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Portable, Light-weight Blasting Machines

Needing a portable blasting solution? Here are our top choices for light-weight, portable machines for low production or touch-up blasting.

Should you have any questions, reach out to our dedicated customer service team who are happy to help.

Name	Best Scenarios	Benefits	Disadvantages	Options
IBIX 6 Easy Blaster	Spot blasting where access with regular blasting equipment is impractical	Empty weight: 10kg Excellent media control reduces waste and provides better control of results Ideal for low-impact blasting, such as an occupied building or operational factory Can run off ¾” airline	Limited blasting rate	Nozzle kit with 4 different alternate nozzle sizes.
IBIX 25 Portable Blaster	Spot blasting where access with regular blasting equipment is impractical	Excellent media control reduces waste and provides better control of results Ideal for low-impact blasting, such as an occupied building or operational factory. Can run off 3/4” airline.Empty weight: 45kg Takes a whole 25kg bag of garnet	Limited blasting rate	Nozzle kit with 4 different alternate nozzle sizes.
Clemco Power Blast Suction Blast Abrasive Blasting Gun	Portable alternative to a full blast pot. Great for limited access work e.g., jobs such as touch up or accessible by scaffold only.	Fastest Suction Blast System Available. Comes with a fixed orifice ¼’ air jet and ½’ Tungsten Carbide nozzle. Can be used with any media, right out of the bag. Ideal for where air supply is limited or for small jobs where setting up conventional pressure blast machine is problematic.	Limited blasting rate	None
Schmidt ® Multi-Media Industrial Soda Blaster	Blasting with fine, lightweight, or difficult to meter abrasives e.g., bicarb soda, fine aluminum oxide, plastic blasting media.	Low flow metering systems result in flow rates that are lower and blast times that are longer than when blasting with conventional metering systems and garnet media.	None	2.0 and 3.0 cu. ft. capacities


	IBIX 6 Easy Blaster	IBIX 25 Portable Blaster	Clemco Power Blast Suction Blast Abrasive Blasting Gun	Schmidt ® Multi-Media Industrial Soda Blaster
Best Scenarios	Spot blasting where access with regular blasting equipment is impractical	Spot blasting where access with regular blasting equipment is impractical	Portable alternative to a full blast pot. Great for limited access work e.g., jobs such as touch up or accessible by scaffold only.	Blasting with fine, lightweight, or difficult to meter abrasives e.g., bicarb soda, fine aluminum oxide, plastic blasting media.
Benefits	Empty weight: 22 lbs (10kg) Excellent media control reduces waste and provides better control of results Ideal for low-impact blasting, such as an occupied building or operational factory Can run off ¾” airline	Excellent media control reduces waste and provides better control of results Ideal for low-impact blasting, such as an occupied building or operational factory. Can run off 3/4” airline.Empty weight: 99 lbs (45kg) Takes a whole 55 lbs (25kg) bag of garnet	Fastest Suction Blast System Available. Comes with a fixed orifice ¼’ air jet and ½’ Tungsten Carbide nozzle. Can be used with any media, right out of the bag. Ideal for where air supply is limited or for small jobs where setting up conventional pressure blast machine is problematic.	Low flow metering systems result in flow rates that are lower and blast times that are longer than when blasting with conventional metering systems and garnet media.
Disadvantages	Limited blasting rate	Limited blasting rate	Limited blasting rate	None
Options	Nozzle kit with 4 different alternate nozzle sizes.	Nozzle kit with 4 different alternate nozzle sizes.	None	2.0 and 3.0 cu. ft. capacities

Why use a portable blaster?

Not every job has good access – your job may be meters up a scaffold or through a narrow manhole. Not every job will be conducive to using a conventional abrasive blasting setup – an occupied building or an operational factory. For these challenging tasks, a BlastOne portable blaster can often make the undoable, doable. In addition to being used for corrosion control purposes, BlastOne portable blasters can assist with other tasks e.g., removal of coating for non-destructive testing, removal of coating prior to welding.

Common issues with portable blasters

The most common issue with portable blasters is the lack of productivity compared to conventional blasting systems. This needs to be taken into consideration when scoping a blasting project where portable blasting equipment is being considered for use. This may require scheduling multiple operators for a project, that if using conventional equipment, would have only required one blaster.

Nozzle life on portable blasters also needs to be kept in mind. They are only available in tungsten carbide which, if used to operating silicon nitride nozzles, may not provide expected nozzle life.

Important considerations when choosing the right portable blaster

The main consideration in choosing a portable blaster is whether any lifting equipment e.g., crane or goods lift, is available to get the equipment to the work site. For example, the IBX25 blaster weighs 45 kg and if you fill it with a bag of garnet (25 kg) the combined weight is 70 kg. If this has to manually lifted, it is well in excess of safe carrying loads. In this instance it may be better to select the IBX6 unit or the Power Blast gun.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there other alternative surface preparation tools for projects that are impractical to use conventional abrasive blasting equipment on?
- Yes, the two most common are…
  - Bristle Blaster – These units run a wire brush wheel against an accelerator bar to remove coatings and contaminants. They are available in either electric or pneumatic versions and can be connected to a vacuum. While they will remove contaminants, they will not put a surface profile on a substrate, which may still necessitate abrasive blasting afterwards.
  - Needle Gun – These are a pneumatic tool which “hammers” a cluster of hardened steel needles against a surface requiring preparation. They also can be connected to a vacuum and again will remove contaminants but not put a surface profile on a substrate. As with bristle blasters, abrasive blasting may be required afterwards to create a surface profile.
Can I turn an IBIX blaster into a wet blaster?
Yes, the IBIX H2O converts your IBIX 6 or 25 into a wet blaster allowing dust management using a low pressure atomized water spray incorporated with the blasting media.
Can I vacuum blast with a portable blaster?
Yes. The IBIX units have a vacuum adaptor, and the Power Blast gun can be fitted to a vacuum blasting head. The vacuum can be provided by a standard electric or pneumatic industrial vacuum.

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