The Right Transfer Pump

Transfer Pump in drumHaving the right transfer pump for your material is important for success. Not all pumps are the same. When looking at transfer pumps, look for a pump that can handle the materials you use, is easy to clean and can fit into the drum size you need. When in doubt, check your material against the transfer pump manual. This will help you identify proper ratio, cycles per gallon, psi and other important factors.

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Having Quality Equipment

When starting your own spray foam company, it is important to have high quality equipment from reputable manufacturers. Companies like PMC and Graco have products that are quality tested and built to last. By spending more money on quality equipment now or buying new instead of used, you can save on having to replace less quality products more frequently. Oftentimes, used equipment is less costly than new because all the parts are brand new.

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When to Perform Maintenance Checks

Avoid unnecessary down time by performing maintenance checks before you start your day. It is easier to perform these checks while the system is cool and pressure free. Taking this step saves you downtime later if something was wrong.

Don’t run out of material in your transfer pump

When using your transfer pump a variety of issues can occur, the most common being running out of material. As soon as the pump runs out of material, it will cavitate from loss of fluid trying to pump air and most often run wild until the operator shuts it down. Having the pump run out of material can cause damage resulting in shut down repair time or even permanent damage to the pump, costing time and money to replace.  

Changing Hydraulic Oil in your Spray Foam Machine

What you need to know before changing hydraulic oil is when operating in ambient temperature recommendations of 0 to 90°F (-17 to 32°C) frequency is about 1000 hours or 12 months, whichever comes first and/or in  90°F and above (32°C and above) 500 hours or 6 months, whichever comes first.

Recommended Oils: 

Citgo A/W ISO Grade 46 Amsoil AWI ISO Grade 46 (synthetic*) BP Oil International Energol® HLP-HM, ISO Grade 46 Carl Bechem GmbH Staroil HVI 46 Castrol Hyspin AWS 46 Chevron Rykon® AW, ISO 46 Exxon Humble Hydraulic H, ISO Grade 46 Mobil Mobil DTE 25, ISO Grade 46 Shell Shell Tellus, ISO Grade 46 Texaco Texaco AW Hydraulic, ISO Grade 46 *

NOTE: After changing hydraulic oil and upon starting motor, hydraulic pumps may make a screeching noise until primed. If this noise continues for more than 30 seconds, switch off motor control and contact your machine manufacturer.

Graco T3 Transfer Pump Packing

Graco T3 Retaining NutAs a general rule, the shaft area of your Graco T3 Pump should be checked, cleaned and lubricated every three to six months. When you get a new T3 Pump and during these checks, run about 20 gallons of material. Afterwards, tighten the packing nut by hand and then use the included spanner wrench to tighten an additional 1/8 to 1/4 turn.

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PMC GHO, IPM OP series, Graco T2 Transfer Air motor performance

After use, the transfer pump air motor starts operating sluggish and leaks air. This is generally due to deforming (wear) of the upper reversing spring and the upper air valve gasket. You can notice the spring wear off in two ways. The first being the pump fails to return to the down stroke and secondly the pump will pause momentarily when reversing to the down stroke which appears as a cavitation type action. In this situation, hanging the spring is the best solution, but when in a pinch, stretching the spring to its near original length can get you through the day.

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