purr foam question

i just started using this stuff and its awesome. have a question about it. im almost down to the end of the first can and when i shake it there seems to be foam in it. But it isnt coming out hardly at all. Is it time for a new can? even though i think there is still some in the old can? also, how often should i run cleaner through it? Im hooked on this stuff now that i finally tried it, but i want to keep this gun in top shape. it seems to dry lighter (weight wise) than i thought it would be. any help would be appreciated.
thanks.

I run cleaner through my gun every time I change cans. It sounds like you are due for a change. Let the cleaner run through until it comes out clear. Also I use the cleaner spray adapter to flush out the conection threads really well. then put on a new can of foam, it will take a minute for the foam come out. I've gotten 3 years out of the set of guns I'm currently using. A friend of mine has used the same gun for 3 years and neve ran cleaner through it... so who knows what the best way really is.

Clean the tip of the gun after every use. I never run cleaner through the gun, but I only send the cheap gun out on jobs because it is a throw-away. The cheap gun was originally designed for construction workers, who tossed these guns in the dumpster when the project was over. If you personally are always in control of the gun, the Pageris gun is the way to go.

Rotate your cans of foam as older foam may lose accelerent over time, which might explain the loss of output you describe.

Yes it is a lighter foam, which is why in some places a backing of copper mesh, wire mesh or some other hole filler goes in first before the foam.

Be prepared to clean up things when accidents happen. Have clean rags and acetone handy. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES when working with foam guns. If this stuff gets in your eye it will be a nightmare.

Sounds like you need to shake it up wiggler . When it's hot out ,take a pop bottle and drill a hole in the cap . Then use it as a squirt bottle to wet the spot down first . Foam does rock , you can get in them tight spots to . I use it for making funnels sometimes . Like Phil said add wire to the hole first so the rodents don't chew threw it . I don't clean my gun its not good forit

I keep a cleaner can on my guns most of the time and change to foam as needed.If using the guns in the busy season I keep the foam can on the guns. On my longer guns I keep a cleaner can on all the time until I need it to foam with.I get several years out of my guns now. Before when I kept only the foam cans on they would gum up in one or two seasons at best.

I have been using them since they became available. My early guns didnt last very long before seizing up. But then I didnt use cleaner much or know how the foam would dry even with the foam can in place after a year or so.

Phil what kind of doofus would get foam in his eyes? Is that the same doofus that looks down the barrel of his shotgun when it doesn't go off? In 11 years I've bought I think 4 Pageris guns which I think is too many, some years I use 1 can of foam and some years I go through a case, I bought a cheap gun last time because I think my foam is hardening from none use. Phil I buy my foam from Phil H. just so you know, that way you're getting your kick back.

Hey Phil, I thought you were the pusher; I didn't know you had underling pushers til now.

thanks you guys... i shall put on a new can and see how it goes tomorrow.

This kind of doofus Dave. Just had a close call and thank God it was just that. Scraping foam off skin is not the same as scraping eyeball.

You need to buy more foam guns. Tell Hettinger you need an ("I am the only person in MT who buys foam stuff") discount. Or better yet, trick him into trading up for some snakes or valuable fur hides or such.

oh ya... one more question... can i take a can of foam off and use another can ( the insect one) and put the older back on? or once i take it off its done?

Paul, FYI, global magnates, their sub-ordinates, and their underlings, do not refer to themselves in those terms.

Go back to your corner now.

No..................

thanks phil.

Yes, BUT you do need to spray the connections very well with cleaner when you do. The risk is when changing back to the partial can you may introduce pieces of dried foam into the gun. I

Phil N., Phil H. has done some some fur garments for me with in the grease beaver hides I supplied him. He says I need a skinning lesson. I says I'm a WCO not a fur trapper.

Found this website

http://stores.ebay.com/A-Warehouse-Full/...d=p4634.c0.m322

MikeD

These come in handy for detailed work. I buy them on eBay but if someone knows of another source please post it - thanks!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-2-CONE-SHAPE...=item4842ff01eb

Okay Phil, one more question. Why do I have all of these pieces of black foam decorating all of the sliding doors of my vans? Alright, the rest of you; so maybe you don't have vans, but surely you know what I'm talking about!

Say what Paul? There is black foam on my work clothes, and once in awhile it gets on my skin. Sometimes I have to shave the foam hair off with a razor.
Not much gets on the truck....or VAN, whatever that is. How would it get on the truck?

Do you soil yourself in other ways?

I will show your reply to all the guys ( including my son ) and then I will ask them all to bend over so I can kick their butts!

Paul I think you have a bunch of disgruntled employees or ones who like to listen to you wonder why or how. I could see how that would be fun.
What has saved me more foam guns than anything and it is not really dangerous but you need to do it in a safe place definitely outside.
When I have a gun stop up I open the gun all of the way, point the gun in a safe direction and take a blow torch and run it back and forth on the barrel until you melt the foam in the barrel. When the foam starts run it until the foam is flowing freely while it is still melted.
The cleaner will not touch cured foam unless you melt it. You can do the same as above but replace the foam with a can of cleaner and it will clean out melted foam and your gun will be like new.
I have tried other brands of foam because fastenal and kwikset carry them but they have been terrible failures and waste of money.
I would buy my foam by the case and if you don't use a lot split it with another wco. You each get a free can. I would only buy it from businesses who move a lot of it because you get foam with expiration dates way out.
The two best deals $ wise and freshness are our two friends Phil Nichols and the tireless self promoter ska Alan Huot at wcs.
A use that may not be a fix that the home owners would want to keep forever or try to sell their home with but works and you can charge accordingly and will last.
Those squirrels or birds that pop up the vinyl soffit or eat a hole thru in dormers where it meets the roof. The roof is usually steep and hard to work there. Hard to reach with ropes or chicken ladders the people already have s 600 dollar animal removal bill and you really don't want to step of the ladder.
The animal removal is done I've had a temp. plug over the hole I'm ready to close it and get my money. I explain what I am going to do to the customer and what I am going to charge.
If they agree I take a 6 ft snake tong, a frog gig, a decoy retrieval hook, an extendable paint pole something that will reach the hole with out me stepping off the ladder. Maybe use a little piece of hercules putty from WCS to hold the wire mesh plug that I stuff into the hole. Sometimes it takes two or three pieces or two or three tries but finally I have the hole completely blocked with porous wire. I duct tape an up to 10 ft. piece of pvc to my gun barrel put it up to the wire patch pull the trigger completely covering the wire and blocking all air flow. This causes the hole to disappear to the animals nose or feeling of air flow. Only an animal with a fillet knife can penetrate this patch and I tell the homeowner that so that the roofer or whomever won't be saying whotf or [Please excuse my language... I'm an idiot] did or is this. They can take a fillet knife and remove it without renting a power tool.
If foam is exposed to uv rays you have to paint it. Then it will last as long as concrete.
I did a pigeon job on a decorative historical building missing a piece of decorative metal that was going to require a 2000 dollar custom piece, a craftsman and a lift to put it up. I cut the back out of a newspaper tube screwed it over the hole so the pigeons could drop out but not return. The majority moved down the street to the court house. Seven heavy pressure birds chose to sit on the ledge like I expected. I went over late at night told the police I was going to shoot the pigeons with a pellet rifle and my cheap night vision. An ND3 laser mounted on the scope. We all looked at it and one went with me to be a look out and try the night vision himself. I love the sound of a pigeon hitting the concrete.
The owner agreed that we would try this. I put a big chunk of foam over the wire patch and after drying took a few knives and cut the foam to match the rest of the building. Then painted it. From the ground it looks like a 5 thousand dollar fix. He loves me and recommends me everywhere.
Even if I am going to brake metal, put wood or vinyl over it I put foam or caulk behind the repair as part of the exclusion. It stops air flow and animals like fire are attracted to and follow air flow
One last foam use fill your ladder rungs to stop the singing on rack.

Mr. Brooker, people from Kentucky are not supposed to be as smart as people from Wisconsin. I think you just killed that myth! Thanks.

Thanks Paul B.

I thank you for a very interesting potential solution to a problem we all have. I sell foam guns. I use foam guns. Your solution, if it works, may not sit well with the manufacturer.

I will give it a shot. Am assuming you used a propane torch?

Paul you bring a tear to my eye. Phil yes I use a propane torch. If I was the manufacturer I would not recommend it either, They would be bankrupt from someone trying it somewhere stupid then going to saying they weren't stupid the manufacturer was.
I'm just a user that tries to keep things working and thru my own thoughts and the thoughts of others like us. The tourch won't work all the time but will a lot of the time. It will sometimes have a flame on the ground especially with the cleaner can attached. It's not a problem if you are on grass or dirt.
I wouldn't post it every where but my pockets aren't that deep to attract lawyers and people here accept responibility for their own actions. In case someone here shares with a friend who doesn't share on forums I already have my defense for court.
Now where did you get this idea. Off a website called Trapperman. From a guy named Paul who calls himself Paw. Another Paul named Winkelmann who several times a month tells you he is not the smartest one in his family thought it was a smart idea. So you decided to try this in your garage, customers bath tub where ever. The solution was not stupid you were. Case dismissed....I hope.
I would also keep a spray bottle of acetone to clean connections while changing cans. It is much cheaper than the presurized cleaners and the primary ingredient of those cleaners. It also make changing and reusing cans possible though not recommended. But sometimes necessary.
In the winter I take my guns inside at night to keep the foam cans at proper temps. I store my full cans in my home it seems to do much better and stops the gun less when it lives at the temps. I do.

Like TRAPPERPAW I take my foam guns and foam inside when the temps start dipping below 50 degrees. On this note I'll mention something I recently saw that you may or may not have seen before - at least I hadn't. I went to a foreclosure auction of a window business. One of the items that sold was a sealant warmer box. It was an insulated metal box that contained upright tubes of caulking and foam as well as other types of sealants and adhesives. There was a warming or heat lamp of some type recessed in the side and when the lid was closed it came on and kept the box at a certain temp. When you opened it the light when out. On the way home I thought about finding a non working mini-fridge and making one so I wouldn't have to store it in my house but thinking about it is as far as I've gotten so far. ;-)

Paul - to be clear: are you talking about melting the dried foam with a can on the gun, valve/trigger open...and the fresh foam will push the melted foam out...right?