Horrible Work | Making the SPF Industry Better | Spray Foam Technical Questions and Answers | SprayFoam Magazine Q&A Forums

Q&A Forums

Author	Comments
chad harris Posted: Mar 13, 2011 06:17 PM	Horrible Work I had the opportunity to see a tank project that a new company in our area had completed. I wish I could post the pics I have of the job on this website so that newbies could actually see what an insulated tank is NOT suppose to look like! I have no idea why this company even bid on the job, they obviously were overwhelmed by the task at hand. This was probably the single worst job I have ever seen. With that being said, they must have been proud of them because they posted them on the front page of their website! Some might think that I'm just sore because we didn't get the bid. Not the case, we didn't have a bid in on it. Just erks me when I see someone in our area doing work like this!
John Shockney Posted: Mar 13, 2011 06:37 PM	you could post a link to your webpage or the pics thanks Airpro
Dennis Davidson Posted: Mar 14, 2011 09:05 AM	I've done a lot of tanks over the years and it takes a special talent to do them correctly and make it look smooth. Even if your able to spray a roof smooth doesn't mean you know how to do a tank. I've seen more crappy looking tanks than good ones and they always seem to be out in the open where everyone can see them.
Yvan Richard Posted: Apr 06, 2011 06:18 PM	I am looking at bidding on some steel tanks and will be spraying them with 2lb foam. This would be my first time spraying a tank, do you have any suggestions?
Bryan Kwater Posted: Apr 06, 2011 08:49 PM	Do most people use 2 pound or 3 pound foam on tanks?
Dennis Davidson Posted: Apr 07, 2011 08:05 AM	You can use 2lb foam but 2.6 is better. Check with your supplier, some manufacturers have a foam made just for tanks - use it!!! When doing tanks there are several questions you need to answer first. And this is why there are soooo many ugly and horrible looking foam tanks and tank failures!!! 1. What is the operating temperature of the tank - (heated tanks should be at operating temp. when applying foam). On hot tanks, if you spray foam first then heat it the tank will expand and crack the foam. 2. How is it heated - Heat bands can and will burn the foam. Steam generated heat will cause pressure expansion too. 3. If it's a Cryogenic tank it needs to have a minimum of 4" of foam to be effective. 4. What kind of surface preparation - Water blast, sand blast, hand cleaning on flammable tanks! 5. Is there any contamination on the surface - Did a hot wax tank once. They did a pressure test the week before and spilled hot wax over the tank surface. Wax was transparent and looked like nice clean primed steel. Started spraying foam and it blistered everywhere. Had to remove the foam and steam clean the surface. 6. Here is a biggie!!! Don't spray over ANY information plates, warning signs, bulkhead seals, handles or valves, sight glass, gauges,etc.. Engineers get really pissed off when you spray over these. If your doing a tank farm, these and other important items are everywhere! Watch your over-spray!!! 7. What is the tank made of - Carbon steel, stainless steel, concrete, fiberglass, etc. each requires a different type of primer. 8. What is the tank used for - Flammable materials, corrosives, acids? (wax) 9. What type of coating to use - Coating must be resistant to whatever is inside the tank. Filling, cleaning, pressure testing, maintenance can all result in material spillage on the outside of the tank. The coating may also need to act as a vapor barrier too. If the tanks are pressure-washed cleaned on the outside, use a urethane or polyurea coating. I did about 30 small tanks (under 7-8,000 gal.) before I sprayed my first big water tank. So stay away from the bigger ones till you gain the experience. The more foam you put on the harder it is to maintain the appearance. Don't spray in different directions on the side of the tank. It Will Show! Foam must be kept at a uniform thickness. Any touch-ups, cutouts, varying thickness, etc. will all show through the coating. Don't grind or trim the foam either. You wouldn't grind a roof to make it look smooth. All sides of a tank should be thought of as a "roof surface".

Author

Comments

chad harris

Posted: Mar 13, 2011 06:17 PM

Horrible Work

I had the opportunity to see a tank project that a new company in our area had completed. I wish I could post the pics I have of the job on this website so that newbies could actually see what an insulated tank is NOT suppose to look like! I have no idea why this company even bid on the job, they obviously were overwhelmed by the task at hand. This was probably the single worst job I have ever seen. With that being said, they must have been proud of them because they posted them on the front page of their website! Some might think that I'm just sore because we didn't get the bid. Not the case, we didn't have a bid in on it. Just erks me when I see someone in our area doing work like this!

John Shockney

Posted: Mar 13, 2011 06:37 PM

you could post a link to your webpage or the pics

thanks

Airpro

Dennis Davidson

Posted: Mar 14, 2011 09:05 AM

I've done a lot of tanks over the years and it takes a special talent to do them correctly and make it look smooth. Even if your able to spray a roof smooth doesn't mean you know how to do a tank. I've seen more crappy looking tanks than good ones and they always seem to be out in the open where everyone can see them.

Yvan Richard

Posted: Apr 06, 2011 06:18 PM

I am looking at bidding on some steel tanks and will be spraying them with 2lb foam. This would be my first time spraying a tank, do you have any suggestions?

Bryan Kwater

Posted: Apr 06, 2011 08:49 PM

Do most people use 2 pound or 3 pound foam on tanks?

Dennis Davidson

Posted: Apr 07, 2011 08:05 AM

You can use 2lb foam but 2.6 is better.
Check with your supplier, some manufacturers have a foam made just for tanks - use it!!!

When doing tanks there are several questions you need to answer first. And this is why there are soooo many ugly and horrible looking foam tanks and tank failures!!!
1. What is the operating temperature of the tank - (heated tanks should be at operating temp. when applying foam). On hot tanks, if you spray foam first then heat it the tank will expand and crack the foam.
2. How is it heated - Heat bands can and will burn the foam. Steam generated heat will cause pressure expansion too.
3. If it's a Cryogenic tank it needs to have a minimum of 4" of foam to be effective.
4. What kind of surface preparation - Water blast, sand blast, hand cleaning on flammable tanks!
5. Is there any contamination on the surface - Did a hot wax tank once. They did a pressure test the week before and spilled hot wax over the tank surface. Wax was transparent and looked like nice clean primed steel. Started spraying foam and it blistered everywhere. Had to remove the foam and steam clean the surface.
6. Here is a biggie!!! Don't spray over ANY information plates, warning signs, bulkhead seals, handles or valves, sight glass, gauges,etc.. Engineers get really pissed off when you spray over these. If your doing a tank farm, these and other important items are everywhere! Watch your over-spray!!!
7. What is the tank made of - Carbon steel, stainless steel, concrete, fiberglass, etc. each requires a different type of primer.
8. What is the tank used for - Flammable materials, corrosives, acids? (wax)
9. What type of coating to use - Coating must be resistant to whatever is inside the tank. Filling, cleaning, pressure testing, maintenance can all result in material spillage on the outside of the tank. The coating may also need to act as a vapor barrier too. If the tanks are pressure-washed cleaned on the outside, use a urethane or polyurea coating.

I did about 30 small tanks (under 7-8,000 gal.) before I sprayed my first big water tank. So stay away from the bigger ones till you gain the experience.
The more foam you put on the harder it is to maintain the appearance.
Don't spray in different directions on the side of the tank. It Will Show! Foam must be kept at a uniform thickness. Any touch-ups, cutouts, varying thickness, etc. will all show through the coating. Don't grind or trim the foam either. You wouldn't grind a roof to make it look smooth. All sides of a tank should be thought of as a "roof surface".

You need to login to reply to this topic. Please click here to login.