Ice dam steaming equipment identification is a fairly simple thing to do as discussed in our previous pages ice dam steaming gun and ice dam steaming tips. So we will do a quick recap helping you identify low pressure ice dam steaming equipment.
There are two simple ways to easily identify low pressure ice dam steaming equipment.
1) The first way is to look at the gun handle on the wand, if it has a trigger to squeeze it is a pressure washer and NOT a low pressure steamer. A low pressure steamer will never have a trigger to squeeze. Low pressure steamers always have an open gun which never restricts the flow of steam. You are always looking for a gun with no trigger.
2) The second way is to look at the tip on the end of the gun and make sure it is NOT made of colored plastic and is NOT quickly removable. A low pressure steam tip will always be made of metal and be screwed to the end of the gun with threads. It usually takes two wrenches to remove a steam tip. You are always looking for a tip as pictured below.
There are many brands of low pressure steamers that the public can purchase so we will discuss some of the more common brands. The Whitco 2525, Landa Hot Series, Alkota, and the all new Artic Steamer. If you Google any of these brands you will see pictures to help you identify them.
WARNING! One of the most common machines falsely called a steamer for ice dam removal is the Northstar Wet Steamer. Update (we and other IDSAFE members were threatened by Northstar’s attorney and another ice dam removal company in MN to remove all images of the Nothstar wet steamer for copyright reasons and other bad business reasons.) See similar image in the graph here. Or just google the aforementioned fake steamer to identify the “bad guys” who are using them. This high psi hot pressure washer is unable to produce steam temperatures using cold water and even using hot water the thermostat will not allow the machine to stay in steam mode. The psi is also much to high to be considered safe for ice dam removal. If you have questions or need help finding low pressure steam ice dam removal companies (our IDSAFE members) please call IDSAFE # 612-460-0474 or contact us today. We reply quickly.