Blasting cabinet foot valve

[cheb]

I've now got a pressure pot feeding my blasting cabinet and think a foot operated valve would be useful.Has anyone made their own? I was thinking about a spring loaded clamp that has to be depressed to allow flow, clamping the hose in the same way as clamps for plastic mains water pipe. The supplied pipe is thick walled but silicone pipe, as favoured by car modders, is thinner and would compress more easily.

Assuming the silicone hose can handle the pressure, why not?

 

[armalites]

Not worth messing about, pneumatic foot valves cost less than £20

 

[cheb]

How long do they last with the grit going through them?

 

[outofthefire]

How long do they last with the grit going through them?

I doesn't go through them, least ours at work doesn't, your turning on the air which blows up the tube picks up the grit and then comes out the end

 

[cheb]

This is for a pressure pot, not a suction gun type.

The grit is gravity fed into the air on its way to the gun.

 

[brightspark]

This is for a pressure pot, not a suction gun type.

The grit is gravity fed into the air on its way to the gun.

a waste of time on a pressure pot. just use a ball valve to operate it . every time u use it it will have to fill the pot and when u finish you will have to wait till it empties then start the process all over again . just perepair all your stuff and carry on till its all finished

 

[cheb]

This would be instead of the valve on the delivery end of the pipe. I mostly use it in a cabinet where space can be tight, depending on the size of the workpiece. It's a got a quarter turn ball valve at the moment which isn't massively convenient. I've a dead man valve on order but wondered about a foot switch as being the best solution.

 

[brightspark]

This would instead of the valve on the delivery end of the pipe. I mostly use it in a cabinet where space can be tight, depending on the size of the workpiece. It's a got a quarter turn ball valve at the moment which isn't massively convenient. I've a dead man valve on order but wondered about a foot switch as being the best solution.

it wont work only any good on a suction gun set up . you still have to wait till pot empties of air if u fitted it

 

[cheb]

I'm not thinking about between refills, more for when moving the workpiece, changing the work piece, or giving the compressor a chance to catch up.

 

[brightspark]

I'm not thinking about between refills, more for when moving the workpiece, changing the work piece, or giving the compressor a chance to catch up.

in not on about refills either just stopping and starting . you will find every time u stop it and restart after topping up the comp pressure you have lost a full tank of air to refill the pot

 

[outofthefire]

in not on about refills either just stopping and starting . you will find every time u stop it and restart after topping up the comp pressure you have lost a full tank of air to refill the pot

Whats the benefit of this system over the suction type we have at work?

 

[brightspark]

pressure pot the media is put through the jet direct in the airflow at a heck of a velocity. a suction gun just pulls the media up and the air jet blows it through the output jet . heres one in bits I made shows u how it works

 

[armalites]

My cabinet has a pressure pot and runs a foot operated pneumatic valve to control everything. The grit does not flow flow through the pneumatic valve.

Mine has poppet valve on the pressure pot though.

 

[brightspark]

My cabinet has a pressure pot and runs a foot operated pneumatic valve to control everything. The grit does not flow flow through the pneumatic valve.

Mine has poppet valve on the pressure pot though.

presumably you still empty the pot of air if you want to stop it for any reason and refill on start up . a foot switch instead of the ball valve

 

[Dcal]

The blast cabinet I bought second hand came with a foot operated valve.
I now use the pressure pot in the cabinet and it works a treat with the foot valve.
The cemco industrial pots all work the same way where the pot is only pressurised when the dead-man valve at the nozzle is closed.
It's a great addition and well worth the small cost.

I started a post on the mods I made to my cabinet.
I need to update it to show the foot valve and pressure pot set up.

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/cheap-blasting-cabinet-and-pressure-pot-upgrades.99212/

 

[brightspark]

I copied mine of the Clemco minipot the only difference is I use a quick release top I made myself not a popup valve to fill and don't use a deadmans trigger and air valve which is no big deal when the pot is next to you to operate it on and off . very good if your doing open blasting with long blast hoses if your on your own . would have been handy when I sandblasted my whole house

 

[Dcal]

I plumbed my blasting pipe straight through to the nozzle with no valves after the media valve.
If I want to turn off the grit and air I release the foot valve and this closes the air inlet to the pot.
It takes a while to empty the air from the lines and the pot (which is in essence another receiver) so it's by no means instantaneous.
I don't turn off the grit now I've change the media valve and don't seem to have any feed issues when turning back on again.

The industrial pots with a popit valve, dump the air in the lines, then open the popit valve which dumps any remaining air in the pot.
In my opinion the small diy pots don't need this refinement or level of complexity
If you want or need instantaneous keep the crappy dead man that came with the pot or put a ball valve at the nozzle and just turn that off.
I haven't tried this since upgrading the media valve but with the ball valve types I got loads of blockages as the blast pipe filled with grit which then overwhelmed the nozzle when you turned it on again.

 

[armalites]

presumably you still empty the pot of air if you want to stop it for any reason and refill on start up . a foot switch instead of the ball valve

No, the foot valve operates it and it stops almost immediately. I think the foot valve pressurises and air switch.

Mine has a small pressure pot attched to the bottom of the hopper. When the air is released the poppet valve in the pot drops and the media falls back into the pot.

I can't take credit for any of it as it's proper industrial unit made by Vixen.

 

[brightspark]

No, the foot valve operates it and it stops almost immediately. I think the foot valve pressurises and air switch.

Mine has a small pressure pot attched to the bottom of the hopper. When the air is released the poppet valve in the pot drops and the media falls back into the pot.

I can't take credit for any of it as it's proper industrial unit made by Vixen.

I get it . that's ok in a cabinet and the media gets re uses without you refilling it .but it wont work on the larger 10 gallon portable pots stopping and starting without emptying the whole pot of air and refilling manualy that's the difference

 

[armalites]

I get it . that's ok in a cabinet and the media gets re uses without you refilling it .but it wont work on the larger 10 gallon portable pots stopping and starting without emptying the whole pot of air and refilling manualy that's the difference

That only applies to the cheaper imported units though. My big Clemco has a similar setup to my blast cabinet. It has a poppet valve and an air control valve.