Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Great Stuff Pro 14 Applicator Tool
This tool is made by (or for) Dow Chemical Corporation to dispense Great Stuff PRO foam. They offer three models of applicator tools, the 13, 14, and 15. The 13 is the least expensive and the model 15 costs about twice as much as the 14. This is the review of the model 14, the tool sold here.
Pros:
- This is a well engineered, designed, and manufactured tool.
- Much easier to control, faster, and more precise, to dispense foam with this tool than to dispense Great Stuff non-Pro foam using the included one-time-use plastic applicators.
- Tool is adjustable for bead size and it's pretty easy to control volume output with the oversized trigger.
- I don't get as much of the sticky foam on myself compared to using those plastic applicators.
- Unless you are using a flexible plastic tube extension, releasing the trigger STOPS the foam from dispensing.
- The included flexible plastic tubes press onto the nozzle, used for getting into tiny or deep areas. (However, foam will continue expanding out of the tube when you release the trigger.)
Cons:
- Unless you have at least one big foam job, it's hard to justify the expense of this tool. I.e., if you have only small foaming jobs, consider using the Great Stuff foam that come with the plastic applicators.
- Works only with Great Stuff PRO foam, the kind with the large threaded can-top which is screwed into the tool's receiver. The Stuff sold in stores like Home Depot and Lowes in my area is the non-Pro variety, which doesn't work in this tool. Dow Chemical should design ALL Great Stuff foam cans to be usable with the applicator tool OR the plastic applicator. That would greatly increase the usefulness of this tool. Do an Amazon or Google Shopping search on "Great Stuff Pro Foam".
- Even with the Great Stuff Pro cleaner (see Customer Photos), it's not easy to thoroughly clean every nook and cranny of the tool. Because of this, the tool is practical only for fairly large jobs. If you're just doing one window for example and don't have any other planned uses for the foam, it could take longer to clean the tool than it would to just use the non-Pro foam with the plastic applicator, which you throw-away when done.
- Tool instructions say the applicator tip is replaceable, but I couldn't find a source on the web that sells them. However, the tip is brass, and doesn't seem to be subject to wear.
Other:
Do all your foaming on the same day, non-stop, so there's only one cleanup, unless you plan to leave the foam can attached to the tool to re-use in the near-term. Foam on a hot day, or at least a warm day. Cold temperatures (e.g., below 50s) severely retard foam expansion.
Other than a difficult cleanup, Great Stuff is a first-rate foam insulator/sealant. It expands extremely well, dries stiff, sticks to anything, has no water to breed mold, and can be cut and sanded. In fact, it expands with some force. Larger fills create greater force, which is why it's meant ONLY for smaller gaps. I made the mistake once of filling a small 2x4 cavity behind a plaster wall, and by the next day, the expanding foam had pushed the plaster away from the stud by about 1/4", severely cracking it. The most common mistake is to use too much, as it continues to expand for several hours.
My advice is to avoid water-based foam sealants, such as one brand sold by Home Depot, even though it's easy to clean up. The problem is, it doesn't expand anywhere near as much as Great Stuff, doesn't get as hard after it "cures", isn't as sticky, traps its moisture behind the cured foam (creating a potential mold issue), and will rust any steel it comes in contact with. Since it doesn't get hard, it doesn't cut easily, and forget about sanding it.
Summary:
For large foaming jobs in renovations or house construction, this tool is clearly the best method to dispense Great Stuff foam.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Pro 13 Dispensing Gun
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