How to Use a Spray Foam Insulation Machine | Intech

How to Use aSpray Foam Insulation Machine for Roofing

The main task of your spray foam insulation machine is to pressurize and heat materials A and B so that when they meet in your spray foam gun, the right chemical reaction will happen to produce spray foam insulation. 

Creatingquality polyurethane foam isn't rocket science. It's simply the result of goodscience. Spray foam is the product of proper material storage and processing.When you use your proportioner correctly, it sets your materials at the righttemperature, ratio, and viscosity. 

How do you operate anSPF machine to produce spray foam that is of consistently great quality?

Hereis how to use a spray foam insulationmachine for roofing.

First, Know What Your Machine Needs.

Thetypical spray foam machine requires these elements to function:

• Asystem for safely storing and handling materials.
  • Heatingelements to keep drums warm in winter.
  • Desiccantsto prevent crystallization in ISO.
  • Arig to store all your equipment safely.
• Amaterial feed system, which includes but isn't limited to:
  • Airsupply
  • TransferPumps
  • HeatedHoses
• ASpray Gun

Ifyou want an expert to guide you through what your existing machine specificallyneeds, contact us and wewe'll be glad to help you select all the rightcomponents.

Properly Store Materials A & B

Before you get started, you'll need to set up your spray foam materials. you'll typically have two 55-gallon drums that you can with materials A and B respectively. Material A is Polymeric isocyanate, also known as ISO. Material B is often called resin, polyol, or the R-component. 

Bothmaterials must always be stored at the manufacturer's recommended temperatures ,or else your spray foam's ratios can be affected during the applicationprocess. 

Setup& Prep

Beforeyou can send any material into your proportioner, you must connect some partsto it. First, you'll need to attach transfer pumps to send materials from thematerial drum to your machine. You should then attach heated hoses to themachine and spray foam gun. This hose will carry the processed materials intothe spray gun.

Consultthe manufacturer's specifications to set the pre-heaters to the rightmaterials. Typically, closed cell spray foam is set at 120 degrees Fahrenheitand open cell foam is set to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. You should also set thepressure gauges to the recommended settings, which starts at 1,000 psi, but itwill vary according to the material you're using. 

Yourmachine should also keep track of the temperatures within the hose and alertyou if it falls below the recommended levels. Make sure that you set theappropriate tap setting to accommodate different hose lengths. You can findspecific instructions on how to operate these features on your machine byconsulting the manufacturer's manual.

Activate the Transfer

Wheneverything is ready, your rig's air supply sends A and B materials into themachine through the transfer pumps. In the machine, these materials arepressurized. Then, they are sent through their respective hoses intopre-heaters, each of which is set to the recommended temperatures for each material.Materials from hoses A and B then meet in your spray gun.

Apply Spray Foam 

Thepressurized and heated materials in hose A and B are kept separate until theymake a chemical reaction when inside the spray foam gun. This gun should beproperly attached to the material hoses and be equipped with the right tip forthe applications you are doing. 

Ifyou have executed everything properly thus far, the materials will mix in thegun at the right ratio, which is 1 to 1. If you're the ratio is off, you willproduce poor-quality spray foam and can even produce toxic chemical reactions!

Prevent Avoidable Problems

Runningyour proportioner well involves monitoring other surrounding components. Hereare a few extra tips about operating your sprayfoam insulation machine for roofing.

• Keep in mind that polyurethane foam operates at high pressures. Before you disconnect any components from the machine, you should always relieve the pressure to prevent injury. 
• To maintain the correct pressure, use one gun per machine. Trying to make your proportioner do double duty can result in incorrect pressure and not having the right flow. 
• Stay on top of your machine and do all the required maintenance and cleaning to keep it operable for as long as possible. 
• Using a desiccant in the ISO drum can absorb some troublesome moisture and slow down the formation of crystals. You can also get a machine that alerts you or does automatic shut off when the drums get depleted to a certain level.

Shop for Spray FoamRoofing Machines at Intech

AtIntech, we are happy to tell you that many machines from top brands like PMChave safety features to prevent pressure imbalance and improper temperatures.

To learn about these spray foam machines and the other products we carry, contact us today at Intech Equipment & Supply. 

About Kevin Malone
Kevin Malone is a leading expert in the spray foam insulation industry with 34 years of experience in spray foam fluid handling and a passion for innovation. He currently offers his extensive knowledge to Intech Equipment and Supply customers by supporting them in selecting quality spray foam equipment to optimize their business. Learn more about Kevin here.