habu68 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Has anyone here used dry ice as a sandblast medium? will it remove scale? As i understand it the friction of the blast causes an explosive sublimation (changing from a solid to a gas) that is a very effective blasting medium. without the clean up of sand. I have found a source for the pellets and understand that they need to be used quickly. Questions Safety issues. effectiveness Other input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Patrick Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I know they use dry ice in the printing industry. They clean engraved rollers with it. It won't mar the delicate surface of the roller. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Yes it is used for cleaning the outside of buildings. Its not that cheap around here though, not sure what it would do on metal in particular. I think you would have to take in to consideration it will displace the oxygen with co2 so you couldn't use it inside a small area without good ventilation. Other than that I would be a cool setup to have I bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 The used quickly I am not sure about a lump of it hangs around for a while, but overnight in a freezer it will dissapear, its about -100 F so you need to be a bit careful handling it. Also don't put it in a sealed container it will expand and blow up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J W Bennett Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 We have had a specialty company come in to the plant were I work to Dry Ice Blast a couple of printing presses for us. There's no mess and no medium to have to deal with. The only clean up is the ink chips that are removed. But thats all that company does and they made it look easy, I would imagine the initial investment is probably pretty steep. And a small setup would be cost prohibitive but I maybe wrong I have never priced such equipment. But back to the original question. Yes it does a really nice job. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habu68 Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Is the equipment specialized? I was under the impression that the pellets could be shot through normal sand blasting equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtforge Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I worked at a place that made the head liners for mini vans and cars. We unrolled fiberglass between large heated molds. We looked at buying a co2 pellet sandblaster system. Very expensive. They would convert co2 into dry ice pellets and use it like a sand blaster. A lot of equipment that sounded like a jet engine. Did a great job with no sand to clean up but we went back to the old way due to the cost. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habu68 Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 so the equipment included co2 converters as well as the blasting equipment. I thought you could buy the pellets in bagged form and shoot from regular equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Our maintainence departement uses a dry ice blaster to clean equipment and they love it. It seems to be designed as a cleaning tool to remove grease etc but it does not appear to have the abrasive qualities needed to remove scale. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sstreckfuss Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 While dry ice blasting might be cost prohbitive to get into I've been readin about Bicarbonate of Soda blasting, cleans up with a garden hose...it might do what you need plus less cleanup than glass bead...Heres a link to eastwoods setup... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Czar Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Heres a link to eastwoods setup...Eastwood Co. - ALC Pressure Blaster 300 Pound @#@$#%$$#@$#$#!!~!!!! I would be exceptionally cautious before purchasing that particular blaster, the above model (300lb) is the cantankerous temperamental beast from west xxxx I get to deal with at least a few hours (if not days) each week. The compressed air to run it is formidable, the pneumatic valves it shipped with are not, where not, and never will be rated for an abrasive, the valve replacement gaskets cost a small fortune ($250). I cant categorically state that blaster is still using those valves, but if it is save yourself the trouble.!!!!!!!! (I feel better now ) We are looking at replacing our valves with a real abrasive gate as far as the soda blasting, seems many blasters are available, and it sounds interesting, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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