Galen I. Lutz wrote:
> I notice there are at least two types
> of "buckets": one is open and the media is propelled by a siphon action at
> the gun (like the blast cabinet). The other seems to be a pressurized
> bucket that I assume propells the media by pressure from the bucket.
>
> What are the pro's and con's of these two systems? Is my assessment of the
> pressurized system correct?
Galen,
You are right on target. The "open bucket" is a simple siphon feed just
like your cabinet's gun. The other type pressurizes the tank and then
forces the sand and air out together. The pressure blasters are faster,
use less material (a big plus when blasting out in the open where you
cannot recycle the material), and use less air. I think you'll find
there really is no comparison between the two types.
The down side of the pressure blasters is that, depending on the size of
the tank, you periodically need to stop and refill the tank--not a big
deal (just turn off the feed valve, blow off the pressure in the tank,
pour another 100 pounds of material in the tank, and reopen the feed
valve. For a full restoration like yours, you'll want a blaster that
hold at least 70-80 pounds of material. I find that by the time I need
to refill the tank, I am ready to take off the hood and respirator
anyway (gets pretty warm in there).
Eastwood offers several:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/
Tip Tools specializes in them:
http://www.tiptools.com/
I bought one of Tip's "38 Specials" and am very pleased with both it and
the company--they are very helpful.
doug
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