The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest 2 hours with a syphon blaster

Yea, yea, I know you guys are probably sick to death hearing me go on about my cheap old, $99 syphon blaster but here's a PICTURE of what I was able to blast today in two hours... 14 pieces.

In those two hours I did not have a single clog or any other problem that caused me to stop work... and the window trim and seat frame skirts are blasted inside and out. I know the skirts aren't completely clean but I have a lot of metal work to do on them and I only wanted the paint off.

I'm not doing this to say that I'm some hot shot or something, I'm doing it to encourage folks like me who don't have a ton of money to drop on tools. When it comes to blasting you can get excellent results with a syphon blaster.

And because you're not going to be hosing your abrasive into the next county you'll be able to recycle about 80% if you PLAN AHEAD.

As nasty as that looks, most of the grit is on the tarp and in about a half hour I had everything swept up, sifted, tools put away and car port blown clean.

Best hundred bucks I've spent.

Well I for one want to hear about it Woody. If that's a good as you say it is I'll drop the hundred bucks and try one. Hell I’ve already dropped a hundred in trying to get guns that will last mor than an hour with out needing rebuilding. Where did you say ya got that, Tractor Supply?? And was there an model number on it??

You know the links that you put up are Verboten don't you, (see below.) Can't get through to see the pics this time. And you’re always so good about that!
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

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Wow 2 hours without a clog!...no wonder you got so much done. I've been having bad luck with the black diamond media lately. My nozzle keeps clogging with tiny bits of wire that made it through the screening process. Hopefully it's just a bad batch, because I sure haven't been making progress like you have been. Looks good!

I had lots of problems with cloging with my pressure pot, when I used Black Magic, probably the same thing. Most of that went away when this time when I used silica sand.
But what a mess sand every where like I said in a previous post.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny, Thanks for the heads up on the pix... I tried to do something different but it didn't work. They should work now.

As for the blasting unit it's from TS... THIS ONE the only syphon one they sell.

Tks, I'll take a look. We have quite a few Blain's Farm & Fleet stores in the area but only on TS and that's 40 miles away.
I'll have to give them a call and see if they still stock them.

I'm sure glad I did most of my tool shopping years ago. With the cost of everything escalating like it is, steel, rather all metals, oil and it's products, which is everything we use, transportation and now food begining to make it's move I just couldn't afford to equip a shop now days. I don't envy the task that the kids of to day have ahead of them. It's gonna be a lot rougher than we ever had it. How did I get off on that rant???

Well I guess most of my tool buying is over and it will just be an occasional item like a syphon blaster from here on in.

Having the ability to blast a part when ever you want to is a real asset to a high quaility and lasting restoration job. If I ever find a buyer for my Pitts Special I'm going to add a two post lift, a good 25+ cubic foot compressor and a good big blast cabinet to the barn. Ya see, I'm already planing the next truck that I'm gonna do. And the next one might just be a show piece if I learn my lessons well on this one.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Just looked at your pictures Woodsman. Two hours huh! I've spent many an hour and I mean many, with my hands poking through the gloves in blasting cabinets and I'm telling you this, I seriously don't think I could do that pile of stuff in two hours in a good blasting cabinet, and I’ve had the privilege of using some pretty good ones.

I still don’t see why a siphon would be any better than a pressure pot but first thing in the morning I’m gonna give TS a call and if they have one in stock I’m gonna blow this months allowance and try one. I’ve had a little spray gun size Sears siphon blaster for years and it wasn’t much more than a toy, never could get anything clean with it and every couple of min I was refilling the cup.
Not sure just how long my sears upright is gonna hold out cuz blasting keeps it running continuously.
Denny G

In all fairness those parts weren't buried under a lot of rust... some were but others not. I see on the TS website they specify the Black Diamond for the syphon blaster and that's what I use.

If you notice in the PICTURE of the carport, there is a kitchen trash can on a hand cart. I fill the blaster and that trash can with abrasive and when the blaster runs dry I just scoop abrasive from the trash can. With that arrangement I can get 3 loads of abrasive through my gun without stopping and that's all I can do in one day.

You will also notice a white box looking thing on top of the trash can. That is a simple sifter made from wood scraps and a window screen that fits on top of the trash can. When it comes time to clean up I sweep the abrasive into a dust pan and sift it through the screen and fill the blaster and can. Like I said, I'm recycling about 80% of my grit.

I have a Kobalt 60 gallon compressor (3.7 Running HP, 11.5 SCFM @ 90 PSI) and it does get a little down time as I work... it probably runs 70% of the time I'm blasting but I'm only running 80psi to take some strain off the compressor.

I've never used a pressurized blasting pot so I can't compare. I'm sure it has to be much more powerful than the syphon type but as you can see... considering the trouble free operation of the syphon, you're probably making more progress in the long run.

Woody,

I appreciate you sharing your experience. I plan to try a siphon blaster on my long parts before I'd buy a huge scat blast cabinet. If it works well and the neighbors don't fuss, then I'll get a smaller cabinet.

Woody,

Thanx for the tip! I'll probably hit TS Monday. If this thing is half as good as the PaintEater is it'll get a lot of use here. What kind of a dryer are you using on your compressor? Mine is 30+ years old and needs to be replaced.

Denny, your tool cost rant is on the money! I would be SOL without some of the tools that I purchased years ago. $100 doesn't buy much in tools today, so we can all thank Woody for taking the risks and trying stuff!

Best wishes,

Les

Well I taint tried it, but I blew my allowance Friday on that little bucket, hose and gun set up over at the Tractor Supply. Eastwood’s price was $140, Tractor Supply’s price is $100. It’s the same brand and model number also. Now, I also have $40 in gas to drive out and pick it up but I guess I’m still a couple of bucks ahead.
I still don’t see how this is gonna do a better job than the pressure blaster, but I’m willing to give it a try. Wish I could have borrowed one to try before I spent my monthly allowance. I got a half dozen other irons in the fire right now so it might be a couple of weeks before I can try it out on anything.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny, if you had only ask

I have a gravity feed blaster that I purchased from Eastwood in 2005 and have never used it....never! My neighbor used it to blast one car fender and I did not watch him do it. I would suspect how well it works depends on the nozzle size and pressure.
I may end up selling my gravity AND my pressurized blaster. If it doesn't fit in the blasting cabinet it goes somewhere else!

I"m done blasting guys. To old, to nasty and to hot plus you can spend some money in buying the sand/media.

I was very specific in saying that I have never used a pressure blaster and can't compare. There is no doubt that a pressure blaster will cut through deep rust and undercoating faster simply because the abrasive is being sprayed at a higher velocity... that should be common sense.

I made it very clear that I have had NO clogging or maintenance issues with my unit and can blast continuously for hours without stopping and therefore I can get more stuff done... and you saw the stack of parts I was able to do in a couple hours.

I stand by what I said. My unit is maintenance free, does not clog and represents what I consider to be an outstanding VALUE for the money. It is not "perfect" nor does it perform miracles. If you are expecting it to be "better" in every respect, and intend to take me to task for things I never said you do me an injustice.

Last week on "Trucks" or one of the other programs they were soda blasting and using water to keep the dust down. They said that the soda leaves a coating that prevents flash rusting. If that's true, a media injector for a pressure washer should work great.

Whooo Woody, step back a have a cool one. You know me by now, I'm never flameing or putting any of you guys down. I taint takin' ya to task.
Just saying that I have some doubts, however I'm willing to try anything that I taint tried before. Just about anything has to be less trouble than the pressure blaster that I have. Ya got a point there, I spend half my time clearing clogs and repairing guns.
Denny G

Except electrolysis!

I have a crappy siphon blaster and I borrowed my father in laws pressure blaster. The pressure pot made a big difference in the quality of the blast, but again the siphon blaster was cheap. We get about 3 weeks out of the entire year that you can actually use a blaster with out the moisture becoming an issue, even using some very nice air dryers and filters. Ahh, thats the great Pacific North West though!

Jeff

Les, Oh yea, that Wagner Paint Eater... another odd-ball tool that I get a lot of use out of. Stripped two fenders and a hood down to bare metal with one disk.

I don't have any kind of air dryer on my compressor other than one of those simple regulator/separator things. I'm surprised myself that I don't have water problems... but I don't and it gets pretty darned humid around here.

I think another benefit of the syphon is that the only place the media comes in contact with the compressor air is at the gun so if there's moisture in the air it just gets mixed with the media in the blast and keeps moving whereas moist air inside a pressure pot is going to clump the media and cause a clog? I dunno, but it just works.

I'll bet you do have one h#&& of a time with moisture Jeff, I'm surprised Woody doesn't run into the same problem down there south of the Mason Dixon. Humidity is the worst up here in July and Aug so if I'm gonna do any blasting with my setup it really needs to be in the spring and fall.
Running rubber airlines out to my pressure pot brought a bunch of water out with it. The separator at the tank doesn't pull hardly any out and the little one at the pot takes a lot out but a bunch gets through. Since I'm mixing it with the sand at two points there are to opportunities for the sand to get wet. The worst is inside the tank. The only way to clear that is to drain the tank of all its sand and that can take hours to clear. It's bad enough to have to pull the hose and clear a clog at the mixing tee. But that gets plugged even when it's dry and you leave it set for a couple of minutes while you turn parts over. The sand keeps trying to fill the hose and when you pull the trigger for flow there is too much of a load to blow it through and your back to removing the hose to clear it.
Even though it doesn't have the impact of a pressure blaster, one positive for a siphon blaster is that it doesn't see any air till it hits the gun it self. I was thinking of this when we first started discussing these and that was one of the reasons I decided to pick one up. Another advantage is the trigger, trying to stop the air/sand mixture on all of the guns that I have tried has them all worn out in an hour or so. The siphon trigger never sees any sand so ya pretty much can’t wear it out. So like Woody was saying, your spending all of your time blasting rather than fixing problems.
I really think Alvin has the right combination, i.e., blast cabinet for parts that will go in and those to big to fit go out to the local sandblaster. Maybe some day I will be able to swing a good cabinet and compressor to keep up with it. Oh yes, and don't forget a good dryer and those steel airlines.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Sorry Woody, looks like we doubled up on our ideas this mornin', must have sat down at the confuser at the same time. I didn't think any of you old dudes got up before noon so I would have time to get a reply posted. "That's a joke son, I say that's a joke!!"

Everywhere I have ever worked moisture has been a problem with compressed air. I ran CMM's in an inspection department for a decade and we had to have absolutely pristine air for the air bearing on them. We had refrigerated air driers that really kept the air clean but they are real pricey, especially one that will handle the kind of volume that a blaster requires. They're not for the average do-it-your selfer.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Kinda' hard to get any sleep around here with two cats walking around on your chest ,