Railroadman

After much work, and with much help and advice from those on this forum, I finally am up and running with the compressor. Pic below is a shot of two bumper braces - obviously one before, and one after blasting, priming and painting. Altho there are a few things I want to tweak, in general I am extremely happy with the way the thing works. A few thoughts and observations below.




1. I bought the 5-hp 60 gallon compressor. It works great and does a fine job. But if I had it to do again I would probably go even bigger - as some on here suggested - as the compressor runs a lot to refill the tank and keep up. I admit an error in my logic - I said the bigger ones may be fine for production work or a commercial shop, but I'm just a hobbyist and won't be using it all day long. The catch is the machine is working just as hard if a hobbyist blasts for a half hour as it would if I were a blast shop working all day long. Again it works fine, and maybe I'm just not used to it yet. But it just feels in my gut like I'm working it hard.

2. The Harbor Freight cabinet works well in general. I followed advice from several sources and used silicone caulk on every seam I could find as I was assembling it. The problem area is the door - the media accumulates on a small gap or ledge, and when you open the door to take out the piece, it spills on the floor. Not much, and not a big deal, but I am going to try putting some sort of strip along there to improve that.

3. I'm using 80-grit glass bead media from HF, at 90 psi. Seems to do the job well.

4. The piping and cooling system, closely copied from forumite GTR1999, may look like overkill but man does it do a nice job! Yesterday was 90 degrees and humid, and I was getting moisture from each of the blow-downs but almost none from the final moisture trap at the regulator leading to the cabinet. I am very happy I went to the trouble of putting all that in.

5. My compressor sits in an alcove and it's not ideal for cooling. I am going to put a heat-vent register grate above it up to the attic. And I hung a large box fan from the ceiling about 2 feel from the compressor, to help cool it as it's working. If you are considering doing an installation like this, I have seen several suggestions that this helps with compressor life.

It's been way easier, and way more effective, thanks to the input from you guys. Sometimes folks ask questions and never get back on how it went. So here's the result, and one more "thank you" for all the advice - the advice I took, and the parts I didn't follow!

426 Hemi

Good deal. You'll use that more than you think.

My smaller cabinet has a side door that lets some sand sprinkle out. I bent a small rain gutter deal that goes below the door. It comes off easily to dump the sand back in the blaster after a while.

Make sure to drain your tank frequently. This weather will make it accumulate fast lowering your capacity.

Also TP tools has a very good quality gun and pick tube kit when things start to get worn. Not real expensive. The pickup tube is like a double tube design----a lot less stoppage. The optional carbide nozzle is wort it too. Lasts forever.

Congrats on your project.

firstgear

when they are working well, they are great......

narlee

Isn't it nice to watch the parts clean up like new. Saves a lot of elbow grease.

Railroadman

And money, too....but then I look at what I have into it and guess I'd better do a few more parts before I talk too loud!

I have already scheduled blasting and painting the wheel of a garden cart for the better half, just to show this device can be used for more than just Corvette parts.

elwood13

Westlotorn

Glad is working out for you, it will help with progress. Buy some Noise Canceling ear phones and wear them as you work. My wife gave me a set of Bowes and man do they work nice. You can be blasting or mowing your lawn while enjoying great music at a normal sound level.
I find myself using them more and more by choice.

I watched a You Tube video on Air Compressor moisture removal that I think I will copy. They took an old Air Conditioning Condenser, I think that is the right name, the large heat exchanger that sits in front of your radiator. They plumbed it into the compressor so the air coming out of the compressor had to travel through the condenser before it entered the air tank. You would need to fabricate a water drain but the condenser cools the compressed air so much that nearly zero moisture enters your air tank. The video shows the actual air temp drop and it is very impressive.
I have picked up a condenser from a Suburban but have yet to plug it into my system. I actually run two compressors, one is a 110V 30 gallon tank and my backup is a 220V with a 30 gallon tank.
If I use a lot of air both will run but for all normal work in the garage the 110V does a great job providing 150 PSI. The 220V kicks in if pressure drops to 130 PSI the way I have it set up.
Dry air is important for tool and tank life or paint work.
Noisy for sure when both are running but that is rare in my garage.

PS: I should also mention that my original compressor was going out, I was looking for a good replacement model but had not purchased yet. At Christmas my wife surprised me with a new 2 HP compressor, my son's had advised her it was all the air I could ever want and it was a great choice. That said, I am sure all of you know it had to stay and second I had to find a way to keep it while getting enough air to work. The sacrifices we make for family peace.

Railroadman

Yeah, the first semi just left, and the second one is pulling up now!

EDIT: No kidding, I posted that, walked outside to wash the wife's car, and a UPS truck came around the corner and started slowing down. Stopped at the next house past us, but it had me worried for a minute!

elwood13