Remove the ball from the foam gun

March 6, 2019 Construction and repair / Useful and interesting 58 192 9

Hello! Today we’ll talk about a way to eliminate a problem that often occurs when operating guns for polyurethane foam. First, briefly about the purpose and design of the gun.
The gun is designed to deliver special composition (foam) to hard-to-reach places - mounting joints, cracks and openings to be sealed. For this, the gun has a thin elongated barrel, the end of which is equipped with a nozzle and a shutoff valve. The valve is controlled by a spring-loaded stem, which moves when the trigger is pulled.

In the upper part of the gun there is a special adapter (threaded fitting) for connecting a cylinder with a foam composition under pressure. After attaching the cylinder to the adapter, the pressure extends to the entire interior of the gun barrel. When you pull the trigger, the nozzle valve opens, and the foam is delivered under proper pressure to the desired location.
Inside the adapter is a ball spring valve, which is the subject of today's conversation. It opens under the influence of foam pressure and works in one direction. When removing the balloon from the gun, the ball is pressed against the valve opening by a spring and prevents the backward discharge of foam residues through the adapter remaining in the barrel under pressure. The feature is certainly useful.
The problem is that, despite the observance of the operating instructions and regular cleaning of the gun after the end of work, the remaining foam in the ball valve dries, preventing further foam from coming from another cylinder.
The solution suggests itself - just dismantle this auxiliary valve.
So, let's get started.

Essential tool

To complete the work, we may need:

electric drill;
a set of drills of different diameters;
screwdriver or thin steel rod for use as a screwdriver.

The content of the work

We turn off the removable part of the adapter, to which the cylinder is attached. If this can not be done with your hands, use the handle.

The desired valve is located inside the twisted adapter. The valve itself is a plastic sleeve with a hole. Inside the sleeve is a ball pressed against the hole by a spring.

As my experience shows, it is usually not possible to get the valve sleeve by simply picking it up with something. Therefore, we will drill the valve. We select a drill of suitable diameter. The drill should be thinner than the hole in the metal case of the adapter so as not to damage it, but at the same time be thick enough to drill a plastic valve.

Carefully drill at a shallow depth, after which the remains of the plastic sleeve with spring and ball are easily removed. On this, the bulk of the work is completed.

If necessary, clean the inside of the adapter from the remnants of dried foam and screw it into place.

The gun is ready to go again.

Warning

When using the gun in this form, the change of the cylinder may be accompanied by a spray of residual foam. To avoid this, when removing the cylinder (especially underutilized), you must pull the trigger at the right time to relieve pressure in the barrel, while orienting the barrel and adapter of the gun in a safe direction.

Watch the video

come back

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#1 Ivan Guests March 7, 2019 09:41
1

There is a special cleaner for such pistols. I finished work, changed cylinders (foam on the cleaner), washed the gun and that's it. The cleaner is also a cylinder under pressure. A very good thing. Introduce the gun device specially designed for convenience and safety.
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#2 Guest Dmitry Guests March 7, 2019 09:44 AM
1

In order that the remains of the foam do not dry out, you need to use cleaner after removing the balloon. And so this is additional hemorrhoids, while the remaining foam in the trunk will dry.
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#3 Guest Alexander Guests March 7, 2019 11:01
1

Good afternoon! I want to share my experience in cleaning the gun from the remnants of foam. As a rule, the valve is “coked” more often. To clean it, I turn off the cylinder adapter, on the sleeve side I carefully warm it with a technical hairdryer, carefully remove the plastic sleeve, spring and ball. When heated, the remaining foam is converted into an elastic film, which is easily removed from the spring, ball and inner surface. I assemble the valve, press the sleeve and the gun is ready for work. The main thing is not to overheat the sleeve so that it does not melt. Similarly, you can clean other parts of the gun.
- To answer
#4 Guest Oleg Guests March 7, 2019 19:12
12

I’ve been using foam almost every day for 15 years (I put the doors on) and have never encountered the problem of drying the ball. Just don’t remove the balloon from the gun (only when replacing it) and the foam will never dry inside. I sorted out the trash in the garage and found an old gun with a balloon, which lay for about a year. The bracket, however, pressed with some effort, but the foam went off as it should. By the way, there is no need to rinse the gun either. Just don’t remove the bottle and always tighten the screw after work.
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#5 Guest Andrey Guests March 8, 2019 6:04 p.m.
1

I am in shock. And how will you dear author stop the stream of foam after when you removed your hand from the trigger? Without a ball, you will need to constantly twist the handle on the back
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1. #6 Guest alexander Guests March 30, 2019 05:57
  0
  
  you're not right. The ball is needed for a comfortable balloon change. so that the foam from the pistol is not clogged when changing the balloon. but as practice shows. in any case, this ball after 10-15 balloons ceases to work as part of the foam remains there. she just does not wash out from under the spring. therefore, the idea of the author makes sense. Of course, you can pull out the ball and clean everything mechanically, but this is not for long - checked
  
  To answer
2. #7 Guest alexander Guests March 30, 2019 06:01
  0
  
  and the handle is twisted when the needle is dirty or the cuff of the needle is stiff. it helps to clean the needle and replace the cuff. silicone grease sometimes helps. and note there are teflon needles. do not scrape the spray
  
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#8 Zhenya Guests March 9, 2019 11:46 p.m.
1

Just break through the balloon at the end
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#9 Guest Alex Guests March 25, 2019 18:57
0

Or you can do it easier - buy the cheapest pistol, for 250 rubles, a one-time .. And throw it away without regret when problems arise. A couple of cylinders of such a pistol are enough.
- To answer