Did you know that research has found that the use of foam spray insulation can reduce energy consumption by up to 70%?
Polyurethane foam is also commonly referred to as spray foam. Whether you are signing a contract for a home renovation project or doing a DIY renovation, I need to use the best type of spray foam for your project.
Therefore, we created a complete guide today to help you understand the various types of spray foam and which guide is best for your unique project. Keep reading to learn more!
When the polyol resin and isocyanate react chemically, spray foam is formed. By mixing these two chemicals together, it can be expanded to 60 times the original size. Due to the ever-expanding properties of spray foam, it is a great tool if you are interested in filling every corner and gap in a certain area to prevent air leakage while insulating the room.
You can choose between two different types of spray foam, which are called closed-cell spray foam and open-cell spray foam. In addition to its sound insulation properties, open-cell spray foam is usually used to absorb sound. However, closed-cell spray foam can fully play a role in insulating a room to prevent heat loss due to its higher density.
What are the different types of spray foam?
You can choose from three main types of spray foam on the market, namely mechanical blowing, air blowing and solvent blowing.
Both methods use similar mechanisms, which will separate the foam chemicals from each other until the spring mechanism is activated. When the two chemicals in the spray foam are mixed together, they can form an insulation layer to keep your house warm. However, the difference between these three different types of spray foam is how the foam is pushed out.
In order for the spray foam to continue to be useful, the system must be purged after spraying. Otherwise, all residual materials inside the spraying mechanism will harden and become useless.
1) Mechanical blowing of foam
This type of spray foam uses a valve stem to prevent the two chemicals used in the spray foam from mixing until you are ready to spray. By pulling the trigger located on the back of the rod, you will begin the process of mixing the chemicals together. After releasing the trigger, the lever will return to its original position, which will flush out all remaining chemicals.
If you need people with different flow rates to complete multiple tasks in a project, then you may find mechanical blowing of foam useful. However, the biggest disadvantage of using mechanical blowing foam is that it requires several complicated moving parts to operate mechanical blowing foam, so more maintenance is required.
To ensure that this type of spray foam continues to be available, you must ensure that the valve stem is kept clean. Mechanical spray foam is best selected by professionals with spray foam experience.
2) Air purge foam
Air purge foam is the simplest foam on the market. By activating the trigger on the foam, you will cause the chamber filled with chemicals to move.
Due to its simplicity, air purged foam is very popular. With its unique design, air purging foam does not require high maintenance costs. In addition, they are easy to use, easy to maintain, and can be compared with the other two types of spray foam designs.
If you are working on a DIY home improvement project, or you know that you will need a spray foam that can easily cover a large area, then air-purge spray foam may be your best choice.
3) Solvent purge foam
Solvent purge foam is superior to air purge. However, with more complex designs, there are some shortcomings that may prevent you from using this type of spray foam.
By using chemical solvents to prevent chemicals from mixing together, this type of spray foam relies on chemical solvents to flush out all the materials left in the chamber. This type of spray foam is usually used for coating, not for insulation.
These types of spray foams are usually used by professionals who must complete coding. They are also more expensive than the other two options, because in addition to the chemicals needed to create the spray foam, you must also buy solvents.
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