Any Sandblasting Experts out there?

I was having the same problems so I bought this upgrade kit

Skat Blast® USA Cabinet Gun & Pickup Tube Upgrade Kit

This is a complete made-in-USA Cabinet Gun Kit made to replace the operating system of most imported sandblasting cabinets on four legs. It gives you the benefit of USA blasting technology at an economical price. It also provides continual and immediate availability of nozzles and wear items as...
www.tptools.com www.tptools.com
It helped a lot, works much better than the (HF) gun that came with the cabinet. However I still get some clogs, but mostly when the media becomes dirty. I thought about adding some sort of vibration device but haven't done so yet....
 
I keep a small piece of 1/4" thick rubber in the cabinet, and on the rare occasion I get an obstruction I just put the nozzel tip on the rubber and hit the pedal/trigger. this will instantly clear the pickup tube. The dry climate here helps a lot. Mike
 
Randy, check the hose connection to the pickup tube. If the hose is pushed on too far on my pickup tube it reduces the suction of the tube.
Jay
 
Eddyde, a bed vibrator motor mounted about half way of the bin
works very well.
Jay
 
Thanks for all the replies. At this point, I don't believe that moisture is my problem. The grit is dry and almost everything slides easily through my sieve. The system actually has two water separators in line. The one at the compressor picks up some moisture, but the one at the cabinet has yet to pick up the first drop. I think the problem is in the pick-up. The flow does improve when I use Ulma's technique.;) The vibrator may be a solution, but I am trying to keep my costs down.
 
f350ca said:
The cabinet I have now uses a U shaped pickup tube. The other end comes up above the sand to allow air flow. At the top of the U there is a smallish hole to allow the sand to drop in. Works far beter than a straight tube.

Greg
Click to expand...
Who makes that tube? I couldn't find one on the Web.
 
Was part of the cabinet, doubt their sold as a refit. Its just a section of tubing, maybe 1/2 inch, whatever you suction tube is would work. It goes down the side of the hopper then bent to come up the other side above the sand. Has maybe a 1/8th hole drilled on the top of the bend to allow the sand to fall or get sucked in. Will try and remember to check the hole size.
The gun now sucks air along with the sand. Seems to give a steadier stream of sand than the ones buried in the sand. It occasionally does plug up, but putting your finger over the nozzle and giving it a shot blows debris out of the tube.
Would be a pretty simple part to make.

Greg
 
We use one of these at work on a daily basis. We just use a piece of 1/2" metal conduit and bend it to fit down into the bottom. Then drill 2, 3/8" holes on the sides of the tube down at the bottom.
Another trick is to just put your hand over the nozzle and force the sand to blow back through the suction tube, clearing any clogs.

Joe
 
A bit off topic, but may be helpful ... lots of folks use ground slag for sandblast media. The "usual" brand is Black Beauty, available for about $1 a pound from Amazon. Just by accident, I discovered that Tractor Supply sells a similar product, called Black Magic. It's under $10 for a 25 lb bag.

Black Diamond Medium Blasting Abrasives at Tractor Supply Co.

Buy Great Customer Service Black Diamond Medium Blasting Abrasives in the Sandblasting Media category at Tractor Supply Co.Black Diamond Me
www.tractorsupply.com www.tractorsupply.com
 
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