Big Bulk-Loaded Glue Applicator Ideas
Sources for commercial high-volume glue applicators, and suggestions for shop-rigging your own setup. May 26, 2008
Question
Rather than fill bottles with glue, has anyone come up with a gravity system to apply glue right from a 5 gallon pail?
Forum Responses
(Adhesive Forum)
From contributor S:
There is a pneumatic pot that holds about 2 gallons of glue, has a hose and a choice of one or two guns with a choice of 100 tips. It was called Gluer before but has a different name now. It is sold by Normand in Canada.
From contributor F:
The Pizzi System from Italy is imported by C-P Industries and available from Veneering Systems.
From contributor C:
There is also a system made by Pizzi in Italy that is sold by Woodworkers Supply. It's very nice, but it is way overpriced. You could do the same thing with a cheap pressure pot for paint at a very low pressure, but I don't know what you would use for an applicator/metering valve.
From contributor W:
Maybe we can get somebody thinking. How about a simple way to put a Schrader valve in the 5 gallon pail? Also tap a 6 ft clear hose and simple hand piece with a trigger valve. Put a squirt of air with a tire chuck into the pail, maybe 2 to 4 psi, pressure pushes the glue to the hand piece. Wish I had time to play with the idea.
From the original questioner:
Thanks for the input. It seems that the on/off valve is the key.
From contributor A:
We used to use one at my chair factory. I believe it was Areo Corp. that made it, if they are still around. Pressure pot like used in painting with a hose and handheld wand with a valve on the bottom that would push in to release the glue, with different tips available. Only drawback was that the tip would clog once or twice a day, making a real mess.
From contributor L:
The Pizzi is a very good system which works well, although it is expensive. You could use an inexpensive pressure pot and purchase a gun and tip from Custom Pak. I believe that the guns were about $135 when I bought my unit about 6 years ago.
From contributor N:
We bought a glue system from Hess Group America over a year ago and it is one of those tools you wonder how you did without. I did a rough calculation of the time spent filling glue bottles and the payback is quick. As long as the pistol goes back in the water filled holder, you won’t get any clogging. We have let ours set idle for 2 weeks without any cleaning. To clean between different nozzle and roller changes, their faucet system is quick and effective. The Hess is made of Pizzi parts but the pressure pot might be another manufacturer. If you could buy the Pizzi gun, accessories, hose and fittings it would be easy to make a system with an old pressure pot. Myself, I don’t mind to pay the price for a well engineered tool that works right the first time.
From contributor I:
AOM America (Asturo) has a 2.5 gal metered glue setup. I don't know the price but you can see it at aomspray.com under downloads.
From contributor A:
I read something in a woodworking magazine on this a while ago. They made something that used air, had a fairly large glue holder for residential use, a feeder tube and a dispensing wand. If I remember the cost was very low. Less than 50 bucks. I thought at the time I wanted to make one and see how it worked but I never did.
If I remember, it used one of the air bower thingies with about a 12 inch tube. If you stored it so the tip was in a cup of water or so, I don't think it would clog. I think the glue was placed in a 4 inch PVC pipe with one end that had an air regulator and the other end had a line out to the dispenser. To fill the thing, the top was screwed off the PVC at the air inlet side, filled with glue and then rescrewed. I think it was designed to hang with the line out hanging down. Using this same line of thought, you could get a five gallon pot, seal it top and bottom, add some wheels so it would roll around, attach an air inlet on top with a screw-off fill cap and outflow made out of clear tubing from the auto parts store. Use the air blowing thingie with a tube and you should be good to go. You could attach a 3/4 PVC pipe on the side, seal the bottom, fill with a couple inches of water and have a built in dispenser storage.
Now that I set here and did this, I think I might build one after all...
From contributor J:
I bought a paint pressure tank from WW Grainger and purchased the Pizzi Nozzle. The tank is slick because it comes with a pressure relief safety valve, handle, pressure gauge and brass couplings - basically everything you need. You do need to replace the paint pickup tube because PVA glue is harsh and will corrode it. I added a brass tube vs. the steel pipe that comes with it and a plastic Tupperware container inside for holding the glue, drilled a 7/8 hold in the snap-on lid. I bolted a bicycle water bottle holder with the bottle cut about 5" high for holding the water. The tank was inexpensive, about $90.00. The nozzle was a bargain - when I bought it, it was about $104.00. I have been using it for over eight years and it works flawless.
