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Graco sprayer Hi-Boy vs stand?

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51K views 45 replies 20 participants last post by  That guy  
G
#1 · (Edited)
Looking at the 390/395/4XX Gracos for residential latex work - ceilings, walls, trim. What should I consider when choosing the Hi-Boy vs Lo-Boy vs stand model?

Thanks,

George
 
#3 ·
GeorgeG said:
Looking at the 390/395/495 Gracos for residential latex work - ceilings, walls, trim. What should I consider when choosing the Hi-Boy vs stand model?

Thanks,

George
Click to expand...
you should look into getting an airlessco lp500 highboy. that's a better graco manufactured rig.

personally i always buy high boys because they are easier to transport from site to site or room to room. god forbid you have to carry that stand model 100 yards down a hallway some day.:blink:
 
O
#5 ·
The stand models are hard to move around. If I'm using a stand model and I know I'm going to have to be moving I set it up on a step up scaffold, or a flat bed or shopping cart or something like that. If I was a house painter and moved from job to job a lot
I'd get the one with the wheels for sure.
 
#7 ·
Oden said:
The stand models are hard to move around. If I'm using a stand model and I know I'm going to have to be moving I set it up on a step up scaffold, or a flat bed or shopping cart or something like that. If I was a house painter and moved from job to job a lot
I'd get the one with the wheels for sure.
Click to expand...
The cool thing about the Airlessco's, you can run up to 300' of hose on them. So even if you have a stand unit, you could theoretically leave it in your vehicle on most jobs provided you have enough hose.

Sent from my Android, which is still better than the iPhone 6
 
#8 ·
GeorgeG said:
Looking at the 390/395/495 Gracos for residential latex work - ceilings, walls, trim. What should I consider when choosing the Hi-Boy vs stand model?

Thanks,

George
Click to expand...
G'day George

This is my Baby : ) love it just wished I got to use it more : (

I'm only new to spraying but am happy with my choice
 

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G
#15 · (Edited)
I take it that moving before and after is easier with the wheels on a hi or low boy but it would seem that a stand or low boy model is actually easier to move during the job because you can pick up the 5 ga bucket and sprayer together as apposed to needed to remove the paint bucket from under a hi boy to move it? Do I have that right?
 
#16 ·
GeorgeG said:
I take it that moving before and after is easier with the wheels on a hi or low boy but it would seem that a stand or low boy model is actually easier to move during the job because you can pick up the 5 ga bucket and sprayer together as apposed to needed to remove the paint bucket from under a hi boy to move it? Do I have that right?
Click to expand...
You can hang the handle of the fiver on the sprayer and roll them together. I have the 440 and Graco 395 both on skids, but we had one job this summer basically traveling a city block worth of sidewalks, so I have one of these big Stanley job boxes on wheels. The thing was awesome for wheeling around the sprayer and paint all together. Even room for misc other stuff in there.
 
K
#18 ·
It has been awhile since i purchased a pump but at the time graco had a deal where you could buy a spare bottom end,fluid handling section.for a very good price.It saves on down time if you cant get a quick re-pack. Dont know if they had them ror the smaller pumps but they did for 695 and up.Worth finding out about.
 
K
#21 ·
I am partial to gracao i have 3. Budget is always a factor but it best to buy bigger than you need at the time because sooner or later,probably sooner.you will want the bigger unit. Bigger pump means you can run more hose bigger tips,important when spraying lids,spray heavier products with less reduction.
 
G
#22 · (Edited)
Thank you for all of the inputs. My take is that a Hi-Boy or Low-Boy lets you wheel the unit around for set up, break down, and transportation. For the larger units this is probably a good thing because they weigh upwards of 100 pounds. For the smaller units this is not much of an issue unless you have a bad back because the weight is on the order of a fiver anyways which get moved all the time with no wheels. As far as flexibility during the job it does not matter much because a Hi-Boy can be moved as a unit (wheels and fiver hooked to rig) and any of the 3 versions can be loaded with the paint onto a small dolly (purchased or made) which makes them as portable as a vacuum cleaner. As far as the van space, the HB is probably as much space as the other two plus the dolly so it's a wash.

The only thing left that I can think of is the inlet hose/pipe. In the HB you get a solid aluminum pipe and a flexible hose with the other two - which is 3 more places for leak (crimped fittings and the hose itself).

Bottom line is that I like the solid inslet pipe of the HB but you could make any of them work. I am going to try and find a good deal on a HB but will take any version if the price is right.

Does my logic make sense?

Oh ya and I am a big buy USA guy so Graco gets the nod. Keeping the jobs here starts with us buying here if at all possible/practical and not sending the work overseas to try and save a few bucks and then complaining about the unemployment rate. Sometimes even I am tempted but not when the prices, quality, and features are essentially the same.
 
G
#24 ·
Yes sir. Graco has done whatever it takes to offer Made in the USA and keep the prices competitive with cheap overseas labor. To boot, they have comparable quality as demonstrated by hundereds of posts here which essentially reduce the argument to Chevy vs Ford (or Hyundai). :thumbup:

They should be rewarded for that. Good thing we don't have to buy our sprayers from Wal-mart.
:blink:
 
L
#25 ·
One problem with low-boys is no matter how good you are at cleaning the machine there ether is or the potential for buildup in the metal U-shaped pipe and hose.
I had a low-boy that always gave me trouble. Welded up a high-boy rig using part of the low-boy set up and it has been a good solid machine since.
All other sprayers except a small titan 440 has been high-boys for me.
 
G
#27 ·
I have decided on a Graco Hi-Boy so now I need to finalize between the 390/395/490. Each upgrade appears to be a series of minor improvements. The question is are they worth the money for a guy doing all latex residential work a few times a year?

What does the upgrade from a mechanical pressure control (390) to the electronic control (395=1.0, 490=2.0) do for performance?

Is the contractor gun (395/490) a significant improvement over the FTX gun (390)?

Is the max tip size rating upgrade from 0.021 (390) to 0.023 (395/490) or flow increase from .47 to .54 significant?

What about the brushless DC motor (490)?

Thanks
 
I
#33 ·
Since you will only use it a few times a year I cant see getting anything over the 390. As for the guns it's really just a personal preference between using either 2 or 4 fingers.

I own the 390 and a 695 premium and love the hell out of them. That 390 has been going for about 2 years (without repacking) and we shoot everything from oil primers to standard latex through it. 99% of my latex applications never use a tip size over .17

I use the 390 at least 2 times a week but I see that I clean it thoroughly after every single use then flush it with mineral spirits.
 
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