No need to degrease or preclean
It can be a costly, time consuming, messy and laborious task to preclean and degrease components.
This can include:
Workshop space required for tanks, hotwashes and other equipment.
Outdoor space requirements and mess if using high pressure washers
Personal protective equipment costs and maintenance
Harsh, sometimes hot, dangerous chemicals
Chemical costs
Fumes
Health and safety issues
Then there’s the hours spent actually cleaning the components
Time consuming and expensive cleanup costs
Waste disposal costs
Only THEN can you finally get around to putting it through a dry blast process with its dust, substandard finish and higher operating costs!
There is a better way
There is nothing more satisfying than a piece of machinery that pays for itself.
The Dana-Ridge range do just that by eliminating the preclean and degrease portion of the process. Simply put the component in the machine and start processing. No PPE required unless using the walk-in blast room option.
Where does the oil and grease go and does it affect the finish?
Oil and grease is reluctant to dissolve in water and will tend to float on top. The Dana-Ridge wetblast machines draw from the very bottom of the sump with the impellor situated at the back of the machine rather than directly inside.
Agitation is also done near the bottom of the sump. As you can see from the diagram below the lighter oils will leave through the overflow and if you have the optional closed loop system they can even be collected and decanted off later for easy disposal!
As you can see the oil will tend to sit on the surface of the water inside and make its way out the machine overflow either to a suitable drain or to be captured by the settlement tank of the optional closed-loop system as pictured.
What if you do more than the occassional oily part?
Lets say the majority of the parts you blast are covered in oil and grease and the amount of oil in the sump is high. There is another product that can help make sure that the oil and water separate even more readily. Aqua Kleen is a quick-break, low foam detergent that can be added directly into the machine at a 0.1-0.25% concentration.
This additive will allow the oil and water to separate more readily helping to eliminate the excess oil from the overflow.
Regular detergents will readily foam in the turbulent waters created during agitation.
Dana-Ridge units do not have an open impellor in the sump that agitates and draws media simultaneously. The pump is separate and draws from the base with directed agitation. This allows better concentration of media and lets the oils settle on the surface allowing removal via the overflow
