New equipment companies

Beware new companies that are trying to get into the construction equipment market.  A few months ago, I wrote about a company named TriTech that is getting into the airless market.  After trying for months to get information about the company, other than their own P.R., I have hit a blank.  Evidently they aren’t interested in the service centers that will eventually see their products.  They haven’t returned inquiries or phone calls.  To a service business that has been servicing the airless market as a general repair and warranty center for all brands since 1986, this usually means one of a few things:  1.That the company is fading out of the market due to poor sales or performance.  2. They are so undercapitalized that they have no parts other than what they can afford to assemble for complete machines (to sell).  3. They don’t want anyone to take the machines apart for repair and see the poor design or lack of quality,   4. They have no marketing and/or business experience or don’t have the financial backing to proceed in expanding into existing markets.

In the last 30 years, I have seen the airless market expand and contract.  A few good companies have been purchased by others in the same market.  Examples of these are Amspray, Airlessco and Speeflo.  Wagner merged Amspray into their (then) new piston pump line as SprayTech.  Airlessco is still sold as Airlessco (by Graco) as a premium line.  Speeflo is the gas/hydraulic line of Titan.  A few have died, such as Binks and HERO.  4 or 5 have just disappeared leaving their customers without any parts or service support, such as Allimite, Karldom, HERO (closed by Graco) and Simpson.

So beware of purchasing any equipment by a new company.  Make sure that it can be serviced by all factory certified service centers.   And then make sure that you are getting a better value per dollar than with a known and well established brand.  Quality and repair support will last long after an impulse buy from a persuasive sales person or advertisement.  Despite any claims to the contrary, all equipment that is used for any length of time will need service and repairs.

Freeze Warnings !!

Once again, we are at the time of year where they are posting freeze warnings.  Last night was the first of this year, although it only dropped to 35 degrees in Sacramento.  Outlying areas such as Grass Valley and in many other places, it dropped below freezing.

DO NOT LEAVE ANY MATERIAL IN YOUR PUMP OVERNIGHT.  It doesn’t matter if it is in a camper shell or a trailer or a (unheated) garage or storage building.  Your pump WILL freeze and serious damage can occur.  If you are in doubt, come into the shop, I have 2 really graphic examples of what it can do.  A split cylinder can run from $150 to $600.  Just for the part.  Then you have packings, etc.  Run Pump Gaurd through your machine, remove the airless hose and gun and then run it for about 10 seconds to run it dry.  A clean, dry pump without hose and gun cannot freeze.

If you have any pumps that you haven’t been using, go get them out and check them too.

Fall is Here

The fall rains have begun.  Remember to protect your spraying equipment from the rain.  If wet, electric motors can short out.  Electrical circuits can short out if just damp.  Keep them dry.  Gas engines will form moisture inside the fuel tanks and ruin the carburetor.  Gas machines that have clutches, non-hydraulic pumps, also have electrical circuits.  Wet and damp can short them out.  Some of the newest hydraulic machines have circuit boards also.  Keep them all dry.

Remember, of course, all exterior paints should have a minimum of 24 hours to dry before any moisture (rain) touches them.  Even if the rain doesn’t slide the material off the wall and onto the sidewalk/driveway/ground, it will change the surface tension and change the appearance of the wall.  You may be able to see the difference between the areas that got wet and the areas that didn’t.  The owners might complain and then you would have to repaint the areas that got wet.  It isn’t worth the chance.  Also,  almost all contracts have included in them a change of the project finish date for “acts of God”, which includes rain.  So for each day of rain or wet weather or temperature too low to paint, the finish date will extend 1 weekday.  Weekends are not usually included for delay or for a finish date.  Just make sure to let the person in charge of the property know of the delay as it happens.

Tahoe and participation trophies

Eloise and I got away on one of our rare 3 day weekends.  We left on Friday and headed to Tahoe.  We stayed at “The Ridge”.  It is truly on the ridge.  From one side of the top of the “Tower” that we stayed in, you can see Lake Tahoe and from the other side you can see the valley south of Reno.  Our view from the living room, dining room and master was down to the Reno side.  The property within 20 feet of the building slopes down at a 30-40 degree angle and drops from over 10000 feet to approximately 4400 feet at the valley floor.  An impressive view to say the least.  Friday, right around our check in time, it started to rain.  It was a serious rain and rained most of the night.  Saturday morning started with a breezy day without rain.  It enabled us to go and walk Stateline and visit the stores there.  We visited 2 of the most impressive art galleries that I have ever been in.  This includes all of the galleries that we have been in in San Francisco and the beach areas of Southern California.  We had to be back up to the Ridge for facial and massage by early afternoon.  By the time we got back and walked to the main building, it had started to rain again.  Really serious rain.  This rain reminded me of the rain one gets in the rain forest of Mendocino County where cousin Glen lives.  It’s like standing under a fire hose.  It poured all night with a few lightning strikes seen from our suite.  Sunday morning was still cloudy, but without rain.  By the time that we left, it had started again.  Altogether the Tahoe area got 4 inches of rain in 3 days.  Monday, I heard on the radio that Lake Folsom had risen 2 feet from Friday morning to Monday morning.

Monday, Eloise Renee had her last Volley Ball game and Adam traveled up to Sacramento to watch.  I have always thought that “Participation” trophies are foolish.  Go ahead, kid yourself, the kids keep score and know who wins and who doesn’t.  Maybe give a consolation trophy to those that don’t win.  (I don’t think that the Jr High gives out any trophies)  However, some of the parents are a problem, not the kids.  They embarrass their kids and annoy the other spectators.  Come on, This is junior high!  Let the kids have fun,  win or lose.  The point is to learn the game and have fun. 

New Security Measures

We have updated our physical security here at Airless Spray Center.  We have always had physical alarms, both audible and silent.  We have had a monitoring service, both on-site and in the cloud recordings of all 5 cameras.  They record both interior and exterior of the shop.  We have a security company that checks up also throughout the property during our closed hours.  We have iron bar gates on all possible entrance and exit locations.

So now we have added Guard Cats. These wild felines will climb up your pant leg whenever they aren’t contained away from the public.  Here you can see them patrolling, on the job.

 

New Pump Line Available

There is now a new pump company that is marketing small electric airless pumps.  The company name is TriTech.  They are located in New Jersey and every part of every machine is made in the USA.  The engineering group has been in the industry for over 25 years.  Most of their history was with Titan Tool.  They use PMC motors, which use less power and which extends the life of the entire unit and accessories.  All parts are made from Aircraft Grade metals and will not rust.  They include a lifetime warranty on the motor and drive train. 

The pumps now available include .57gpm, .67gpm and .77gpm.  All pressures max out at 3300psi.  All 3 of these pumps come on a stand, Low-cart and Hi-cart.  The stand is also available with a hopper for small material usage.  Unit weight runs from 33 lbs. to 77 lbs.

They have a larger pump which will be made available next year.  It will be a 1 gpm machine.  We are looking forward to seeing the demo pump.

Protect your skin(s)

Actually, protect your pump FROM skins.  It is still summer and the heat will skin up your material within minutes.  You must strain EVERY gallon.  After filtering the paint, float a small amount of water on top, do not stir, and it will keep the paint from skinning over.  The manifold filter on the pump and the gun filter will keep your tips from clogging, however the skins are already up, in and through your pump by the time that they are caught in the filters.

Clogging the tip is annoying, but it isn’t costly except in time wasted.  Paint skins will clog the inlet and starve the pump.  This causes cavitation.  Cavitation will damage the pump similar to what is does to a prop on a boat.  It causes permanent damage.  If a skin gets caught in one of the pump valves, the pump won’t function properly and you will not get pressure, except in surges.  If a skin gets caught in between the packings, it will tear them up and very possibly score the cylinder sleeve which is a permanent and expensive repair.  Also, as soon as paint or water is leaking up into the wet cup (top of piston area), the packings are shot and damage to the piston is starting.  This also is an expensive repair.

Control Board Issues

Yes, to the inquires about dead or faulty control boards.  We are seeing many more control board replacements than ever before.  In reality, some of this is because ALL machines, even gas and some hydraulic machines now have electronic control boards.

Some of the problems are pressure sensor related.  This can be caused by build up on the sensor.  See the last article about cleaning.  Some of the problems are with units that are on new construction projects that use a “gang box” or temporary power pole for power.  Your power is unstable due to other motors that draw large current surges.  These can include table and worm drive saws, welding equipment, compressors, etc.  Some of the problems are caused by painting old structures that have old, weak power wiring and/or electrical boxes.  If you are plugged into the circuit and the clothes dryer starts, your machine will be starved of power.

Just keep in mind the cost of repairs when you plug in the machine.  Take the few minutes to check the power supply AND you power cords.  Loose and damaged power plugs (i.e. missing the ground lug) will cause you costly problems.

Re: Cleaning

We are seeing more rigs come in that have multiple colors still inside the fluid section.  I know that these are latex paints, “water based material”, but water alone will not clean the pump.  Any material that is darker than an off-white will still leave a residue of color in the pump.  This layer will then collect the next material (even off-whites) from then on.  This causes wear and tearing of the packings, which can also cause piston and cylinder wear and damage.

The cure for this is to use liquid dishwashing soap in the second wash.  The first wash is just water, clearing out the bulk of the material.  Recirculate the second wash for 5 minutes.  Let the pump build pressure occasionally during this time.  Then make sure that you completely rinse the soapy water out of the pump with the third wash.  If there is any clouding in the rinse water, repeat the second wash.

There are some really deep tint colors that will require paint thinner to dissolve all of the colorant, but that is another article.

Summer Care

This summer looks to be a hot one.  It looks like we are back to the Sacramento we knew before the last 5 years of mild weather.  We have had mild summers and warm dry winters (which led up to the draught).
Remember to clean out your pumps as soon as possible!  Any material left in the pump will skin up and clog the works.  All material needs to be strained.  Do not wrap the strainer around the siphon screen, it will just plug up and starve the pump.  This will glaze the packings and take them out.  Float a cup of water on the top of the paint.  Do not stir it in,.  This will keep the paint from forming a skin on the top.  Never leave paint in your pump overnight!
Low boy pump have a black siphon hose. If left in the sun, these will get really hot.  This skins the material inside of the hose.  Keep your pump in the shade but DO NOT cover the pump with a tarp.  That will restrict the air flow and overheat the pump.
If you have a gas engine, throttle it down.  Slower is better.  It should only run fast enough to output paint to your tip size.  If you have only 1 gun on the pump, most should only run at half speed.  Change the engine oil at least 3 times a year.  Change oil every May and August.  This will extend the life of the engine.