Would anyone be available to train me on the media blaster sometime this week?
Do you need specific guidance?
The vapor hone doesn’t need training though there are instructions on the side of the unit.
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I’ve used it successfully several times with only minimal information. Here is what I know:
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The power switch it external to the cabinet (twist black plastic) on the upper left hand side of the unit. It turns the internal light on so you can see what you are doing (sort of).
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The unit must have air pressure. The gauge to see what the PSI is on the top left external portion of the unit. When I’ve used it, it has been around 100 PSI. One time, there was zero psi and that because there is a shut off valve on the wall behind the unit (as you stand at the unit). It is a small black plastic shut off valve, if off turn it on. The second time I used it, the shut off valve was on, but still zero psi and that’s because the air hose was unplugged from the left side (front) of the unit.
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Open the cabinet door on the right side, the latch is on the front right side of the unit. Place whatever you are going to spray inside the unit and then latch the door shut. The unit tends to leak, more on that in a minute.
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There is a foot pedal that activates the air, water, and blasting material (aluminum oxide I believe). Insert your hands into the rubber gloves and look inside the unit, you will see two hoses. One of the hoses looks like a garden hose and it kind of is. I use it after I blast something to clean off the material, I also use it after I’m done to hose off the inside of the cabinet (walls, door, and sight glass) so that it is clean for the next user.
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The second hose has a large brass fitting and has two rubber hoses connected to it, one I assume is for the air and the other is for the water and the abrasive material. I use the rubber gloves to hold the part that I am blasting and then use my other hand to grasp the brass nozzle and using the foot pedal start to clean the item. You should know that it is loud and the interior of the cabinet gets wet/dusty and sometime hard to see. When it gets to the point that I can’t see, I will stop blasting and use the gloves and/or the garden hose to clean the sight glass. Be careful not to crimp the hoses by holding them to close to the front of the unit, if you do you may cut off either the air or the water and the unit will not blast.
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It doesn’t take much time to blast most items. Don’t bring oily or greasy items into the cabinet, its is not a de-greaser, use the parts washer in automotive for items that need cleaned, but even then try to get most of the mess off prior to washing them. I’ve blasted some complicated shaped parts and sometimes it takes a time or two to get into all the nooks and crannies, but generally the items are looking like new after a minute or two of blasting.
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I mentioned that the cabinet leaks. It leaks water onto the floor and usually there is a mop and bucket right behind where you stand. Use the mop to clean the floor around the door and where the foot pedal is located so that no one slips, there is usually a wet floor sign around too. Where you open the cabinet door there is a trough a few inches wide that collects both water and the abrasive material. When I see a pile of the material, I just grab handfuls of it and put it back in the cabinet and then use the garden hose to put it back into circulation.
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Don’t forget to clean the inside of the cabinet and sight glass with the garden hose when done, mop the floor and turn off the air valve on the wall. That’s about it, it sounds more imposing that it really is. This machine is amazing and I have plans for more items to be cleaned soon. If you have any follow up questions, feel free to ask.
Bob
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Pretty good summary. If it seems to be blowing just water with little abrasive, block the nozzle with your gloved hand and step on the foot pedal for a few seconds and that will clear the abrasive hose.
If the pump sounds frantic it is low on water, check the lower tank and add water.
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