By Murphy Mahaffey, Director of International Sales
“Hello, Murph? Tim here with a field test report”.
“Hi Tim! How is the PF-1600 Residential SPF trial going?”
“We have sprayed 5 sets now, and the machine is performing flawlessly. The first three jobs were sprayed with a 01 chamber on the AP-3 and the last 2 days with a 02 chamber. We have been on a large residential project in (undisclosed location) and the unit is running great. I have the air pressure at machine at 90psi and with temps set at 125F; I’m getting static pressure of 1700-1800psi.”
After months of data collection, interviews with end users and distributor think tanks, this is the call you want to receive as an equipment manufacturer when a new unit is operating in the field. This is the moment when the rubber of countless hours of input, design and refine meets the road of SPF Reality.
The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SFPA) states in SFPA-137-General-SPF HP Equipment “Size your equipment based on the type of projects you expect to undertake.”² They note an output of up to 15 lbs./7kg per minute for residential insulation, light commercial and industrial applications.¹
The design goals of the PF-1600 started with the lowest air and power requirements possible while achieving the material flow and temperature needed for residential foam application. In sprayer’s parlance, we needed to spray at least an 01 chamber all day long. PMC engineers utilized the most current pneumatic motor design and digitally-controlled heating configurations to achieve and surpass this goal. Requiring just 15-20 scfm @100 psi the maximum hose length is 310’.
The footprint was also of importance- at just 24”x24”x32” the PF-1600 does not need much space and is built with smaller rig and truck sizes in mind. This is important domestically and even more so in many of the international markets where PMC supplies equipment. It is mobile and a true production machine, capable of replacing the machines in the industry that require material recirculation for proper heating and are sold as “production” machines.
The PF-1600 has 4 heat options depending on the requirements of the environment- 6Kw, 7.5Kw, 9Kw and 10.5Kw. The high efficiency hybrid heat configuration and hose heat are controlled digitally to maintain optimum temperature control over the chemical system.
Spray-applied polyurethane foam insulation (SPF) has become the material of choice when it comes to building envelope technology and insulation efficiency. Dramatic growth has been seen in the USA residential insulation market. According to the United States Census Bureau, Single-family unit starts went up 18.7% from 2015 to 2017, going from 715,000 to 849,000 ² PMC has the philosophy that for an industry to grow, it needs the right tools at the right time. Product development input is end-user focused, and driven by the best available information from industry associations like the SPFA. The new PF-1600 design has met the standards set forth by the industry players, and is ready to take the field in Q1, 2019.
¹Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance http://www.sprayfoam.org/revised-techdoc-spfa-137-for-spf-high-pressure-equipment-now-available
² United States Census Bureau https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/quarterly_starts_completions.pdf