Sandblast Cabinet Visibility Problems & Solutions – A Complete Guide

A common problem that people experience when using a sandblast cabinet is overcoming visibility problems while using their blast cabinet. Even with a good light installed they may still not be able to see well inside of their blast cabinet. If it seems like blast media is excessively present in your cabinet while blasting you need to consider your blast cabinets ventilation to see what is causing your sandblast cabinet to have such reduced visibility while blasting. This article will cover practical steps you can take to evaluate your blast cabinets ventilation to see if you can make adjustments to better address the ventilation issues or if you may need to consider a different blast cabinet dust collector to better address your visibility issues.

Step 1 – Adjust the air flow Damper on Your Blast Cabinet

If your blast cabinet has a damper that is able to be opened or closed and your visibility is poor while you are using the sandblast cabinet you should check the air flow baffle. For maximum visibility the air flow baffle should be completely open which would allow for the most air flow through your blast cabinet.

Step 2 – Ensure Your Seals and Blast Cabinet Gaskets are not excessively Worn

The seals that line your blast cabinet window, doors, and openings are also an important factor that determines how well your blast cabinet dust collector will function. If the seals for any of these areas are worn they can cause air to flow in around the openings of the cabinet which can negatively impact the removal of dust from your blast cabinet, replacing the seals around the cabinet openings can help restore dust collection to the original quality and eliminate issues with poor visibility in your sandblast cabinet

Step 3 – If you have a blast cabinet dust collector ensure it is working well

If you have a true sandblast cabinet dust collector you will also want to check that it is properly pulling. A dust collector places negative pressure on your blast cabinet and you should be able to verify the proper negative pressure in inches of water column that your blast cabinet is designed to operate at. To do this you need a slack tube manometer that will allow you to measure negative pressure within your blast cabinet dust collector hose both from the cabinet to the blast media recovery unit and to the actual dust collector. If either of these hoses do not register proper negative draw from them you want to verify if they are kinked which could reduce air flow, if they are not you will need to review your sandblast cabinet dust collector to see if it is functioning properly.

Step 4 – Ensure your Sandblast Cabinet Dust Collector Cartridge is ok

A final area to check if your collector seems to be performing properly among the other factors mentioned is the condition of your blast cabinet dust collector cartridge. If your collector cartridge is very old or looks loaded down with dust it may be that the collector cartridge needs replaced.

If none of the suggestions mentioned help with your sandblast cabinet visibility here’s your next steps

If you try all of these tips and still notice that your blast cabinet has poor visibility you may need to consider the type of collector you have with your blast cabinet. There are a variety of options for blast cabinet dust collectors. A higher CFM dust collector will do better at keeping the interior of your blast cabinet easily visible. An additional option that can be important is whether or not the blast cabinet dust collector will pulse or be manually cleaned. For higher production an automatic pulse cabinet will be better able to handle the cabinet dust. Ultimately if you’re having trouble getting the right visibility in your blast cabinet you may need to even consider running it through a few cabinets with different dust collector sizes and types to ensure that a potentially upgraded blast cabinet dust collector will properly handle the dust that is created in your sandblast cabinet or talk with a blast cabinet company familiar with dust levels created with various blast applications. Either way you want to ensure that a collector you may consider will be properly able to handle the dust volume that your generating. If you need additional help with deciding on a dust collector to help with visibility in your blast cabinet you can contact us today.