Tank is a custom aluminum setup. Its plenty big enough. I do have a ball valve for tank agitation, however with a flat bottom tank, im finding if i use no agitation at all, the suction of the pump is more than enough to draw the beads and water through. Its all just testing and fine tuning but so far seems ok. Biggest thing to do is to seal the cabinet up some more.
Tank size is probably a bit big depending on the pump you are using.. type and size (kw, flow and pressure) The problem with not using agitation is it is difficult to keep it all in suspension. In a larger tank it may pay to put in a sparge line... a copper tube with holes drilled (4mm holes in 20mm copper or even plastic hose will do, plenty of them to create a gentle agitation) in it around the outside of the tank.. this keeps everything agitated and in suspension but not forcing it into the suction of the pump.. with no agitation at all your will get varying percentages of suspended solids which will give inconsistent results... as you say.. all trial and error. I will get to mine sometime soon...
Yeah thats why i've got it only half filled at the moment. It does seem to be more consistent feeding water + media with no agitation than with it. With it you barely get any media cause its all going to the opposite side. there is a few things i can do but im just doing the trial and error to see what works. Once its properly sealed, i'll be pretty happy with it, i changed out the stupid fluro light for some cheap ebay single row 6 led flood lights i had, great improvement. Also added a fan for air moving through to disperse humidity. Needs a stronger fan tho. Gotta add an electrical box for it, to clean it up. Still need to add a wiper arm and motor. Certainly getting there but its a massive improvement over dry blasting soda.
Also its a 800w 16000L/H septic pump, so its designed to have dirty crud in it. Pressure output seems to be really good when in use. Not ideal but just build to super cheap budget. Not looking for perfect results, just anything better and cleaner than dry soda will make me happy. In time i might upgrade it all but for the moment, this will do the job.
OK... hoper it doesnt have a grinder on it... that will kill your glass beads. Septic pumps tend to be very specific, as in they are designed for a single purpose.. a better option is a "dirty water pump" that is designed for water with a fair amount of dirt (hard solids as opposed to soft solids in a spetic) and will generally have a better flow rate. Still it is what you have so you can play around with it and see what works and doesnt... I sent you a PM... might help you out a little
So i've got some agitation in the tank that seems to be working at the moment, But with glass beads i'm not getting anywhere near the finish you are. At time i'm finding even the most stubborn pieces of grime a little bit of challenge to get off the parts. I'm running about 40 psi air pressure, the water feed out of the nozzle seems fairly strong with air and the spray from the nozzle is fairly straight and narrow, its not a wide spread like a spray gun. Any suggestions or tip on improving ?? I noticed the beads im using are AD (Grade 7), but they are super fine. Was thinking even going the next bead up, could possibly be a brand of bead thing ???
Ok, so this is where im at. I've ordered the foot pedal and blast nozzle (plus couple other little things). I've got my agitation working fantastic. I've changed my media from AD to AC. It def seems to work better in my setup at the moment. This is where im getting too on parts. Was done with varying between 40-80psi. I'm still struggling to remove the black oxide and give an even silver finish, i'm thinking its possibly the nozzle atm im using but not sure.
My take on it is that your pressure is too high , I would be at 50 psi for the air delivery , the dimpling of the metal means your working it too much , try and lower your pressure , long smooth strokes and let the bead do the work. Clean water helps too
it does inspire, but even lower psi and steady movements its still not getting the finish that it should be. i'm gonna wait till i get a new nozzle and see how much difference that makes.
Some of it will be the difference between a multi thousand $ machine designed specifically for the job and a converted Sand Blaster... Just sayin
Unless there is a major difference in flow rate or pump pressure, or even nozzle type etc... The results should be similar, just the commercial unit should do it with more ease.
If only it was that simple.. There is a dramatic difference in the pump type, flow rate and pressure as well as nozzle. The pump is a purpose designed pump for the job... probably larger hose size to offer less restriction so that max pressure is attained at the nozzle etc.. not to mention the Air Compressor.. the commercial ones use a lot of air.. (not pressure) so it isnt a compromise. Having said all that... @my67xr is getting good results with his converted Sand Blaster but I dont know how big his compressor is etc... The secret is finding the best compromise of different components and media to give you the end result you are after.
I get a better shinier finish with somewhere between no air and about 30psi, my compressor is a worn 14cfm oil free with a 32L tank, it's pretty slow to fill the tank compared to my 17cfm compressor's with 100L tank's
My compressor is a triple head 15cfm 4hp motor with a 180L tank. The big difference i see at the moment is my gun is just the sandblast unit, as opposed to most are using a ebay style, or something bit more professional but in that type. So my media feed is 90 degree into the gun vs the others 30 degree. Maybe this is playing a big role ?? I'm not to worried about a shiny finish, i really want a more even finish rather than some silver, some silver with black patches.
So i finally got all my bits to upgrade my cabinet setup. I gotta say, i'm getting to the point where i am starting to see good enough results that im happy with. Low pressure 30 psi, takes a little work but not too much. The new nozzle makes a big difference. Foot pedal control is awesome, so much relief on your hands holding a trigger all the time. The wiper also makes it a bit better too. I can definitely see where pre wash cleaning helps a lot, where as previously soda blasting would clear anything. I also upgraded to a heated pressure washer unit as well, so parts after finish take 2 seconds to blast clean and have 0 glass beads left on them. It has a mesh strainer which stops crud going into the clean water tank and that is also lined with some stocking material which picks up any glass bead. In some ways i'm a bit should've used a bigger cabinet, but its all teething issues and learning to go. I just recently scored myself a awesome working lockseamer for $50, so one day, if it all goes well enough. I might end up making a larger cabinet. The only downside im left with now is my 4hp motor/Triple Head/200L tank seems to be slightly lacking to keep up with the air demand. I'm guessing i get about 6-7 mins of blast time to 2-3 mins fill time. Without spending a huge amount i'm not too sure how i can get more out it, possibly running another motor / triple head on the same tank for quicker recovery ?