Expanding foam failure

[Karl_T]

I am shipping a couple heavy boxes cross country. $10K worth. heard expanding foam made great packaging.

GREAT STUFF 12 oz. Big Gap Filler Insulating Spray Foam Sealant 363103 - The Home Depot

GREAT STUFF Big Gap Filler Insulating Foam Sealant is an expanding foam sealant that fills, seals and insulates gaps up to 3 inches. This ready-to-use sealant is specially formulated to take on common

www.homedepot.com

I put a bunch in the cheap walmart shopping bags and stuffed around the parts. It never cured an then collapsed. It was 40 - 45 in the barn yesterday.

Is the problem temperature or lack of air? I also see it suggests spraying water, i did not do this.

If its not in bags, it will make a mess. How to do this better next time?

 

[whitmore]

I think temperature is the thing; I had an outdoor application similarly not cure, but two days later I checked,
and it had gone rigid. When working indoors, at 70F, there were no problems.

Apply heat lamps, or wait for a warm day?

 

[toprecyler]

My guess is lack of air. This weekend I actually went and picked up 15 “empty” barrels from 2 part spray foam that was left on a job site. There was a couple barrels that had a little bit left in them. I mixed a little of each in a cup, and it took a minute to expand, but was pretty cool. Then I tried something else. I put some in a balloon and tied it shut. It expanded a bit, but never really hardened up.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[markba633csi]

Probably both- temperature and air. I would spray it in layer by layer instead of all at once
It is amazing stuff- but don't ever get it on you- impossible to remove

 

[G-ManBart]

For something that expensive I'd get some instapaks...they work really, really well, but aren't cheap.

Instapak® Quick® RT On-Demand Foam Bags – Sealed Air

SEALED AIR® brand Instapak® Quick® RT are expanding foam bags for shipping that give your products cost-effective damage protection—no equipment needed.

www.sealedair.com

 

[GeneT45]

For something that expensive I'd get some instapaks...they work really, really well, but aren't cheap.

Instapak® Quick® RT On-Demand Foam Bags – Sealed Air

SEALED AIR® brand Instapak® Quick® RT are expanding foam bags for shipping that give your products cost-effective damage protection—no equipment needed.

www.sealedair.com

This. You're using the wrong foam. Another reason not to use home-store foam is that if, I mean *when*, there is a leak it will attach itself mostly permanently to the item being packed.

GsT

 

[RJSakowski]

Great Stuff and similar foams need moisture to cure. If the foam is inside a plastic bag, it can't cure normally. Thicker cross sections will require more cure time. I have use probably forty cans of the stuff and never had a problem with curing except for one time where I sprayed it into a closed cavity in a fiberglass boat. It eventually did cure but it took weeks or months.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

I am shipping a couple heavy boxes cross country. $10K worth. heard expanding foam made great packaging.

GREAT STUFF 12 oz. Big Gap Filler Insulating Spray Foam Sealant 363103 - The Home Depot

GREAT STUFF Big Gap Filler Insulating Foam Sealant is an expanding foam sealant that fills, seals and insulates gaps up to 3 inches. This ready-to-use sealant is specially formulated to take on common

www.homedepot.com

I put a bunch in the cheap walmart shopping bags and stuffed around the parts. It never cured an then collapsed. It was 40 - 45 in the barn yesterday.

Is the problem temperature or lack of air? I also see it suggests spraying water, i did not do this.

If its not in bags, it will make a mess. How to do this better next time?

That is NoT the correct type of expanding foam.

You need two part, 2lbs per sqft for what you’re intending to do.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

For something that expensive I'd get some instapaks...they work really, really well, but aren't cheap.

Instapak® Quick® RT On-Demand Foam Bags – Sealed Air

SEALED AIR® brand Instapak® Quick® RT are expanding foam bags for shipping that give your products cost-effective damage protection—no equipment needed.

www.sealedair.com

Huh, never saw those.

We have insta pack machines at work, but they spit out a per measured amount into a pre sized bag for our needs.

 

[woodchucker]

I am shipping a couple heavy boxes cross country. $10K worth. heard expanding foam made great packaging.

GREAT STUFF 12 oz. Big Gap Filler Insulating Spray Foam Sealant 363103 - The Home Depot

GREAT STUFF Big Gap Filler Insulating Foam Sealant is an expanding foam sealant that fills, seals and insulates gaps up to 3 inches. This ready-to-use sealant is specially formulated to take on common

www.homedepot.com

I put a bunch in the cheap walmart shopping bags and stuffed around the parts. It never cured an then collapsed. It was 40 - 45 in the barn yesterday.

Is the problem temperature or lack of air? I also see it suggests spraying water, i did not do this.

If its not in bags, it will make a mess. How to do this better next time?

Urethane needs moisture to cure. And the temp should be 50s and higher... 70s is perfect.
I would have sprayed with a spray bottle water into the bags then filled. The bags were always left open away from the computers or screens, so the bag protects them but the expansion can happen away from them and blow out if needed away from the merchandise..