mini cyclone and sand...

[David Rose]

Does anyone think there is a possibility of the Mini Cyclone working between a sand blasting cabinet and a shop vac? I have my doubts, but thought I'd ask.

The Hepa filter in my shop vac is stopping up pretty fast. It may be due to the sand grinding finer, I'm not sure. But it ran OK for a bit. Shipping on the special sand that I need to use is high, so I am trying to stretch the life a bit.

I'll ask the builders if they don't respond here. I posted here in case someone might have any ideas on how to deal with the problem also.

David

[Perry Holbrook]

David, I was just discussing this with a glass artist friend over the week end. The problem with using a shop vac with a sandblasting cabinet is the fines clog the filter quickly AND over time the fine sand will find its way into the motor and kill it. As you know sand dust is very bad for the lungs so the HEPA filter is suggested.

I think the mini cyclone would fix these problems for the most part. I don't see why it won't work. The only problem I see is that the sand may wear out the sides of the cyclone over time. The Clear Vue unit may last longer in this case. It may also be possible to line the unit with sand blast resist.

Perry

[David Rose]

Perry,

As fast as sharp sand eats away paint and such, I figured it would be murder on the plastic. Is "sand blast resist" a compound or were you saying this generically? I was also thinking of some sort of metal deflector right at the original contact point.

David

David, I was just discussing this with a glass artist friend over the week end. The problem with using a shop vac with a sandblasting cabinet is the fines clog the filter quickly AND over time the fine sand will find its way into the motor and kill it. As you know sand dust is very bad for the lungs so the HEPA filter is suggested.

I think the mini cyclone would fix these problems for the most part. I don't see why it won't work. The only problem I see is that the sand may wear out the sides of the cyclone over time. The Clear Vue unit may last longer in this case. It may also be possible to line the unit with sand blast resist.

Perry

[CPeter James]

I would think the resist would impede the action of the cyclone. I would think maybe a sacrificial liner inside the cone of the cyclone might do the trick. When it wore thin, you could replace it.

CPeter

[Jim Becker]

Wouldn't a metal cyclone be better for this particular application???

[David Rose]

Jim,

I suspect it would. Remember that this is a "shop vac" deal, at least at this point. I wonder if I should just build a "trash can deflector" kind of rig. Then again, thin sheet metal would probably dissolve if velocity is anywhere near the gun speed. But it may be slowed enough to not matter.

I guess I should try the manufacturer, but I'll bet they've not been faced with this question/thought.

David

Wouldn't a metal cyclone be better for this particular application???

[Perry Holbrook]

A sandblast resist is a thin film of materials that the sand blast gun will not penetrate. Some have pressure sensitive backing and are a plastic like material. Other resist are fabric, rubber , etc. actually a lot of things.

I don't know what kind of plastic Clear Vue uses, but I would not be surprised that it will resist the wear better than metal, since several plastics can be used as resist.

Maybe I should explain what a resist is. Think of it as a stencil. Where there are cutouts the sand will "blast", where the resist is solid the sand will not hit the surface of the material you're blasting.

As an example, when I need a hole in glass, rather than drilling, sometimes I'll make a hole in a resist material and blast thru that hole and thru the glass leaving the rest of the glass un scratched.

I still think this will work. I'll call both companies tomorrow and discuss it.

Perry

[David Rose]

Thanks Perry,

Let me know what you come up with.

David

A sandblast resist is a thin film of materials that the sand blast gun will not penetrate. Some have pressure sensitive backing and are a plastic like material. Other resist are fabric, rubber , etc. actually a lot of things.

I don't know what kind of plastic Clear Vue uses, but I would not be surprised that it will resist the wear better than metal, since several plastics can be used as resist.

Maybe I should explain what a resist is. Think of it as a stencil. Where there are cutouts the sand will "blast", where the resist is solid the sand will not hit the surface of the material you're blasting.

As an example, when I need a hole in glass, rather than drilling, sometimes I'll make a hole in a resist material and blast thru that hole and thru the glass leaving the rest of the glass un scratched.

I still think this will work. I'll call both companies tomorrow and discuss it.

Perry

[David Rose]

I'll email Clear View and Oneida right now. Let me know if you hear anything else. I'll let you know what they say.

David

[Jason Morgan]

I am by no means and expert in this field, but I do know a thing or two about dust extraction. I work in the toner industry and we have small shop vac type vacuums in all of our labs. All of them have a small cyclone in line and it works great.

As far as abraision is concerned, remember a cyclone spins the material where as sandblasing is generally a direct impact. Not that the former will now wear the cyclone, its just that I dont think it will eat through it that much faster.

Let me know what you find out.

[David Rose]

Well... Oneida was easy to find. Clearview is not quite so. Does anyone know their addy? I've searched for nearly an hour for their site. They are still in business, aren't they?

David

[David Rose]

Jason,

I have those same thoughts. Though the dust won't likely impact like a blast gun, it will still be very abrasive. Do you deal with abrasive dust?

My mid range $100 shop vac is making "interesting" noises now. So I suspect I will either need to react fast or start over.

David

I am by no means and expert in this field, but I do know a thing or two about dust extraction. I work in the toner industry and we have small shop vac type vacuums in all of our labs. All of them have a small cyclone in line and it works great.

As far as abraision is concerned, remember a cyclone spins the material where as sandblasing is generally a direct impact. Not that the former will now wear the cyclone, its just that I dont think it will eat through it that much faster.

Let me know what you find out.

[Rick Thom]

Jim,

I suspect it would. Remember that this is a "shop vac" deal, at least at this point. I wonder if I should just build a "trash can deflector" kind of rig. Then again, thin sheet metal would probably dissolve if velocity is anywhere near the gun speed. But it may be slowed enough to not matter.

I guess I should try the manufacturer, but I'll bet they've not been faced with this question/thought.

David

David, if you haven't actually seen the Oneida Dust Deputy, it is constructed of quite heavy material and it's well fabricated. This isn't light weight tin. If a wear spot did develop eventually, if would be simple to just cut out the worn piece and weld in a patch.

[Jim Becker]

David, if you haven't actually seen the Oneida Dust Deputy, it is constructed of quite heavy material and it's well fabricated. This isn't light weight tin. If a wear spot did develop eventually, if would be simple to just cut out the worn piece and weld in a patch.

Agree. I saw the prototype and it was heavy guage steel, not "HVAC" type material.

[David Rose]

Rick and Jim,

No, I haven't seen the Dust Deputy. I guess I shouldn't jump to conclusions huh?

Thanks,

David

David, if you haven't actually seen the Oneida Dust Deputy, it is constructed of quite heavy material and it's well fabricated. This isn't light weight tin. If a wear spot did develop eventually, if would be simple to just cut out the worn piece and weld in a patch.