HF pressure blaster

[DanC]

I bought a HF pressure sand blaster awhile ago and am having some issues (no kidding, right ) anyhow, the nozzle continuously clogs up and I have to remove it, it occasionally "surges" and "skips", what pressure do you guys run yours at?? the thing work pretty darn good when its not clogging, skipping or surging. At look at most HF tools as a starting point that will need some "modification" before they work ok - what have you guys done to yours to make 'em alittle better??

 

[bdierks]

What Grit sand are you using?

 

[Major Ramifications]

Is the sand damp? How do you have the choke valve set?

 

[DanC]

I've used glass beads and some black mill slag stuff - both have done the same thing. By choke are you refering to the valve on the bottom of the tank controlling the flow of sand? I've always run it wide open, maybe I need to choke it back a bit??? I have the HF filter/water seperator mounted to the blaster but it is the one that came with the unit and probably isnt real good quality - I do however have one on the compressor that I think is a decent one. The abrasive came right out of the bag that was sitting in my shop - I suppose it could have been damp but it sure "felt" dry - what advise do you have for that?? thanks!

 

[engnerdan]

Dan-
I have one of the HF blasters too, I drilled out the 3/8 X 3/8 pipethread ******* to 7/16, replaced the ball valve on the bottom with one from the hardware store, and I sifted all the sand I buy and reuse with a cheap collandar from Ikea (window screen works too). I am running a 1/8 nozzle anything smaller and I was getting clogging. The other thing is that you need the water catch working.

I am currently running full tank pressure to the blaster (up to 175psi) then regulating it down to 40-60psi pot pressure. In addition I bought the fancy deadman valve from Northern Tool but have since seen a much cheaper solution using a ball valve. I can send you pictures of my setup and the cheaper ball valve setup this evening.

Dan

 

[DanC]

cool, I'd appreciate it! what are you doing to regulate the pressure?

Dan-
I have one of the HF blasters too, I drilled out the 3/8 X 3/8 pipethread ******* to 7/16, replaced the ball valve on the bottom with one from the hardware store, and I sifted all the sand I buy and reuse with a cheap collandar from Ikea (window screen works too). I am running a 1/8 nozzle anything smaller and I was getting clogging. The other thing is that you need the water catch working.

I am currently running full tank pressure to the blaster (up to 175psi) then regulating it down to 40-60psi pot pressure. In addition I bought the fancy deadman valve from Northern Tool but have since seen a much cheaper solution using a ball valve. I can send you pictures of my setup and the cheaper ball valve setup this evening.

Dan

 

[1320stang]

Dan, send me the pics too, or post them. I'm waffling between the HF blaster and a Clarke blaster from TSC. To tell the truth, they look sorta the same.

 

[neblinc]

I also have one of the HF units that I bought to try and sandblast some tractor parts. Not much luck with it, when it works it does a good job, but most of the time is spent trying to un-clog it. I am using the Black Beauty media.
I would like to see pics of a better setup also.

Randy

 

[the dude]

On my Princess Auto special (HF of the north) I replaced all the fittings with the largest that will fit and I also replaced the soft line going to the ball valve on the bottom. I typically run 40-50 psi into the pot and 80-100 psi to the nozzle.

I also ran a short blower air nozzle right at the pot. This way I always have air to blow back any clogs.

As stated, dry air is key. Run the shortest lines possible with water traps at both ends.

 

[engnerdan]

My picture links did not work, so "1320stang" will be posting them on the next page. If someone would like to me email them the pictures send me a PM and I will, they are about 1.5 megs total.


The first 2 pics are of my setup, the 2 3/8 pipe threaded parts on either side of the bottom ball valve have been drilled out from about 5/16 to 7/16. I also drilled out the hole in the barbed part of the mixer slightly but I don't think it is necessary as this will shorten its life.

The second 2 pictures show 2 similar but slightly different setups using a ball valve and one of the long lasting pink ceramic nozzles from Sandy Jet/ALC. The white ceramic nozzles don't seem to last very long. I wore out one of the white nozzles in 15 minutes.

If you want a parts list to make one of these nozzles I can give you an idea of what is needed. I would not recommend buying one of the $50 deadman valves/nozzles I purchased and the special $40 hose to go with it. It works GREAT but for the price unless you are going to use your blaster all the time its not worth the money.

You can buy the ceramic nozzle I mentioned above at www.northerntool.com, they are about $15 for 2.

Dan

 

[1320stang]

Pics no workie.

Email 'em and I'll post them.

ljh(at)zrhd.com

 

[1320stang]

The first 2 pics are of my setup, the 2 3/8 pipe threaded parts on either side of the bottom ball valve have been drilled out from about 5/16 to 7/16. I also drilled out the hole in the barbed part of the mixer slightly but I don't think it is necessary as this will shorten its life.

The second 2 pictures show 2 similar but slightly different setups using a ball valve and one of the long lasting pink ceramic nozzles from Sandy Jet/ALC. The white ceramic nozzles don't seem to last very long. I wore out one of the white nozzles in 15 minutes.

If you want a parts list to make one of these nozzles I can give you an idea of what is needed. I would not recommend buying one of the $50 deadman valves/nozzles I purchased and the special $40 hose to go with it. It works GREAT but for the price unless you are going to use your blaster all the time its not worth the money.

You can buy the ceramic nozzle I mentioned above at www.northerntool.com, they are about $15 for 2.

Dan

 

[engnerdan]

Thanks for posting the pictures.

 

[1320stang]

Would the ball valve not have a tendancy to wear out?

 

[engnerdan]

The ball valve will eventually wear out but I do not believe it will wear out all that fast. With the deadman valve it had stop blocks made of rubber, and these are only rated to last about 3-4 hours each. So either way you have consumable parts.

A note on the media used, I bought a bag of black beauty and had terrible problems with clogging until I sifted it through a piece of metal window screen. I have since been buying "Black Blast" from Menards, it is bagged by a local cement company.

 

[DanC]

cool...lots of good ideas here, I would like to see a parts list of the nozzle you built - thanks!

 

[engnerdan]

cool...lots of good ideas here, I would like to see a parts list of the nozzle you built - thanks!

I will get you a parts list soon, I will have to make a trip to the harddare store to get the sizes of some of the fittings.

Dan

 

[Jay H 237]

Dan, send me the pics too, or post them. I'm waffling between the HF blaster and a Clarke blaster from TSC. To tell the truth, they look sorta the same.

I have the 20 gallon Clarke from TSC, you can see it on this page of my website http://www.jasonsgarage.com/inner_fender_replacement5.htm and I have been happy with it. I've used aluminum oxide and glass beads and it hasn't clogged yet. No modifications have been done to it either.

 

[ron in sc]

Link to my HF sandblaster review.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6947&highlight=sandblaster

 

[engnerdan]

So I have not completely forgot about getting that parts list, I picked up some of the parts but I cant find the pipe union the right size so some grinding/machining would be necessary. But that’s all the farther I have got, just been too busy. So here are a couple links to some DIY sandblasting plans/parts I found on eBay.

A nice nozzle setup
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sandblaster-San...ryZ43570QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Plans to build the entire sand blaster.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pressurized-San...ryZ31482QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


-Dan