Apla Tech System

down under

g'day from aus,
i'm trying to get a rough price for the apla tech continuous flow system, without the texture spraying stuff. apla tech refer me to the aussie distributor, they want about $11,000 us dollars. i've seen some mention in forums of about $5,000 us. if this is true, for the difference i could fly over, have a holiday, buy the system and still have a lot of change.
also anyone having regrets buying this system?

thanks

kgphoto

The Apla-tech tools are about $5K and the Pump(Graco MarkV) is about $5K so 11K is about right for where you are.

down under

kgphoto, thanks for the info, I will be seeing a demo of the system next week, will decide then.

regards, doug

kgphoto

If you are doing any kind of volume taping, it would be good for you to have the system. We don't think about it when we are young, but it does save wear and tear on our bodies. My shoulders ache now more than they don't. The standard Cannon is good, but the continuous flow makes less weight along with less pushing and less stopping to pump or load. If I did more than just one or two rooms at a time, I would have this stuff in a heartbeat.

Capt-Sheetrock

I use columbia tools for jobs up to about 300 boards, and my CFS from alpha-tech for jobs over 300 boards.

Some things to consider about the CFS, you will need one person just to keep the bucket full. It applies mud fast enough that without one person just handling the mud, you lose the advantge. So your looking at a crew of three min to make it worth the investment (with a crew of two, you can get the same milage out of boxes)
It is the best method for corners, as there is NO effort needed to run the corners.
There is a learning curve, as with all new tools, but the worst of it, for me, was learning how to handle the hose without it wearing me down
Clean up time is the same as with boxes, so thats the same anyway
As KG mentioned, its alot easier on us ole foggies, ALOT less physical effort than boxes
Another thing I really like about them, is that they "fill" the bevel WAY better than boxes, that means I only pull my flats twice, wwith a 8 than a 10, whereas with boxes I use an 8, then a 7, than a 10( I pull the 7 after the 8 because I can't get a 7 fatboy and pulling the first coat with a regular box takes too many trips to the pump)
The reason I got into them, was for the level 5 factor, I can spray the coat on,I probbly would'nt have invested in them otherwise, But I love em, their fun to use
Hope this helps some