Roughneck foam gun- taking it apart?

A couple of years ago I purchased the following Roughneck foam gun (£30).


It has some PTFE fittings (needle and canister holder) but not as many as the more expensive version.

I went to use it today. No foam would come out, the canister has been connected for a few months and feels like it was about 60% full. I had a new canister and fitted it (assuming that the propellant from the old one had leaked). The new one wouldn't work either. The gun pin retracted with no problems.

I tried running gun cleaner through it, again, no luck.

I then opted to dismantle the gun to clean the components. Still no luck. I was using a decent Bahco adjustable spanner. Nothing would turn. I then used a small screwdriver to push down the ball bearing. All was good.

I am glad that it worked but I don't understand why I could not dismantle any of the components. It looks like it has been designed to break it down.

Assuming that it continues to function I will stick with it, but if it has a terminal failure, I would be willing to jump up to £50-60. Recommendations from professionals that use foam guns day in day out would would be appreciated (bearing in mind that I do not use them in day in day out) .

I buy the metal one's from B&Q.
Paid about £15.

Few rules to follow.
Foam cleaner only works on wet foam.
Use foam cleaner on nozzle end as you are using. Keep it clean.
Put masking tape on metal nozzle and replace when needed.
Never ever scratch that end or gun will leak causing more digging and more leaking.
Use foam cleaner when swapping cans to blast gun through and foam cleaner on the screw can connection. Keep spotless connection when replacing cans.
You cant clean gun good enough to store. If the foam residue dries inside gun it's buggered.You can only store gun with wet foam in I've found.
You can store gun with foam in for 3 months but I've gone longer.
Any trouble. Buy another gun.

As for your question.
I can't remember the name of a foam gun our widow fitters used. Was £120 so I didn't bother getting one.
Guess it depends how much you use it..
I'll think about it. German brand I think...

Oh.
I remember.
Fitters said Hilti make the best foam guns

2 pack of cheapies. I found some cheap ones I bought were identical to the expensive Fischer one. I did repair them and exchange parts between. But now for the price I cant be bothered, treat them as consumables. The expensive ones are just the same as the cheap ones.

Wayners said:

I buy the metal one's from B&Q.
Paid about £15.

Few rules to follow.
Foam cleaner only works on wet foam.
Use foam cleaner on nozzle end as you are using. Keep it clean.
Put masking tape on metal nozzle and replace when needed.
Never ever scratch that end or gun will leak causing more digging and more leaking.
Use foam cleaner when swapping cans to blast gun through and foam cleaner on the screw can connection. Keep spotless connection when replacing cans.
You cant clean gun good enough to store. If the foam residue dries inside gun it's buggered.You can only store gun with wet foam in I've found.
You can store gun with foam in for 3 months but I've gone longer.
Any trouble. Buy another gun.

As for your question.
I can't remember the name of a foam gun our widow fitters used. Was £120 so I didn't bother getting one.
Guess it depends how much you use it..
I'll think about it. German brand I think...

Click to expand...

Yeah, I do spray the end of the gun after each use.

The only time I used the acetone canister to clean a gun, the gun wouldn't work when I next tried to use it. It was a free Bond-It gun that came with a pack of 6 canisters of foam. The plastic ball bearing was frozen and the gun could not be taken apart.

Roll forward a few years and I purchased a cheap one from Amazon, it lasted less than 3 months.


Looking at the Hilti gun- they say to only use the gun cleaner when changing canisters IF "(The dispenser should only be cleaned if) the throughput is too small" and to always keep a foam canister connected (with the gun stored upright). They make no mention of how long the canister is safe to keep connected...

Interestingly, they say "The dispenser must not be cleaned every time a canis [sic] changed".

I never cleaned gun with cleaning canister every time if I'm honest. I was told to many years ago by a tradesmen.Maybe good practice to?
I did spray clean the foam can connection screw though on every swap.

As for storing, I read 3 months, if you haven't used gun give it a blast to freshen the foam through.
I've gone longer though and all good. It's a bit random with the working fine or failing

Wayners said:

I never cleaned gun with cleaning canister every time if I'm honest. I was told to many years ago by a tradesmen.Maybe good practice to?
I did spray clean the foam can connection screw though on every swap.

As for storing, I read 3 months, if you haven't used gun give it a blast to freshen the foam through.
I've gone longer though and all good. It's a bit random with the working fine or failing

Click to expand...

I suspect that you are correct regarding letting a bit of foam out every now and then.

And, perhaps when I leave it on scaffolding, maybe I should use a dark tarp to hide it from the sunlight.