Equipment Challenges in Cold Weather

It’s only a matter of time until you have to face the challenges of lower temperatures, so when that time comes, here are a few of the things to pay attention to in cold weather.

PROPORTIONER

There is a big difference between electric and hydraulic proportioners. Have you ever heard your hydraulic pump make a high whining noise? This is a tell-tale sign that something isn’t quite right, and you should not continue to operate until you identify the problem.

In cold weather, this could occur if the hydraulic fluid is too cold, which means it is too thick and the pump could be damaged if you try to run it with cold, thick hydraulic fluid. If you find yourself with this problem, you should look for opportunities to warm the hydraulic fluid so the pump can operate properly.

The alternative includes reacting to a problem:

• Replacing an expensive hydraulic pump
• Freight cost
• Down time waiting for the new pump to be ordered, shipped, and received
• And then, Installation time and cost

Or you can choose a proactive solution, to avoid the problem in the first place: Keep your equipment warm during cold weather.

FLUID PUMPS

Your fluid pump is probably either a diaphragm pump, such as a Husky 1040, or a stick pump (also called a drum pump or transfer pump), like a Graco T1 or T2. The diaphragm pump is usually mounted on the interior wall just above the chemical drums and has a dip tube that goes into the drum. The stick or drum pump is usually screwed into the bung opening on a drum. And the cold weather affects the diaphragm pump more than it does the stick pump.

The diaphragm pump works because two rubber membranes move back and forth causing a vacuum inside the pump. This vacuum pulls the liquid from the drum through the pump and feeds the equipment. In a warm environment, these diaphragm pumps can work well. However, most liquids, including spray foam A-side and B-side material, become thicker and thicker as their temperature goes lower and lower. So, if the chemical temperature is too low, resulting in the material being too thick, the diaphragm pump WILL NOT pump it and open-cell B-side resin would be difficult to circulate  to warm it up.

Additionally, diaphragm pumps rely on water vapor from the air to keep them lubricated. But most of your equipment requires dry air, so you must lubricate these pumps manually.

Solutions: Don’t use diaphragm pumps and keep your chemical and equipment warm during cold weather.

HOSES 

Even if you have a closed trailer operation, as you should in colder weather, your hoses have to run the length from your rig to the building. So, they have to be outside, even when it is cold. However, it is important to maintain the chemical temperature from the machine to the tip of the gun, so heated hoses are very important. The temperature of the raw material at the gun is one of the most important characteristics of spraying good foam, so the temperature sensors that communicate with your equipment should be located as close to the gun as possible.

This ensures that the temperature will be measured close to the gun and reported back to the brain of the machine to maintain the temperature as close to the target temperature as possible.

Here are some tips:

1. Find the temperature sensors in your hose and move it as close to the gun as possible.
2. How much hose do you have? Most proportioners can handle 50-300ft of hose. On older machines, you have to manually change a tap setting if your hose length changes for any reason. Modern machines sense the hose length and the adjustment is made by the equipment.
3. When getting to a job site, make sure to position the rig as close as possible to the entrance point of the project; this will limit the length of the exposed hose in the cold weather.
4. It can be beneficial to protect the exposed hose from the cold weather, for example, wrapping batt insulation around the hose or laying down wood pallets, to lay the hose on, to get the hose off the ground.
5. Keep your equipment warm during cold weather.

That’s a quick look at proportioners, fluid pumps and hoses. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks where we share what can happen in cold weather as we continue to discuss the interesting world of spray foam insulation.

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