Media blaster problem

Burl · Mar 15, 2016

My homemade {with GJ experts help) blaster's shop vac is sucking up water from the 5 gallon pail, is this normal? There is 1 1/2" of water in the pail, the longest tube is about 2" up from the water, and the tub to the shop vac is only about 2 inches into the pail. The system keeps the blaster reasonably clear. What needs adjusted?

Burl · Mar 17, 2016

Any help?

dave89iroc · Mar 17, 2016

try a 90 degree elbow on the suction tube,your problem may be the incoming air/dust kicking up spray, lower the water level to ~1" as well

9GUY9 · Mar 17, 2016

get rid of the water and put a cyclone separator on top of your bucket. Any decent amount of blasting will fill your pail with dust that will turn to mud in the water.

I do a lot of blasting. I will fill this 6gal bucket 2/3 full of dust, and not get more than a shot glass worth of dust in my vac.

APEowner · Mar 17, 2016

Isn't the vacuum supposed to be on the really short tube?

<a href="http://s62.photobucket.com/user/fujioko/media/sandblaster_zps98312aba.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/fujioko/sandblaster_zps98312aba.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo sandblaster_zps98312aba.jpg"/></a>

Rickster55 · Mar 17, 2016

Seems the tube on the left is too long, IMO. Youu could always add a baffle between the water and the shorter tube.

imagineer · Mar 17, 2016

Shorten the inlet tube a bit and put a 45 degree end on it such that the discharge hits the side wall of the bucket before it hits the surface of the water. This should slow down the discharge and take some energy out of it such that it's not kicking up water spray.

Depending on how much use this system will get, you might consider epoxying a thin sheet metal "blast guard" (a piece cut from a metal coffee or paint can) to the inside of the bucket to keep the plastic from abrading.

Vegaman_Dan · Mar 18, 2016

A 90 degree elbow on the input of the bucket will need to point along the side of the bucket wall, flinging the material out and into a spinning motion that will let it drop below. The output can be any size or height. Put it too low and you'll start sucking up water and other debris. It doesn't need to be low. Another elbow on it pointing into the center of the bucket will work.

And yes, you should empty the bucket at times. I'm using black diamond / coat dust as my abrasive and the bucket is getting a bit sludgey and not clearing the air as well as it did before. Maintenance!

Mister68 · Mar 18, 2016

I tried the vacumn & bucket setup but hated the noise and dealing with the bucket of mud. I switched venting straight outdoors.

I scavenged a garage heater exhaust direct vent blower and mounted it to the cabinet.

Runs very quiet and moves plenty of air to remove the dust but leaves the glass media in the cabinet. Best of all the dust is outside.

happymachinist · Mar 21, 2016

Mister68 said:
I tried the vacumn & bucket setup but hated the noise and dealing with the bucket of mud. I switched venting straight outdoors.

I scavenged a garage heater exhaust direct vent blower and mounted it to the cabinet.

Runs very quiet and moves plenty of air to remove the dust but leaves the glass media in the cabinet. Best of all the dust is outside.

I like the looks of this. How long have you been running it? Do you do a lot of blasting? Just wondering how the bearings hold up to the fine dust.

I have a small blower similar to that and might have to look into something similar.

Mister68 · Mar 21, 2016

I've been running this blower for 3 years with approx. 150 hours of blasting time and no issues. The motor is mounted away from the blower housing with a cooling fan and mechanical seal separating them. None of the dust should get to the motor bearings.

Media blaster problem

Burl

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Burl

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dave89iroc

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9GUY9

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APEowner

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Rickster55

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imagineer

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Vegaman_Dan

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Mister68

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happymachinist

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Mister68

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