Pressure pot is performing awesome

[rcx132]

Today was the first time I properly used my eBay pressure pot blaster, it cleaned my brake deflectors in minutes, it's about 5 times quicker than my cabinet suction gun. And I think it might be using less media. The last valve that I open is the one that releases the media and I open it until there's just enough media coming out to get blasting effect.

The only issue I have is when I switch off the pot and de-pressurise the pot then the hose fills up with media but no air, so when I switch the pot back on and re-pressurise the entire contents of the hose get chucked out in one huge blast, wasting a lot of media.

I found the deadman valve very useful, giving me instant on-off control. I know others on this forum prefer to replace it with an open tungsten tip. Ideally I'd mod a tungsten tip to fit the deadman.

Has anyone fitted a pot to their DIY cabinet?

 

[brightspark]

Today was the first time I properly used my eBay pressure pot blaster, it cleaned my brake deflectors in minutes, it's about 5 times quicker than my cabinet suction gun. And I think it might be using less media. The last valve that I open is the one that releases the media and I open it until there's just enough media coming out to get blasting effect.

The only issue I have is when I switch off the pot and de-pressurise the pot then the hose fills up with media but no air, so when I switch the pot back on and re-pressurise the entire contents of the hose get chucked out in one huge blast, wasting a lot of media.

I found the deadman valve very useful, giving me instant on-off control. I know others on this forum prefer to replace it with an open tungsten tip. Ideally I'd mod a tungsten tip to fit the deadman.

Has anyone fitted a pot to their DIY cabinet?

yea just stuff the hose through the glove porthole . the woodchip extracta can pull more air than the compressor can supply so threes always a vacuum in the cabinet

 

[rtbcomp]

Operate the valves as follows:

1) Close all valves, start compressor, when up to pressure
2) Open nozzle valve fully
3) Open side valve fully
4) Open top valve
5) Open bottom valve gradually until you can just see the media stream.

To close down

6) Close bottom valve, wait until hose has been purged of media
7) Close top valve, wait until airflow stops
8) Close side valve
9) Close nozzle valve

The valve near the nozzle should be fully open, otherwise it will wear very quickly (instead of just quickly).

 

[rcx132]

Operate the valves as follows:

1) Close all valves, start compressor, when up to pressure
2) Open nozzle valve fully
3) Open side valve fully
4) Open top valve
5) Open bottom valve gradually until you can just see the media stream.

To close down

6) Close bottom valve, wait until hose has been purged of media
7) Close top valve, wait until airflow stops
8) Close side valve
9) Close nozzle valve

The valve near the nozzle should be fully open, otherwise it will wear very quickly (instead of just quickly).

Ok, thanks so what I did wrong was that I didn't first close the bottom valve which stops the media and lets the hose purge. I thought operating this valve was bad because it's a gas valve being used to shut off media, so the media would wear the valve. But suppose cost of new valve is nothing compared to cost of lost media.

@brightspark I do like you, but your methods are too crude for me! I'm way too OCD to put the hose through the glove port. I'd sooner waste a day welding up a proper port! And that's why I don't manage to get any real work done!

 

[brightspark]

Ok, thanks so what I did wrong was that I didn't first close the bottom valve which stops the media and lets the hose purge. I thought operating this valve was bad because it's a gas valve being used to shut off media, so the media would wear the valve. But suppose cost of new valve is nothing compared to cost of lost media.

@brightspark I do like you, but your methods are too crude for me! I'm way too OCD to put the hose through the glove port. I'd sooner waste a day welding up a proper port! And that's why I don't manage to get any real work done!

if your using gauntlets fastened in to the portholes your best off putting another hole in for the blast hose .its just I don't need one so I keep my gear to a minimum its just a workhorse no frills

 

[rtbcomp]

The bottom valve doesn't wear too badly - the media isn't moving very fast.

What I do when the bottom valve does wear is move the side valve to the bottom and fit a new valve in the side position. I use cheap & cheerful valves and buy 5 at a time.

I drilled a hole for the hose and used a (Metro) handbrake gaiter as a grommet.

 

[rcx132]

I asked my friendly fabrication shop about their blast cabinet set up, they said that they have a tungsten jubilee clamped direct to the hose (ala @brightspark) and then then have a foot pedal which switches the pot on and off. That sounds alright to me me ツ

If I got such a foot pedal, where best should it be plumbed in on the pot?

 

[rtbcomp]

Plumb it into the main air feed to the pot.

Bear in mind the pot will take time to run down and back up again, it won't stop & start the media stream.

 

[brightspark]

just make sure the pedal will take the cfm required . u will still have to wait till pot depressurises . those pedals are generally used on a suction gun

 

[Streetwerks]

I was going to get one, pointless in reality. Glad I didntvwaste the money. There is a couple of very good guides on you tube. Search pressure pot 101, 2 videos. One covering a couple of essential mods and one covering the foot pedal

 

[rcx132]

I was going to get one, pointless in reality. Glad I didntvwaste the money. There is a couple of very good guides on you tube. Search pressure pot 101, 2 videos. One covering a couple of essential mods and one covering the foot pedal

I saw those videos, they were posted in another thread. The videos say that the pedal controls a valve thats in the main hose, the hose that contains the media/air mix. Wierd, that means the valve will get butchered quickly.

 

[rtbcomp]

There's a rubber valve which is controlled by air pressure from a footswitch, probably a bit expensive.

 

[rcx132]

I was going to get one, pointless in reality.

Why are they pointless?

I'm going to use my deadman valve for now, but I'll look at the pedals and maybe upgrade. The deadman valve is very big and hard to work with inside a cabinet.

 

[Streetwerks]

Lot of money for what they Do and the wearable diaphragm isn't cheap, just overkill. I was sold on the idea but never got around to doing it when setting my workshop up. I had ran out of money and gone way over budget. It's all the lil bits that add up!!! And since I find it so easy to just turn the media valve off when needed I'm glad I didn't get one.

 

[Streetwerks]

Get rid of the dead man for cabinet, that would be hard work I would think

 

[brightspark]

I've managed to do without them on cabinet and on the mobile pots and I've been using them for over 40 years cant honestly see the need whats easier than just turning a leaver valve on and off

 

[Streetwerks]

I've managed to do without them on cabinet and on the mobile pots and I've been using them for over 40 years cant honestly see the need whats easier than just turning a leaver valve on and off

Couldn't agree more! I think they would cause excess wear to other parts too. I was dead set on getting one, glad I kept it simple. I've had nothing wear on my cheap sealey pressure pot in nearly a year. Admittedly I only use it for a few hours each week.

 

[rcx132]

How do you hold the hose to reach for the shut off valve? I assume if the hose is on the right then the pot needs to be on the left of the blast cabinet?

 

[brightspark]

pot is sat on a hop up so regulating shutoff and grit valve are both within reach

 

[Streetwerks]

How do you hold the hose to reach for the shut off valve? I assume if the hose is on the right then the pot needs to be on the left of the blast cabinet?

I hold the hose in my left hand and reach down and I'm a tall bugger! I would like to extend raise the height of the pressure pot so I don't have to crouch down. I used to sit it on my parts washer next to me cabinet but he when it's full of 40kg of media I was risking hurting my back lifting it off and on