Hello Totally green on this but coming up fast. So far, the compressor is going in the back left corner of the garage which puts it close to the 125 amp sub panel on the other side of the wall in the boiler room ( I call it the systems control room) for easy electrical hookup. Installing a 50 amp 250 VAC outlet next to the 120 vac for the air dryer. There will be 4 air drops plus a T off the 80 gallon tank for a 5th air connection if needed. Air drop 1 - In basement boiler room 2 - In Garage back right side 3 - In workshop next to windows for welders, plasma cutter and blasting cabinet. 4 - In workshop next to front door for autos The air lines are Xfinity non-ferrous aluminum air pipe with lifetime guaranty Air regulator off tank is a Rapid Air Water separator is a quincy just before air dryer Air treatment is a 120 VAC Quincy air dryer. We will also put in a bypass air line for the dryer. Also a Quincy QSC 100 -Oil Wayer Separator Condensate Purifiers , rated 45 to 90 CFM Questions Should we put in a lubricator? What about floor bolts and vibration pads? What size air hoses should we use? 3/8” 1/2” or 3/4” I put in a hose reel for the autos near the front shop door. What is a good impact wrench for this? What air system do you have in your shop?
I would not bother with a lubricator. Especially if you ever want to paint anything. I had one and took it out. I have a IR 60 gal T30 compressor with a short pex run then hoses. I like Aircat or IR for air tools. Quality air tools last a long time and no batteries to go bad an need replacing.
I 2nd the idea of no lubricator. Just add a drop of oil to an air tool every once and a while when needed. You don't want contamination in the air lines. Your set up is awesome. My dad has always left the big air compressors on the shipping pallet for noise and vibration damping. A short piece of flex hose from the tank to the hard lines and a shutoff valve right off the tank to isolate the air reciever/tank.
Thanks Good idea on leaving it bolted to the pallet. I just did not have the room for one so we are going to use the vibration pads. I cannot wait to try it. Do you know if it will work well with the blasting cabinet to get rust and white calcium and black carbon ash off a pellet stove burnpot??
I have used a blasting cabinet to clean up the main door and draft door on my cast iron wood stove doors. I pull out most of the old glass seals and use a wire wheel on a small grinder to get most of the rtv. I only blast the inside surface of the doors. Removes all the buildup from bad seals and soot. Start with a mild abrasive like walnut before jumping up to slag and garnet. The blasting cabinet I use is 30 yards from the compressor on half inch line. If your blasting cabinet has issues look at putting an air tank next to it to handle surge demand.
If you have a manual condensation drain valve you'll need easy access. You may be able to improve access by installing an elbow, some pipe, and a few fittings to make the drain valve more accessible. I can't tell how yours is configured from the photos. Also, I'd strongly suggest you skip the lubricator. You'll need dry, un-oiled air far more times than you'd ever need oiled air.
Hello Just found an excellent video on how much CFM do you need in an air compressor! This answers it!
Sure, I just finished helping a customer on the east coast and one on the west coast after a very busy New Year’s Eve day from people in between.
The old 1.6 HP DeWalt 15 gallon compressor works for most tools but is weak in blasting. It seams to work best with the white aluminum oxide, so that is what I was using. https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-...1eqp6HiLFjMaAuwCEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#overlay It put out 5 SCFM at 90 PSI which is good for it’s size. However one of my friends has a Quincy that he really likes and after some research it seems that will do better with the blasting cabinet and last a longer time?
blasting is all about air volume and not pressure. Most of the time you only need about 65 psi,jacking the pressure way up just destroys your media very quickly particularly with soft stuff like walnut shells , corn cob or similar. screen size of the media matters also.
Thanks That is what I thought also about the air flow. Therefore would a 1/2” air hose to the blasting cabinet work better than the 3/8”’air hose? Which nozzle is best, I have a 15 CFM nozzle and a 25 CFM nozzle for blasting??
I am running 1/2" from the compressor as that what the cabinet was set up for from the OEM. but inside that is a 3/8 air line off the gun. one gun is 1/8 bore ( apx 12 cfm) other looks like 5/16 apx 25-30 cfm works ok for me. size of bore on gun - depends on what you are doing most mine is small stuff. 24x48". Blast pots are on 1/2" all the way around. Ex father inlaw was running 1" - monument co.
I am using it mostly to clean rust and paint off 1-8” steel so which gun is better for that? 15 CFM or 25 CFM?
Bigger gun (bore ) wider pattern at the expense of using more air in volume and a bit more pressure , but depends on the media to a certain extent. blast pots put pressure on the media to help feed it, but cabinet type units are mostly suction feed of media. There are cabinet types that use pressure on the media to feed it( like a blast pot) FIL place big hopper for media when ran out you got the shovel out to reload from floor of the blast area. Reusing media is fine but there are times when that will cause blockages in the line from paint chips and other larger pieces of whatever than can clog things up . media has a finite life turns to fine dust after a lot of use or edges become so rounded that performance falls way off. Note: silica is a no no.
No on the lubricator. Especially with blast equipment on the same manifold. Maybe use a POU lubricator (in-line) for moderate tool usage but really, a couple drops in the inlet each day is plenty. Air hoses don't really need to be bigger than 3/8" unless we start talking about long (>50ft) runs or high demand tools. A 25ft 3/8" line will run most 1/2" and smaller impacts just fine. I have been working with industrial blasting equipment, cabinet type mostly, for 15+ years now. Sounds like chris has too. Aluminum oxide is some of the most aggressive media available. It'll knock rust and soot off burn pots, no problem. The harder the deposits, the more aggressively it will clean. Stuff like glass bead will often clean softer deposits well and not remove any base metal like AlO2 will. You can certainly use AlO2 but just be mindful of how aggressive you get with gun stand-off, pressure, media size, etc. 80 grit is pretty versatile for HD cleaning, and mean. Siphon blast guns tend to be air hogs vs pressure guns, but are pretty easy to setup to continuously recycle media from the bottom of the cabinet and often what's used for smaller systems where the air consumption difference isn't a game changer. For any given operating pressure, pressure blast guns will likely be more aggressive, but there's a little more hardware necessary to run them, and you'll have to stop and refill periodically. I'd probably fit a nozzle that won't run more that your compressor can handle at your blast pressure. Use the 90 psi number if you don't know yet. As far as reusing media goes, some cabinets have options for reclaimer systems to classify and continuously re-use media. They'll sort out any dust and worn media, and you just periodically dump the big chips out and add media as necessary. Probably overkill unless you are running the cabinet a lot, but just something to be aware of.
Just came across this great air coupler video that explains all the types and what they are used for!
