Kodiak Texture Machine

HangemHigh

I am looking into buying a Kodiak texture machine, and would like some input from anyone who knows this machine. I was told I could run 150' of hose and that I would need a air compressor that runs 10 to 15 CFM. I was told that it sprays like the big rigs. I am interested in this machine because if it does what they say it will do, I think it would work great for commercial work. There are a lot of places I can't get my big rig. I also thought about buying the Graco 1500 it shot a great orange peel but when I shot the knockdown it acted like it didnt have enough air and that was with 25' of hose.

Back to the Kodiak, all info that I received was from a salesman and I would like to get input from the people that use the equipment.

Thanks, Scott

Drywall1

Is that the one with the Big red funnel on the top?

__________________
Rockin the Midwest from the time I could walk.

HangemHigh

No, it has a red body but the funnel(where you pour the texture) is grey

1wallboardsman

Hey Scott,

In the last 10 years, I have sprayed with everything form the original Graco Spraytex portable to 350 gal. truck based rigs, and everything in between. The Kodiak is a pump, and that is all. It will pump thicker material well, through 150' plus of hose. But, at over $3,000, it is a waste of at least $2,000. It is loaded with buckets, and its portability is poor, who wants to deal with a lot of hose on a portable, or at all?

Compressor CFM is important, but, with a kodiak, you are not running the pump with air as it is electric, so you only need air appropriate for the texture and gun you are using. Tight, full coverage, and fast orange peel needs more air, splatter and knockdown require less. In general 10 CFM @90 pds. will spray those textures well from a general purpose single jet gun. A multi-jet gun such as the binks, will require more air, but you will spray faster also.

All of the Graco portables are under powered on air, and most portables suffer from bucket loading which nullifies the advantages of a portable. All Graco portables are overpriced and underpowered on some aspect, pump or air.

What you want is a 50 gal. portable with 75' of hose and capable of adding 75' more, with the ability to plug in whatever compressor is appropriate for what you are spraying. The whole setup (with compressor) should cost less then the price of the kodiak.

jdl

66VAIR

So a 50 gal. portable that you dont have to bucket load?
ok 50 gallons of mud @14lbs per is 700lbs,
The machine has to hold this and be mobile? and cost under 3k?
a compressor alone that will do10cfm @ 90 will costat least half that!

even half that and be able to move in a jobsite?
and a compressor capable of 10 cfm at 90psi would be big and have to be 220v or gas.
Granted it takes a lot of air to do orange peel or a fog.
but do the math... if you can make a 50 gallon self mixing sprayer with hose and a compressor that is mobile and can go in a building "and" runs on even 220v for even 4k....i'll take 2!
And then i'll wake up in the real world.

1wallboardsman

So, what's the shipping address, and how are you going to pay me? Is the shipping included in the $8k? Pole Gun, or pistol?
jdl

66VAIR

Send me the technical info and pictures, pump and compressor output. is it rotor stator, diaphram, carousel or???.
if i have the option i'll go with a binks 7e2 and 706 and 3/8"F tips.
Also need the amp draw and dimesions to see how it goes through doors considering it will have to be able to move itself by remote control since nobody i know can push 1000+ pounds of equipment and material around hallways....oh it must come standard with 4 laborers to move it around!
I can't wait!
i've never been able to afford an engineering marvel!
I hope it's tax deductable....

Drywall1

Man er'bodys' fired up tonite I know very little bout sprayers but. I bought a stucco rig that would have no prob with mud. Roll air 15 hp mac daddy air comp. 2800 bucks. And the pressure pot 20gal I think. Was around 4-5k idk its been a while. They just sit now. Here in the midwest, orange peel/sprayed walls is not popular. Its all smooth walls and brush tex or smooth lid. Did 2 sprayed wall jobs last year.

__________________
Rockin the Midwest from the time I could walk.

JCardoza

I have a few used small sprayers I would sell... I have a 40 gal barrel with a graco pump attached to a wooden rolling platform with about maybe 25' hose and a graco gun, you need a good air compressor to push it... I have two or three I could sell (two 220v and one upright gas). I have a SprayKing 40 gal. "portable" with a rotor stator pump and an onboard air compressor I'd sell for a couple thousand... and I just bought a used Kodiak from American Spray because it looked like a good deal.. I'd sell it for around $2000 I'm in MO btw so I have no idea what we would do about shipping...

all this is stuff I was using before I bought my 250 Gallon AST rig which I love. the Kodiak is a good machine the only hangup is that you have to mix in buckets.

john williams

I have the Kodiak M2 as well. I think its a great machine and it has paid for itself. The key to this machine is the compressor and its CFM's. I use a 20 CFM compressor,which give me enough air to break up the material. I changed the gun on my machine to a SPRAYCON gun. The only minor set back is mixing the mud.

1wallboardsman

Effeciency is the name of the texture game, your helper can mix 50 gals of powder per hour for a few dollars cost. Having that done while the masking is going on is almost like getting it done for nothing, since the supply house will bring the material, you only bring an empty barrel... or two.

Hose busting pump power is nice... right up until you've got to pay $3,000 for a hose busting pump, and $1,000 when the hose buster busts. Especially when Graco proves that a cheap hose-beater pump will get the job done. Not real well.... but done. Besides, now that you have got the mixed material on the job in 50 gal containers for next to nothing, you need a very adequate pump that you can bring to the job easily and get from tank to tank easily. A pump set up that allows you to move 20 gals of material around in a 50 gal tank, is quite efficient, on the job.

Having 75 feet of hose on your pump set-up will allow you to do this with a very good gun range. The Graco 1040 dual diaphragm pump is perfect for this sort of activity. For $700 bucks, it will move material through 75' of hose as fast as you care to run, faster then anyone you could hire too. If you can figure out a way to break it, it generally costs $100 dollars and 30 minutes to fix. Hands down, the ultimate texture pump.

Mounted on a hand truck, it sits directly above a 55 gal tank, you will generally use that amount in a 75' radius, but get it half empty, and it moves quite easily. With an 18' vertical dry suction lift, you will be able to pull texture through a 40" pick-up tube easily, and it is much easier then pouring buckets into a hopper.

Then there is the all important air. Now that you haven't paid too much for a pump, mixer, and sprayer structure, you have plenty of money left for what is called "appropriate" air. That is, more then you will need at any given time. Just like the guy that services tires on the interstate. He is able to spend $2,000.00 for a 26 CFM @175 dual stage compressor, and bolt it down into his truck, just to blow up tires, and run his air tools.

Take a tip from him, because you can bolt that compressor into an S-10 or a Ranger for what you want to do. 200' of hose will bring the air to the 20th floor if need be.

Your rig fits in the back of a Nissan pickup, you are usually moving around 75 pds at a time, you mix under a roof, and you have the same 1000 bd. a day capacity of any $20,000+ texture rig, without burning anywhere near the gas.

jdl

66VAIR

Diaphragm pumps tend to pulse, anybody who has used one of those knows that and they can't pump thick knockdown, or even think about pumping fireproofing or dare i say it...popcorn ( east coasters). diaphragm pumps are great for fluid transfer if the materials are thick. You can get a fair orange peel but the thicker the material the slower the flow. Your helper STILL has to mix up buckets and dump them into your 55 gallon tank. While there is nothing better than a real texture rig that is self contained mixing ,pumping,spraying, because time is money and you can not beat them with portables of any kind...if diaphragm's were the answer you would'nt see so many of em on craigslist and ebay.

66VAIR

Edit the above part on fluid transfer to THIN material.

1wallboardsman

I think the part that really needs an edit is the part about setting a 55 on the job and then mixing in a bucket anyway. Sure, there are guys dumb enough to do it, but I'm sure that even they could catch on, in time.

On the rest, I never did think about spraying any fireproofing, I was busy enough with $1,500 days on knockdown, popcorn, and level coat. I pumped it all through a Graco 1040. Thicker texture is better, and cleaner, but, it doesn't have to be peanut butter either.

Enough to realize that the day of the converted cement mixer of the 60's is over. Not so much that is not an effective machine, more because it supports the big money texture contractor. The construction manager of today doesn't like that guy. You can't operate a spray gun at the rate of $300 an hour and be liked by the construction manager.

Take a look around, finishers are horning in on your territory with the Graco Magnum they bought at Home Depot for $800. It sprays milk with a hose beater pump and a balloon blower air unit, and those knuckle heads are dragging it up and down stairs just to get a piece of what you been making with the Spray Force dinosaur.

This horse is out of the barn already, in the 21st century, if you are making money, you need to find ways to hide it. Hauling that Terminator 450 around town with that F-350 King Ranch dually just makes a big target. It burns a lot of gas too.

jdl

66VAIR

You could be right.... of course if you really want to be cheap you can pick up a slightly used elephant from the zoo and have him suck up the mud and spray it through his trunk, then you'll only have to carry a shovel and he will work for peanuts!

Thanks anyway but i'll keep my sprayrig, i don't have to pay a helper so i am easily saving money and keeping what i get.

The way the housing industry has adjusted just like the stock market did, things will not go well for the guys doing hack jobs, the builders can pick and choose.... do a good job, put on a professional show and you can wave to the hacks as you pass the temp agency.

JCardoza

LOL I think I'll keep my big rig too! The contractors around here want the highest quality for the lowest price as fast as possible. Only way I can justify doing drywall is to make money while I do it... Drywall isn't exactly my hobby! Right now my edge is that I can put the mud on as thick or thin as they want and spray any size job in half day or less. A floor of condos... a small basment... a remodel they just want it done better and faster than the next guy will do it for and for the same price or less. they don't care if I'm making $300 an hour or $3 an hour. So if I have a machine that will allow me to do all that and make $100 per hour... I say keep the machine!!!

MudSlinger777

hey all I am a new member from california been doing drywall about 20 years just got My contractors license about 2 years ago. Hey about sprayers I just bout a graco 1500 less than a year ago and I love that thing. I have to turn it down about half way when I spray 8 ft because its just to powerful. u know mixing up buckets is really not a hassle thats what I have a helper for lol

I highly recomend that graco 1500. 2 things I dont like the plastic 25ft hose it comes with and I dont like that binks gun... I hate having to hold the trigger down grrr I want to put a 50foot reg hose and a pole gun on it and I think that should solve the problem.

Hope work picks up or the graco is going on the selling block lol and back to renting one on spray days