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Tony Di Bratto Posted: Dec 13, 2007 08:05 AM	Cold weather storage of equipment Hi. I am looking to get into the spray foam business here in Toronto Canada where the winters are pretty cold. I originally thought I would pruchase a pull behind trailer rig and park it in my driveway to keep it in view and not have to incur additional costs to store it somewhere when not in use. Turns out I can't so now I am faced with finding somewhere to store it. Question I have is how do people deal with the storage of the rigs when they are not in use. With left over foam sitting in drums, in the hoses and the proprtioners and you cannot let it freeze, what are people doing? I thought about a heater, but then you need to find storage that supplies AC power and what if the heater shuts off for whatever reason and the rig is sitting, all the materials will freeze and I can't imagine what that will do to the equipment. Is there a way to drain the entire system of foam products so that the drums can be removed and stored and the equipment is safe until the next spray job. I am not talking about long periods of time, but let's face it, the equipment doesn't spray 7x24. So between jobs it sits. Thx
Tim O'Keefe Posted: Dec 13, 2007 09:36 AM	If it is just in between jobs like you say (couple days maybe a week or 2) then just let it sit. I don't keep heat on overnight in mine anymore and don't have any issues related to the cold. It does take a little longer to get it warmed up in the morning but if electricity isn't readily available what can you do. I am scared of a fire so I wouldn't leave a space heater on but others who trust them use them with good results. Just make sure you ISO is sealed and use a dessicant filter if needed to make sure you don't create any problems. Check you gun and pump filters regularly and you should be fine. Tim Granite State Spray Foam Co.
SPRAYFOAM GODDESS Posted: Dec 13, 2007 01:55 PM	If its longer than a month or so, we recommed flushing the lines and storing it with PUMP LUBE.
Tony Di Bratto Posted: Dec 13, 2007 04:36 PM	So the stuff won't freeze, expand and crack seals, heater cores, hoses, guns? Thx
Grady Littlehale Posted: Dec 13, 2007 06:43 PM	I bought a vent free propane heater from Home Depot Have to get a regulator also from them.( Dont tell them what your doing or they may not sell you the regulator) Day before a job turn it on. Usually i keep it set at two and it stays 65-70 in the trailer.(foamed roof and underneath)
Tony Di Bratto Posted: Dec 14, 2007 09:38 AM	Sales guys have told me that the foam should not be allowed to freeze. I thought it was because it could damage equipment. Could also be that the product may not be useable after it freezes. Comments? Also, does Pump Lube freeze? Or does it have antifreeze properties? ****** long would it take to flush a system after use and replace with Lube? Then I presume when you fire it up again, you pump the lube back into a container for future use and start spraying again. Thx
SPRAYFOAM GODDESS Posted: Dec 14, 2007 01:19 PM	I have our chemist checking on the pump lube freeze point. Our initial thought is it won't freeze but will gel up, so you will need to let it warm up before trying to pump it out. The foam should not be allowed to freeze, as the ISO will crystalize and cause many problems.
SPRAYFOAM GODDESS Posted: Dec 14, 2007 01:54 PM	Freeze point of our Pump Lube is -50c.
Michael Flander Posted: Dec 14, 2007 02:37 PM	By pump lube, I assume you mean DOP, which is widely available at most chemical retailers. Ashland out of wisconsion, etc. Morale of the story: Don't let your foam freeze. The moisture condensing and freezing would most definitely ruin your iso, and if you have a waterblown foam, your blowing agent won't like it :). The equipment can handle cold storage, however I would not run it until it has been warmed up. The o-rings and seals can become brittle if it is left to sit, period, warm or not. Add cold to it and you increase your risk of damage. This is something you should plan for as a just in case. Make sure you allow yourself some test time to fire up the machine if it has sat for long periods of time. Nothing worse then firing it up for the first time an hour before a job to find out it doesn't work or that something is plugged. Clean all of your filters prior to storage, and I recommend that you clean up the foot/check valves of the pumps before storage(these are usually easy to access on most machines). Also, it is always a good idea to move fluid in storage regardless of what is in it. We recommend to recirculate fluid once a week for 15-20 minutes when equipment is in storage. This will help minimize any issues that could occur. While this is not necessary, it is a good preventative step you can take if is feasable. Good luck, hope this helps!
Posted: Dec 14, 2007 05:08 PM	what robin and mikey said!!! i use electric space heaters in the trailers overnite if it is going to sit outside...(trailers insulated top sides and bottom with cc) i prefer to yank my drums and put them in the heated material room,,and we do this when it gets cold (<30)it only takes about 20minutes to yank the 2 or three sets and they are nice and warm when you reload in the am... you may want an infrared lp for backup if the power goes down or if not available... so if its cold,,,recirc until the temps come up..and the pumps start strokein,,, i mean if you are shooting oc you should recirc for sure,,and it sure makes for a nicer start with closed cell too if you circ it through for a bit... remember..your heater may have a delta t of 50 degrees or so,,if the drum is 50 you can only pump the juice to about 100 if it works with peak efficiency,,and it dont,,,
Chad Gritzmaker Posted: Dec 19, 2007 08:06 PM	I've had good luck with an infra-red 1500w heater wired through a thermostat, I keep my trailer at about 55 deg, and turn it up a day or so before I'm going to spray, I figure it cost me about a dollar a day to maintian 55 with ambient temps in the 20's and 30's, If the trailer was foamed I'm sure it would be a lot easier to heat. Chad
arpitkakkar1 <a href="http://newmeditech.com/products/blood-collection/blood-donor-chair/">blood donor chair</a> Posted: Jan 03, 2017 11:12 AM	As all say your product requirement is heater not freezer. so you first search for your product requirement and then start business, and this is right decision to discuss on the forum to get idea about the product.
Mnorthrup81 Posted: Jan 10, 2017 05:07 PM	Don't ever run the risk of freezing your chemical. Once ISO crystslizes, it's no good. Period. Then you are just losing money. We have always kept our material in a heated storage. Cooled in the summer time as well. With the Demilec products we spray, optimal storage and operating temps are between 50-70*F. Hope this helps

Author

Comments

Tony Di Bratto

Posted: Dec 13, 2007 08:05 AM

Cold weather storage of equipment

Hi. I am looking to get into the spray foam business here in Toronto Canada where the winters are pretty cold.

I originally thought I would pruchase a pull behind trailer rig and park it in my driveway to keep it in view and not have to incur additional costs to store it somewhere when not in use.

Turns out I can't so now I am faced with finding somewhere to store it. Question I have is how do people deal with the storage of the rigs when they are not in use. With left over foam sitting in drums, in the hoses and the proprtioners and you cannot let it freeze, what are people doing?

I thought about a heater, but then you need to find storage that supplies AC power and what if the heater shuts off for whatever reason and the rig is sitting, all the materials will freeze and I can't imagine what that will do to the equipment.

Is there a way to drain the entire system of foam products so that the drums can be removed and stored and the equipment is safe until the next spray job.

I am not talking about long periods of time, but let's face it, the equipment doesn't spray 7x24. So between jobs it sits.

Thx

Tim O'Keefe

Posted: Dec 13, 2007 09:36 AM

If it is just in between jobs like you say (couple days maybe a week or 2) then just let it sit. I don't keep heat on overnight in mine anymore and don't have any issues related to the cold. It does take a little longer to get it warmed up in the morning but if electricity isn't readily available what can you do. I am scared of a fire so I wouldn't leave a space heater on but others who trust them use them with good results. Just make sure you ISO is sealed and use a dessicant filter if needed to make sure you don't create any problems. Check you gun and pump filters regularly and you should be fine.

Tim
Granite State Spray Foam Co.

SPRAYFOAM GODDESS

Posted: Dec 13, 2007 01:55 PM

If its longer than a month or so, we recommed flushing the lines and storing it with PUMP LUBE.

Tony Di Bratto

Posted: Dec 13, 2007 04:36 PM

So the stuff won't freeze, expand and crack seals, heater cores, hoses, guns?

Thx

Grady Littlehale

Posted: Dec 13, 2007 06:43 PM

I bought a vent free propane heater from Home Depot Have to get a regulator also from them.( Dont tell them what your doing or they may not sell you the regulator) Day before a job turn it on. Usually i keep it set at two and it stays 65-70 in the trailer.(foamed roof and underneath)

Tony Di Bratto

Posted: Dec 14, 2007 09:38 AM

Sales guys have told me that the foam should not be allowed to freeze. I thought it was because it could damage equipment. Could also be that the product may not be useable after it freezes. Comments?

Also, does Pump Lube freeze? Or does it have antifreeze properties? ****** long would it take to flush a system after use and replace with Lube? Then I presume when you fire it up again, you pump the lube back into a container for future use and start spraying again.

Thx

SPRAYFOAM GODDESS

Posted: Dec 14, 2007 01:19 PM

I have our chemist checking on the pump lube freeze point. Our initial thought is it won't freeze but will gel up, so you will need to let it warm up before trying to pump it out.

The foam should not be allowed to freeze, as the ISO will crystalize and cause many problems.

SPRAYFOAM GODDESS

Posted: Dec 14, 2007 01:54 PM

Freeze point of our Pump Lube is -50c.

Michael Flander

Posted: Dec 14, 2007 02:37 PM

By pump lube, I assume you mean DOP, which is widely available at most chemical retailers. Ashland out of wisconsion, etc.

Morale of the story:
Don't let your foam freeze. The moisture condensing and freezing would most definitely ruin your iso, and if you have a waterblown foam, your blowing agent won't like it :).

The equipment can handle cold storage, however I would not run it until it has been warmed up. The o-rings and seals can become brittle if it is left to sit, period, warm or not. Add cold to it and you increase your risk of damage. This is something you should plan for as a just in case. Make sure you allow yourself some test time to fire up the machine if it has sat for long periods of time. Nothing worse then firing it up for the first time an hour before a job to find out it doesn't work or that something is plugged. Clean all of your filters prior to storage, and I recommend that you clean up the foot/check valves of the pumps before storage(these are usually easy to access on most machines).

Also, it is always a good idea to move fluid in storage regardless of what is in it. We recommend to recirculate fluid once a week for 15-20 minutes when equipment is in storage. This will help minimize any issues that could occur. While this is not necessary, it is a good preventative step you can take if is feasable.

Good luck, hope this helps!

Posted: Dec 14, 2007 05:08 PM

what robin and mikey said!!!
i use electric space heaters in the trailers overnite if it is going to sit outside...(trailers insulated top sides and bottom with cc)
i prefer to yank my drums and put them in the heated material room,,and we do this when it gets cold (<30)it only takes about 20minutes to yank the 2 or three sets and they are nice and warm when you reload in the am...
you may want an infrared lp for backup if the power goes down or if not available...

so if its cold,,,recirc until the temps come up..and the pumps start strokein,,,
i mean if you are shooting oc you should recirc for sure,,and it sure makes for a nicer start with closed cell too if you circ it through for a bit...

remember..your heater may have a delta t of 50 degrees or so,,if the drum is 50 you can only pump the juice to about 100 if it works with peak efficiency,,and it dont,,,

Chad Gritzmaker

Posted: Dec 19, 2007 08:06 PM

I've had good luck with an infra-red 1500w heater wired through a thermostat, I keep my trailer at about 55 deg, and turn it up a day or so before I'm going to spray, I figure it cost me about a dollar a day to maintian 55 with ambient temps in the 20's and 30's, If the trailer was foamed I'm sure it would be a lot easier to heat.

Chad

arpitkakkar1

<a href="http://newmeditech.com/products/blood-collection/blood-donor-chair/">blood donor chair</a>

Posted: Jan 03, 2017 11:12 AM

As all say your product requirement is heater not freezer. so you first search for your product requirement and then start business, and this is right decision to discuss on the forum to get idea about the product.

Mnorthrup81

Posted: Jan 10, 2017 05:07 PM

Don't ever run the risk of freezing your chemical. Once ISO crystslizes, it's no good. Period. Then you are just losing money. We have always kept our material in a heated storage. Cooled in the summer time as well. With the Demilec products we spray, optimal storage and operating temps are between 50-70*F. Hope this helps

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