hands
and arms were getting very hot indeed. Running about in small circles in
a confined space while glued to the remains of a fairly large canoe
proved ineffective so he resorted to screaming a bit instead.
Fortunately a Kukri was to hand so I attacked the foam around his hands
with some enthusiasm. The process was hindered by the noise he was
making and the fact he was trying to escape while still attached to the
canoe.
Eventually I managed to hack out a lump of foam still including most of
his arms and hands. Unfortunately my tears of laughter were not helping
as they accelerated the foam setting.
Seeking medical help was obviously out of the question, the
embarrassment of having to explain his occupation (Chief Research
Chemist at a major petrochemical organisation) would simply never have
been lived down. Several hours and much acrimony later we had removed
sufficient foam (and much hair) to allow him to move again. However he
still looked something like a failed audition for Quasimodo with red
burns on his arms and expanded blobs of foam sticking everywhere. My
comment that the scalding simple made the hairs the foam was sticking to
come out easier was not met with the enthusiasm I felt it deserved.
I forgot to add that in retrospect rather unwisely he had set out to do
this deed in the hallway of his house (the only place he later explained
with sufficient headroom for the canoe - achieved by poking it up the
stairwell.
Having extricated him we now were faced with the problem of a canoe
construction kit embedded in a still gurgling block of foam which was
now irrevocably bonded to the hall and stairs carpet as well as several
banister rails and quite a lot of wallpaper.
At this point his wife and her mother came back from shopping......
Oh yes - and he had been wearing the pullover Mum in law had knitted him
for his birthday the week before.
Peter Parry. http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk

On 05/12/17 13:10, FMurtz wrote:

Peter Parry wrote on the Subject of the Expanding Foam

A friend of mine once built a canoe.... [...]

Excellent!

That's absolutely hilarious.

Bill

On 05/12/2017 12:19, Adam Funk wrote:
It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you
take it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

One of the reasons I tend to leave the can on the gun until I am sure I
am done with it!


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:

One of the reasons I tend to leave the can on the gun until I am sure I
am done with it!

That isn't foolproof either ...

http://andyburns.uk/test/foam_leak.jpg

Could you not sell it to the Tate Modern?
Just asking as cannot see it, but bet there is not much foam art about.
Brian

--
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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Adam Funk" wrote in message
...
It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you
take it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

Brian Gaff wrote:

Could you not sell it to the Tate Modern?
Just asking as cannot see it, but bet there is not much foam art about.

Shame you can't see mine, it looks like something that Roger Dean or
H.R. Giger would be proud of ...

On 05/12/2017 13:10, FMurtz wrote:

You don't mean like this bloke?


Peter Parry wrote on the Subject of the Expanding Foam

http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/humour.html#foam

You should all have read it before...

Andy

Vir Campestris Wrote in message:
On 05/12/2017 13:10, FMurtz wrote:

You don't mean like this bloke?


Peter Parry wrote on the Subject of the Expanding Foam

http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/humour.html#foam

You should all have read it before...

Andy


Still makes me smile :-)
Peter's writing style takes it up another level too.
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On Wed, 06 Dec 2017 00:10:56 +1100, FMurtz wrote:

Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:19:33 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you
take it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

You mean you didn't have a handy canoe?



You don't mean like this bloke?


Peter Parry wrote on the Subject of the Expanding Foam

Yes, but I didn't repeat the whole story as it's in the wiki.

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On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 21:21:59 +0000, Vir Campestris wrote:

On 05/12/2017 13:10, FMurtz wrote:

You don't mean like this bloke?


Peter Parry wrote on the Subject of the Expanding Foam

http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/humour.html#foam

You should all have read it before...

I had. That was the reference.

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 2017-12-05, John Rumm wrote:

On 05/12/2017 12:19, Adam Funk wrote:
It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you
take it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

One of the reasons I tend to leave the can on the gun until I am sure I
am done with it!

Normally I do (following advice here, probably yours), but it was
getting a bit plugged up (only a very slow, narrow stream coming out,
even with the knob turned all the way) & I had a can of cleaner.

I wonder if part of the problem is storing the loaded gun in a dampish
basement, but (bearing in mind the photo of the leak) I'm not sure
where else in the house it's safe to store it.

On 2017-12-05, Andy Burns wrote:

John Rumm wrote:

One of the reasons I tend to leave the can on the gun until I am sure I
am done with it!

That isn't foolproof either ...

http://andyburns.uk/test/foam_leak.jpg

That's why I keep it in the basement, but I wonder if the dampness is
causing the partial blockage.

On 2017-12-05, Bob Eager wrote:

On Wed, 06 Dec 2017 00:10:56 +1100, FMurtz wrote:

Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:19:33 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you
take it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

You mean you didn't have a handy canoe?



You don't mean like this bloke?


Peter Parry wrote on the Subject of the Expanding Foam

Yes, but I didn't repeat the whole story as it's in the wiki.

I knew that's what you were referring to, but I still laughed out loud
reading it again.

On 06/12/2017 07:59, Adam Funk wrote:
On 2017-12-05, John Rumm wrote:

On 05/12/2017 12:19, Adam Funk wrote:
It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you
take it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a piece
of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I have a
spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited till it had
all set before carrying it out through the house.)

One of the reasons I tend to leave the can on the gun until I am sure I
am done with it!

Normally I do (following advice here, probably yours), but it was
getting a bit plugged up (only a very slow, narrow stream coming out,
even with the knob turned all the way) & I had a can of cleaner.

I get the impression there is a bit of variability in how well these
things stay sealed over time, and also how long you can get away with
leaving it on the gun. With my (cheap nothing special gun) a week seems
ok. You may have do a bit of unblocking - but not usually more than just
slicing the glob of foam off the end of the nozzle.


I wonder if part of the problem is storing the loaded gun in a dampish
basement, but (bearing in mind the photo of the leak) I'm not sure
where else in the house it's safe to store it.

The damp out to make it cure faster, but would not expect it would make
it leak any faster.

That was quite a dramatic leak - that's not going to be welcome
anywhere! Perhaps keeping it wrapped up in a sack or in some other
container (large Tupperware style?) would be safer.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Wed, 06 Dec 2017 08:01:05 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

On 2017-12-05, Bob Eager wrote:

On Wed, 06 Dec 2017 00:10:56 +1100, FMurtz wrote:

Bob Eager wrote:
On Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:19:33 +0000, Adam Funk wrote:

It turns out the non-empty can doesn't *always* self-seal when you
take it off to clean the gun.

http://www.ducksburg.com/diy/2017-12-foam.jpg

Fortunately I was doing this in the basement & had already put a
piece of scrap plastic down on the floor, & had a bin handy. (And I
have a spare bin, now in use. The photo is outside --- I waited
till it had all set before carrying it out through the house.)

You mean you didn't have a handy canoe?



You don't mean like this bloke?


Peter Parry wrote on the Subject of the Expanding Foam

Yes, but I didn't repeat the whole story as it's in the wiki.

I knew that's what you were referring to, but I still laughed out loud
reading it again.

I try not to read it. The laughing hurts too much!



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My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Tuesday, 5 December 2017 17:16:14 UTC, Andy Burns wrote:
John Rumm wrote:

One of the reasons I tend to leave the can on the gun until I am sure I
am done with it!

That isn't foolproof either ...

http://andyburns.uk/test/foam_leak.jpg

Someone missed out there, that would have been a winner for the Turner prize, if I were judging it anyway.

On 2017-12-06, John Rumm wrote:

On 06/12/2017 07:59, Adam Funk wrote:

Normally I do (following advice here, probably yours), but it was
getting a bit plugged up (only a very slow, narrow stream coming out,
even with the knob turned all the way) & I had a can of cleaner.
....
I wonder if part of the problem is storing the loaded gun in a dampish
basement, but (bearing in mind the photo of the leak) I'm not sure
where else in the house it's safe to store it.

The damp out to make it cure faster, but would not expect it would make
it leak any faster.

That was quite a dramatic leak - that's not going to be welcome
anywhere! Perhaps keeping it wrapped up in a sack or in some other
container (large Tupperware style?) would be safer.


The problem I'm having isn't leakage --- the gun seems to get plugged
up when not in use. It's just that the leakage photo would make me
nervous about storing the thing "above ground" in the house. A loose
plastic bag sounds good, then I could store it in a dry area.