Basic Blasting Cabinet Set Up?

[Bill Shields]

put a long copper coil in a trash can full of cool water....if the coil has fins -> that is nice also. Does not have to be fancy - just a lot of length and a lot of water - the larger the diameter the better....

at the discharge end - (coming out of the water) -> put in a trap (I like a small air tank....) -> where the temperature AND VELOCITY will drop.

the trick is that you need to get the air temperature AND VELOCITY down to a point where the water will 'fall out'. high velocity / high temp air just carries the water with it -> into the blasting cabinet.

a small air 'tank' at the discharge makes a nice trap -> air / water in at one end -> air out at the opposite (top).

water drain somewhere to let it out...

better yet - figure out a way to fill the tank with stainless steel wool.....

[Harold_V]

Thoughts?

I suspect that would work well enough. Bottom line is that velocity, as Bill mentioned, is a key point in extracting moisture. Propel the air fast enough and fluid will simply follow the air. It need not be vapor.

The idea of using a fan is reasonable, as that transfers heat away from the proximity of the source.

If you've ever operated a water still, you quickly come to realize that water vapor will condense at elevated temperatures. Velocity in a still is exceedingly low, so in spite of the fact that the condenser may operate near the boiling point, the still still functions. I had such a still until the unique, now obsolete, heating coil failed. It was used to produce distilled water for use in parting silver.

H

[Bill Shields]

I made 190 proof white lightening in mine...

[Harold_V]

I made 190 proof white lightening in mine...

Chuckle!
Sounds good, but I'd not make mention publicly. The law is quite clear on the need for a federal license to distill alcohol, even when it's not for human consumption. The revenuers enjoy busting people like that.

Well done, Bill. Bet it was delicious!

H

[Bill Shields]

In Saudi Arabia we ran stills all the time.

Sometimes they were charged with crude oil ... frequently with mash of various pedigrees.

What did anyone (with half a brain) in the commissary system think that a person would be doing with 100# bags of bulk sugar?

Baking cakes?

After all -> what is a refinery -> but a big still?

Sure...it was illegal there also...but as long as we kept the oil flowing and did not sell the stuff to the indigenous population...the police generally turned a blind eye.

[rmac]

As long as we're straying off topic, here's the early 60s version of rmac with a still for purifying water to use in a Jensen steam engine model . Note the proprietary fitting between the condenser and the boiler. I'm pretty sure that was a piece of broom handle with a hole through the middle. I still have the steam engine, but (alas) not the still.

-- Russell Mac

[Harold_V]

What did anyone (with half a brain) in the commissary system think that a person would be doing with 100# bags of bulk sugar?

Simple. And it makes sense. They like their coffee sweet.

H

[RSG]

...the police generally turned a blind eye.

LOL, no doubt after a few glass's of your screech

[Greg_Lewis]

Back to the original question, in addition to enough dry air, I replaced the pickup tube with one of these. Much better.

[Harold_V]

Blink! Blink!
Help me out here, Greg. How does it work? I've never encountered anything like it in a blast cabinet.

H

[Bill Shields]

Same question. I use a pickup tube and reasonably happy with it

[RSG]

Looks like you got yourself a bottom fed system, wonderful addition Greg! I have one from Tacoma Co. You'll be happy with its metering capability. I can run as little as two cups of media in the system and it cycles perfectly, and pressured as low as 5 psi to get beautiful even finishes on aluminium parts using that technology.

The beauty of that bottom feed system is as the media impinges and degrades you aren't throwing pounds of it away that may still have some viability but too loaded with broken spheres, which as you know changes the profile on the finish.

Blasting aluminium for anodising is very sensitive to issues like cross blasting or directional changes. Anodising heightens these flaws but with that bottom feed system it really helps mitigate those problems.