Aldi spot blaster

[peterd51]

Hi,

had a go with this today and it didn't seem to do much...

I have a 2HP compressor, 25L tank, 90 pounds pressure.

The instructions state that 90 pounds is the maimum so I expected it to run OK.

There's nothing much about how to useit in the instaructions, ie, how much material to place in the pot, so I had it about half full.

I assume I need to use it with the metal vertical?

The metal was a side off an old washing machine or something slimilar, painted one side in hard white gloss and flashed over with paint but slightly rusty on the back.

I expected a 'whoosh' as I pressed the trigger but it just made a slight hissing sound. Didn't remove any of the gloss paint, just left a greyish circle.

It did do a bit more on the back, shifted a bit of rust after about ten seconds in the same place.

It'd take a while to do anything on a car (say, clean up the bottom edge of a door) and unless I was doing something daft like over-filling it I reckon I'd be better off using a strip-disk.

Any suggestions please?

Regards
Peter

 

[Barkychoc]

Does it specify how many litres/min of air it needs?

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

no, it just says the maximum pressure.

There's a simple 'problems' section at the back and it states there to check that the 'grit' isn't damp, then to reduce the pressure to 30 pounds to clear the nozzle.

I recall that my compressor has maximum flow of 172 ltrs/minute, though it's been a while since I bought it so I may be off by a bit.

Regards
Peter

 

[bawjaws]

return it and change it before the 28 day shop return warrenty runs out, if after 28 days you will have to contact powercraft for a replacement - and thats a faf

 

[Rich.C]

Peter,

I got one of these to see what it could do, seemingly not a lot ran it off a 3HP 50 Litre compressor and it was very gutless. The plastic nozzles seem to have very large openings on the ends, might be a little better through smaller holes?

As you say, a strip disc would be a lot faster and less messy

 

[storm monkey]

Mine wasn't up to much either, certainly on paint anyway. It did have a reasonable effect on a rusty spot, but not great. I was wondering if the grit was the problem, but not sure.

Phil

 

[Johnny™]

try play sand from B and Q, i think the grit they give you is too soft, i havent tried mine yet but a ran the old one i had on a 2.5hp compressor using this sand and it worked a treat for small areas.

 

[storm monkey]

Wouldn't recommend sand in a sand blaster! So I understand it the sand breaks down into fine silicates that are rather damaging to the lungs, and is illegal in an industrial application.. If you do do that, then make sure you have a decent breathing mask, and not just the paper decoraters type.

Phil

 

[Johnny™]

i wouldn't dream of not wearing a full particulate mask when blasting. You would be an idiot not to! i use play sand all the time and works a treat. I didnt realise i was breaking the law?

 

[storm monkey]

I think its a HSE thing, so as long as you don't do it at work, they can't do anything.

Phil

 

[storm monkey]

I took my spot blaster apart yesterday, and removed most of the end and media recovery parts, and it is much more effective, although very messy. I think that the nozzle was too far from the end of the shroud, and with a bit of adjustment can be moved closer to the end. This should make it a lot better.

In the mean time, I'm building a budget blasting cabinet and will run without the recovery shroud. I'll post the results on another thread, when its finished.

Phil

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

thanks for the tip.

I didn't have much time last week for playing around...I wanted to finish a bike rack and get it painted. If we have a decent day next weekend I'd like to take the grandkids & bikes to Cleethorpes for a ride along the sea-front.

Regards
Peter

 

[storm monkey]

Been playing again.......

This time I took the media can, lid and tube assembly off of the gun, and stuffed a bit of water hose (about 4') on instead, with the other end in the can, next to the blasting box. Performance is up now by about 500%! It's now really quite effective! Will keep the removed bits for when I do spot repairs on bigger stuff (cars) though.

Phil

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

sounds like a good mod...

however I'm not sure exactly what you've done.

Is there any chance of a photo please?

Regards
Peter

 

[storm monkey]

I'll post some up this evening/tomorrow, along with the home made £15 blast cabinet!

Phil

 

[storm monkey]

Images as promised..............

The mods to the gun, and the budget cabinet. All it needs now is a filtered air outlet and a bit of perspex in the lid, and its finished. Not that neat, but cheap and effective.

Phil

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

nice, thanks for the photos!

I've not been in the workshop for a few days, too damn cold with the wind blowing straight in the front door!

I've had some gear to play with in the computer room instead, it's nice and warm in here...

Regards
Peter