My 30 gallon 3hp is not cutting it. I cant get the blaster to take off much rust. Plus it runs out of air in 1 min. Do I need to go right up to a 80 gallon two stage compressor? Any reccomendations would help. When I had a pot blaster I would put my 30 gallon and my 60 gallon and tie them both into the pot blaster. I think an 80gallon 2 stage would outperform the both of them together.

Thanks,

What's the CFM requirement of the blast cabinet you have???

Pretty big difference between cabinet setups out there... some you can blast an entire axle at once some barely fit a ring and pinion :D

Do I need to go right up to a 80 gallon two stage compressor?

Are you gonna do much blasting? If so, then YES.
Also you need something to make sure you are getting dry air.
I have an 80 gallon 2 stage that I use with my blast cabinet, and when I get to doing a bunch of parts, even it gets more than a little warm trying to keep up.

FYI, I have the HF cabinet:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93608

I also run my air through copper lines in the shop, so it tends to dry it out/cool it fairly well.

Are you gonna do much blasting? If so, then YES.
Also you need something to make sure you are getting dry air.
I have an 80 gallon 2 stage that I use with my blast cabinet, and when I get to doing a bunch of parts, even it gets more than a little warm trying to keep up.

FYI, I have the HF cabinet:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93608

I also run my air through copper lines in the shop, so it tends to dry it out/cool it fairly well.

I have a very similar cabinet as yours. Does the 80 gallon 2 stage take off rust? I have no problem taking small breaks between parts but right now I cant get my current compressor to take off much of the rust.

What media are you using?

I think its fine sand.

I have a very similar cabinet as yours. Does the 80 gallon 2 stage take off rust? I have no problem taking small breaks between parts but right now I cant get my current compressor to take off much of the rust.

I have no problems with rust... My lates project is a 1940 vintage bandsaw, not problems with rust removal...

I use pool-filter sand in mine, it's cheap, I can get it at Home Depot, but I also don't do much that's delicate. It's pretty aggressive, but it's cheap. You also need to be REAL careful you aren't breathing the unfiltered air (silicosis sp?), I run my shop-vac with a drywall filter on it. I also typically run 100+ PSI on the blaster it takes it off fast.

I've previously also had good luck with aluminum oxide and black beauty from northern
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200136674_200136674

Another item you may be having issues with is not getting enough media up the gun, occasionally I will take the feed hose off mine and shoot it back down the hose into the sand to break clogs. This needs to be done more often as more moisture is present in the air. Drain your compressor every 10-15 minutes worth of run time too when blasting.

Another item you may be having issues with is not getting enough media up the gun, occasionally I will take the feed hose off mine and shoot it back down the hose into the sand to break clogs. This needs to be done more often as more moisture is present in the air. Drain your compressor every 10-15 minutes worth of run time too when blasting.

Its easier iffen ya just put your thumb over the nozzle, toggle the air on and blow back thru the nozzle that way than taking everything apart. The catch is that the hose clamps need to be tight to do it. ;)

Another issue is not having the right diameter nozzle/air feed in the gun for the grain size. I ended up swapping out the HF gun on the cabinet we have at work with a more industrial type from McMaster-Carr that uses a larger replaceable nozzle. Ya need a bit more scfm but it gets the job done faster.

D.

Ok so I did a little maintenance and things are much better. I drained the tank, fixed some slow leaks, cleaned out the gun, put new sand in, and changed tips to a "5". It is much better now! It could stand to be a little stronger but it definatly is taking of the rust now. I can go about 1 - 2 min. with my 3hp 30gallon compressor before it gets weak. In 10 min or so I can get a small part done.

I think instead of running out and dumping a fortune on a new large compressor that I really dont use that much I will keep my eye out on Craigslist.:)