Investing in a high-quality blast room involves a substantial initial cost, and neglecting its basic maintenance can drastically reduce the lifespan of this valued investment.

Typically, the supplier of a blast room will offer a comprehensive maintenance plan detailing required daily, weekly, monthly, and annual tasks. While you should adhere to these guidelines, here are seven critical maintenance actions that should be prioritized at the top of any regular upkeep list.

Following these actions will help keep your blast room in solid working order, thereby saving money on repairs and increasing uptime.

1. Dirty Filters? Get New Ones

Cartridge dust collector filters are designed to be self-cleaning, so you shouldn’t send them out for cleaning. These dust collectors use air blasts to remove built-up dust from the filters during operation. Eventually, the filters will become so clogged that they stop working effectively. Many services offer to clean these filters, but this process can deteriorate and weaken the material, much like repeated laundering does to fabric.

Due to the weakened state of the filter material, the suction from the blower might tear a hole in them, drawing dust directly into its mechanism. Thus, while cleaning the filters might seem cost-effective, the eventual need to replace a damaged blower could offset any initial savings.

At this stage, it is advisable to replace the filters rather than clean them. New filters are not expensive and will certainly perform better than those that have been compromised by repeated cleanings.

2. Don’t Skimp on Filter Quality

Owners of blast rooms frequently search for the most affordable filters. But as the adage goes, you get what you pay for. Cheaper filters are typically crafted from inferior materials that deteriorate rapidly and usually possess lower MERV (minimum efficiency reporting values) ratings.

MERV ratings measure the efficiency of air filters in capturing airborne particles and contaminants. Higher ratings indicate a filter’s increased effectiveness at trapping smaller airborne particulates. Consequently, a filter with a lower MERV rating will be less effective, allowing finer particles to pass through effortlessly.

3. Watch for Equipment Wear

Consider the effects of abrasive blasting on the parts you handle. The abrasive media travels at high speeds through your blasting equipment, so imagine the impact. As the media flies through, it subjects every component it encounters in your blasting setup to the same abrasive forces. This affects the items you blast. The hose and nozzle are particularly vulnerable to this damage, though no part of your equipment is immune.

Blasting equipment will wear out. That’s inevitable. But you can invest in higher-quality devices that can better withstand damage. Carbide-lined nozzles are the most popular choice for the majority of blasting applications, with tungsten, silicon, and boron representing the three most popular types of carbide-lined nozzles.

Given that the dust from the abrasive media moves through the ductwork at extremely high speeds, the ductwork should be more robust than standard heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) ductwork. We suggest 12- or 14-gauge ductwork.

4. Subscribe to Good Housekeeping

Not the magazine, the philosophy. Blast rooms are often perceived as dirty entities that scatter dust and debris throughout a facility. While they may appear unclean, this is typically confined to the interior. The real issue arises from inadequate housekeeping practices.

It’s common for workers to open blast room doors while dust is still airborne. A useful guideline is to pause for 30 seconds to a minute after blasting ends, allowing the dust collector to evacuate the dust before opening any doors. Forklifts used to transport parts or media into the room often carry media on their tires, spreading it as they move in and out of the blast room. Additionally, it’s not unusual for workers to inadvertently drag out hoses with media attached.

Depending on the setup, media may also be loaded into an external hopper, leading to spillage on the facility floor. Two straightforward tips can significantly improve cleanliness around the blast room:

• Encourage workers to recognize and reduce mess-generating behaviors through diligent awareness.

• Ensure that a broom is always accessible, so that workers can quickly clean up any dispersed media or particles before they spread.

5. Keep Hanger Bearings Healthy

In a majority of mechanical reclaim systems, augers are positioned within a trough but do not actually contact its bottom. Instead, they are held up by a hanger bearing, suspended a few inches above. The media in the trough doesn’t move until it fills the gap between the trough’s bottom and the auger. This setup ensures that the auger operates on a cushion of media rather than scraping along the trough’s base, which would cause excessive wear.

However, should the hanger bearing become worn and allow the auger to lower, it will begin to grind against the trough. Eventually, it will pierce through the metal bottom. Such damage can lead to a breach in the floor, with media escaping. This degradation doesn’t happen immediately — but without regular inspections of the hanger bearing, it can occur unexpectedly.

6. Avoid Media Overload

In managing the mechanical reclaim system, it’s crucial not to overload the trough with spent media. These systems are designed to precisely control the amount of media descending to the auger for processing.

However, there are instances in which workers may load a day’s worth of media onto the auger all at once before subsequently attempting to activate the system. This can lead to the auger becoming overwhelmed with steel grit, for example. Attempting to start it under these conditions will likely cause a failure at its most vulnerable point.

To avoid these issues, ensure that the reclaim system is not turned off/on while loaded with media. Certain blast room setups include controls that restrict operations until previous tasks are completed, thus preventing premature starts that may complicate the system’s function.

7. Conduct Regular Visual Inspections

Ensure that there is no cracked glass in the windows or lights and thoroughly check all seals around the doors, inside and out, to verify there are no gaps or crevices. Blast rooms operate under negative pressure, meaning that any breach prevents the expulsion of material. Instead, that material is drawn into the gap, which could contaminate the blasting process.

Check that the shields covering the lights are intact. Periodically cleaning the light lenses is essential to maintain sufficient illumination within the room.

Regularly examine your personal protective equipment (PPE) to confirm that all components are functioning correctly, including helmets, carbon monoxide (CO) monitors, and air supply systems. Encourage blast room operators to conduct these checks themselves, as they are most familiar with the equipment. Develop a simple checklist to streamline the inspection process and ensure nothing is overlooked.

Conclusion

Think of your blast room as a new car. The day you buy it, it’s usually running perfectly — no problems, no issues. But you know that you need to perform at least minimal maintenance, such as changing the oil, checking the fluids, and rotating the tires. No single action is overly complicated or expensive, but forgetting any one of them can profoundly affect the car’s performance.

Your blast room needs the same attention, but more often. If you perform these small actions on a regular basis, you’ve got a far better chance of keeping bigger problems at bay.