Bead blast cabinet

Oldbluoval

Oldbluoval

Well-known member
Maybe a bit off topic...
My scat blast cabinet has quit picking up media to the point it is almost disfunctional. Replaced nozzle and parts thereto
I understand the siphon tube can be an issue. But also hear there is a upgrade
that make it more pressurized. I see nothing on mfg website
Any enlightenment appreciated
Oldbluoval@gmail.com
 
Old blu,
I have found the scat or gritt breaks up into smaller pieces over time and obvoiusly the rust and crap from your sandblasting ‘contaminates’ your scatt. I also found small pieces of silicon cloggs the gun.
I cleaned the box and poured the scat through a sieve, in quite a strong wind. The sieve caught the debri and the wind blew away the dust. Managed to remove the rust scales and silicon debri and funny enough got the scat nice and shinny again.
Also check your air pressure settings.
Regards
Chris
 
Completely cleaned it out and new glass beads, new nozzle.
I did not inspect the siphon tube
I hear there is an aftermarket arrangement that adds pressure to the tube
Going to call TIP today but nothing on their website
 
This will be interesting Bill because siphon-feeding blast cabinets are SO slow. Pressurized cabinets are SO expensive that I really cannot justify one. I have been looking for a roto-blaster type cabinet, but even those are approaching $10k for a decent sized used one.

I am sure you have already tried this but I would start by process of elimination. Remove the hose attached to the gun and stick your finger over the hole to verify you have strong suction. Then reattach the hose to the gun and move to where the hose attaches to siphon tube and see what you have there. I know that I have already replaced one gun head, and I replace one orifice about every 6 months and I use the carbide tips and still go thru 3 or 4 of those a year. I use TiPs Aluminum Oxide media as I think it cuts faster than the glass beads do.
 
My scat blast cabinet did the same thing and it turned out to be a hole worn in the siphon tube by the glass beads where it makes the turn. Hold your hand over the nozzle and hit the foot valve. It will show up the hole.
 
Just had this happen recently and it WAS the plastic siphon tube. The media had worn a hole in it on the top end and the machine was barely functioning. It was very frustrating to spend an hour on a part that should have taken five minutes. Inspect the tube carefully (the hole was about the size of a pencil eraser). I've also had a small piece of wood that was loose in the metal siphon tube at the bottom of the machine (above the trap door). It was intermittently getting stuck and was hard to see/diagnose. I had to reach up through the trap door and pull it out.
 
Old Blu,
Hold the nozzle against an object, sealing it off momentarly, this will back flush the gun and suction tube. It'll be good to go.
Oldtguy
 
I had the siphon tube wear through at the bend where the hose attaches also. Fixed that with a new siphon tube and suction returned great.
 
I to, had a hole develop in the media pickup tube after a lot of blasting in my TP Tool's blast cabinet. The glass beads must really wear on the plastic tubing, especially where there is a bend in the tube. I never though glass beads would cause a hole like other shape edged media would, but they did. Being cheap, I just taped the hole up with electrical tape and so far it is holding. I will soon need to replace the tube with a new one. If your gun looses effectiveness (assuming the pickup tubing isn't clogged), the first thing I would do is inspect the media pickup tubing for a hole.
Rusty Nelson
 
I to have had to replace three or four times the steel pick up tube, the sand wares a hole on the back side of the bend. speaking of that part, I have my last spare in there now. I will order a couple today.
 
Because it is the Fordbarn protocol to hi-jack threads (:eek: :D), I'm gonna hi-jack Bill's thread a bit and ask, what are y'all using for media in your cabinets??
 
I have used Tractor Supply glass beads in my cabinet. The round container holds 50# I believe. Since I don't use the bead blaster a lot, a 50# container last me 6 months to one year. As everyone knows that uses glass beads, after blasting items for a while the beads turn into a powder. I use a like new Sears 12 gallon wet or dry vacuum with my cabinet. It works very well and only cost me $12 on Craigslist. I have to clean it out about every 3 or 4 months as the filter gets packed with glass bead dust and doesn't work well. I just check the Tractor Supply website and I don't see the glass beads I have purchased in the past. Maybe it isn't on their website.
Rusty Nelson
 
Since I'm going rabbit trails too. The shop vac...I've seen where a 5 gallon bucket put in line with the vac with water in the base used to trap a lot of particles. Once I get the blaster back working, I'm going to try that. I saw a sheet rock guy with the exact set up catching sheet rock dust. He had to change the water daily or more.
 
Oldbluoval,
When you get your water bucket setup done, please take some pictures of it and post them here. My problem is my shop is mostly unheated and here in MN it gets real cold and the water would freeze and probably split the bucket. But in the spring, summer and fall the water bucket setup seems like it would prolong the time to clean out the vacuum filter.
Rusty Nelson
 
I am using glass beads. A friend works for a highway contractor and they use glass beads to make the center stripe on the highway reflective. They had a huge tote that got rained on and I got it for free. I laid it out on tarps in the sum and dried it. I got 2 55gal drums full of dry beads. They are slightly smaller than beads used for blasting, but they work great. I have a lifetime supply.
 
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