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Bill, What "gate" are you and Fred talking about?
Fred, What exactly do you mean by "lean"?
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Hey, I found a gate-less blower too! The plug on this WWII relic caught fire after a few minutes -- very dramatic -- don't rent from those guys any more. (Hechinger's has a freebie loaner with throttle that worked great -- but why do these machines need to weigh 600 lbs.?)
Fred-or-Bill, about how long does it take you to fill a plain-vanilla stud bay "lean"? We enriched the mixture (maybe half-open) just to speed things up a bit.... maybe 2-3 minutes per bay? Long enough to get bored?
Cellulose definitely slows air flow -- working with it, i could easily picture suffocating under a pile of the stuff. Not so with fg.
*Fred, Thanks...even I understand that explanation! However , I'm afraid Bill and Andrew aren't the only ones with machines that don't have a gate as you describe. I have access to at least 20 machines and none of them have a gate on them. The really good round ones (Predator) don't have any adjustment but work terrific for blown in attics. The other square ones have some Mickey Mouse little air inlet adjustment near where the blower plugs in and the machine is plugged up all the time. Who makes a good machine for your types of uses. I'd buy one. I'm getting tired of fixing everybody elses machine every time we use one. Thanks
*The Predator was the one I spoke of as gateless. (That little sucker new would set you back about $2500!) I cut a piece of cardboard to fit atop the paddles - a 3/4 circle - and trimmed away at it till I got the flow right. I like the look of teh Force One machine - but no experience. I've been shopping used ones. I think it would be easy to modif almost any machine that had a good airlock mechanism.2-3 minutes? Longer I think - maybe 5-6. But not bored - always listening and feeling the tube and pulling it back a foot or so at a time. Fred is probably faster - by an order of magnitude.
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I have a 2' overhang (2x10 joists) in the kitchen and dining rm. Bottom is faced with 3/8' plywood (approx. 8" above brick patio), sub-floor is 3/4" OSB.
Current insulation is f/g batts (R-whatever). Floor is still cold and
have air infiltration into basement. Have thought about filling cavity with foam board (OC Pink Formular 2") and expanding foam. Devil is in the details and requires careful fit of foam. All access from inside in the basement and hard to reach all the way into a 2' deep cavity.
There is much discussion of blown in cellulose and looks like a good solution since cavities are irregular.
(1) I am experienced DIY''er and would like to use the Home Depot freebie machine with the product they sell (saw Bill Connor mention it). Hey, FredL, is the Home Depot product any good? Any hints.
(2) Once the caivity is full, should I cap it off with foam board and caulk around the edges (in basement). Thinking this would minimize air infiltration.
(3) One cavity has aluminum dryer duct which gets "quite" hot and is probably (??) fire hazard if in contact with cellulose. Any hints.
(4) Won't mention vapor barrier (ha-ha)..
Any advice is greatly appreciated... Thanks
*If your HD has a Pro-Max - get that one. The round ones don't have a gate and that makes it hard to dense pack.