Sandblast cabinet question

Ross/Kzoo

Ross/Kzoo

Well-known member
I bought a Harbor Freight ( yes, I know,I know) sandblast cabinet and fired it up today with some Black Blast. The intake tube is clogging and I wonder if there is anything that I can do to prevent this.
 
Is the media you are using dry. If you have it set up in a shed dampness cause clumping.
 
I bought one and it worked better than my buddies $600 one. I caulked all the seems and hooked up a small vacuum to pull out the dust inside and piped it outside. Also had trouble with the stock air inlet clogging so i used a 90 degree thermostat housing i had and put a filter on the end of that and no more clogging.
 
I've been using a HF blaster for about 10 years and never had a clog. Or, in other words I can't help with why it's clogging but I think it's good blaster.
 
put an inline water separator on your compressor outlet or air line
dont buy cheap
 

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Yep as Mitch said an inline moisture trap at the cabinet is a must, in fact I have 2 in series.

To dry the media you can put a small light bulb, (like a 40 watt) in the bottom of the media overnight. The bulb heat will drive off the moisture.
 
My HF cabinet has given me years of problem free service. The water trap is a great idea, I would go one step more. If you are like me, my 30 foot hose connects to my cabinet. There can be a great deal of condensation along the hose, so I have a water trap on my cabinet air input. You will be surprised.
If you still have problems check the nozzle and grit you are using.
All this said, every once in a while I aim the gun into the media, or give the cabinet a good shake if the media has settled.
One last warning, if the cabinet is in your shop, no matter how well you seal it, or vent it, your shop will get abrasive dust everywhere. Be sure your car is outside, and you cover things when you use it.
You will get a great deal of use from this unit, good luck.
 
That's for sure about the dust getting all over the room the cabinet is in.:mad:

And one more bit of advice......the best thing you can do is to buy the carbide tip right away, otherwise you will spend a lot of time and money changing worn out tips.:eek:
 
Thanks for the rteplies. I put in an in water separator and when the media wasn't flowing I put my finger over the tip and gave 2 quick blasts to send the media back out of the pick up tube. I also placed a dish of rice in the blaster overnight to dry it out. It's going great now and I've just got to seal up a couple more leaks. It seems to be a nice unit and at $157.50 it was well worth it.
 
Thanks for the replies. I put in an in water separator and when the media wasn't flowing I put my finger over the tip and gave 2 quick blasts to send the media back out of the pick up tube. I also placed a dish of rice in the blaster overnight to dry it out. It's going great now and I've just got to seal up a couple more leaks. It seems to be a nice unit and at $157.50 it was well worth it.
 
also make sure you didnt use something to powerful. the vacuum unit that comes with the tp cabs just seem to collect more dust and not media...
 
My Dayton cabinet came with a large cloth dust bag with a zipper on the bottom of it. It also came with a squirel cage fan about the same size found in cars. It does a good job, but the very fine dust still gets through any openings and the bag, so everything in the room does get a fine dust layer.
 
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