Chart for compressed air and a few frequently asked questions about sandblasting.
(stay tuned for more – or ask us YOUR questions…)
There are many factors that affect your results in sandblasting. This chart can help you understand the complex relationship between nozzle size, psi, and your compressor’s power output.
Is my compressor big enough to sandblast stone?
–As you can see by the chart below, your regular garage compressor may not have enough horsepower. (you should find the horsepower or cfm on the compressor’s label)
How come carbide nozzles cost so much more than ceramic?
–Because carbide lasts so much longer! Ceramic nozzles can blow out to double its original diameter in a matter of hours; you will lose a lot of pressure!
JP recommends that you try out and learn what size nozzle you like by buying ceramic first, then you’ll know what size to buy in the superior carbide nozzle. Evan says that you can go through up to 3 boxes of ceramic nozzles compared to using just one carbide nozzle; so it’s worth buying the carbide nozzles.
How do I use the reference chart? (Chart for compressed air, nozzle size, and media consumption)
–Using the chart below, if you want at least 90psi to sandblast, and your compressor’s horsepower is 17 or 74cfm, you can see that you can run a nozzle size of 1/4″ or smaller.
–In the second example, you can get an estimate of how much abrasive you will use by finding your nozzle’s size (1/4″) and finding your compressor’s hp or cfm (18hp or 81cfm) then find in the row marked Media (lbs/hr) that you may go through about 494 pounds of abrasive in an hour. In this chart’s estimate, it’s based on abrasives that weigh 100lbs per cubic foot.
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