dharris45

I bought one of the pressurized media blasters from Harbor Freight. It is the tank type that you see on ebay and elsewhere. They all look very much alike. I bought it to blast small metal parts, i.e. remove paint and rust. When it works correctly, it is great at cutting down to the bare metal.

I can't get it to work reliably. Is there anyone out there that has gotten these to work. Here is what is happening:

I am using 70 grit aluminum oxide media and the blaster is set to 90 pounds. When I open all the valves and then the the nozzle valve, I sometimes get a large amount of the media blowing out which doesn't do any cutting. If it does blast correctly, it cuts great, but only blows the media for a second or so, then I have to manually shake the tank, then it will blast with media for a second or so, the I have to shake it again.

Help!!!
Thanks,
Don Harris

ErminewhiteC2

I have one of those. I threw away the gun that came with it and used one I had I had laying around. Rick

ml1955

I'd check for moisture in the air supply, could be clogging. Try running a filter on your air line.

DesertSpider

You said the magic word: Harbor Freight

I thought they were in the 'disposable' / 'import' tool business.


Does sound like your clumping problem may be due to moisture, but might also be a pressure and flow problem too... make sure all of your lines and fittings are clear of debris (intermittent pressure buildups might be due to obstructions, which require more time to build up, release, repeat).

Just a thought.

DS

Geralds57

I have one of these that I've used for a few years, and it works pretty good. I use sand that I get from a dry wall supplier that comes in three different grits. It's 12 bucks for a 50lb bag. It sounds like you're getting moisture in the line. Does it do it immediately or does it run awhile? If it does it right away, you may have something else goining on. I have to shake mine too, but only when it just about to run out.

firstgear

this is probably your problem.....my blaster doesnt work very long at all because of moisture. Get a moisture seperator/regulator and stick it on your blaster hopper so that you are taking moisture out right before it is needed in the blaster. I think you will find that it works much better. Without it, you will get clogging and such to the point that you want to throw it out......

http://www.parker.com/portal/site/PA...GULATORS&Wtky=

http://www.regulatorstore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=86250

You need the water removal ability, this will do that.

firstgear

by the way, you don't want to run sand in your unit. Sand used in sand blasting will lead to silicosis. While you won't feel the effects now, down the road will be bad.

here is a link that will tell you all about it....note - I am not advocating lawyers, in fact I can't stand them....but this site will give you religion about sand blasting if you dont have religion already about not using SAND! No matter how cheap it is.

Midyearnut

There are a number of things (most have been mentioned above.) 1. Get one of those Motorgard or similar "Toilet paper" filters & mount it just before the input side of the tank. 2. Strain the media each time (even the new stuff) 3. There should be a mixing valve on the bottom of the tank, it should be approx.at a 45 degree angle to allow a 50/50 mix of sand & air. 4.Sand is NOT the best Media due to the fact that it has Silica in it & Silica is Bad stuff for your Body especially your lungs. You might try to locate some "Black Diamond or Black Beauty" (I forget the exact name).
Good Luck! Bob L.

MarvBarrish

Only open the bottom valve controlling the amount of sand at about half way. Experiment with this valve until you get just the right amount of sand going thru it. You do not want this valve openned fully. I use #60 silica sand and always wear a high quality mask so as not to breathe any of it. Good luck!

Geralds57

Ditto