Harbor Freight Sandblaster - The Comprehensive Guide - Making 20lb 40lb 110lb models work great. 

1.A good video on the "sandblaster trap" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KFgA0n3Vr68.html 2. The website/link to the "evinflo" comment actually referred to an "Evintho" license plate, and I finally found it!!!! www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=207210 Also, consider getting a 4 way "T" like I did instead of the 3 way T as shown in the link, for easier cleaning. Also, I provided a number of alternate links/info in the comments section under different youtuber's comments. These modifications are a suggestion of "one way" to do it, but by no means are they the only way. At lower CFMs, you might decide to not even change anything, it is all predicated on your individual needs. Also, I would recommend multiple air dryers in line if moisture is an issue. 3. In the video, I have a bleed off valve for air for the helmet. After using it, I would recommend against it. Not healthy, use a separate air source. 4. People have asked about soda blasting. I haven't tried soda blasting yet. I would recommend doing searches for soda blasting / alternative media for more info.

Recently, I was given one of these Harbor Freight Sandblasters, a used 20 lb model. I've been thinking about using it, so to do that, I have to learn HOW to use it.Your video is a big help to me. Sincerely, Thank You!

I have $15,000 worth of professional sandblasters, and it looks like I"m not the first to say that this guy knows his stuff. I only watched this video for 5 minutes toward the end. From what I saw, he essentially described what makes those expensive blasters work on a professional level. You obviously won't win the Indy 500 driving a Volkswagen, but then again you really don't need a Formula 1 car to make a beer run.

I know its alot of work and time but Please make more videos you dont find this type of quality on RU-vid. You did a great job and helped me alot !

When you think you're alone and u find exactly what you're looking for. Thank you Ron!

This video is extremely underrated. Thank you for pointing out all the valuable information. Just ordered my sandblaster and will upgrade it to 1/2 inch piping. My 28 cfm gasoline compressor will make short work of every project!! Thanks again you are a legend!

Probably the most useful sand blasting video available and it was under 30 minutes long. Absolutely amazing video.

This was probably one of the best videos I have watched in a while thank you for making it very helpful

Thanks for passing along your accumulated knowledge. It really will help me with my HF sandblaster.

This is the single most informative video on sandblasting ive found! Thank you for putting this out there!

Wow! Very thorough and researched video! Thank you for all your time and effort in sharing this knowledge. I'm just looking into buying a blaster and I think the best decision I've made so far is watching and learning from you, before I buy.

Well,I had to watch this video over and over to take it all in. So comprehensive and full of keen advise . Cheers!

This is the 5th vid ive watched on upgrades. You hit all of the pertinent points and showed upgrades i was considering. I wasnt aware of Kenametal products but wanted a better nozzle. I'll give you 5 stars... I dont often do that in a world of half ass effort.

Thanks,this was helpful. I have several projects in mind, and I have the blaster but my compressor is too small. This answered several questions for me, and I think saved me money and frustration.

GREAT Video I was struggling with my sandblaster. I am going to do the changes and will work perfect. And it all makes perfect sense Thank You

Thank you so much for your video. You answered a lot of questions i had about if my air compressor could handle sand blasting.

Thank you very much! You worked hard on this video to our benefit. I probably have over 100 hours on the same sandblaster. I wish I’d had all of your points when I started with it. I bought this HF sand blaster six or seven years ago. I’ve gone through an evolution of tips, media, and better compressors. My point to guys just getting started with their man cave, would be to purchase or otherwise get their hands on the biggest compressor possible. Even if you have to spend $300 to get a big used or new compressor, it will pay for itself in your enjoyment of your tools over and over again. It takes this sandblaster to a new level.

Thanks for sharing, I just bought the 110# blaster and found it almost useless. I knew I was going to have to modify it, and this info will make it really simple!

This video is pure gold! You did an amazing job and I am very grateful. Not many people explain it so well, and take the time to educate others selflessly. This was very generous of you. I'm impressed and very appreciative. Thank you!!! Subscribed. Sorry about your father, Edward. He must have taught you a lot.

This video is GOLD , so much info and knowledge Thank you ! Im buyin a 20lb unit later today

That thing did my head in,for most of my weekend.No wonder my freind gave me it. It's useless.What a mess! Thanks for giving me hope from the other side of the world.cheers mate

Thanks for sharing your unvarnished opinions. I have never used a sandblaster before, but am considering buying the HF model. Now I know some of the pitfalls to avoid, and also how to turbocharge the underperforming stock model into a serviceable unit.

I agree! Best video in a long long time. Thank you again!!

This is my favorite video of all times! I am also a modifier of all things. And to do that and achieve anything good means you have to just plain "understand" what it is that is lacking or not. And with different people on different subjects the level of understanding needed will vary. So you gotta push from every angle to get those moments where your like ahah! See!!! And then you can begin to make the improvements necessary(or try)..... Man i am IMPRESSED. With your video, your knowledge, your level of devotion to understanding things fully, your helping of others, your humor, your admittance of guilt, failure, frustration, all real life shiznit!!! Way to go man, bravo! Liked, subscribed, commented, and learned a lot from you and your efforts... ...lastly, do you or have you ever raced? Anything? I don't care if it's lawnmower racing... if not, i just gotta say, your the type that gets it performing as it should, better than everyone else, or at least damn close!! Your a winner🏆 . This is how you win!!

Gday Ron, Thank you mate for taking the time to make and post this very informative video. I’ve just purchased a similar set up here in Australia that I’m sure comes out the same factory in China. I’ve also purchased a Pilot Brand 48cfm compressor with a 300 litre or 80 gallon holding tank, second hand. It has a full service history and has been serviced every 6 months. Takes 2 minutes to pump up two 100psi and has a max of 160psi. I’m looking to order those Kennametal 1/4 inch tips tonight. Along with larger pipe and fittings soon too. I buy, restore, resell skid steers here as a hobby that’s slowly turning into a small business. This Sir was priceless to me. I can’t thank you enough for all that hard found knowledge you have passed on. It’s very very much appreciated and I definitely owe you a beer! Thank you, Cheers, Nigel 👍👍🍻

This video was so comprehensive. Thank you very much.

Thank you for the videos helped me sort mine out here in the UK :)

Amazing comprehensive information…thanks so much. Now I know what direction to take for my project…invaluable!

Been sandblasting since the early 90s using a homemade unit out of a 30 lb propane tank, a six foot section of high pressure hose and the dead man setup less the shutoff coupled with two ball valves a short regular hose about two feet in length and some common fittings , two wheels and a standard fill off a farm fuel tank from a farm tank. It must have gone through several tons of material as i buy the standard large bag that comes i at 1200 pounds. About every year. I have also used recycled glass which cuts best but hard to find as cheep. I have blasted bulk boxes on 5 ton trucks for potatoes, dump truck and trailer boxes, loader, graders, dozers and so on. Used it with diesel industrial compressors, 5 hp uprights and for the last few years a 3 cylinder Devilbis industrial compressor. Some things i found. Your main air feed is from your shutoff to a tee under the tank to a pressure hose containing your nozzle. One ball valve connected to a half inch feeder hose from your air supply. You turn it one full always. The second ball valve supplies air into the tank. It pressurize the tank forcing product into the fast moving air already going through the hose and nozzle. It is adjusted for best flow of the product and can be opened if the product bridges in the tank. I use a 3/16 long ceramic nozzle from a reputable manufacturer as cheap ones will wear out rapidly. Easy peasy. Made some 10 pound ones for friends that they love. When you have large air volume a dryer isn't a problem, you get a blast of condensation every now and then.

Just awesome explaining really helpful for beginners like me thanks

thank you so much for this video .. this is realy helpfull .. it was hard to find exact information about how big the compressor should be .. this is excellent information

Best video on sandblaster optimization. Even if the equipment is "cheap", if you know how it functions, there is almost always a way to make it better. You show us how! Well done, sir. Well done.

awesome video! very informational! now I know what to do to mines. thanks a bunch!!

I hope you are able to make a full time living from RU-vid, because you deserve it. This video was incredible and saved me SO MUCH frustration. I have the 110 lb blaster. Changed the hosing to 1/2” and changed the ball valves to 1/2” and threw away that garbage tip from HF and for the kennametal. Blaster works great now. Thank you so much.

Thanks Ron. This was great.

Great informative video. Great job!

Best video on entry level sandblasters. Wow!!! I’m trying to find a used pot since I’ll be upgrading everything else. Ingenious how you hooked 3 air compressors to make up the CFMs. I currently have a husky 60 gallon 220volt air compressor that should put me mid CFMs, for a truck frame I want to blast.

Thanks for the tips didn't realize the cfms needed for these to work well. Nice stobie tag

Thank you for going to the trouble to make the video and to share your knowledge.

Great video! Please do more like this! Would love to see a video like yours on paint guns.

Fantastic video, this helped me decide what to get and what to expect!

You did a great job with this video lots of very helpful info and a good job explaining what you did and how you did it thank so much

Awesome job! Very Informative

Your video is the most comprehensive out there. Thanks. I’ve liked and subscribed.

Thank you so much. Well, looks like I’m gonna be bringing out the wire brush and grinder as my 4.6 CFM air compressor from Lowe’s is clearly holding me back.

Hey thanks for your time you put in to this video. Very helpful

I own an old steel boat (1949 built) and the cost to get it commercially blasted is astronomical. Plus I hate paying other people to do my work….. I’ve spent probably a good 12 hours watching different videos on folks modifying these blasters and yours is by far the most comprehensive. Thanks for making it!

Very helpful video! Thanks for posting

Excellent video my friend last night bought the 40 lb harbor freight sandblaster. We got err all hooked up went to sandblaster trailer like you had and the first thing that happened was it clogged moment we turned on the valve so I'm glad to see this video. I just sent it to my buddy and said this is what we need to do so hopefully he'll do that by tomorrow thanks for your video it's very thorough appreciate it much.

Welp... you just saved me money. I was all set (tomorrow morning) to go buy the Harbor Freight 110lb sandblaster. I knew that a little pancake compressor was probably too small so I got a larger 8 gallon Goodyear compressor on sale at Walmart. But after watching your video (and the D3Sshooter video you linked) I see that the CFM (approx 3CFM) of my compressor is woefully inadequate for removing thick whitewash from an old rock wall. Thanks for posting this informative video.

Great video, thanks for the info, I'm an old hat at cheep sandblasters.. And I know it takes a lot of cfls to keep up...you brought a few thoughts to lite, that I will use, thanks again.

I just upgraded my compressor from a 2hp 20gal to a 5hp 60gal and was trying to figure out what to do with the old compressor, I hadn't even thought of running them in tandem for more CFM. Thanks for the tip, and the other tip about the tips!

Very helpful video with all the information from good to bad I truly appreciate ur video Sir!💪🏽

Hi Ron good work, many tanks !!!

amazing easy to understand information, thank you

Hi Ron from me in the uk ! About a year or so ago I started getting interested in shot blasting for some of my ‘projects’. I ended up buying the shot blasters bible , Blast off 2, from Clemco industries . It’s only a booklet really (169 pages) but packed full of knowledge and data . I’m hooked! But the reason I’m commenting is to say imho you have explained the basics of the subject really well with down to earth practical advice in a very short time ! Aimed at the diy novice !…. It’s a fascinating subject you can blast just about anything utilising different media’s from recycled foam to steel shot (with walnut shells being very popular!) anyway, hats off great vids!

your video was everything it needed to know very concise, and well put together. thank you

This is a great video I hope you get more views because it was by far the most helpful sandblasting video on RU-vid!

Thank you for all the info!

Supper good video,I just bought this hf 20 lb blaster and am experiencing the same poor performance.Tomorrow I will start modifying it.Great information.

Nicely done.....great review.

Fantastic video, very thorough and informative

Great info plus entertaining!

Top notch video!

Wonderful info , greatest video ever ! Thank you soooo much

The middle finger says it all!! To summarize your video....keep the HF tank, throw out the rest of the HF crap, rebuild the ENTIRE set-up after several trips through your local plumbing supply and amazon! I like the explanations along the way, thanks for the video!

Man that's like a big block blaster now! Thanks for the hilarious and yet informative vid! *Enjoyed the acting

Great video. Thank you for the help

Great video. Thank you.

Good video. Thank you.

Thank you for this video. It made me realise I have no interest in sandblasting steel. It’s one job I’ll definitely be outsourcing!

Great job

Great info. I have fought with a HF pressure pot style blaster more than once and could just never get it working to my satisfaction. This video really helps! I am using only a 60gal 10-11cfm compressor though. I did an airframe using an old Craftsman gravity bucket blaster with a huge compressor and it never quit. Made me wonder, how would this run without being pressurized? With just gravity wouldn’t it be a less likely to backfill that lower hose? Was gonna cut mine up but I guess I could just leave the cap off and direct all air below just to see. Thanks for the motivation! Ideas?

Good stuff! Thank you.

Thank you for the great video. What material and tip would you use to clean a fender or body panel and not warp it?

Great video!. Excelente video, Muchas Gracias!

Great video, great up grades!

Great video analysis! I have the larger version, but the same flow issue at the bottom of the pot. I managed to complete a project with it, but struggled immensely. I thought I narrowed it down to the pressure in the pot trying to funnel itself through the sand and no media coming through (I would shake the pot and it would blast again) so I decided I was going to de-pressurize the pot.....thought, I was so frustrated, I stopped using the blaster. I'm now re-energized with new information and maybe retrofit the blaster to address the shortcomings. When the blaster works, it's a blast! lol! BTW, I used soda blasting, switched to slag, but made no difference in the clogging department.

great video! goes over everything i was looking for. thanks!

Very helpful. Thanks a lot!

Thanks Ron.

EXCELLENT!!!

Good show thanks

Thank you!

Great video!

Thank you for the info

Thank you for that

Where do you recommend getting a replacement for the 1/2" black blasting hose, that goes from the bottom of tank to the blasting tip, my original hose is getting shorter due to the wearing through from the inside on the tank side? Thank you

very helpful....thank you sir.

thanks for the information. I'm getting that sandblaster I have a 6hp compressor that does like 6.8 cfm. but I have access to a bigger compressor that has a gas engine on it. Now I know what to expect. I think I will be ok using my smaller compressor but if I get impatient or have a bigger project then I'm going to take it to work. I also have access to tons of sand, but it will probably need to be screened or something but I will get to that when I get to that hopefully I can use it.

Great video I will like to get information on the brand of the recycled sand blaster

One of the most comprehensive vids ive seen on the subject and not wondering off into personal sidebar conversations. I like the info on the Kennametal tips and may go with that tip. I did have a question as to whether you bushed bottom bung hole fitting from 3/8"---1/2" or did you open the bung up to 1/2" by drilling and retapping???

Excellent video...

many years ago i bought a 120 pond power fist sand blaster like this one, the only stuff that worked ok with it was a silica sand, but it was sso fine you couldnt cut rust and paint of a tire rim, or body metal.. not sure what it good for, i went to a black beuty and it was always plunging up in the bottom mixing valve, i tried other mediums but was always a huge problem, and i have a 120 gallon tank with a 6hp motor with a 2 stage comprser as i am a welder and need lots of air, 28cfm. at 175 psi. i watched all these mod videos but was never happy with it, after trying them mods i gave up and in the scrap pile it went. i must have sat out there for over 10 years, keep in mind all the valves on it were not brass, they were all black hardened steel valves. one day when i broke 2 ribs from one of my many steers. i could hardly move, never mind breath, this lasted a good 4 months. half way though this time i was beyond board out of my mind. i dug the sand blaster out of my huge scrap pile with the help of my boom truck. i started looking at the mods i had made that never really fixed the problems, i took it all a part. i cut the fitting out of the bottom of the tank. and welded in a 1" weld on NPT coupling. USED 1" TEE 1" SHORT PIPE NIPPLE . i put a 1" hose on that i had laying around. i was thinking back to my young days at Can car as a sand blaster on the hopper car rail line, this hopper cars were built there, and i recall how the blast units were built, and used a 2" blast hose, if you got shoot in the arm, the ass, leg, man you knew you were hit. i bushed the other end of the 1" tee down to 3/4" NPT. I REPLACED THE WATER separator, even tho i have an air drier in the main feed off the compressor.. WITH ONE I HAD KICKING AROUND THAT HAS 3/4" NPT. MY COMPRESSOR HAS 1" NPT hook up, but i set it up with 3/4" npt blocks, 1/2" blocks, 3/8" air blocks. i supplied the sand blaster with a 3/4" air line, and built my own tip/s in a small scale to the kind that i used at Can car. using a steel union for tip replacement and size. i been able to run any medeim i want though it, well taking count of metal thickness, as it will blow though light metal.. problem is, the tank to small.

Good thanks that you mentioned the first video too. One thing about panel warping. In different videos from Dustless blasting they say it does warp because of heating up ..... my experience is totally the opposit. A panel being blasted with a temp increas of a few degrees might, if any, barely warp and when cooling off should bend back but they don’t. Cars don’t bend when sitting in the sun either 🤣. The reason is that even in my wet blast cabinett I can warp a panel when hitting under 90degrees because the media „hammers“ the surface and stretches one side so it starts bending. Blasting the back side of the same panel will „bend“ it back to some degree but never exactly the same. One improvement is hitting the panel at an angle (eg. 45 degrees) which scratches more than hammering. Greetings Bernhard

Excellent video, thank you for your time and effort putting this together, I will re-visit my sand blasting setup with new enthusiasm, it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you Ron, awesome video. Question, would this same pot, "with your upgrades" work with soda media?

Great video good tips and a time saver . Thanks for your time. What was that site or channel you said with parts that were used ( evenflow ) ?

Great info brilliant

Can you tell me how you connected that chip to the Harbor Freight Tools should I just buy a tip that is already connected to the valve