Hey Guys, this may turn out to be a VERY Important thread, as far as advances in roof cleaning technology goes ? If it does, I can see thousands of people reading it. Lets try and keep the playing around to a minimum, OK ? At least in THIS thread.
I just contacted the foam people for the second time today. They promise to have an applications engineer call me back ? The foamer is made out of plastic, possibly Nylon ?? Nylon will go away quickly when exposed to bleach, unless it is THICK Nylon.
As soon as I talk with the Foam Engineer, I will relay what I have learned in this thread. As well as his suggestions of the many foaming models this company makes.
-- Edited by Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 on Thursday 10th of December 2009 03:18:09 PM
Ok, I just got off the phone with a guy named TJ from Hydro Foam. Here is what he told me! He said the hose end foamers will NOT create shaving cream foam! They will create a foam, of sorts, possibly a little better then simply adding some surfactant to your tank ? This is what he just told me. Now, he also told me that WITH an air compressor, they sell commercial foamers that will SHOOT SHAVING CREAM FOAM 80 FEET !! Do ya HEAR me
Now, he told me we will have to find a no rinse clear drying chlorine stable surfactant to get away from rinsing.
IMAGINE having one of these foamers on YOUR rig ?
He told me that NOTHING will touch Foam, as far as cleaning ability, and it uses LESS chemical too. So, pretty soon, all roof cleaning websites will be advertising "environmentally conscious foam cleaning"
He told me about commercial cleaning contractors using foam technology to clean walls, bathrooms, etc, etc, etc,
Guys, lets explore a shving cream foam creation machine ? Perhaps we can MAKE our own ?
These hose end foamers use brass triggers, and plastic, but ARE cheap, like 55 dollars each ?
I would LOVE to have a full blown air compressor powered commercial foamer on my trucks !!!
Chris, I am not 100% sure, but I believe that the commercial foamers to which you are referring to require a dedicated water pressure line in addition to the air compressor feeding the foamer pump in order to shoot that far.
Other units don't require the water line, but they also don't shoot that far, maybe 20ft.
__________________
Ada Mobile Wash
2694 Ashville Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-285-8115
kennethpaul@vzw.blackberry.net
Roof Washing Exterior House Cleaning Grand Rapids, MI
Chris, I am not 100% sure, but I believe that the commercial foamers to which you are referring to require a dedicated water pressure line in addition to the air compressor feeding the foamer pump in order to shoot that far.
Other units don't require the water line, but they also don't shoot that far, maybe 20ft.
Many of us already have air compressors, wonder how much CFM is needed ?
Wow, watch some of these demos http://www.laffertyequipment.com/foamer-demo.php Their acid foamers seem pretty cool. Got to watch chemical/metal compatability ? Hastelloy or Titanium is best for our use, but Stainless will work, IF rinsed out, even Brass, if cheap enough, just replace before it goes bad ?
Anthony Blanton, where are U ? Anthony would know about Foamers, he cleans kitchen hoods, and those guys wrote the book on foam!
Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 wrote:
Wow, watch some of these demos http://www.laffertyequipment.com/foamer-demo.php Their acid foamers seem pretty cool. Got to watch chemical/metal compatability ? Hastelloy or Titanium is best for our use, but Stainless will work, IF rinsed out, even Brass, if cheap enough, just replace before it goes bad ?
Anthony Blanton, where are U ? Anthony would know about Foamers, he cleans kitchen hoods, and those guys wrote the book on foam!
Hey Chris
speaking of kitchen hood cleaning, I went to Delco cleaning systems about 3-4 years ago to take their hood cleaning class and get certified and they never even mentioned cleaning with foam? but not even sure it would of been necessary.
Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 wrote:
Wow, watch some of these demos http://www.laffertyequipment.com/foamer-demo.php Their acid foamers seem pretty cool. Got to watch chemical/metal compatability ? Hastelloy or Titanium is best for our use, but Stainless will work, IF rinsed out, even Brass, if cheap enough, just replace before it goes bad ?
Anthony Blanton, where are U ? Anthony would know about Foamers, he cleans kitchen hoods, and those guys wrote the book on foam!
Hey Chris
speaking of kitchen hood cleaning, I went to Delco cleaning systems about 3-4 years ago to take their hood cleaning class and get certified and they never even mentioned cleaning with foam? but not even sure it would of been necessary.
Clyde, I know quite a few guys who use foam to clean hoods with, and kitchen exhaust. There are videos by the grease police on you tube.
Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 wrote:
KP Diamond wrote:
Chris, I am not 100% sure, but I believe that the commercial foamers to which you are referring to require a dedicated water pressure line in addition to the air compressor feeding the foamer pump in order to shoot that far.
Other units don't require the water line, but they also don't shoot that far, maybe 20ft.
Many of us already have air compressors, wonder how much CFM is needed ?
The cfm requirement is right in line with what we are used to. But the dedicated water line I believe could be problematic on a mobile rig. It needs to be a consistent feed pressure, although not at very high psi, maybe like 50 or 60 psi. Plus I believe the water becomes part of the foam, diluting the mix . Again, this is for the foamers that shoot far. The other thing about foam is that it breaks down quickly the longer the hose is. I think 100ft is about the maximum with a large diameter hose. Most demonstrations I have seen over the years use about 25 to 50 ft of hose.
__________________
Ada Mobile Wash
2694 Ashville Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-285-8115
kennethpaul@vzw.blackberry.net
Roof Washing Exterior House Cleaning Grand Rapids, MI
I amwaiting for the Lafferty Foamers Engineer to call me back. But these http://www.laffertyequipment.com/products/airless/index.php might be the ticket for us ? I am aware the foam breaks down quickly in long hoses like us roof cleaners use. Lafferty has the reputation as the very best foamers, so I will get their input on things.
I think we all would like shaving cream foam that shoots 50 feet, huh ? That may not be possible/practical ? Lets find out ??
We also need to figure out if we can get good quality foam with our chemicals. I tried to get an aggressive degreaser to foam a couple years ago. It took way too much surfactant to get good foam, and it still wasn't cost effective or strong enough in the end to do the job. I got more froth than foam. I think shaving cream style will be difficult to achieve, but I am hopeful.
__________________
Ada Mobile Wash
2694 Ashville Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-285-8115
kennethpaul@vzw.blackberry.net
Roof Washing Exterior House Cleaning Grand Rapids, MI
We also need to figure out if we can get good quality foam with our chemicals. I tried to get an aggressive degreaser to foam a couple years ago. It took way too much surfactant to get good foam, and it still wasn't cost effective or strong enough in the end to do the job. I got more froth than foam. I think shaving cream style will be difficult to achieve, but I am hopeful.
I JUST got off the phone with Bob St Lawrence of Lafferty Foamers. Bob was extremely helpful, and I sent him a link to this thread. I told him of our needs as roof cleaners, and it is his opinion that we will be better off using airless foam, as opposed to shaving cream foam. If I understood him correctly, airless foam is more of a wet foam. He is on top of our needs as roof cleaners, and is going to contact the Lafferty Engineers to see what they think ? Those of us already using air diapraghm pumps already have what we need in place evidently. All we need, if I understood Bob correctly, is a foaming wand to go on the end of our hose. These wands can use either a fan tip to really lay the foam down quickly, or a 0 degree tip to shoot the foam. As I learn more, I will relay what I have learned. Chris
Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 wrote:
KP Diamond wrote:
We also need to figure out if we can get good quality foam with our chemicals. I tried to get an aggressive degreaser to foam a couple years ago. It took way too much surfactant to get good foam, and it still wasn't cost effective or strong enough in the end to do the job. I got more froth than foam. I think shaving cream style will be difficult to achieve, but I am hopeful.
I JUST got off the phone with Bob St Lawrence of Lafferty Foamers. Bob was extremely helpful, and I sent him a link to this thread. I told him of our needs as roof cleaners, and it is his opinion that we will be better off using airless foam, as opposed to shaving cream foam. If I understood him correctly, airless foam is more of a wet foam. He is on top of our needs as roof cleaners, and is going to contact the Lafferty Engineers to see what they think ? Those of us already using air diapraghm pumps already have what we need in place evidently. All we need, if I understood Bob correctly, is a foaming wand to go on the end of our hose. These wands can use either a fan tip to really lay the foam down quickly, or a 0 degree tip to shoot the foam. As I learn more, I will relay what I have learned. Chris
Pretty sure the ones that produce the airless foam work on the 'venturi' principle and only shoot about 14 ft. And yes it is more of a wet froth than foam.
__________________
Ada Mobile Wash
2694 Ashville Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
616-285-8115
kennethpaul@vzw.blackberry.net
Roof Washing Exterior House Cleaning Grand Rapids, MI
Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 wrote:
KP Diamond wrote:
We also need to figure out if we can get good quality foam with our chemicals. I tried to get an aggressive degreaser to foam a couple years ago. It took way too much surfactant to get good foam, and it still wasn't cost effective or strong enough in the end to do the job. I got more froth than foam. I think shaving cream style will be difficult to achieve, but I am hopeful.
I JUST got off the phone with Bob St Lawrence of Lafferty Foamers. Bob was extremely helpful, and I sent him a link to this thread. I told him of our needs as roof cleaners, and it is his opinion that we will be better off using airless foam, as opposed to shaving cream foam. If I understood him correctly, airless foam is more of a wet foam. He is on top of our needs as roof cleaners, and is going to contact the Lafferty Engineers to see what they think ? Those of us already using air diapraghm pumps already have what we need in place evidently. All we need, if I understood Bob correctly, is a foaming wand to go on the end of our hose. These wands can use either a fan tip to really lay the foam down quickly, or a 0 degree tip to shoot the foam. As I learn more, I will relay what I have learned. Chris
Pretty sure the ones that produce the airless foam work on the 'venturi' principle and only shoot about 14 ft. And yes it is more of a wet froth than foam.
For real, Lafferty has them that shoot 50 feet! But as I understand it, they can not use long lengths of hose ?
Yes Chris, If you are using a "pre-mix" then slap the foaming wand onto the end of the hose and away you go, you already have around 60psi pressure. The other parts are more for mixing and proportioning concentrate chems.
The foam is made at the wand so the length of hose should not matter as long as you have the right amount of surfactant or foaming agent to make the magic work
Thank you for researching this foam thing for us, it is a bit hard for me because almost all of these foamers are made in the USA (thats atleast a two days drive for me) and they don't like dealing with Koala punchers that don't speka their language
Yes Chris, If you are using a "pre-mix" then slap the foaming wand onto the end of the hose and away you go, you already have around 60psi pressure. The other parts are more for mixing and proportioning concentrate chems.
The foam is made at the wand so the length of hose should not matter as long as you have the right amount of surfactant or foaming agent to make the magic work
Thank you for researching this foam thing for us, it is a bit hard for me because almost all of these foamers are made in the USA (thats atleast a two days drive for me) and they don't like dealing with Koala punchers that don't speka their language
No worries, Mate !!
I am on it !!!
-- Edited by Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 on Friday 11th of December 2009 11:23:49 PM
Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa FL (813) 655-8777 wrote:
Pressure Washer Products wrote:
We have a foamer that uses a chem feed line and air. You do not need to carry a container to the roof and it will shoot farther! Let me know if you are interested???? Lori
Lori, I DO need another big Titan Reel, just like what we bought last time ? My Son backed it into a tree branch, kinda screwed it up. Just email me an invoice, I will pay you at once by Pay Pal, OK ? We are down to one roof cleaning truck, the F 450 flatbed needs an injector pump,'\ We are running on our back up truck, and it is a real challenge to roll up our hose. Busy as Chit too nex tweek !!! HELP !!!!
Nice job Lori
see you just sold a hose real for being here when we need you.