# graco or titan



## Nephilim_26 (Sep 1, 2010)

What you think about GRACO ULTRA 495.IS it better machine than titan 540 ix


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## VanDamme (Feb 13, 2010)

Nephilim_26 said:


> What you think about GRACO ULTRA 495.IS it better machine than titan 540 ix


Never owned a Titan, but I can tell you the 495 is a great pump.


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

You know it is.


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## Ranger72 (Jul 3, 2010)

I have a titan 440 xc and is has stood the test of time and never let me down. Gracos are always a great choice.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

495 :yes:


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## ReNt A PaInTeR (Dec 28, 2008)

Graco :clap:


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## BC_Painter (Feb 14, 2010)

Graco


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## Nephilim_26 (Sep 1, 2010)

Thank You all for quick respond :thumbup:


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

Titan will always be a step below, they do have a nice pickup suction though.


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

The Titan "I" and "IX" series used to be great pumps.

We have 5 of them. We put Graco guns on them.

The pumps are tanks and last forever, and ever, and ever, even if you beat the **** out of them.

But we recently got the new Titan "impact"

The new Horizontal filter SUCKS A$$. That is no joke.

"Rapid clean"

What a joke.

You can clean the pump until the water is crystal clear. Then go to your next job and get your pump all set up and into a project and within a couple minutes the OLD COLOR from your last job starts coming through.

Turns out, with the new horizontal filter design, you have to take the filter off of the body of the pump and clean it out, because water wont go back there when you are cleaning it

It's not easy to rinse out of there, so you need an extra bristle brush.

And also some paint water spills on the floor when you take the filter off, so you need to catch that.

It usually winds up adding an extra 10 minutes to clean the pump.

But most importantly is the filter doesn't do JACK **** more than the old vertical filter did.

And the smaller vertical filter did need to be taken out to get the pump clean.

Then there is this great new invention "rapid clean"

I never needed "rapid clean" before. Since before the 90's I have never needed a "rapid clean" feature on a pump.

But they had to just come along and "new and improve it"

With the new filter and "rapid clean", this pump takes 10 minutes longer to clean than they used to.

I guess with this model Titan got bought out by Spraytech.

Which explains the retarded little extra complication in the fluid path for the little push button that you supposedly need to unseat the ball in the piston if it ever gets stuck.

Again, since before the 90's I never needed an extra button and complication to unseat that ball.

That thing never gets stuck. I could leave paint in a pump for 3 days, and that ball won't get stuck. And on the once annual occasion that a pump wont prime, a few soft taps with a hammer where the stinger joins the pump loosens it up right up..

I guarantee that extra push pin is a new place for problems to occur.

There is an entire new path to the outside of the pump with a moving pin lodged in there that pumps never used to have.

My plan is to never use it, and hopefully it won't break.

I remember when I bought a little spraytech pump for running a small line and using for touch ups and front doors etc, I had to go out of my way to find one of the last ones that didn't have that push pin, ball unseater thingamajig.

And the salesman just couldn't understand why I didn't want it.

He kept saying "But it's the new design", why do you want the old one?

And I kept saying to him because as long as I have ever been painting, I have never needed that function on a pump. Ever. So I don't see any reason to complicate the design of a pump with one.

He just literally couldn't understand the concept.

"new", "new", "new"

People are like robot zombies with their always thinking that newer is better just because it's new.

So, in any case Titan used to kick ass. I hate the new Titan "impact" though.

They f*cked up a good thing far as I am concerned.

Just know that you are now buying a pump manufactured by spraytech when you buy "Titan"


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

You know who owns spraytech right?


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

I have one of the old green Titan pumps I use for a standby, but haven't turned it on in maybe two years. I stopped using it because it sounds like a vacuum cleaner and loud too.I like to have solace when working.lol


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## TDTD (Jun 10, 2010)

I've got a Titan 440 Impact and I share the same concern as LC about the poorly designed horizontal filter. It is a pain to clean.  The filter in the handle of the gun does more work than the main filter on the pump!

We should start a revolt and everyone write Titan a letter of complaint. Maybe they'll send us all a little pan to put under the machine to catch the spill during cleanup! :jester:

Other than this I'm happy with the machine. Haven't had any problems with that little push pin thingy leaking. Haven't had to use it and don't think I ever will either.

Cheers,


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

Actually its a better design because it allows any crap to drain out after you pull the dirty filter out rather than pulling the filter out (vertical design) where debris gets trapped at the bottom. How do you get that cleaned out? Turn the pump upside down?

I reuse the throat seal squeeze bottles and fill it with water and squeeze water in there to clean it out.


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## mr.fixit (Aug 16, 2009)

just for your info Guys. Spraytech did not buy Titan. Wagner owns Spraytech and Wagner bought Titan. Knowing that the Titan brand is more familiar to most painters this year they decided to eliminate the Spraytech name but the old Spraytech line is now the Titan Advantage line. They came up with the foot valve plunger from the Titan XT line the developed for Home Depot.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

mr.fixit said:


> just for your info Guys. Spraytech did not buy Titan. Wagner owns Spraytech and Wagner bought Titan. Knowing that the Titan brand is more familiar to most painters this year they decided to eliminate the Spraytech name but the old Spraytech line is now the Titan Advantage line. They came up with the foot valve plunger from the Titan XT line the developed for Home Depot.


Good post, good info. Graco bought Airlessco, and so far hasn't changed anything to my knowledge. I like airlessco and that would be my choice.


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## Ranger72 (Jul 3, 2010)

On my Titan 440 XC, the only things we have done to it was replace the control knob when it died, but it was cheap and easy. I have an LX-80 and newer LX-60 gun for it. Both spray nice and the machine runs like a champ.


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

When I said this:

"
And the smaller vertical filter did need to be taken out to get the pump clean."

I meant the smaller vertical filter does NOT need to be taken out to get the pump clean.

On the older titan lines, you did not have to remove any filters to get the pump clean.

Now you do.


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

mr.fixit said:


> just for your info Guys. Spraytech did not buy Titan. Wagner owns Spraytech and Wagner bought Titan. Knowing that the Titan brand is more familiar to most painters this year they decided to eliminate the Spraytech name but the old Spraytech line is now the Titan Advantage line. They came up with the foot valve plunger from the Titan XT line the developed for Home Depot.


Wagner/spraytech is the same thing, I don't really know who owns who, I know wagner was around way before spraytech, but the point is Titan was sold, and their new line SUCKS A$$.

I am more concerned about the sucking part, than the buying part.


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

jack pauhl said:


> Actually its a better design because it allows any crap to drain out after you pull the dirty filter out rather than pulling the filter out (vertical design) where debris gets trapped at the bottom. How do you get that cleaned out? Turn the pump upside down?


I am not sure you understood what I meant.

I can spray 10-15 jobs without cleaning that filter.

Why would I spend time cleaning a filter, when it does not effect the functioning of the pump, or get clogs in the gun?

U run water through, until it is clean, then move on to the next job.

Then I spray, then I run water though until it is clean, then I move on to the next job.

Repeat, many times.

Unless you have the new Titan impact, then clean EVERY time simply because a whole bunch of paint gets stuck in the back of the filter because the fluid path does NOT RUN VERTICALLY through the filter.

I know a guy who services pumps and a regular modification that he does in other horizontal pumps and some Gracos is they take that filter out ENTIRELY.

It gets in the way. It's overkill. And it's a pain in the ass.

Unfortunately the mod can't be done to the titan impact because of some reason or another of how it is constructed.

But I don't mind having that filter in there, just so long as all of the paint washes through it without having to take the thing off every time.

It might also depend on what kind of painting you are doing.

I mostly do residential repaints. And we mostly use acrylics. Nothing hot.

You know a lot of what gets trapped in a filter during a job, actually blasts through the filter when you pump water through machine during cleaning. 

All I know is, I almost never worry about that filter, the machine works every time. And occasionally we take them off wire brush off anything built up in it.

We use really small tips A LOT even for exterior like gutters and trim, and we almost never get clogs.

Sometimes I run into a bad 5 that has lots of skin in it, and you start noticing clogs.

Then I strain the paint.

This is coming from someone who used to clean airlesses, brushes, whatever obsessively.

Same with straining paint. I use to be a fanatic about it. I would strain the paint AND run a stinger strainer on the downtube.

Th bottom line is, it's almost never a problem.

The worse thing that could happen is a clog while you were spraying some doors or some other kind of trim that would cause a spit.

And I honestly can not remember the last time that happened.

Under normal circumstances, I get one little clog in a full day of spraying.

And I think it's beacuse I don't strain my paint.

I just put the stinger right in the one gallon sometimes and spray.

No extra buckets, no boxing paint.

None of that.

I do use a 2 gallon bucket to stabilize the one gallon can.

The notion that that filter needs to be taken off and returned to factory specs every time you run a new color through the pump is overkill.

How about a THIRD filter?

Are you sure there shouldnt be a 3rd filter stage in the pump/gun combination?

Overkill is overkill.

Maybe some people so some kind of painting where that filter is always getting clogged up.

Never happens for me.

The only thing in that filter when I take it off, is paint. Paint that if I don't get it out of there, will come though in my next project.

We own 5 Titans. I have never had a problem with them before. I have been using the machines since they very first came on the market, and I never used to have to take that filter off to get the pump clean, and now I do.

"Rapid clean"

Yay.


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

jack pauhl said:


> Actually its a better design because it allows any crap to drain out after you pull the dirty filter out rather than pulling the filter out (vertical design) where debris gets trapped at the bottom. How do you get that cleaned out? Turn the pump upside down?
> 
> I reuse the throat seal squeeze bottles and fill it with water and squeeze water in there to clean it out.


Yeah my 695 is like that but I just take the garden hose to it when I get back then leave it open to dry out


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

johnpaint said:


> I have one of the old green Titan pumps I use for a standby, but haven't turned it on in maybe two years. I stopped using it because it sounds like a vacuum cleaner and loud too.I like to have solace when working.lol



Is that a 1/2 horsepower? and are you using it for large interiors?

That's one of the things I like about titans. They are quiet. And they sound "normal" 

This is going to attract some hate:

I actually don't like the sound of Gracos.

They have this weird nasally sound, and a bizarre cadence.

Kind of like daffy duck, with a head cold.

:whistling2:


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

johnpaint said:


> Yeah my 695 is like that but I just take the garden hose to it when I get back then leave it open to dry out



Actually what cleans them out really fast if you are using a garden hose is one of the garden sprayer attachments with the various streams and sprays.

Just put it on the stream that is a straight stream about the size of a pencil, and aim it into the filter housing with the filter still in there, and in about a minute, there wont be any paint in there.


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

Last Craftsman said:


> Is that a 1/2 horsepower? and are you using it for large interiors?
> 
> That's one of the things I like about titans. They are quiet. And they sound "normal"
> 
> ...


Yeah it's the old 440 green one, before they went electronic and all. It's not a bad pump if you could put it in a sound proof box or something. It's bullet proof, you could drop it off the roof and it still work.


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## Ranger72 (Jul 3, 2010)

I don't have the old non-electronic one, but still love it. Here is the one I have, but mine must be a little older because it doesn't have that little red 'button?' or whatever it is and my return line has a metal 'L':


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

Ranger72 said:


> I don't have the old non-electronic one, but still love it. Here is the one I have, but mine must be a little older because it doesn't have that little red 'button?' or whatever it is and my return line has a metal 'L':


Yeah it looks the same but green, but yours is the dc voltage one, mine is the old ac voltage.


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## Ranger72 (Jul 3, 2010)

I should be shot.... The red 'button' is the plastic dust cover for where the hose connects...


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Ranger72 said:


> I should be shot.... The red 'button' is the plastic dust cover for where the hose connects...


I almost flamed you for that one.


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## mr.fixit (Aug 16, 2009)

just for your info the Graco ultra 395 and Ultra 495 have the same electric motor and fluid section the only difference is the circuit board. the same with the Titan 440i and 540i same electric motor and fluid section different electronic pressure control:blink:


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## VanDamme (Feb 13, 2010)

Ranger72 said:


> I should be shot.... The red 'button' is the plastic dust cover for where the hose connects...


I noticed that too, but I wasn't going to say anything. :thumbsup:


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## Ranger72 (Jul 3, 2010)

I was at the job today and looked down at where the shop was and started laughing when I saw the Titan. I wanted to smack myself. hahaha :wallbash::lol::laughing:


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

Ranger72 said:


> I was at the job today and looked down at where the shop was and started laughing when I saw the Titan. I wanted to smack myself. hahaha :wallbash::lol::laughing:


It happen to me all the time. I have come to except it I guess.


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## Last Craftsman (Dec 5, 2008)

johnpaint said:


> Yeah my 695 is like that but I just take the garden hose to it when I get back then leave it open to dry out



Oops. Since you were responding to Jack Pauhl's post about cleaning Titan Impact filters, I thought you were also talking about cleaning Titan Impact filters.

This advice I gave you was referring to Titan impacts and using garden hoses:

"Just put it on the stream that is a straight stream about the size of a pencil, and aim it into the filter housing with the filter still in there, and in about a minute, there wont be any paint in there."

But who knows, maybe it works well for your 695 as well.


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

One thing I found out this summer when my 390 stopped working on a job was, that the big suction tube gets hardened paint in it and that paint can come loose at time and lodge in the pump valves, so even though you think all is clean, there still could be paint left in the big hose. Now I have c clamps on each end of the hose where I can take it apart if it gets plugged up and flush it out.


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