Good price on a foam gun

S-F · 10-12-12, 06:54 PM

The Handi Tool HT300

Someone where I worked discovered a generic foam gun that can be had for about $20. It appears to be an EXACT copy of the Pageris, which is a very nice gun, except it's blue, not green, and doesn't have the Pageris sticker on it. Everyone in my company bought one. I figured I'd wait a while to see how they work out before recomending them. I can say that after several months of having them in use they are working great! They are outlasting the GreatStuff guns in a dramatic way and they cost $30 less. The GreatStuff guns fail all the time. They are cheap and they seem to break any place you could or couldn't imagine. Glad I never bought one. Every GreatStuff gun where I work, both personal and company owned, has failed and been replaced. The gun it made by "Handi Tool" and is called the HT300. You can readily find them online and get them to your house for around $20. GreatStuff cans are really a waste. The foam is unimpressive and they are expensive. A can of PUR Fill costs about $13. I haven't bought GreatStuff in years so I don't know what they cost but it's probably around 1/2 the cost of PUR Fill or Touch 'N Seal. The PUR Fill is my favorite. I like the foam the most and you certainly get more out of a can of it that Touch 'N Seal. If you're sloppy and glue the can to your gun though it's easier to get a Touch 'N Seal can off because you can get some pliers on it. Either will probably have about 4X more foam than a GreatStuff can. Maybe more. Maybe a lot more. You can also just use a little bit of the can and then let it sit on the shelf for months. GreatStuff cans get glued shut so you have to use the whole thing, waste some of the can or spend hours trying to clean out the straw. I've done the latter twice in my life. Never again.

It's a Pageris (about $100) with no name tag and goes for $20. Amazing. I hope this will help some ecorenovators free themselves from the shackles GreatStuff.

Fomo Products Inc. F61050 HT - 300 7" Polymer Dispensing Unit - amazon.com

Daox · 10-13-12, 10:00 AM

Thanks for the tip. I know I love my greatstuff gun, and it hasn't fallen apart yet, but the price tag was quite high! I checked amazon.com and the HT300 is just over $50 on there. So, next I checked ebay and there was one seller selling for $17.50 plus $8 for shipping to me. The link should bring you to an ebay search for the gun.

Handi Tool HT300 | eBay

Where did you buy yours?

S-F · 10-13-12, 10:07 AM

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp...w=1598&bih=819

You can get them all over the place. I'm not sure what site my company picked them up at but they came to $20 after shipping. The GreatStuff gun really isn't the end of the world. If you don't use it day in and day out it will probably last a long time. The thing is that the HT300 is a much better gun and is cheaper, so why not? Unless, like you, you already have one. The last on in my company was decommissioned last Tuesday. The second to last one died a little over a month ago when I was using it. I had just put a new can on and the gun wouldn't close. It emptied an entire can on a bath fan. That was a nightmare.

Ryland · 10-14-12, 10:59 AM

I currently have the Great Stuff Pro 14 gun and I've never had an issue with it, I had the Great Stuff Pro 13 gun and returned it the same day I got it because it was junk, the big issue I had was the plastic trigger flexed and weak return spring kept it from shutting off all the way!
The Pro 14 gun has a steel trigger and everything else is either brass, stainless steel or Teflon coated, I've had it for over 2 years now, sealed my attic with it, around doors and windows, loaned it to neighbors, loaned it to my parents and brother, left half full cans of foam on it for 6 months at a time (best way to store it, if it's long term storage install a can of cleaner on it and flush it out!) with how it's holding up it should be around and used for decades and I use my tools hard, so anything that holds up I'm impressed with.

greif · 10-14-12, 12:54 PM

How do you clean the guns? Is there cleaner to run through them?

Daox · 10-14-12, 05:57 PM

Yeah, there is a special can of cleaner that you put on it to blow a bunch of cleaner through it so you can store it without the foam solidifying in the gun.

S-F · 10-14-12, 06:27 PM

Also.... you need to run the foam can all the way down before removing it and when unscrewing it you keep the trigger depressed, or else foam will puff out the inlet and when you mash a new can on it can get glued on. If you follow these simple procedures you won't need to clean the gun too often. You can store the gun with a foam can on but (so I have been told) unless it's stored can up it can loose pressure if left for extended periods of time. I have never witnessed this but then again I never go for more than a week or so before finishing a can. If you blow foam cleaner through it you can store it with no can on but it must be squeaky clean. Also don't be afraid to scrape the foam off the tip of the nozzle with a utility knife. If you don't it won't dispense properly. Foam cleaner is acetone and evaporates quickly. You can clean it off hands, furniture and the like, but only if it's still went. Once it's cured the only way to remove it is mechanically.

Ryland · 10-14-12, 08:24 PM

The can of cleaner I have screws on just like a can of foam so you can install the can of cleaner and store it on the gun to keep everything sealed.
I've stored my foam gun for 6+ months at a time with half a can of foam on it and found it to work perfectly, I also don't do anything special when changing cans, nor do any of the other people who I loan my foam gun to, never had a can glue it's self on.

greif · 10-14-12, 08:33 PM

So you can store the half full can right on it without cleaning?

Ryland · 10-14-12, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greif

So you can store the half full can right on it without cleaning?

Yes, at least with the Great Stuff Pro 14 foam gun, it has tight enough seals that in the 2 and a half years that I've owned it I have't removed the can other then to swap a new one on, I bought the can of cleaner just in case I wanted long term storage, but as it is it seems happy for 6 months or more at a time.

10-13-12, 10:00 AM	#2
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Thanks for the tip. I know I love my greatstuff gun, and it hasn't fallen apart yet, but the price tag was quite high! I checked amazon.com and the HT300 is just over $50 on there. So, next I checked ebay and there was one seller selling for $17.50 plus $8 for shipping to me. The link should bring you to an ebay search for the gun. Handi Tool HT300 \| eBay Where did you buy yours? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-14-12, 12:54 PM	#5
greif a van down by the river Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Kaukauna,WI Posts: 108 Thanks: 6 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	How do you clean the guns? Is there cleaner to run through them? __________________ Gary R “If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom. ” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

10-14-12, 05:57 PM	#6
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Yeah, there is a special can of cleaner that you put on it to blow a bunch of cleaner through it so you can store it without the foam solidifying in the gun. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-14-12, 08:33 PM	#9
greif a van down by the river Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Kaukauna,WI Posts: 108 Thanks: 6 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	So you can store the half full can right on it without cleaning? __________________ Gary R “If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom. ” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

10-14-12, 10:59 AM	#4
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	I currently have the Great Stuff Pro 14 gun and I've never had an issue with it, I had the Great Stuff Pro 13 gun and returned it the same day I got it because it was junk, the big issue I had was the plastic trigger flexed and weak return spring kept it from shutting off all the way! The Pro 14 gun has a steel trigger and everything else is either brass, stainless steel or Teflon coated, I've had it for over 2 years now, sealed my attic with it, around doors and windows, loaned it to neighbors, loaned it to my parents and brother, left half full cans of foam on it for 6 months at a time (best way to store it, if it's long term storage install a can of cleaner on it and flush it out!) with how it's holding up it should be around and used for decades and I use my tools hard, so anything that holds up I'm impressed with.

10-14-12, 08:24 PM	#8
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	The can of cleaner I have screws on just like a can of foam so you can install the can of cleaner and store it on the gun to keep everything sealed. I've stored my foam gun for 6+ months at a time with half a can of foam on it and found it to work perfectly, I also don't do anything special when changing cans, nor do any of the other people who I loan my foam gun to, never had a can glue it's self on.