Safety first...

[Beauford]

I need better gloves. Hose clamp let loose on blaster but tank is looking stellar.

[Guest]

Also, try to not blow yourself up! :
Blasting creates static electricity and sparks.
I know a guy who was blasting an old Model A tank with no discernible fumes and it went ka-whomff !
Then it looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
No one was hurt, but the tank was ruined.

[Mitch]

Also, try to not blow yourself up! :
Blasting creates static electricity and sparks.
I know a guy who was blasting an old Model A tank with no discernible fumes and it went ka-whomff !
Then it looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
No one was hurt, but the tank was ruined.

what's the best way to stop static electricity in a blast cabinet?

I believe you can connect a ground strap from the blaster nozzle to the part and to ground, and that should work.
But don't quote me on that.

[Beauford]

Gas hasn't been in this tank in 60+ years. Next is cleaning the inside.

Same was true for the tank I was describing.
I sold it to him.
It had been empty for more than 30 years and had no trace of fumes, but it still 'exploded'
Beware!

[Beauford]

WOW....did he have the top on? Just wondering how that could have happened? Guess if you fill with water your'e safe.

[Mitch]

What's your plan on how to clean the inside of the tank? What's it look like in there now?

[Beauford]

With a pin light it looks pretty good. Gonna run the hose in it tomorrow and see what comes out. Might slosh some evapo in it....I don't plan on sealing it or anything.

[Mitch]

That's what I was thinking. Fill it with evapo

sorry about your hand
it doesn't look that bad:

[Beauford]

I doubt I will buy 10 gallons of it. You seen the price on the stuff?

[Mitch]

its reusable

I ordered a five gallon pail of real full strength Evaporust 3-4 years ago through the local Ace Hardware.
Not the concentrate you cut with water.
At that time is was abut $105 for five gallons, including freight.
Still have most of it.
Lasts a long time.

[Beauford]

I think the last time I bought a qrt. was 15-20$ Works great....used it on a lot of original parts.

[tbirdtbird]

put in a gallon.
then let it stay on one side for a week, then another side for a week, etc until all sides are done.

If you do fill with water, be sure to follow up with evapo.

We are told that once a container has had gas in it there will always be the possibilty of an explosion. Seems hard to believe, but I've seen it happen.

If you are blasting in the twilight hours, you can see the tiny sparks given off

[Beauford]

Good idea. Yeah I got popped by static blasting today. I got a little more to do on it but I'll do it with water in it. If it blows then it was meant to be.....

[Mitch]

go with tbirds idea but use 1.56 gallons: maybe get some sort of rubber plug for the top side (fill hole opening)

[tbirdtbird]

may not apply in this case with such an odd shaped tank, but 2 other options are put in chunks of dry ice, or use an exhaust hose. Either way you end up with CO2 replacing the oxygen.

I'd not use dry ice in this case tho, very cold and could warp the tank

An exhaust hose does not create CO2.
It creates carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless poison gas.
Beware!

I just filled my tank with water, installed a cap, and plugged the bung, and inverted it when I re-soldered the gas tank bracket for example.

[tbirdtbird]

you actually get both CO and CO2

[Tom Wesenberg]

what's the best way to stop static electricity in a blast cabinet?

I run a ground wire up to the metal blast nozzle and if I have to hold a part off the metal grid, I will use a small chain fastened to a clip that I can attach to the part. I blame all the sparks I used to get for turning my rubber gloves into goo.

[Mitch]

i guess I would need to drive a grounding rod through the shop concrete floor (no water pipes are near by).. maybe i'll try to attach the wire to the cabinet which would ground the part when its on the grid. then touching the nozzle to the grid would discharge the static electricity. otherwise I would need to drill a hole in the cabinet to accommodate the wire

[tbirdtbird]

bond a #12 bare ground wire to the cabinet then run to a nearby electrical box and bond to the bare ground equipment wire there. Since you have a commercial shop, you prolly have a bunch of EMT running all over the place for your wiring. If so you can just bond your new wire to the EMT, with a hose clamp. You cabinet will be very well grounded doing this.

If you have a roll of #12 that is either black or white, use that instead of buying any new bare wire. Just be sure to put some wraps of green electrical tape on the ends to identify it as an equipment ground.

if i never drive another 8' ground rod into the ground it will be too soon

[Tom Wesenberg]

Since your cabinet most likely already has a light and a 3 wire power cored, it's already grounded. You just need to run a ground to the metal blast handle and be sure the part is on the expanded steel grid, or run a clip with a light weight ground chain to the part. You just need to keep the electrons discharged to ground so you don't build up a differential between the handle and part, which causes the sparks. Sparks cause ozone, and that's most likely why my rubber gloves turned to goo. Harbor Freight had a pair of rubber gloves for about $6 that work excellent for blasting.

[DaWizard]

I was sitting here reading this and wondered why no one has mentioned the anti-spark device Henry put in ALL the tanks?

While you really shouldn't put a torch to the tank without it being filled with water, for the simple blasting you can use the screen provided with the tank while externally blasting off paint and whatever.

It is after all, a "spark arrestor"