I bought a Harbor Freight Blast Cabinet and began blasting surface rust from my wheels this past weekend, putting quite a bit of dust in the air in the process.

What type of cabinet exhaust filtration system do most folks use?

I was actually thinking about making one with a hose connected to an old shop-vac, maybe with some water in the bottom. This would give me the ability to use vacuum if needed. I was also thinking about using a standard 5 gallon bucket connected to the cabinet with a hose, also with water to trap the dust.

Thoughts?

I buy one of those $30 cheap vacs, they will last a few months but the sand will destroy them eventually.

You need to get a good draw on the cabinet to get the dust out so you can see.

Stay up wind and also your probably breathing the dust from cabinet leakage. I use supplied air around them, anytime you fill it or empty or use it or blow off your parts your in the dust, so use cautuion on breathing in sand blast dust, its some bad stuff.

I never operate my blast cabinet without the vacuum system hooked up, the dust it generates isn't healthy. I have a PVC pipe that extends outside the garage to the vacuum.

Thanks, guys. I was and will continue to use a high quality respirator. It sounds like the cheap shop vac is the way to go.

i use a filter similar to the filters used on furnaces. i also have a 110v computer fan thats going on the back upstream from the filter, and piped outside.but i have only used walnutshells so far. im thinking im going to need a bigger fan to push the stuff out, expecially when i switch to glass beads.


aaron

I've always just used the shop vac, but now the filter is soooo plugged that it isn't effective. I need to find a replacement. Anyone know where to begin searching for small round air filters?

I have a ridgid shop vac for 3 years now on my blast cabinet and still working just fine.

I have a ridgid shop vac for 3 years now on my blast cabinet and still working just fine.

I have the same thing and I also have one of those old diatomoacious earth pool filters in line with it so the blast residue doesn't go into the vacuum. The pool filter takes all the abuse.

David,
Whatever you do, health issues are number one, but keep in mind that the dust is probably one of the most abrasive things out there and you do not want any of it near anything in your garage.

This is one idea
http://www.tptools.com/dg/15_Abrasive-Blasting-Vacuum-Dust-Collector.html