The blast spray pattern is irregular
To avoid serious injury follow all warnings and instructions in the manual. Wear appropriate personal protective equipment.
- Use correct abrasive.
- There is no fixed formula for what works best in each application. The information below works best for the majority of the time. From thsi initial setting, adjustments can be made up or down to get the fastest removal rates without damage to the surface.
- Normal settings are:
- 110 psi (7.5 Bar, 0.75 MPa) initial pot setting.
- Less than 1/2 turn open metering valve.
- Blasting pressure at 80 psi (5.5 Bar, 0.55 MPa)
- For applications requiring higher performance, use high-performance abrasive (the heavieast mass @ 80 grit) such as Garnet, and the higheset pressures the system can support.
- The initial pot pressure should always be 30 psi (2 Bar, 0.2 MPa) above the intended blast pressure.
- Gradually make adjustments to meet the specific requirements for each application. Make adjustments (see DataTrak controls in manual) to achieve 7-10 cycles per minute to be the most efficient (cut at the fastest rate while using the least amount of abrasive). Blasting pressures can range between 30-120 psi max (2 Bar, 0.2 MPa-8.2 Bar, 0.82 MPa).
- Unlike conventional sandblasting, higher pressures do not necessarily mean better cleaning. Nozzle distnace and the angle to the surface has an effect of performance, as does the blast pressure. Choice of abrasive also has a great effect. High- performance abrasive produces the best performance and can save enough time to make up the difference in cost.
- Blasting with 150 ft (45 m) or more blast hose requires the use of an electric blast control.
- Adjustment in blast pressure requires an adjustment of the abrasive metering valve.
- See manual for more details.
- Close the abrasive ball valve.
- Turn the selector valve to RINSE.
- Open the dump valve slowly to relieve the water pressure in the pot.
- Be prepared to capture the water that will be drained from the pot. All disposals must comply with national, state and local regulations.
- After all of the pressure in the pot has been relieved, engage the pop-up pun by compressing the spring and turned the handle 90 degrees to hold the pop-up in the open position.
- Add the abrasive (minimum four bags, maximum ten 50lb (23kg) bags of high-mass abrasive or eight 50lb (23 kg) bags of low-mass abrasive) and continue the setup procedures.
- More water may need to be drained from the pot to allow additional abrasive to be added.
- Perform the pressure relief procedure in the manual.
- Reset pot pressure following the setup procedure in the manual.
- Make sure the Auto-Vent is working.
- Perform the Auto-Vent cleaning procedure.
- Try to push and quickly release the valve with your finger. If that does not cause the valve to seal, open the dump valve to release all of the pressure in the pot.
- Open the dump valve to relieve pot pressure. Open the pop-up and drain the pot until the water level is below the pop-up.
- Turn the selector valve to RINSE.
- Use the rinse hose to force water backwards into the valve stem.
- If the previous steps fail to resolve the issue, replace the whole valve assembly.
- Perform the diaphragm flush procedure.
- Operate the unit in WASH until all abrasive clears from the blast hose.
- Close the abrasive ball valve, then turn the selector valve to RINSE. Blast until the hose is clear of all abrasive and water.
- Disconnect the quick coupling at the abrasive ball valve (not at the bottom of the pot).
- Turn the selector valve to WASH. Remain in WASH until all debris is clear. Remove the grommet in the quick coupler.
- Make sure nothing is in the path of the open quick coupler, then engage the blast control switch briefly and several times.
- High flow air should escape though the cam-lock coupling. If this does not occur, the diaphragm valve is malfunctioning. Replace entire diaphragm canister.
- DO NOT disassemble the canister.
- Hold the male end of the quick coupler up to the water coming from the cam-lock end of the coupler. Clean off any dirt or abrasive.
- Turn the selector valve to RINSE to stop the flow of water.
- Re-insert the grommet into its interal grooce instide the cam-lock.
- Reconnect the quick coupler. If properly cleaned and connected, there should be no leaks at the coupler during operation.
- If flushing does not solve the problem repair the diaphragm valve.
- Perform the pressure relief procedure in the manual.
- Apply more than 80 psi (5.5 Bar, 0.55 MPa) air pressure to the regulator inlet to cause the piston to retract.
- Loosen all 4 Allen-head cap-bolts evenly and then remove them completely while supporting the canister of the diaphragm valve.
- DO NOT disassemble the canister.
- Replace the diaphragm (natural rubber compound) and hand-tighten it (only as far as necessary) to establish the alignment of the canister.
- There are one or two shims between the diaphragm and the actuator. Keep the shims and reuse them (they do not come with the replacement diaphragm). Do not cause any pre-load or torque on the diaphragm by over-tightening it in a misaligned position.
- Insert all 4 Allen-head cap-bolts and hand-tighten.
- Tighten the cap-bolts in an alternating pattern (Top Left, Bottom Right, Top Right, Bottom Left) to 80 in/lbs (9 N*m). This will cause a slight bulge in the diaphragm between the canister and the stainless steel casting.
- Relieve the pressure applied in step 2.
- Test and confirm that the unit is working properly.
- This can be done using only water to charge the equipment, there is no need to use abrasive for this test.
- Make sure the ball valve is closed, then disconnect the cam-lock coupler.
- Open the abrasive ball valve slightly and make sure abrasive is flowing from the abrasive hose.
- If not, follow shut down procedure in manual.
- Thoroughly flush the put and the media hose after draining media and water.