Can steel cylinders with slight interior oxidation be glass beaded? Also has anyone used a ceramic cylinder whip to remove minor interior oxidation?
Can steel cylinders be glass beaded?
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Yea. I just whipped my steel 100s Saturday during a VIP course I was taking. If you have rust in them they need to be whipped. If that removes it, or at least the vast majority of it, good enough. If not, they then need to be tumbled. They can't pass VIP as long as their is oxidation present.
I'm not very knowledgeable about tumbling so I can't comment about glass beads vs. other media. I've heard from numerous folks including my VIP instructor that pea gravel works very well and is quite inexpensive.
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Glass beads won't remove rust very well. A whip will remove light surface rust. If the tanks are really bad, then they will need to be tumbled. I tumble tanks with glass beads during O2 cleaning only, not for material removal.
captain
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The pretty gravel that's used in the bottom of aquariums work pretty good for tumbling out light rust and it's cheap compared to real tumbling media.
DvrSkip
Registered
glass beads work ok, but only for O2 cleaning as PPO2 stated. I used to whip light rust, but it is soooo much easier to pour in the ceramic chips, a bit of simple green (if desired), and just let the tumbler do the work while I sleep. Most times the tank is shiny clean by morning (but sometimes it takes two - even three -days).
As I recall (and am willing to state from experience), glass beads are best for aluminum tanks with minor oxidation. ceramic chips are best for rust in steel. pea gravel and aquarium gravel work about as good as glass beads, but won't get out any serious rust in steel (although you do wind up with really shiny gravel - cleaned of any artificial color it may have had).
-skip
As I recall (and am willing to state from experience), glass beads are best for aluminum tanks with minor oxidation. ceramic chips are best for rust in steel. pea gravel and aquarium gravel work about as good as glass beads, but won't get out any serious rust in steel (although you do wind up with really shiny gravel - cleaned of any artificial color it may have had).
-skip
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matt t.
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If you need to tumble steel tanks for 2-3 days there are serious problems with your air supply. A steel brush (on the end of a drill) works well for removing rust on the (inside) bottoms of steel tanks. Ceramic whips seem to work better on aluminum tanks. Rust on sidewalls requires tumbling. Aluminum oxide works well for steel tanks. Glass beads are for cleaning aluminum tanks without oxidation. If there is oxidation in aluminum tanks I would use ceramic media.
I tumble cylinders with inert glass beads to clean them for oxygen service. There will still always be some flash rust due to drying. Heavy oxidation will require diffent media.
Gary
Gary
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I tend to use a drill whip just because it's so easy. You can make a whip very easily and cheaply with some steel cable (SS peferably, but steel garage door cable works fine in a pinch, and some people prefer monofiliment) a 3/8" or so rod, a hose clamp or two and a hardware store 1/2' PVC pipe adaptor to scew in the and protect the neck threads.
The whip also be used wet with detergent for O2 cleaning or a phosphoric acid solution for heavier rust, as an alternative to tumbling. This is best done outside with the tank on its side while wearing old clothes and eye protection, and the tank should be very thoroughly rinsed afterwards.
Do a search here for tank whip for details.
Remember tthough that a slight surface flash rust bloom on the interior of a tank is perfectly acceptable under most inspection protocols.
The whip also be used wet with detergent for O2 cleaning or a phosphoric acid solution for heavier rust, as an alternative to tumbling. This is best done outside with the tank on its side while wearing old clothes and eye protection, and the tank should be very thoroughly rinsed afterwards.
Do a search here for tank whip for details.
Remember tthough that a slight surface flash rust bloom on the interior of a tank is perfectly acceptable under most inspection protocols.
I made my drill whip out of weed eater replacement line. Not the monofilament kind, but the stuff with the titanium. high strength center core for durability. Wired and glued to a brass rod, and then cleaned.
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