[ECCoatings]

I've recently switched to steel grit in my blasting room because I got tired of buying a ton of aluminum oxide every month.

WIth that said, I'm fairly new and working on a budget and have been using the old broom and shovel technique for my media recycling for now. As i'm learning, steel is very heavy and time consuming to recycle this way. I still consider myself fairly young at 38, but its still a back breaker all day.lol

Any suggestions on a DIY type reclaimer that I could build of have built for a reasonable amount of money. I've considered the Vacu-Lift sweep in recycler from Airblast but just can't justify $7500.00 plus freight to get it going.

It seems like a very simple concept but I'm sure you more experienced guys can help me before I waste money on costly mistakes.

Thanks for any help.

 

[ibsocal]

I recently visited a blast room where they dug a pit at the outside edge of the blast room, around 6' x 6' x 6' made a large custom funnel from sheet metal and laid a few metal screens above the funnel with the blast pot in the pit.they simply push the grit to the hole and let gravity and the screens fill the pot.cheap and easy fix no moving or mechanical parts required and a great low budget idea when I saw it for sure.

 

[ECCoatings]

Ibsocal, Great concept but unfortunately it won't work given my current set up. My blast room is inside a garage next to my powder coating shop and sits on concrete.

I'm sure my landlord wouldn't like that to much.lol Thanks tho

I'm thinkin something more along the lines of the Vaculift setup but something I could fab myself and save some cash.

 

[blastserv]

Great topic!!!

I am currently trying to catch up from my new move and shop setup but in the near future I am planning on a recycling system as well...

I like the elevator for the inexpensive method. Basically a small elevator that you have in a corner of the blast room. Shovel in that continually reloads a hopper that will sit fixed over your blast pot. There has been some brainstorming regarding this at my shop recently and we are still discussing. The biggest issue I see with this is I already vacuum up the media straight into my hopper and I really don't see a huge gain in effort saved if I still have to shovel and sweep.

For the larger scale...I like the complete floor funnel system. Saw cut the floor. Reform the walls and dig the floor down. Metal funnels throughout and a roll conveyor belt that runs the media to the end most convenient, then an elevator to lift to a bulk hopper.

 

[Betterblast]

What about cross contamination. What about choosing a grit size and particular media. What about grease and oil that is still present what about your still running diesel and compressor time while messing around to "save" money. What about you have five hours of good paying work to do and now you have stopped and are walking around with a shovel? Just throw in another bag. Blasting costs money. if the customer sees you recycle they won't think they should have to pay anything and you are doing twice the work to reclaim it. How can I charge for my expertise at choosing the right media and size when I just throw a cocktail of what the heck happened to be on the floor that day? I just don't get it.

 

[wesschaff]

Incorporate a magnet into your recycling,get a strong magnet and put an aluminum sheet in front of it when you pull the sheet away the clean grit falls off.A wheeled contraption of this process can be purchased,I used one in conjunction with a shot blaster I rented. It came with the blaster rental.

 

[Betterblast]

Just to say, that doesn't speak to any of my concerns.

 

[wesschaff]

Steel shot can re recycled up to 100 times, it costs $.80 a pound you just don,t throw in another bag!On prior posts I have shown a recycler that works for small quantities if anyone is interested I have plans that can be used to fabricate a larger one. I built and used a system like this that was actually used to recycle grit on a large project removing lead paint.

 

[Pytheas Group]

What about cross contamination. What about choosing a grit size and particular media. What about grease and oil that is still present what about your still running diesel and compressor time while messing around to "save" money. What about you have five hours of good paying work to do and now you have stopped and are walking around with a shovel? Just throw in another bag. Blasting costs money. if the customer sees you recycle they won't think they should have to pay anything and you are doing twice the work to reclaim it. How can I charge for my expertise at choosing the right media and size when I just throw a cocktail of what the heck happened to be on the floor that day? I just don't get it.

I have to say that this is very much in line with my own thinking! I always wonder just how clean steel shot and grit can be after 100 uses even with the best recycling system.

 

[painter213]

That's easy. Go to SSPC AB2 for metallic abrasive cleanliness and if it passes then it's good. If it fails then it's rejected. This is why we have industry standards to use.

 

[Betterblast]

Well Wess, I meant to throw in another bag of something reasonably priced. Most grit is about .18 per pound or about $9.00 a bag. With that cheaper cost you get to have fresh clean professional media every time and you get to choose a grit size and type that works best for the project. I just completed a Porshe body minus the doors and hood with about eight bags of fresh new grit. That's under a hundred bucks for a job worth over a thousand. What's the problem we are trying to solve? Just throw in another bag.

 

[kipkirol]

Steel shot can re recycled up to 100 times, it costs $.80 a pound you just don,t throw in another bag!On prior posts I have shown a recycler that works for small quantities if anyone is interested I have plans that can be used to fabricate a larger one. I built and used a system like this that was actually used to recycle grit on a large project removing lead paint.

I am interested in these plans.

I am building a new stationary sandblaster and have budget constraints for the media reclaimer.

Thanks

 

[Sand Pot]

Where are you located? I have a used Clemco media recycle system that I bought before I realized it is designed to work with dense media which is not what I blast with. It has a floor pan, a bucket elevator, a drum separator, a dust extraction unit and a blast pot. Its the real deal, roughly $30k new, needs some refurbishment and assy but easily accomplished.

 

[kipkirol]

Where are you located? I have a used Clemco media recycle system that I bought before I realized it is designed to work with dense media which is not what I blast with. It has a floor pan, a bucket elevator, a drum separator, a dust extraction unit and a blast pot. Its the real deal, roughly $30k new, needs some refurbishment and assy but easily accomplished.

Thanks for the offer but unfortunately that unit is to big for the space and out of our price range. I am looking to buy or build something closer to this scope - S ANDBLAST DUST COLLECTOR 400-PT RECLAIM D/C http://www.sandblasting.com/dust_collectors.php

 

[Sand Pot]

That is a reclaimer for a big cabinet blaster which must be what you are building? I thought you were setting up a blast room which is what my system is designed for.

 

[kipkirol]

That is a reclaimer for a big cabinet blaster which must be what you are building? I thought you were setting up a blast room which is what my system is designed for.

It is actually a small cabinet 24"x24" with 2 nozzles mounted inside. My pressure pot is mounted on a 10' stand next to the cabinet. I just need to get media from the bottom of cabinet to top of pressure pot.

 

[MasterBlaster]

90% of what I blast with is Garnet from GMA Garnet.

GMA has a recycling program where they'll take your used garnet at no charge... clean it and repackage it.

It's really cut back on my waste fees and garnet only cost a little more than glass does per pound.

Just about all my waste goes back to GMA

 

[emerson biggens]

Wesschaff,

Would you share your plans with us?

EB

 

[emerson biggens]

Sand Pot,

Do you still have this system for sale?